Twenty  Years Since the  1897 Constitutional  Convention Role Play  “A Nation at Last “ on August  10,2001.

 On August 10 2001  some  Kogarah  citizens appeared in  Victorian costume  for the role play, which  was held in   Kogarah School of Arts . The Kogarah Municipal band  played music,  as we walked from the corner of Queens Road and Gray St to  the School of Arts.  The ladies carried placards calling for a better deal in health , education, hospitals and employment.

 i cannot ever   forget  The Honourable   Alfred Deakin –Tim Daley , a  Victorian delegate,  who turned up  with a  very long beard,   The Honourable Isaac Isaacs  Mike Sommerville, also  a Victorian delegate   in his dandy checked pants , and    Governor and  Commander in Chief of the Colony of NSW  and its  Dependencies, the Right Honourable  Henry Robert  Viscount Hampden – Alf  Abbot  in his stunning attire.

The 19 male role players all   looked exquisite in their dress  presentation  .The  9  ladies looked equally as impressive .  Our   dresses had   metres and metres of fabric  , some ladies had hoops under their dresses , and of course we all  had   our   lovely  hats.   Early Suffragettes featured in the role play : Mrs  Vida Goldstein,  Miss  Rose Scott  , Miss Catherine Spence   and  Mrs Maybanke  Wolstenholme  Anderson  . Leading ladies of Kogarah included  Mrs  Margaret Lamrock,  Miss Elizabeth Moore,  and  Mrs Sarah English.

 I was awarded a  Parliamentary Fellowship from the  Parliamentary Education Office , Canberra  in late 2000.  The terms of this award were, that I had to produce an event in Kogarah  to acknowledge Federation .  I settled on the 1897  Constitutional Convention ,and spent my Xmas school holidays reading it . 

I then  worked with Jim Searle, playwright   from the Guild Theatre in Rockdale .  We chose   appropriate sections of the Convention and Jim then scripted it . My  job was to  organise the  scripts  for  the  Victorian ladies  . Then, I had the huge task of finding people to play  the parts.  

John Mulcair , from the Leader  presented  “ The  Story of Events Leading  Up To The Constitutional Convention of 1897.”  Alicia Tripp from Year 11, St George Girls and  Hansika Bhagani ,Year 12  student from  St George Girls narrated   “How  Women Fared in the  Decade Leading Up To January 1  1901.”

The  St George Players , Violin Quartet  (Kerry Wilson , Olivia  Dang,  Victoria  Thorp  ,Jennifer Tapia)  played   Victorian music  during the interval,  and before the  conclusion of the evening.

Some Year 10 St George  Girls  assisted  during the interval  with catering duties:  Edith Au, Miranda Couston, Traci Poole,  Sarah Hee Song, Sarah  Tse, and Recca  Urwin.

A  wonderful night was had by all  participants  in   acknowledging our   history .It was great fun to dress  up  in Victorian costume and to complete  the role play in a Victorian building. 

In Covid times , since 2020, we again  have the States in disagreement  with each other  over lockdowns ; and in recent times  the  distribution  of Covid vaccines , and Premiers  continuing  to make terse comments about each other. 

 Anne  Field  , Kogarah