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Enduring
Ties
between Endearing
Peoples
South Australia
Premier Mike Rann
addressed members
of a visiting
Indian business
delegation at
a dinner meeting
organized by Australia
India Business
Council (AIBC)
in Adelaide on
24 January 2008.
The state dinner
was hosted by
Premier Rann,
who stressed the
need for further
forging trade
relations between
India and South
Australia. He
talked about various
subjects, from
cricket to Bollywood
and from Australia's
National Day to
India's Republic
Day. Following
are excerpts from
the speech of
the Premier, who
will be visiting
India from 12
to 21 March 2008.
It's great to
be with you, and
I would especially
like to welcome
our guests from
India who are
here for the climax
to this enthralling
Test series. This
really is an exciting
time of year to
be in Adelaide.
We've got the
Tour Down Under,
which is drawing
huge crowds to
watch the world's
best cycling teams
in action.
Coming up soon
is the Clipsal
500 motor race
through the streets
of Adelaide, the
world-renowned
Adelaide Festival
and the equally
popular Festival
Fringe, WOMADelaide,
and then the thrills
of the International
Rugby Sevens.
But tonight, as
is so often the
case in Indo-Australian
relations, we
come together
to celebrate the
game of cricket.
Any Test match
between these
two cricket-loving
nations is special,
but it is elevated
even higher when
played on the
breathtakingly
beautiful Adelaide
Oval regarded
among the wider
cricket community
as the game's
“secular
cathedral”.
We are delighted
that the Adelaide
Test has been
restored to its
traditional place
on the cricket
calendar and is
being played on
the Australia
Day holiday weekend.
And it's appropriate
that the Indian
team is part of
this great occasion
given that India's
Republic Day,
the day when India
formally became
a sovereign democratic
republic in 1950,
also falls on
January 26, our
national day.
What is less well
known is that
the very first
time that Test
cricket was played
at Adelaide Oval
on that auspicious
date was in 1948
when India made
its first appearance
in a Test match
at this most historic
of venues.
That match was
played in the
midst of a typically
scorching late
January hot spell
and was memorable
for many reasons.
Dashing young
batsman Neil Harvey,
who later that
year in England
achieved immortality
as one of cricket's
“Invincibles”,
made his Test
debut for Australia
aged just 19.
The great all-rounder
Vijay Hazare became
the first Indian
batsman to score
a century in both
innings of a Test.
And Don Bradman,
later to become
Sir Donald - and
whose family members
we are delighted
to have with us
this evening -
scored his final
Test century on
Australian soil.
What an innings
that was!
Seven months shy
of his 40th birthday
and hobbled by
leg cramps that
forced him to
swing uncharacteristically
hard and often
against the Indian
spinners, the
Don scored a remarkable
201.
Given that he
plundered the
last 100 runs
of that innings
in just 79 minutes
it was little
wonder he received
a huge ovation
as he limped off
towards the famous
members' stand.
That was his final
Test innings at
the ground, and
in this city he
called his home.
Such was the esteem
in which Don Bradman
was held, and
which he continues
to occupy among
the people of
India, even the
heat-exhausted
Indian bowlers
did not begrudge
him his century
that day.
Indeed, India's
legendary team
manager at the
time Pankaj Gupta
famously noted
that: “India
regards Bradman
as a cricketing
colossus and they
would prefer to
lose every match
and see Bradman
bat than win every
match and not
see him''. There
was something
ordinary as well
as extraordinary
about Don Bradman.
That was part
of his appeal
to all cricket
fans regardless
of their circumstances
or background.
He was the tall
poppy that was
never felled.
He was there to
remind us of the
greatness that
gleams in us all,
of the courage,
the stoic tenacity,
however humble
the house that
we were born in,
and however obscure
the path we take
to the batting
crease. The Don
also maintained
a fascinating
collection of
cricket memorabilia.
That material
can be viewed
at the hugely
popular Bradman
Collection that
is housed in a
heritage-listed
building at the
State Library
on North Terrace.
The exhibition
offers a revealing
insight into his
life and career,
and is located
just a well-struck
straight drive
away from where
we are tonight.
As we approach
the 100th anniversary
of his birth later
this year, Don
Bradman remains
an enduring presence
in Australia's
sense of national
identity and pride.
But it is not
only through cricket,
and its extraordinary
ability to bring
nations together,
that Australia
and India - two
great and enduring
democracies in
the Commonwealth
of Nations - have
forged a deep
friendship and
mutual respect.
Of course, Indians
and Australians
served together
in British Imperial
and Commonwealth
forces in both
World Wars, a
friendship forged
amid mud and blood
and suffering.
The defining and
most famous conflict
in Australian
history occurred
at Gallipoli in
1915, a battle
that has given
us countless stories
of heroism, and
spawned the Anzac
legend. But few
Australians today
realize that Indian
troops had a very
strong presence
at Gallipoli.
