Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I speak to congratulate the Lutherans of Ipswich on 150 years of worship in the Ipswich area. I was pleased to attend the weekend celebrations on 20 and 21 February 2010, when the sesquicentenary was celebrated. It was interesting, because Johann, son of Johann Fleischmann and Charlotte Fleischmann, was born on 25 December 1859 and was baptised on 19 February 1860 at Ipswich. The Lutherans in Ipswich celebrate their 150 years of worship and involvement in the community at the same time as the city of Ipswich celebrates 150 years as a municipality in Queensland. I want to congratulate parish team pastor Reverend John O’Keefe and parish team pastor Reverend Tim Jarick for their stewardship and pastoral care of the Lutherans in Ipswich. I particularly congratulate Pastor Tim for the written history of the Lutheran church in Ipswich. A terrific service took place on the Sunday of that weekend, and Reverend Noel Noack, the president of the Lutheran Church of Australia, Queensland district, presided with a great sermon on service and community.

The Lutheran church in Ipswich runs a very fine school called Bethany Lutheran Primary School. Neil Schiller is the principal there and has been for a long time. The school’s emphasis on quality and Christian education is exemplary in the Ipswich community. It has a fine reputation. The school was formed back in 1982, having been planned for many years. The Bethany Lutheran congregation began in 1970 at Raceview in Ipswich, and the school is located there. As part of the Building the Education Revolution funding, the school is receiving $2.125 million, and I know that the school is greatly appreciative of the funding that is going towards upgrading the school. I have been there on many occasions. In fact, I was there serving as an independent observer and contributor to their accreditation process. In term 3 of 2009, under the BER funding, the administration building and computer laboratory, which were built in 1995, were demolished. A library, including a new computer library, a teaching area, stacks, storage, a presentation area, a reading area, a kitchenette and a toilet area, is currently under construction and due to be completed in the next few months. A new boys toilet block is also being constructed. Unlike the previous speaker, I know that the community in Ipswich, in Raceview and beyond, is greatly appreciative of the funding under the Building the Education Revolution funding.

The history of the Lutheran church in Ipswich is a fine one, contributing in many and various ways. For instance, when the terrible tragedy of Box Flat took place the Lutheran church came to the party. In 1972 we saw more than 1,000 miners attend the funeral services at St John’s Lutheran Church in Ipswich. That was the year of the beginning of the very successful Ipswich Bargain Shop. The histories of the churches in Ipswich are all intertwined, and in 1850 German immigrants settled in the Ipswich area. For many years the German language was used during church services, and almost invariably the pastor of the congregation had a Germanic surname. I said when I was speaking at the service on the celebration weekend that I do not think that the English had much to do with the settlement of Ipswich and the rural areas outside, because it was settled by Irish Catholics and German Protestants.

The Lutheran church have played an important role in building communities of faith caring for our young people, helping the challenged, the vulnerable and the depressed and building up the community. They are an important part of the Ipswich community, helping those who are challenged. I can think of many people that I know who have personally been assisted by the great work and the great ministry. They have thriving congregations and a communitarian approach. They involve our young people in good-quality education. The Lutheran church are an important part of the Ipswich community and I congratulate them on their sesquicentenary.

Question agreed to.