Our Official Opening Day was an overwhelming success and I would like to thank everyone who assisted in preparation and on the day. It was obvious from the very beginning that the weather being so kind to us, it would result in a good turn out. However the day exceeded our expectations. The number of people from the wider community who came along to support us was very encouraging and shows that we are on the right track..

The Ceremony began with Jeff Tate C.E.O. of the City of Onkaparinga welcoming everyone. We must express our thanks to the Tatachilla Choir who sang the National Anthem to begin the Ceremony. Then came the speeches by His Worship the Mayor Ray Gilbert, the Minister for Emergency Services the Hon Pat Conlon and officially welcomed by the representative of the Kaurna People. The Chaplin Father Peter Coote blessed our new building. By far the biggest topic of conversation has been the Smoking Ceremony performed by the Patiya Dance Group, who were overwhelmed by the number of people who embraced the concept and entered our new building through the smoke. Special thanks to the didgeridoo player who had to play continuously for about 20 minutes as there were so many people entering through the smoke. The symbolism attached to this Smoking Ceremony is that by passing through it is a cleansing process and carrying the smoke through into the building cleanses it takes with it good fortune.

Thanks to the hard work and strategic planning by Andy Furman (Projects Officer City of Onkaparinga) the ceremony ran like clockworks.

The sun shone, the flag flew, the band played, the barber shop quartet sang, the rotary club cooked, and everybody became involved in the party spirit.

Financially the day was a great success with sales of apparel, wine and commemorative glasses. Also there were many enquiries about membership, some signing up on the day.

Graham Whiting
President