Conducted by The Rotary Club of Corowa and held at the Corowa Civic Bowls Club, it was a 30-minute journey about people and events which have shaped Dr Nelson’s life, with a focus on character and education.
At the end of Dr Nelson’s talk, diners were amazed, gave a huge round of applause and were almost speechless.
Master of Ceremonies Gary Poidevin OAM was almost lost for words, taking time to say: “Wonderful words… a tremendous oration…fantastic! Thank you Brendan.”
Dr Nelson was made Federal Minister for Education, Science and Technology in 2001 and the first person he named was Dr Ken Rowe who was one of Australia’s most respected authorities on the importance of “quality teaching and common sense”. A member of the Australian Learning and Teaching Council, Dr Rowe tragically died in the Marysville bush fires in 2009.
“What’s most important about education is the quality of the teacher,” Dr Nelson said. “My brother-in-law Bryan Adamson has taught thirty-four years at Corowa High School – he’s taught your children – and I thank him for his quality teaching.
“Education is the defence of a nation. Listening to people and new ideas, having an open mind, and displaying courage both mentally and physically, sacrifice and mateship form the character of people I’ve admired.”
At the turn of this century, Dr Nelson was the person who saved the Mulwala Explosive Factory from closure after the Minister for Defence Peter Reith was to close it on economic grounds.
“ ‘You have a look at it and I’ll support you’,” he told me,” Dr Nelson said. “I’ll never forget coming down. It was made clear to me that every single person I met needed the factory to be maintained and modernized. One worker said to me ‘I’m a single mother. I’ve got two kids. I’m relying on you’.”
Dr Nelson investigated everything and developed his own business case which posed big question marks over, among other things, availability of shipping propellant from overseas to Australia. “I didn’t believe all the workers should get $50,000 ($100,000 today) each and close the factory down. There were 340 employees at the factory and there were another 350 workers in the community who relied on the factory’s existence.”
“Neil Davis and I loved him when he came down here (Mulwala),” Mulwala Progress Association President Robert Purtle OAM, said.
“He saved the factory. He saved our major employer and therefore a large portion of Yarrawonga Mulwala. He was a true gentleman.”
A bigger story and more pictures about the Federation Dinner appear in this week’s edition of The Free Press, available at the Yarrawonga Chronicle.
