Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Urban Infrastructure) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak about two organisations in my electorate that are quite different in character and in purpose. The first of them is the Sunset Soaring Club, which originated with a group of model glider pilots who flew their model gliders on Sunday evenings over 30 years ago. Several times per year they host a 'Sunday morning fun fly'—a family barbecue with some friendly competition to encourage members of all skill levels to enjoy themselves. Just yesterday I had the chance to go and join in the fun at Golden Jubilee Field in Wahroonga. I learnt that one of the reasons that oval is a very good place for model planes is that it has lift from several sources, which means that the planes, once you get them up in the air and cut the engines, can glide for quite a long time. I witnessed a competition, and it was quite striking to see how long some of those model planes could stay in the sky, with, of course, the skilful manoeuvring done by their pilots using radio communications gear.

Another organisation in my electorate is the Eryldene Foundation and Trust—in fact, it is a pair of organisations—which supports the historic Gordon house Eryldene, which is now 103 years old. For 63 years Eryldene was the home of the Waterhouse family. EG Waterhouse was an eminent professor of languages at Sydney university and a noted camellia breeder, but he was also a great architecture enthusiast. He had the house built in 1914, and it is the most intact surviving example of the work of William Hardy Wilson, a prominent early 20th century Australian architect, who was an advocate of the colonial revival style.

These two organisations might seem quite different—indeed, they are quite different in their purposes—but they have something in common. Both of them have succeeded in receiving funding under the Turnbull government's Stronger Communities Program, which provides matching funding to organisations with purposes that benefit the community, lead to better community interaction and serve the community. Both these organisations, in their different ways, obviously meet the requirements of the Stronger Communities Program, and both of them have been successful in securing funding in recent rounds. In the case of the Sunset Soaring Club, it now has a storage shed, near the oval it uses, where some of its model planes and other things it requires for its activities can be stored, and that's of great value. In the case of Eryldene, the roof has been comprehensively refurbished, which is very, very important so that the house can be preserved for future generations. I congratulate all involved with both the Sunset Soaring Club and the Eryldene Foundation and Trust. Thank you for what you do.