Fernberg Quarterly A QUARTERLY UPDATE FOR STAFF AND VOLUNTEER GUIDES OCTOBER 2016 IN THIS ISSUE Behind the scenes at an Investiture Ceremony New Government House publication Police Recruit Dog Gavel wears his Heritage Quarters ceremonial coat, Behind the scenes consistent with the improves pomp and formality of accommodation Investiture Ceremonies options during Investiture Week The Investiture Ceremonies for honours and awards Updates from under the Australian honours system are a highlight the gardens and of the vice-regal calendar, and are the culmination of House many months of meticulous planning. Ceremonies are held over two one-week blocks each year – the first block in May, and the second in September. Additional ceremonies are also held in Cairns and Townsville for residents of North and Far North Queensland, and in early October, the Governor hosted a special ceremony at the Bundaberg retirement village of Medal of the Order of Australia recipient, Mr Eric Cullen, who was unable to travel to Brisbane. Continues on page 5 FERNBERG QUARTERLY • OCTOBER 2016 Official Secretary’s Welcome It has been another busy few The Office continues to identify months for Government House, opportunities for Queenslanders to visit and next week will be no exception, Government House, and, fresh from with the Governor and Mrs de participating in Brisbane Open House in Jersey relocating from Fernberg to early October – where more than 540 people toured Government House – I am Longreach for an entire week from very pleased to confirm that the popular 26 October to 2 November 2016. Christmas Lights Display will occur again The regional Government House initiative this year – details are contained on the was instigated last year – with the first back page. We hope to see many of you program held in Cairns in October 2015 – to at the estate for that. enable a level of community engagement Finally, there are some updates contained not able to be achieved during shorter herein on important recent additions to regional visits. This is a major undertaking the estate. By the time the next edition of for the Office. the ‘Fernberg Quarterly’ comes out next In this edition of the ‘Fernberg Quarterly’, year, there will have been further changes we are going behind-the-scenes at to many of the public areas of the House Government House to see what goes as part of the most significant internal in to preparing to host another major refurbishment in decades – I look forward undertaking for the Office, Investiture to updating you on these in due course. Ceremonies. These are signature Best wishes for the upcoming festive events, at which the Governor fulfils the season. crucial ceremonial role of presenting Australian honours and awards to worthy Air Commodore Mark Gower OAM Queenslanders. Official Secretary PAGE 2 GOVERNMENT HOUSE QUEENSLAND Heritage Quarters UPDATE REVEALS BUILDING’S PAST Almost 80 years after it was were undertaken not just to the first built, the Staff Quarters at quarters, but to Fernberg itself, by the Government House have been Queensland Government while the extensively refurbished as guest Governor, Sir Leslie Wilson, and his accommodation now known wife were in England on six months’ as the Heritage Quarters. The extended leave. Quarters greatly enhance the That project cost £20,000, employed capacity of the Governor to 110 men, and produced not only a support Queensland’s trade, new three-storey eastern wing for business and cultural interests by Fernberg but “fresh and spacious accommodating dignitaries and quarters for the staff”. guests. As well as bed- and bath-rooms, To date, the Heritage Quarters has, the two-storey brick staff quarters FAR LEFT: The for example, hosted Queenslanders recently repurposed included a glassed-in sitting room and Heritage Quarters, invited to formals dinners including in was connected to the main house by officially opened in support of the Far North Queensland late 2015. “a covered passage set high above the and the Gulf of Carpentaria regions. BELOW: The original drive and underneath which motor Staff Quarters, Fittingly, the Heritage Quarters was cars can pass”. completed in 1937. officially opened at the end of 2015 during Fernberg’s 150th year and its six suites have been named in honour of Governors who have resided at Government House since 1910 – Sir John Goodwin, Sir John Lavarack, Colonel Sir Henry Abel Smith, Sir Alan Mansfield, Sir James Ramsay, and Sir Walter Campbell. Wherever possible, each suite features furniture made from local timber and the plaques identifying the suites were made by Government House staff from silk oak recycled from the original door frames. The new quarters are a far cry from those occupied by staff in 1937, the year in which major improvements