In the trenches,
including as members
of the famous
Indian mule corps,
those Indian soldiers
- the forgotten
Anzacs - fought
bravely alongside
our “diggers”.During
World War Two
at a time when
India was involved
in its own struggle
for independence,
1.7 million Indian
soldiers volunteered
to defend the
Empire and serve
the Allied cause.
Australian soldiers
fought alongside
the legendary
4th Indian Division
at El Alamein.
At Monte Casino,
the Indian Army
was famous for
its heroism and
extraordinary
sacrifice, losing
thousands in the
siege, and the
storming of places
with names like
Snake's Head Ridge
and Hangman's
Hill.
India is beginning
to fulfill her
tryst with destiny,
as prophesised
by its great founding
Prime Minister
Pandit Nehru.
Sixty years ago,
at the time of
independence,
the average life
expectancy in
India was 32 years
of age. This year
it is more than
68. In 1947, only
16 per cent of
Indians could
read or write.
Today, more than
61 per cent are
literate.
India is set to
become one of
the world's largest
economies, soon
to overtake Japan
in purchasing
power. And, by
the middle of
this century,
it will have a
bigger economy
than even the
United States.
India, once known
for its tea and
cotton, is now
renowned for its
science, for its
leadership in
high technology
and for its motion
picture industry.
The relationship
between India
and South Australia
is an important
one. In recent
years I have made
three official
and one private
visit to India,
and will return
there with a delegation
in six weeks time.
This visit will
again focus on
investment, trade,
education and
migration opportunities,
showcasing our
world-class food
and wine and potential
partnerships in
film, engineering,
mining and IT.
A South Australian
chapter of the
Australia-India
Business Council
has been established.
We have also opened
an office in Chennai,
and we have appointed
one of our cricket
greats, Darren
Lehmann, as our
Special Envoy
to India.
Like India, South
Australia's economy
is gaining pace
and enjoying growth
across a number
of sectors. KPMG
International
recently lifted
Adelaide's ranking
for business competitiveness
from tenth to
third in a survey
of nearly 100
cities worldwide.
In particular,
we are experiencing
a boom in the
areas of mining
and defence. Spending
on mining exploration
has now shattered
all previous records.
It has undergone
a 10-fold rise
over the past
five years, surpassing
every other Australian
state, except
Western Australia.
To put that into
a global perspective,
out of 65 international
mining jurisdictions
South Australia
has risen from
36th to fourth
place on the world-renowned
Fraser Institute's
“mining
potential”
index in just
four years.
One of our mines,
the giant copper,
uranium and gold
resource at Olympic
Dam, is now the
world's first
trillion-dollar
ore body and is
set to become
the world's greatest
mine. And there
are 30 more mines
in a queue.
In defence, we
have won $12 billion
worth of contracts
over the past
two and a half
years, including
for the construction
of Air Warfare
Destroyers, and
then we'll build
the next generation
of submarines.
In total, we have
almost $45 billion
worth of major
projects either
underway or on
the horizon.
We have a record-ever
commitment to
infrastructure
projects including
a new $1.7 billion
central hospital,
a $1.3 billion
desalination plant
for Adelaide and
a second desalination
plant near Whyalla
to serve the giant
mining expansion.
Private investment
levels are at
an all-time high,
and so are jobs.
In addition, our
world-class education
and health systems,
and highly-skilled
and flexible workforce
mean South Australia
offers a myriad
of opportunities
for business investors,
migrants, students
and tourists.
Certainly, India
continues to play
a crucial role
in our State's
overall economic
development. Last
year, India provided
around 28 per
cent of our skilled
migrants.
And enrolments
of Indian students
coming to South
Australia have
grown ten-fold
over the past
five years. We
are committed
to developing
Adelaide as a
“University
City”. In
addition to three
outstanding local
universities,
we are now also
home to Australia's
first foreign
University, the
world-renowned
Carnegie Mellon
University that
provides US-accredited
masters degrees.
We are aiming
to increase the
number of tourists
who come from
India, the world's
fastest-growing
travel market,
to experience
the “brilliant
blend” of
attractions and
experiences that
South Australia
offers.
And it's not just
cricket that fuses
our cultures closer
together. Recently,
South Australia's
diverse landscapes
and acclaimed
film-making expertise
featured in Bollywood's
first commercial,
all-dancing science-fiction
movie, Love Story
2050 which features
former Miss World,
Priyanka Chopra.
We gather tonight
for a dual celebration.
Not only do we
honour our shared
love of cricket
and a Test match
that is regarded
by players and
patrons alike
as one of the
highlights of
the international
cricket circuit.
We also celebrate
the increasingly
strong cultural
and commercial
ties that bind
India and South
Australia.
On Saturday, as
we celebrate both
our national days,
the Australian
flag and the saffron,
white and green
flag of India
- with the “wheel
of progress”
at its centre
- will be raised
side by side.
This simple ceremony
will symbolise
the growing partnership
between us as
we move forward
together in a
new century.
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