TRANSCRIPT: GANMAIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY’S OPEN DAY, 22 MARCH 2025

E&OE

STARS: 12:50pm
ENDS: 12:55pm

MICHAEL McCORMACK MP:

Save your applause, I am a bit worried too I am standing in front of a podium with GGGM, and I reckon that is Ganmain Grong Grong Matong where they eat football for breakfast with nails in their stew because they are iron through and through, are we good, are we good, are we any bloody good, we come from Ganmain Grong Grong Matong. I don’t come from Ganmain or Grong Grong or Matong, I do come from Marrar. My mother Eileen Margosis came from Ganmain, in fact she was born in the hospital just across the road. When I was a little boy, I used to come here often with Mum and Dad, Eileen and Lance —they have both died now—and we went to Nelly Kelleher’s place, and it was also Bridget and Ned’s, and we had some great memories at Ganmain. This is a fine town, which Steph Cooke, my Parliamentary colleague and friend—she is the Member for Cootamundra—and Cootamundra and Ganmain are quintessential Riverina towns. They are great communities. If you come from those towns, you are a great Australian—you really are. I’m not just saying that because I’m trying to appeal to the crowd—I am not—it’s true.

These days, the Riverina electorate goes all the way up into southern Illawarra. How the Australian Electoral Commission thinks that is Riverina is anybody’s guess. But you can’t pick your seats, you can’t pick your boundaries. If you did, we would all be in safe seats.

Steph makes the seat her own because she works hard. I like to think I do the same. I love this town. Yes, I got thrown out of the Ganmain football shed in July 1986. Jed Lawton picked me up and tossed me out, and I remember it well—before a game against Turvey Park. And he then went and kicked eight goals. And Barrie Logan met me in the shed at the end of the game and I was pretty annoyed and pretty upset. And Barrie said, “Ah, it’s just Ganmain,” and I said, “Barrie, I am pretty annoyed about that. There are only two good things that have come out of Ganmain, and it is the Coolamon bus and my Mother.” I was pretty annoyed, but we laughed, and we got over it. Jed and I are great mates. And I know he hands out against me, I know he hands out for the Labor Party—and that is fine too. It is a democracy.

But I do want to pay tribute to the historical society today because you have put on a great show—President Les (Hatty), Guy Purcell, and to all the committee. These sorts of communities don’t operate without volunteers. So, whether it is the Lions Football Club—it doesn’t matter what it is—they only operate because of the volunteers who are prepared to give up their time, give up their money, and give up their efforts. They come out on weekends such as this and put in their effort for the community—and we need events for the community.

All you oldies like me—thank God I don’t have any grey hair—but all you oldies like me, we need to preserve the traditions of the past and the way we were. If you haven’t got a copy of Lorna Gilmore’s book, buy a copy. They are only 20 bucks—they are 50 bucks on eBay. It is a great book, as it tells the story of Ganmain. It tells the story of when Ganmain was called Boggy Creek. If we don’t protect the way things were, then we lose them—and we lose them for younger generations.

I am so pleased there are so many young people out here today. They need to hear the stories from the more senior members of the community about the glory days of Ganmain—the glory days that made this town one of the great Australian towns, one of the great Riverina towns. As long as Ganmain is strong, the Riverina will be strong too.

Have a great day. Enjoy all there is to offer. Make sure you get a burger—again, great volunteers. Please put your hands together for the people who put this on. Again, thank you very much.

Emma Sullivan