It is the year 2001. Australia is celebrating the Centenary Federation. The City of Campbell
Town is a medium-sized council district of 23 square kilometres with an approximate
population of 45,000. The council boundaries are the River Torrens, Glinburn Road, McGill
Road and the foothills of the Mount Lofty Range, hence the city's motto, From the River
to the Hills. European settlers farmed an area northeast of Adelaide from late 1839.
But it wasn't until 1868 that the area was officially named Campbell Town. The name was
taken from an early pioneer of the area, Charles Fox Campbell, who built the lock-end homestead
along the River Torrens. I'm Colin Marchant, lived in Althorston all my life, was born there
in the home that we lived in. My forebears started the general store there. We had the
post office and that there since 1868. This would have been the opening of the first telegraph
out of Adelaide. In later years, decided to put in petrol pumps and that was the first
of the petrol that came out there from Adelaide and that. Well, I think it was the hub of
the community. It was either on horseback or early motorbikes or push bikes, a case
of race up the Mad Mile, which was the gorge road in those days. Much of Campbell Town's
colourful history was built around market gardening, with the area divided into numerous
hamlets of gardens and small farms. These market gardens and farms supplied much of
Adelaide's fresh vegetables until the 1970s and was known as the Food Basket of Adelaide.
At the turn of the 21st century, the city of Campbell Town is a thriving community with
one of the most affordable and friendly living environments to be found in urban Australia.
The council area includes the suburbs of Atherston, Newton, Paradise, Hechtival, Tranmere, Ross
Trevor, Campbell Town and Pats of McGill. Campbell Town is well serviced by modern shopping
and business centres, a solid community infrastructure, an expanding private hospital, is the centre
of the North Eastern Public Transport Exchange, Jnobar, and offers a wealth of sporting, recreational
and leisure facilities for people of all ages and backgrounds.
My name is Elvira Barone, I live at Newton and this is our little house. All my family
come in and have breakfast, my grandchildren. First they live next door to me, we have breakfast
every morning. Then my mum comes down from upstairs and she'll have our own breakfast.
Me and my husband Ralph, we really enjoy having people coming over. And we've got four children,
we've got seven grandchildren. They all come in, spend time with her and we all enjoy it,
have a coffee with the neighbours and then I'll get round to do all my housework.
I'm Ruth Crichton, I'm the director of Campbell Town Children's Centre. It's a multicultural
centre, it has over 20 cultures at the centre and today we're celebrating our 25th anniversary.
We've got over 400 families at the centre, we've got a department of education funded
preschool and long day care.
I've worked with children for 30 years and it's always dynamic, you never know what's
going to happen next basically, with the parents or the children.
Long care and education play a major role in the development of modern communities and
display the commitment a community has for its future. The City of Campbell Town has
invested heavily in education and boasts kindergartens, schools and a university of the highest quality.
I'm Jean Lomax and I'm the deputy principal at Charles Campbell Secondary. Most of you
would know that it's a significant focus for the community. We have students here from
8 to 12 but we're also an adult re-entry campus. Charles Campbell is one of the largest
schools in the state. The school offers approximately 350 courses for years 8 to 12. We have engineering
pathways but our major focus for the school would be performing arts. We have drama media,
multimedia, dance, music and in many cases we've had students move into the performing
arts series interstate and a number of students are now working and performing in the National Ballet.
My name is Simon Wood, I'm a year 12 student at Charles Campbell Secondary School and I've
recently finished a video production for Northeastern Hospital which is an educational video.
My aspiration for the future is to get into the film industry.
My name is Amber Hallward and I go to University of South Australia at McGill. I'm also a member
of the Youth Advisory Committee at Campbell Town. The issues for me today, women in politics,
is one of the issues. Immigrants, illegal immigrants especially at the moment, figuring
out what we have to do about these issues to make Australia a good place but also think
about other people's needs and reconciliation, that's a really big issue at the moment.
I think until this is resolved there's going to be a lot that we have to think about.
I study Education, Bachelor of Education, Junior Primary and Primary. So that's what
I do study here at McGill.
I'm Eddie and I live in the Campbell Town area and I'm attending the McGill University
of South Australia. I'm studying a Bachelor of Early Childhood Education, teaching and
supervising and caring for children aged between zero and eight years.
Campbell Town has a wide range of sporting clubs and facilities for people of all ages,
abilities and interests.
From organised sporting competitions to social games, there is something for everyone.
Hello, my name is Kerry Giacumus, I'm 11 years old, I play for NAB and my position
is defender. I like stopping goals so I've gave away a couple of free kicks but I reckon
they were worthwhile. The bit that I like about soccer, we just have a fair go. I don't
know about the rest of the boys, I just do it for fun and a bit of competition.
The balance between urban development and the natural environment is a major draw card
for the community with parks, reserves, creek systems and a well maintained river environment
providing a unique and stimulating lifestyle for residents and visitors alike.
