State Governor visits for whistlestop tour

TRAVELLING slightly under the radar, the thirtieth Governor of Victoria, Her Excellency Professor the Honourable Margaret Gardner AC, visited Bendigo last Thursday and Friday.

During her stay, Ms Gardner toured La Trobe University’s new Rural Dentistry and Oral Health Clinical School, rail infrastructure manufacturer Vossloh in Epsom, Thales in North Bendigo and the Australian Defence Apparel factory in East Bendigo.

She also stopped by the Golden Dragon Museum and Bendigo Art Gallery, held a roundtable discussion with Arena Theatre Company, inspected Peppergreen Farm, and on Thursday evening addressed a civic reception at Bendigo Town Hall.

“We are delighted to have this opportunity to showcase our wonderful part of Victoria to you,” said City of Greater Bendigo mayor Cr Andrea Metcalf.

“As you enjoy our great city, I hope you’ll share in our optimism, our sense of pride about what is happening here.

“We wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, and I hope your time here is memorable.”

The Governor replied by commenting what had particularly impressed her so far was that so much of the early history of Bendigo has been preserved in its stories, its museums, in its buildings and in its festivals.

“What is important is what that brings to the influences that we feel in this city as it looks towards its future, because so much of that early, important period remains a core part of Bendigo’s identity today, and it’s being celebrated in many (more) different ways than we would expect,” she said.

“We see that the city has continued to innovate and grow, and is currently planning ambitious next steps.

“You might argue that having started so fast with so much ambition and financial enterprise, that’s one of the things that has stayed central to, in fact, the development and the future of this city.

“I’ve felt that, at first hand, in many of the things I’ve seen.

“I’ve seen the echoes of those stories, the physical manifestations, the recognition of, in fact, just a wonderful transformation.

“I’ve seen that enterprise, that new development, that new ambition, in the many industry and cultural institutions I’ve seen today.

“That’s what makes a great city – an ability to recognise its past and take from it the things that are important for its future.

“To not turn away, but to actually draw from it, all the strength that then feeds into the culture of the future.

“This is, in my observation, a very diverse regional city.

“It’s almost like a microcosm of Victoria because it’s drawing its strength from a series of sectors that are the sectors that are propelling international success for Victoria.

“That’s everything from agriculture through specialist areas of manufacturing through the very huge strength we have in health and education.”