E&OE..................
The story that we have just followed and we will resume in a moment has been more than a story about constitutional formation, it's been more than a story about the coming together of six colonies important though that was and successful though that was. It's been more than the story of inspiring political leadership one hundred years ago. Most importantly of all it has been the story of one hundred years of the Australian spirit. It's been the story of how over a century the spirit of Australia and the spirit of the Australian people in so many ways in the right time when required has come to the fore to give to this nation of ours a reputation around the world that is so well deserved.
It is a spirit that saw so many hundreds of thousands of Australians go forth to defend their country and the freedoms that we value so dearly in two world wars. It's the spirit of a people that pull together in times of adversity. It's the spirit of a people that can call forth the volunteer efforts of tens of thousands of Australians not only in adversity but also in times of great national celebration such as the Olympic Games. It's the spirit of a people that has produced the most fiercely competitive sporting nation on Earth. It is the spirit of a people which population wise has produced well above its weight some of the most outstanding medical scientists in the world. It's the spirit of a people that has produced men like Macfarlane Burnet, and Victor Chang. It is the spirit of a people that has produced great artists. But very importantly my fellow Australians it is the sprit of a people that has produced a level of social cohesion and national unity that is indeed the envy of the world.
On this day of all days it is important for all of us as Australians to acknowledge the reality that those things that unite us as Australians and bring us together as part of the great Australian nation are always more important, they're always more enduring, and they're always more emphatic than the things that divide us.
We are a people that have found the great genius to select those things from our heritage which are of enduring value, yet to reject those things of our heritage which will hold us back. We embraced from the British the great principles of the rule of law and parliamentary democracy, but we rejected from the British and other Europeans notions of class-consciousness. The great egalitarian spirit of this country which has meant so much to us over the years and will mean so much to us in the years ahead that is very much a gift of this soil, it is a gift of the air we breath together, it is a gift of the land that we share together.
And one of the other great aspects of the spirit of Australia my friends is the way in which this nation has been able to absorb from 140 countries around the world a great variety of people. We have come together particularly since World War II to build a nation of great diversity yet nonetheless a nation that honours the long-standing traditions of the Australian community. And thus as we celebrate one hundred years, our anniversary as a nation, this beautiful evening here in Sydney, I say to all of you my fellow Australians we all have great reasons for deep pride. We owe a debt of gratitude to those who formed Australia. We owe a great debt of gratitude to those who fought to defend it. We owe a great debt of gratitude to all of those who have gone before us.
We have every reason to feel pride, we have every reason to feel a great sense of hope and optimism about the future. We are a nation that has achieved its ambitions. But like all nations we must set ourselves further ambitions and strive to achieve further goals in the years ahead.
We celebrate a great one hundred years. We face the future with tremendous faith that under God we can achieve so much more for our people and build upon the great inheritance and the great legacy of the years that have gone before us.
My friends, one of the great characteristics of Australia has been the way in which we have taken people from so many parts of the world and have seen them contribute so vitally to the building of the great Australian nation. And the next segment of this program will be very much about the story of the journey of people from different parts of the world that have contributed so much to the building of the modern Australian nation.
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