Like what you've read?

On Line Opinion is the only Australian site where you get all sides of the story. We don't
charge, but we need your support. Here�s how you can help.

  • Advertise

    We have a monthly audience of 70,000 and advertising packages from $200 a month.

  • Volunteer

    We always need commissioning editors and sub-editors.

  • Contribute

    Got something to say? Submit an essay.


 The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
On Line Opinion logo ON LINE OPINION - Australia's e-journal of social and political debate

Subscribe!
Subscribe





On Line Opinion is a not-for-profit publication and relies on the generosity of its sponsors, editors and contributors. If you would like to help, contact us.
___________

Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

Farewell to Queensland

By Wendy McCarthy AO - posted Thursday, 31 July 2008


In our regional towns struck and torn by disaster.

In art and music and performance, salutes and ceremony.

Bridging our cities and far-flung communities.

Advertisement

In the boardrooms of our biggest companies.

And, indeed, I can see it now.

As I have witnessed this gift at work, I too have been its privileged beneficiary.

Pablo Neruda grew up in Temuco, a frontier town in southern Chile, in the early 1900s. It was rainy, mountainous and remote. His father worked on the railway; their house was primitive and transient.

As an adult, he wrote an essay called Childhood and Poetry in which he explored links between his upbringing and his writing.

Pablo tells the story of a mysterious gift he received one day from a boy unknown to him - an old toy sheep - a gesture he returned with a treasured pine cone. He remarked that this exchange settled deep inside him like a sedimentary deposit:

Advertisement

I have been a lucky man. To feel the intimacy of brothers is a marvellous thing in life. To feel the love of people whom we love is a fire that feeds our life. But to feel the affection that comes from those whom we do not know, from those unknown to us, who are watching over our sleep and solitude, over our dangers and weaknesses - that is something still greater and more beautiful because it widens out the boundaries of our being, and unites all living things.

Like Pablo, I feel lucky. He gave something that was resiny, earthy and fragrant, much like the human experience. I think of conversations in this way too - as an exchange of gifts, and as the most basic ingredients of our humaness and our togetherness.

My experience of the last five years in office has been, in the main, as a voice and ear in tens of thousands of conversations resonating across a landscape that, like the words themselves, is rich and meandering, uncomfortable and testing, uplifting and enduring.

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. Page 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. All

This is an edited version of Quentin Bryce's farewell speech at the Gallery of Modern Art, Queensland, on Sunday, July 20, 2008.



Discuss in our Forums

See what other readers are saying about this article!

Click here to read & post comments.

Share this:
reddit this reddit thisbookmark with del.icio.us Del.icio.usdigg thisseed newsvineSeed NewsvineStumbleUpon StumbleUponsubmit to propellerkwoff it

About the Author

Wendy McCarthy AO began her career as a secondary school teacher and remains passionate about the power of education. For four decades she has been a teacher, educator and change agent in Australian public life.

In 2005 she was nominated by the Sydney Morning Herald as one of Australia’s Top 100 Public Intellectuals. She has worked with government, corporations and community based organisations in education, women’s issues, public health, heritage, media and waste management and she has held national leadership roles in all of these areas. It is this eclectic combination that gives her a unique profile and network nationally and internationally. She has represented Australia at conferences on women’s health and leadership, education, broadcasting, conservation and heritage and for four years was Chair of the Advisory Committee of WHO Kobe Centre, Japan.

In 2005 Wendy completed a decade as Chancellor of the University of Canberra. Wendy was a founding member of the Australian Chancellors’ Conference. Her corporate advisory practice, McCarthy Mentoring, specialises in providing mentors to major corporations and the public sector.

Other articles by this Author

All articles by Wendy McCarthy AO

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Photo of Wendy McCarthy AO
Article Tools
Comment Comments
Print Printable version
Subscribe Subscribe
Email Email a friend
Advertisement

About Us Search Discuss Feedback Legals Privacy