Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This Saturday thousands of families and residents from the Central Coast will come together for the 11th annual 5 Lands Walk. The walk celebrates our Indigenous heritage and multicultural community. It is rightly becoming one of the biggest tourism events of the year for the Central Coast. It is not hard to see why, with the food, entertainment and workshops. It is a great family day out and I am looking forward to, once again, sharing some of the walk with my children, Oscar and Mollie-Joy. There is a real sense of connection that is cultivated by those of us who do the walk along the five lands, which is all about connecting people to people and people to place. The 10-kilometre route follows the spectacular coastline, through the five lands beginning at Macmasters Beach, heading down to Copacabana, over the headland to Avoca Beach, further on to North Avoca, and over to the end at Terrigal Beach. With each new land, there is a new cultural festival featuring Indigenous dance and Greek, Chinese, African, Irish and Latino festivities. The festival also has an amazing array of food, craft workshops, artwork, sculptures and entertainment. This year, walkers will be treated to nearly 40 local artists playing along the route as well as performances from our local schools. The event started in 2006 and was inspired by Italy's Cinque Terre. It aims to connect the community in a new and unique way. Now, more than a decade on, it is safe to say that this event really does bring our local community together. Last year the 5 Lands Walk saw a record 18,000 people attending, and I have no doubt that this year will build on last year's success.

For the Darkinjung people, the original custodians of our land on the Central Coast, this time of year marks the arrival of their totem animal, the humpback whale. With nearly 15,000 whales passing our beaches during the winter migration, whale watching is a spectacular and special part of the festival. I will never forget taking part in the walk with my children a few years ago and seeing how the opening ceremony at Macmasters Beach was interrupted by the incredible sight of a whale breaching the surface of the water. Stories like this are from just one of many in the community who have fond memories of their time at this outstanding event.

The walk is a celebration of our incredible region—a journey through and with the communities of the Central Coast, showing all that they have to offer. The incredible location is just one of the reasons this event is such a success year after year. The other, of course, is our local community—our local communities that help fund the event, our local 700 volunteers who made the day possible and, of course, those people who take part every year in the walk. I would like to pay tribute to the dedicated team who work tirelessly to make this event the special day that it always is. To Lyndsay Cunningham, Con Ryan, Tony Powell, Pauline Wright, each and every volunteer and, of course, every member of the community who takes part: thank you for all you do.