I'm Vale Peterson, I'm Secretary of the Campbell Town Land Care Group. We're a group of 45
to 50 interested people. We think we're the only urban land care group in Adelaide. Our
aims really are to revegetate some of the understories of the river red gums and particularly
the ricaria which is the edge of the river banks of the creeks that run through the Campbell
Town area. We work on a volunteer basis, we plant right through the winter and we weed
and we maintain our plantings. We'd like to see a lot of our older trees saved. We have
some really rare species that we need to be looking after.
Campbell Town has a strong sense of community spirit with volunteering and community service
groups providing core support to infrastructure. It is this coming together of community groups
and volunteer organisations that enables Campbell Town to maintain an inclusive lifestyle for
all residents. The Scout movement is alive and well in Campbell Town with a range of
groups from cubs to venturers. The Athelstan Scouts will deliver some 20,000 copies of
this video to households throughout Campbell Town.
The Community Bus is a much loved institution for residents of Campbell Town providing
a service to the elderly and those unable to access other forms of transport.
Hi there, my name is Ernie Wensley and I'm an area coordinator for Campbell Town Neighbourhood
Watch. We have a very enthusiastic band of volunteers that run Neighbourhood Watch in
Campbell Town and we're very happy with the results. We cover almost every area in Campbell
Town.
The Graffiti Removal Group are renowned for their quick reaction to graffiti vandals and
in fact are so quick to remove unwanted tags it amounts to them never appearing in the
first place. Because of our location in close proximity to rivers, creeks and of course
the Adelaide Hills it is vital that Campbell Town has well trained emergency support. Volunteers
in both the State Emergency Service and Country Fire Service provide invaluable contributions
to our community and have been called upon to help around the nation and overseas during
times of crisis.
Hello, my name is Eero Hartanen, I'm the Brigade Captain of the Athelson CFS. This evening
the crew are practicing dressing and undressing their chemical protective suits in preparation
for our Hazmat reaccreditation coming up. Hazmat is one of the responsibilities of the
Athelson CFS as well as Road Crash Rescue, attending to house fires and of course bushfires as well.
The Migrant Monument is a symbol of the diverse and rich cultural make up of Campbell Town
and is a true representation of today's multicultural Australian society. Migrants have played a
major role in the development of the Campbell Town area with significant contributions to
business, cultural and religious activity, education and urban planning.
My name is John DeFede, my name is Jovan Infet, I'm right here at the Migrant Monument
in this Glen Corner, because a Glen Corner where a lot of people years ago used to meet
and then from here they used to go and work in farms, in gardens and so on.
My name is Rep Jordana, I'm the architect for the Migrant Monument here at Campbell Town.
Basically the monument, the design is, we have a circular pathway which is 20 metres
diameter which represents the world. The actual monument has four doors, four entrances representing
the four corners of the world.
Today the multicultural mix of the community continues to grow with nationalities from
South Africa to China and beyond.
We've got one friend here, a friend of the family, that's Raya Johnson, my eldest daughter
Erica, my wife Sonia, Kerry sitting in the corner and Claire who's not eating tonight
because she's going dancing. We came from Johannesburg about two years ago, first from
Brisbane and then when I got a job we settled in Adelaide in January of last year.
This is my wife Eileen and this is my two years and a month old daughter.
My name is Molly, my great-aunt over here from China, my wife, my great-aunt here from
Malaysia, met here and got married and pretty much here we are.
I work in an internet company called Asia Online and my job mainly involves the technical
area.
I'm a medical social worker and I work at the Flinders Medical Centre.
In a community as diverse as Campbelltown, religion plays a major role as reflected by
the many religious denominations operating in the area.
I'm Nektarius Uun, I'm the secretary of the parish of St Raphael, Nicholas and Irene,
Orthodox Church in Appleston.
You might be wondering what's a Chinese man doing as the secretary of the Greek Church?
Well, fortunately I'm married to a Greek and as a result I'm an Orthodox and all my
family are Orthodox.
Each year the Italian Catholic community in Campbelltown hosts the Monctaveurgyny Festival,
one of the largest religious festivals in Australia.
More than 5,000 people take part in church services at the Church of Annunciation at
Hechtival and then march in procession to the St Francis of Assisi Church at Newton
for a giant mass.
The City of Campbelltown Council holds a variety of special community events each year.
These events provide an old fashioned village atmosphere where residents can celebrate life
and enjoy festivals such as the Campbelltown Proud Day, Rotary Art Show, Singers' Concert,
Merrill Bowles Tournament and the Youth Talent Quest.
Hi, I'm Katie, I'm the vocalist in Mind's Eye.
We just performed at the Campbelltown Youth Talent Night.
I'm Luke, the bassist.
I just think it's a great opportunity to be able to play at Campbelltown Talent Quest
and some stuff.
It's a good way to get experience and become proud of your band.
In addition to the regular special activities, a Federation Walk was held in 2001 to celebrate
the Centenary of Federation and encourage residents to take advantage of their magnificent
natural surroundings.
Hi, I'm Jewel Newman and I live in Hectorville.
I'm an arts consultant and this is 2001 and Art Odyssey.
Community artists, people that are working with a disability, through to some of our
commercial artists.
