PRIME MINISTER
FOR PRESS 4 JULY 1978
CLOSING OF JUBILEE APPEAL
Last year the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Appeal for
young Australians was launched to commemorate the Silver
Jubilee of Her Majesty The Queen's accession to the throne.
The patron of the Appeal was His Highness, The Prince of Wales,-
and the Appeal was truly national in scope and character.*
Each State and Territory was given its own target a total of
$ 5,000,000, and 12 months in which to raise the funds.
I am pleased to be able to tell you that every State and
Territory exceeded its target.
The Commonwealth and State Governments made major contributions,
large contributions came from businesses and individuals all
around Australia, and I am happy to be able to announce that
the fund now stands at $ 5,400,000.
This function marks the official closing of the Appeal, but the
Trust's call for funds will in fact never close.
I am sure that we shall be reminded before the evening is out
that the Trust will always gratefully receive donations.
But now that the first phase of the Appeal has ended, work
can concentrate on the administration of the Trust and the
award of grants. I
We have already seen an example of the dedication and determination
of the members of the Trust. Last November, when the Appeal still
had six months to go, the first awards were announced. These
were the Special Awards for 1977, which the Prince of Wales
presented during his visit last year.
The Special Awards give a good idea of the basis on which the
awards will operate.
The Awards were made to individuals or organizations in every
State, the the Northern Territory and Norfolk Island.
For example, in Western Australia 12 teenage Aboriginal girls
were helped to undertake a leadership course; funds for a horse
riding school were granted to the Riding for the Disabled
Association of Victoria; the Queensland State Centre of the
Surf Life Saving Association of Australia received an award to
assist with the purchase of three inshore rescue boats.
The field is wide, and deliberately so.
The Trust has been designed to be as flexible as possible.
This will mean it will be able to assist in the widest
possible variety of projects and causes involving young
people. In making awards, the Trust aims to respond to community needs
as they arise, and will take careful account of community views,
especially those of young Australians.
The Trust will play a real part in helping to mould a better
society, a more tolerant and diverse society in Australia.
It will enable many young Australians to develop new skills,
to draw on their own creativity, to express themselves more
fully. It will offer new hope and opportunity for young men and women
who might not otherwise have the chance to develop their talents
to full capacity.
Above all, it will help our young nation realise our potential,
our vast capacity which as yet has been barely tapped.
I have no doubt that the trust will be a fitting tribute to
the first 25 years reign of The Queen.
I am sure Australians will long remember the many events which
took place in the past year to mark her Silver Jubilee above
all, of course, the visit in March last year of The Queen and
The Duke of Edinburgh, and the visit in November of the patron
of the Appeal, The Prince of Wales.
Though the Silver Jubilee year is now past, important things
that it stood for are still with us. Great changes in technology,
lifestyles, and community values have taken place in
the quarter century since The Queen acceded to the Throne.
Yet the Crown, while adapting to and meeting these changes, has
remained constant in the fundamental values we value and cherish.
When The Queen turned 21, she solemnly pledged her life to the
service of her people. At her Silver Jubilee celebrations in
London last year, Her Majesty recalled that pledge and added:
" I do not regret or retract one word of it".
Her Majesty's 25 years of dedicated service, and the grace,
dignity and human warmth with which she bears the burden of
her high office, are an inspiration and an example to us all.
We may hope that The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Trust
for Young Australians with its objective of helping young
people to help themselves and through them the community
will stand as an enduring tribute by Australians to Her Majesty
for her first 25 years of service to us all.
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