FERNBERG QUARTERLY • OCTOBER 2016 PAGE 3 ABOVE: Honorary Aides-de-Camp add dignity to Investiture Ceremonies; medals are meticulously laid out in correct order and individually transferred to the Governor via a ceremonial pillow. RIGHT: More than 3,000 people used livestreaming to watch the May 2015 Investiture Ceremonies. BELOW: Entrée cards and invitations are issued on special Government House crested stationery. PAGE 4 GOVERNMENT HOUSE QUEENSLAND Continued from page 1 Behind the scenes at Investiture Ceremonies Preparations for each ceremony And who are these honoured guests? begin months in advance. Invitations At the Investiture Ceremony on are sent out, followed by an entrée Wednesday 21 September 2016, His card to awardees and their guests Excellency said: “they represent three on Government House’s distinctive of the attributes that we admire and crested stationery. Citations are value most highly as a nation – courage, painstakingly checked, and then commitment, and community service”. The horticultural staff expertly time flowers, re-checked, to ensure recipients like azaleas, to bloom It is our honour to recognise them at are accurately and appropriately around Investiture Government House. Ceremonies. recognised for their contributions. As soon as the dates are set, the highly skilled horticultural team begin their countdown. Two months out the annual displays are planned and planted, then fed a fortnight beforehand so that on the day the gardens are bursting with colour. The hedges are clipped and the Investiture Lawn upon which guests enjoy their morning or afternoon tea is mown as late as possible, ensuring the grass is fresh with crisp, straight edges. On the morning of each ceremony, the gardeners are out with the blowers, tidying away any fallen leaves and palm fronds. Our chefs take pride in showcasing the very best of seasonal Queensland produce. For the September Investi- tures, their menu included tempura of Mooloolaba prawn tails with preserved lemon mayonnaise, Mount Tamborine chicken and bacon sausage rolls and pineapple and crystallised ginger cake. The House staff focus on ensuring that the Investiture Room is immaculately fit for purpose, including polishing the parquetry floor to a high shine, and ensuring that guests experience a warm and convivial atmosphere. FERNBERG QUARTERLY • OCTOBER 2016 PAGE 5 ‘Birds of Fernberg’ book a tribute to decades of staff observations In 1928, at the instigation of the House, and horticultural staff today then Governor, Sir John Goodwin, maintain those records. Indeed, just as View ‘Birds the 41 acres, 3 roods, 9.7 perches the final proof of the guide was about of Fernberg of the Fernberg estate were first to go to print, Government House Estate’ declared a sanctuary under the horticulture staff announced the free on the now historical Animals and Birds exciting news that a Striated Heron Government Act of 1921. Butorides striata had been sighted on House the estate for the first time. website Sanctuary status and the current Bushland Management Plan have The varied population of water-birds contributed significantly to ensuring in the Ponds area and the resident that the Fernberg estate today is one families of kookaburras, magpies and of the most valued inner-city wildlife lorikeets are particular favourites, but habitats, with more than 50 species the species which invariably fascinates of resident or migrant birds now international visitors is the Australian recorded. Brush-turkey. Unafraid, the turkeys boldly patrol the roads and pathways BELOW LEFT: An On 10 June 2016, Government House of the estate and, in a whimsical tribute, Australian Brush- celebrated almost 90 years as a turkey nesting at the wind-vane on the roof of the Ponds Government House. sanctuary by launching a pocket guide gazebo features the unmistakable BELOW: RIGHT: The for visitors, based on the records silhouette of Alectura lathami. weathervane on the maintained over many years by staff. roof of the Ponds gazebo is a whimsical Recording and photographing birds nod to the prevalent on the estate has been a passion of species of turkey. successive generations of Government PAGE 6 GOVERNMENT HOUSE QUEENSLAND From around the estate New William Robinson artwork The artwork at Government House falls into three broad categories: Royal portraits on loan from the Royal Collection Trust; artwork of the Government House Collection; and those works on-loan from Queensland’s cultural institutions, namely the Queensland Art Gallery I Gallery of Modern Art and the State Library of Queensland. One new work on display at Government House, which falls into the latter category, is acclaimed Queensland artist William Robinson’s ‘William and Shirley, flora and fauna’. “William and Shirley,