Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In what has become a yearly tradition, on Easter Monday I took part in the Catalpa memorial event organised by the Australian Irish Heritage Association at the beautiful Catalpa Wild Geese Memorial in Rockingham. The Catalpa story recalls events of nearly 150 years ago and remains an inspiring tale of Irish courage and rebellion. In the 1860s many Fenians were being arrested by the British as they fought for Irish independence, and they were shipped off to Western Australia, to the awful Fremantle Prison. The 'wild geese' included six prisoners who would later escape that prison, make their way to Rockingham Beach and row out to the now legendary Catalpa whaling bark, in which this escape, sponsored by US supporters of the Irish Fenians, took place. At the memorial event, I got to participate and use my limited acting skills to narrate for a play that portrayed the scene of the stand-off between the Catalpa and the armed British steamer the SS Georgette which took place off the coast of Garden Island. I want to thank Stephen Pratt MLC for representing the Western Australian government at this event. It was his first time at the Catalpa memorial event, and I'm sure he enjoyed it. This was the first time a festival accompanied the memorial, and it was a great success. I want to thank Laurie and Nola Smith and the remarkable Rotary Club of Palm Beach and all of their volunteers for helping put this festival together. I also want to thank the Tourism Rockingham association, who also helped organise the Catalpa Adventure Festival. They are one of the 26 deserving community organisations in the electorate of Brand who will receive between $2,000 and $5,000 as part of the government's Volunteer Grants program.

As we all know, volunteer organisations are the lifeblood of every community. Their unwavering commitment and hard work, especially during these past few years as we've dealt with COVID and the after-effects, inspire us all. Over $62,000 has been awarded to successful community groups in the Rockingham and Kwinana area. Eight grants will go to community centres and community support groups, including Coastal District Care, the Frank Konecny Community Centre and the Mandogalup Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade. Three of the successful grants were provided to early years and education support services. They include Youth on Fire WA, Honeywood Primary School P&C and Kwinana Early Years Services. Ten of the successful grants were provided to sporting and recreational community groups, which are so important across Rockingham and Kwinana. They include the Kwinana Bowling Club, the Kwinana Tigers Hockey Club—thanks for the hoodie!—Surf Beach Boardriders, Athletic Rockingham Football Club, Baldivis Basketball Club, Rockingham Mandurah District Cricket Club, Cycling without Age Rockingham, who do a terrific job, Rockingham Hornets Cricket Club, Peel Junior Cricket Association and White Knights Baldivis Cricket Club. These grants are designed to help community organisations support the important work of their volunteers, and I can't wait to see the progress they each make with these grants.