Chris Ellison (WA, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Much has been made of the wealth enjoyed currently in Western Australia and the boom that has been experienced in the resources sector. But it is not often that you get some analysis of the people who stand behind it. Indeed, the wealth that has been created in Western Australia as a result of the resources sector goes back a long way.

Last Sunday saw the launch of a book entitled The Road to Bulong: “Close Up - Little Bit Long Way”. That book reveals a very interesting aspect of the history of a family in the goldfields of Western Australia, the Jones family of Hampton Hill. That sets out in a very illustrative and interesting way 100 years of effort, of strenuous and determined endeavour, by a close-knit family that simply refused to give up, even when the odds were stacked against them. The Jones family can be traced back to a chance meeting in Shark Bay between Robert Cecil Jones and Frances Butcher. As a result of that union, the Jones family moved to the goldfields and were engaged in pastoral work over many years. They suffered many droughts and many hardships, and in those days things were not easy, to say the least.

More recently, in the sixties, mining came along. John Jones, who was at that stage involved in the pastoral industry, determined that he would become involved with the mining sector. In 1967 he found Scotia, a nickel deposit that would later be mined. He set that up with his brother Bart. It is from there that the mining part of the history of the Jones family begins. From that time, the family went from strength to strength, and later both John Jones and his brother Bart worked with North Kalgoorlie mines in reopening a gold mine on the Golden Mile. I guess it was from then on that history was set.

In looking back over the years, John Jones has recounted the story in relation to that change from the pastoral sector to mining and also today in transport. It is a fascinating story of a family that simply never gave up. It is interesting that in the Senate tonight we have Senator Adams, who has known the family for a long time and indeed was there when there was a rather famous instance of John Jones getting on the cover of the Australian Women’s Weekly as a result of the Scotia find. That incident was referred to recently in an article in which John Jones said that being on the cover of the Australian Women’s Weekly caused him to spend a bit more time in the bush. Such is his dry sense of humour.

This story of a family in the goldfields reveals a great deal more depth to the current wealth that is enjoyed in Western Australia. We see a family that came from very tough beginnings and, through its success, has made a great contribution to the community, to the Indigenous community and to others, not only in the employment it offered but also through the wealth and the toil of that family. In fact, in a rather dry statement John Jones said:

We then re-entered mining through two companies, Troy and Anglo Australia. The whole thing has ended up being successful. It created jobs around Kalgoorlie, and it created wealth for shareholders. It’s nice when that happens.

I think that epitomises the attitude of a family and of a man who have made a great contribution to Western Australia. Indeed, in typical John Jones fashion, he states:

There will always be, and not just in our family, sons and daughters who have entrepreneurial, creative ideas. That should be encouraged, not just by family but by the government. They need to back young people to have a go. If you don’t have a go, you can never be lucky. You have to put yourself out there.

Such is the motto of a family that has struggled through adversity to enjoy some success and has returned that success to the wider community of Western Australia. The wealth we see in Western Australia today is not just the result of multinationals that came along and found some gold or some diamonds or nickel in the ground. There are many stories like that of the Jones family. It is that sort of attitude which is behind the kind of success we see in Western Australia. I think it is important that these human stories are related to the wider community across Australia so that people can get a bit of an understanding of just how it all happened.