A typical project might be something that involves an area that I'm very interested in
and that's the market gardens in the Campbelltown area.
You could create an exhibition that contains works that are slightly historical aspect
but mostly a contemporary role.
My name is Glenda Parker and I'm an artist living in Campbelltown and I recently won
the Resident Artist Award for the Rotary Club of Campbelltown.
I find Campbelltown inspiring because there are lots of interesting buildings and trees
and creeks and it's close to the Adelaide Hills.
I use the linear park quite often to sketch and to paint.
The Campbelltown Library is a focal point for the community with over 14,000 people
visiting each month.
The library offers the traditional borrowing service as well as a range of activities including
computer training, research facilities, exhibition spaces and children's events.
I'm Rona Ventress, I'm the team leader at the Campbelltown Public Library.
I've been here for 25 years and in that time certainly the library service has changed
quite considerably.
When we opened the library we had just print materials, books and magazines, paperbacks.
Now we're a world of multimedia through the computers.
We have activities for children and certainly a different world.
Hi, I'm Joyce Loy, I'm the South Australian Coordinator for PeopleScape, the national
finale event to the National Centenary Federation year.
The PeopleScape is a celebration of ordinary Australians throughout Australia.
There's going to be 5,000 figures, life-sized figures, represented in an installation in
Canberra on the 25th of November.
My name is Christine Jamison and I'm a volunteer lobby worker for the Campbelltown Council.
We go out to the various nursing homes and retirement villages in the district to provide
a service to people who are in those homes and who are unable to get to the library.
My name is Peter Blake, I'm the CEO of the City of Campbelltown.
My role is to ensure that at the end of the day the Council's infrastructure, its assets
and more importantly probably its staff are providing the services to our community that
local government provides.
The reason why we stand out, the Council and the community are one.
We have a real respect for each other.
That respect appears in the way we perform our duties so that the staff, the organisation
feels part of the environment.
Hello there, I'm Steve Woodcock and I'm the Mayor of Campbelltown and a very proud mayor.
We're very well served here in Campbelltown with many community groups, with volunteer
organisations.
My job is to develop those relationships to enhance them and to build on a very strong
foundation that we already here have developed.
As far as the future is concerned of course I hope that we can continue to develop those
already strong links that we have with our community, the aged care groups, the sporting
groups, service clubs and other organisations.
The future of Campbelltown very strongly lies with the potential of our young people and
the diversity of cultures that we have here within Campbelltown.
So my vision for the future here in Campbelltown very much reflects the reasons why I came
to live in the district 32 years ago and that was because it was a lovely area, it was clean,
it was safe, it was friendly.
It's my hope that in future as people move into the district they'll also share in this
same sense of satisfaction that I had, a wonderful area in which to raise a family, a council
that is interactive with the community.
We can walk forward safely together hand in hand to ensure that this not only remains
a very affordable area in which to live but it really does reflect and become very much
the dress circle of Adelaide in all respects.
Good afternoon, I'm Rod Harvey, I'm the Manager of Strategic Development at the City of Campbelltown.
In essence it's my job to guide the council and the staff members into the future.
There will obviously be new forms of development.
One of our goals is to maintain the beautiful characteristics that we have in the district
at the moment and hopefully these strategies will assist us in doing that.
I think it's fair to say that Campbelltown is very unique.
Here we do have the small market gardens living quite comfortably next door to new housing
developments.
We can have the gardener in the back of his tractor working on a Sunday morning or out
late at night picking.
It seems to me that one of the reasons that these two land uses can co-exist so comfortably
is the historical timing.
The lifestyle in Campbelltown attracts families to lay their roots and settle permanently.
Many families celebrate a long history in the region.
I'm Max Amber and I'm fifth generation here in Athelstan and my great great grandfather
who was Stephen, he was a member of the Paynham Council which then he led a break away to
film Campbelltown with some other people.
I was the Mayor of Campbelltown for some nine years.
We're having a little bit of a gathering today because the youngest one here today is one
year old.
And like it's only 50 cents a metre you can get a real...
Campbelltown is a city all about lifestyle and opportunities for all residents.
From the elderly to families, young people and children, Campbelltown prides itself on
having something for everyone.
The North Eastern Community Hospital provides a focal health and lifestyle facility for
the community and was recently recognised nationally for excellence in residential aged care.
I'm Ron Lovell, I'm the Council's Liaison Officer.
I help arrange bowling competitions between the different clubs.
Today is one between Hechtabell and Campbelltown and it's wonderful entertainment for the older
people, something we're proud of in Campbelltown.
The way the elderly people can have a game and fun and a good day out.
In the year 2001 the hospital will open its new $4 million extensions and is expecting
more than 600 babies to be born, a significant increase from the previous year and a welcome
addition to the population.
The long term future of the community depends very much on support systems, facilities and
opportunities for young people and in particular young families.
Campbelltown in 2001 is a strong community where residents of all age, gender, culture,
background and faith can live in a safe and affordable environment.
First rate facilities, infrastructure, essential services and community support systems ensure
a lifestyle in which individuals and families can prosper.
Thank you.