Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

This morning I have the great pleasure of passing on some birthday greetings to one of my dear, dear friends, who has recently turned 150. I wish to shout out a 'happy birthday' to the township of Beenleigh in my electorate of Forde. As is fitting for a 150th celebration, Beenleigh's birthday party stretched over the whole weekend at the beginning of November. Families from across the region converged on the town to celebrate a rich history of farming, development and culture. Many of those who joined the celebration came from families who have long called the region home and who have helped build it into the thriving community it is today.

On Saturday, a community fair entertained young and old alike, and on Sunday my wife, Judi, and I and many others attended a special church service to mark the anniversary. The service was officiated by Reverend Lu Senituli, a true champion of our community to whom I want to give special thanks today. At the service, an address on the history of our area was given by Mrs Leanne Collins of the Beenleigh Region Uniting Church. I would like to share some of that story, as Mrs Collins told it:

'The European settlement of Beenleigh evolved from a single sugar plantation, known by the same name, and dates back to the 1860s. The small farms that emerged here were amongst vast cotton and sugar plantations where German migrants were prominent among the early settlers.

With the increase of white settlement came the growth of traditional services for the region. There were hotels that doubled as a mail drop off point and butcher; a general store; Police Station; court house; and school—all established within the first 10 years of the first plantation. The Dramatic Society, cricket club, and Show Society soon followed, with the first Beenleigh Show held in 1872.

Disastrous floods in 1887 changed the local and founding sugar industry and resulted in slowing the growth of the town considerably. Beenleigh remained resilient and viable with the opening of the Ambulance Station in 1919 and a rural school in 1925.

During World War II, the showgrounds were used as an army camp training school for officers returning from the Middle East and the stables that were established on the site for their horses remain there today.

The township continued to grow and the need for access to surrounding areas came with it. Bridges replaced ferries, and the use of motor vehicles overtook the use of trains. Post-war saw many travellers use Beenleigh as a rest stop on their way to the south coast but progress again changed Beenleigh with a bypass bringing a decline in the town.

By the 1960s, the high school and pool were built, and the start of a new tourism industry began with the opening of Bullens African Safari at Stapylton, Yatala. The continuing transition and adaptation to changes are still fundamental and deep-rooted characteristics of both the descendants of the European settlers still living here today and of those more recently that have established themselves a home within Beenleigh.'

The history that Mrs Collins shared is both informative and instructive. It is that she understands that only by looking back to where we have come from can we move toward to a better future. Her address was complemented by that of Reverend Peter Palmer, who reflected on the area's Indigenous history:

'The region between the Logan and Tweed Rivers is known to the local Yugambeh Aborigines as Dugulumba. With the arrival of European settlers to the Logan district in the early 1840s and the need to occupy the fertile land for farming, conflict arose as the Yugambeh Aborigines resisted the loss of their traditional land and country. In response to this resistance, it was the Native Mounted Police that were deployed to the district, and others like it across the country to use indiscriminate force. By 1861 it is reported that the Logan River Aboriginals were forced from their land, driving them onto Stradbroke and Moreton Islands, or south to Northern New South Wales.'

These many stories reflect a rich and varied history. Congratulations to our whole community. (Time expired)

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