Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would first like to recognise that today is the birthday of Sir Donald Bradman, one of Australia’s greatest sporting figures. Sir Donald would have turned 100 years old today.

Last week in my electorate I had the privilege of attending a celebration and re-enactment of an event that took place 100 years ago, on 22 August 1908. On that day 100 years ago the result of five years of  hard work by a group of golf enthusiasts saw the opening of the South Perth Golf Links by the then Governor Admiral, Sir Frederick Bedford. The Governor and his vice-regal group teed off at 3 pm on that day. Once they had completed the then nine-hole course, His Excellency adjourned for tea and in a short speech declared the links open.

During the last 100 years the club was expanded to an 18-hole course and received a royal charter and is now known as the Royal Perth Golf Club. The current club president, Frank Bryant, and his committee invited me to attend the ceremony and participate in the re-enactment. The re-enactment subcommittee, ably led by Jeff Carr, a former club president and police minister in the Lawrence government, did a magnificent job on the day. The event was enjoyed by the 132 golfers who participated on the day and the 360 guests who attended the cocktail party that night at the clubhouse. The cocktail party was attended by local MLA John McGrath, the local mayor and many of the councillors, and South Perth CEO Cliff Frewing. On the day, local golf radio commentators Ian ‘Chooky’ Fowler and Keith Ellis were in attendance as well.

The Governor of Western Australia, His Excellency Ken Michael, and his wife, Julie, arrived by long boat at the Mends Street Jetty to be met by many club members dressed in period costume, which provided the local riverside restaurant clients with a spectacle they probably will not see for another 100 years. The group set off to walk to the golf club 10 minutes away with the support of our very capable WA Police Force, and Governor Michael unveiled a plaque at the front of the clubhouse. Governor Michael very nervously hit a drive—and, might I say, a very straight drive—from the first tee at exactly three o’clock to re-enact Governor Bedford’s drive 100 years earlier and to start the afternoon’s event.

The Royal Perth Golf Club is an important part of the community, as are over 4,000 clubs and associations throughout Australia that have become the meeting places for our communities, our families and our children. They provide a family-friendly environment for people to meet and socialise and also provide many benefits to the community. This club is what could be described as a good corporate citizen and over the past five years it has raised, through its annual charity day or by allowing the course to be used by other charity groups, nearly $500,000 for local charities and associations.

The golf club hosts the annual Telethon Day in Perth, which is run by former club captain Barry Trevenen. Some of the groups that have benefited from this fundraising are SIDS and Kids WA, NGALA, the Clontarf Foundation—which was mentioned last night by the Governor-General—the City of South Perth, Como Secondary College, Lady Gowrie Child Centre, Southcare, South Perth Primary School, Curtin Primary School, Kensington Primary School, Manning Primary School, Como Primary School, Collier Park Primary School, WA Youth Centre in Bentley, Edmund Rice Camp for Kids, the Speech and Hearing Centre, Holyoake, Cystic Fibrosis WA, Parkerville Children’s Home, the Cerebral Palsy Association and the Constable Care Child Safety Project.