6261 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Wednesday 2 April 2008 ______ Mr Speaker (The Hon. George Richard Torbay) took the chair at 10.00 a.m. Mr Speaker read the Prayer and acknowledgement of country BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE Notices of Motions General Business Notices of Motions (General Notices) given. PRIVATE MEMBERS' STATEMENTS Question—That private members' statements be noted—proposed. HAWKESBURY HIGH SCHOOL Mr RAY WILLIAMS (Hawkesbury) [10.03 a.m.]: On 14 March I had the pleasure of attending the twenty-fifth anniversary of the opening of Hawkesbury High School. Hawkesbury High commenced on Thursday 3 February 1983, when 126 year 7 students arrived in Ironbark Drive Wilberforce. They were by greeted by 11 members of staff who upon their appointment to this brand new school had begun preparations weeks earlier. However, for two members of that staff the life of the school had begun months earlier. Mr Ray Walton was the founding principal and Mr Harry Ruhnau was the first deputy principal. Ironically, Mr Ray Walton had been my Industrial Arts Master when I attended Riverstone High School in the 1970s. By the end of November 1982, the Department of Education had spent $1.2 million on Hawkesbury High School. The site had been obtained, the grounds cleared and the buildings had been installed. However, there was something rather unusual about the school. The site was temporary and all the buildings were demountables, complete with a demountable canteen. In fact, as late as November 1982 the Hawkesbury Gazette was calling the school the "Wilberforce Demountable High School". The then local State member of Parliament, Mr Kevin Rozzoli, was worried that the children might spend all 13 years of their schooling in temporary buildings. The archives show the principal, Mr Walton, had brainstormed ideas for the number of houses and their colours. The final selection was Deerubin, Errighi, Narara and Willaree—all names of riverboats on the Hawkesbury. The Student Representative Council was established with Telona Hadley-Peace and Wayne Pigdon as the first presidents. We must remember that the school was made up entirely of year 7 students, so this was a huge responsibility for those two young leaders. Over the next few years the school grew quickly, adding a new year 7 each year. Of course, as the school grew so did the staff and it was in those years that Mr Wyeth, Mrs Simmonds, Miss Grainger and Mr Andrews joined Hawkesbury High. A most significant year for Hawkesbury was 1988. In the year that Australia celebrated the bicentennial of European settlement, Hawkesbury High came of age—with its first students reaching year 12. Of the original 126 students, 45 year 12 names are recorded in the presentation night program. While the Bicentennial Air Show was taking place on Richmond Air Base these students were preparing for the school's first Higher School Certificate, after which Leanne Smith was named dux of the school. At the same time new building work was underway. The department spent $7 million for a permanent home for the school at Freeman's Reach. The school was promised buildings that blended with the rural surroundings and these would be finished by September 1988. This date did not materialise due to bad weather, and what weather it was! The Hawkesbury River flooded twice in 1988—first in April and then in July. The same thing happened in April 1989. These floods affected not only the building works but also the life of the school. Most students lived around the school on the northern bank. However, the buses were situated on the opposite side of the river, as were many of the teachers. In the first flood Mr Walton travelled to school via Mount Victoria and Bell, arriving mid-morning only to face the same long drive home in the afternoon. Of course, teachers who lived on the northern bank reported 6262 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY 2 April 2008 to work at Hawkesbury High School. And so, with the sun shining and the river rumbling by, there were more staff than students at school—a very unusual situation. Finally, on Wednesday 19 April 1989, 644 students moved to the new school site at Freeman's Reach. Later in the month members of the parents and citizens association had their first meeting in the new school—they were delighted saying that it might be the first time some students had been housed in permanent buildings since they had commenced school. The last year of the twentieth century, 2000, was a significant year. The Olympic Games came to Sydney. Lucas Walker had the honour to escort the Olympic torch and students and staff helped out with the celebrations. Hawkesbury provided a number of dancers for the opening ceremony as well as caterers and results runners. Mr Walton and Mr Ruhnau had retired by then and Mr Rob Phillips was principal with Mrs Cheryl Dwyer as the new deputy. Student Representative Council presidents had become school captains with Carrie Rogers and Robert Hayes doing a great job in that position. Year 12 had grown to 62 students, and spirit days were introduced. With the focus on sporting prowess, Tandii Green had the privilege of taking part in the Pacific School Games. Back at school, students were awarded school sporting blues for outstanding performances in athletics, rugby league, netball and softball. Those are just some of the many great years in the history of Hawkesbury High School, and there have been many since. Well over 3,000 students have now passed through the gates of Hawkesbury High School during the last quarter of a century, and we are now finding a second generation of Hawkesbury students amongst us. As one year 11 student recently said, her mum is in the student photos displayed in the library. The history of Hawkesbury High School for the past quarter of a century has been preserved thanks to the efforts of its students and teachers. I especially thank Mr John Varley, the head history teacher, who provided this information on behalf of the school. I congratulate Hawkesbury High School on its twenty-fifth year celebrations and wish it all the best for the future. INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY CELEBRATIONS Ms CARMEL TEBBUTT (Marrickville) [10.08 a.m.]: I congratulate two fantastic women in Marrickville who were honoured at the International Women's Day ceremony at Parliament House on 6 March 2008: Ms Vivienne Martin, facilitator of Connect Marrickville, a Families First funded community centre at Marrickville West Public School and Ms Sylvana Mahmic, director of the early childhood intervention service, Pathways Early Intervention Service, at Marrickville. International Women's Day began 100 years ago with garment workers in New York protesting about their poor pay and conditions. Though much has improved for women since this time we know that there are still challenges in achieving true equality for women. At the event in Parliament House, which was hosted by the Premier and the Minister for Women, we heard from Ann Sherry, who outlined that women worked two-thirds of the world's working hours, produced half the world's food and earned only 10 per cent of the world's income. In Australia, while more girls than boys are likely to complete year 12 and more females than males entered into higher education in 2006, the overall graduate salary for females was only 96 per cent of male earnings. Women hold only 11 per cent of executive management positions and 8.7 per cent of board directorships, and we know that women's pay is still less than men's, despite many years of equal pay decisions. These are disturbing statistics and a clear reminder of the importance of marketing International Women's Day and re-confirming our commitment to improving the status of women and achieving full equality. The theme for International Women's Day 2008 is 100 years of active women in paid and unpaid work. International Women's Day is an opportunity to recognise women for their contribution to our workplaces and communities. This builds the confidence and pride of all women and encourages women and girls to take on leadership roles by publicly presenting role models. I nominated Ms Vivienne Martin as the Marrickville Woman of the Year because I believe she epitomises the qualities we want to promote. Ms Martin is a tireless worker for the community and is committed to equity and social justice. Vivienne's mission is to connect and develop communities, and she has been responsible for a range of projects, including an Aboriginal playgroup, a young parents playgroup, the work opportunity for women's course and parenting courses. She is strongly supported at Marrickville West Public School by the wonderful principal, Ms Ruth Ling. Anyone visiting Vivienne's centre will find it a hive of activity and business. In a culturally diverse community Vivienne provides the opportunity for people to come together and get to know each other and for their children to play together. In this way she also introduces them to school. It is a wonderful transition to those early years of schooling. Vivienne never stops. Just the other day she excitedly told me about a dad's playgroup she had started on a Saturday so that working dads can come. No matter that she gives up her 2 April 2008 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY 6263 weekend, she made sure that this opportunity is provided for working fathers. The day I visited Vivienne to present her award, the happiness and sense of pride from the parents about Vivienne's achievements was lovely to see. Sylvana Mahmic is another Marrickville service provider recognised in the International Women's Day awards.