Michael Forshaw (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tonight I rise to pay tribute to one of Engadine’s most loyal and active citizens. Engadine is a suburb of the Sutherland Shire, where I live. On 14 April this year Wesley Adams passed away. Wesley Adams, or Wes, as he was affectionately known throughout the community, was a pioneer in Engadine. Back in 1964 Engadine was a growing suburb on the edge of the Royal National Park. It was on the outskirts of the Sutherland Shire. Many young couples, often themselves the children of residents from other parts of the shire, such as Cronulla, moved to Engadine, built their first homes there and had families there. The Sutherland Shire is like that. With its famous beaches, the Royal and Heathcote national parks, recreational facilities and an easygoing lifestyle, generation after generation of shire residents stay. It is often ungenerously said that the only time that people from the shire travel over the Georges River or the Woronora River is when they go on holiday.

In Engadine in 1964 Wesley Adams established the local community newspaper, known as the Engadine District News. For the past 42 years, up until his passing in April, he ran that newspaper almost single-handedly. As was said in a tribute in the Engadine District News following his death:

For over 40 years Wes was CEO, General Manager, Editor-in-Chief, Graphic Reproducer, Graphic Designer, Compositor, Printer and Distributor of the Engadine District News.

The Engadine District News is a fortnightly publication delivered free to thousands of households in Engadine and the surrounding suburbs of Yarrawarrah, Woronora Heights, Heathcote and Waterfall. Whilst our letterboxes these days are always full of junk mail, advertising propaganda, in that part of the shire the one publication that local people always read is the Engadine District News. It is never thrown out; people keep it and read it over the ensuing fortnight. It is particularly valued by young children and the families of the area because they might get the pleasant surprise of getting the newspaper, opening it up and reading the sporting results or the achievements of the local school and finding their own name published there. This 12-page publication was entirely the work of Wes and his family. It is always packed full of community news, particularly from the various local sporting clubs, the schools, the churches and the community organisations, such as Lions, Toastmasters, senior citizens, the local musical society, the Scouts and many others.

Wes Adams was an active member of the local chamber of commerce for all those years and he used his local community newspaper to promote small business, which is so vital to this community. Essentially, the shire is a community based on small businesses. With the exception of the refinery and the reactor, there are very few large employers or businesses in that area. The local businesses in turn were keen and queued up to advertise in the Engadine District News, which of course provided the revenue to sustain its publication over all those years.

I know I speak on behalf of other colleagues, such as my state colleagues and the federal member for Hughes, Danna Vale, when I say that local politicians and councillors were always given an opportunity to publicise their achievements and express their criticisms and their points of view in the Engadine District News. One thing you could be sure of was that if you gave Wes a media release he would publish it, unless it had a defamatory comment in it or it was an attack upon the community itself.

Wes was scrupulously fair and independent. He expected only one thing in return from contributors and that was that they demonstrated pride in their suburb and their district and they did everything that they could to promote it. Wes was always prepared to express his own opinion without fear or favour when he felt the local community was being disadvantaged by some unfair bureaucratic decision, whether it be by federal, state or local government. It was always interesting to read, in edition after edition of the paper, about some major issue that was affecting the community. Wes would have his view, then others would write in and express their views. It was good to watch this interchange. It was a clear example of promoting community debate and ensuring it was widely disseminated through the newspaper.

Wes was a devoted family man with a strong commitment to family values. Many people, particularly those in our profession of politics, talk a lot about family values. Wes practised them in a quiet way. He never sought any public honour or recognition. He personally sponsored many sporting clubs, particularly sporting teams of young people. Cricket was a particular passion, and it is fitting that, after his passing, the Engadine Dragons Cricket Club established a memorial trophy in Wes’s honour. The trophy will be awarded each year to the young cricketer in the district who best reflects the values of endeavour, fair play, teamwork and sportsmanship—values that Wes was always speaking out on in his newspaper.

Wes passed away after a long battle with cancer. For the past 10 years he suffered with this crippling illness, but he continued to work—with the support of his family and friends—to get his newspaper out. In addition to having cancer, he had for many years a disability in one arm. So he had to produce the newspaper under those difficult circumstances as well.

I am not sure whether Wes would have appreciated this—because he had a healthy cynicism about politics—but I do think it is appropriate to place on the record of this parliament his service to the community. I extend my sympathies to Wes’s wife, Gwen; to their children, Geoffrey, Jennifer, Wendy and Kathy; and to their grandchildren. They and their local community have certainly lost a great man—a person who truly made a difference and improved the lives of his fellow citizens. Whilst Wes has, sadly, passed away, his contribution to the community will continue on through the Engadine District News as his family continues to publish his beloved newspaper.