As we gather here today to celebrate the anniversary of the arrive of Robert Thirkell to Tasmania and to remember the contribution he made as one of the pioneers of this district, we should note that he was probably a man who spent little time in church. This is not to say that he was without faith, or irreligious, but church as we know it was not part of his scene. Glimpses of other family histories show faith was something that belonged to the home and not the 'church' building, and the stories and meaning of faith we taught in that environment by parents to children, with the occasional visit of Clergy to baptise, teach and celebrate. As the generations passed, a place of focus over and beyond the family home was sought, so the church building or family chapel, is typical of the next generation that follows.

Thus we celebrate the joint legacy of the pioneer and the church built by him as a place of focus for the family.

In the last week, I have had a good grounding in the life of Robert Thirkell. Maureen has lent me a number of books and various other information. Just understanding of how the family fits together has been a challenge to get my brain around, although the complexities are similar to the battles that I face in our own family history. This has led me to contemplate the life of these early pioneers and the hardships that they faced. And we must not forget the extreme risk that coming to this land meant.

They worked extremely hard and although this has been rewarded by prosperity in future generations, they had to make something of the land that they were given. We should reflect on this, and be grateful that men like Robert Thirkell were prepared to take up the challenge

But I am ignoring the Matriarchy. Success was not only predicated on the man's work, but on the building of the home (not the house) by the wife. At 17, Jane Schutte or Shultz left civilisation and moved to the frontier where she had 7 children and more amazing only one failed to reach adulthood. The risks for women in this venture can not be understated as history records the untimely deaths of women, particularly through the risks of childbirth.

So our presence here to today is only because of who they were - the strength of character of both Robert and Jane. And for this we are thankful.

Now perhaps I should be a little controversial here, but I take the lead from Robert himself. You may be aware that I am concerned with the reconciliation process. At the time when the government granted this land to Robert, there was an aboriginal presence. Palawa people had lived in and around this place for centuries if not millennia. I am not about to launch into ideas of land-rights, because I believe that it is British Crown who took it not the settlers, but we need to acknowledge the Palawa heritage. From my reading, Robert Thirkell was a forward thinker. His treatment of the Palawa people was quite different to that of other landholders. His charity towards them should be publicly noted, and his attempts to live in harmony rather than conflict could well have been adopted by the government and others of the day. If so, perhaps reconciliation would not be an issue for our generation to deal with. So it is appropriate that as we acknowledge his memory we acknowledge as he did, the traditional inhabitants of this place. We remember their dead, as well as ours and our common heritage in this place.

Perhaps the other controversial thing is to acknowledge the violence that occurred. Convicts, rightly or wrongly convicted were not always well treated and the development of this land came at a price. It is wrong to seek to allocate blame for the system was part of the world of that time and history is not called to judge, only to acknowledge the past. I have found nothing that indicates that Robert Thirkell or his descendants were engaged in this process or that there was any specific problem here, although there were those killed by bushrangers. It would be opportune, that we seek to heal this land from the violence of the past, to ask God's forgiveness for this and for his continued blessing.

Robert Thirkell clearly loved this land, and has passed on this heritage to many of his descendants. He and his family should be honoured this day, as pioneers of this district. This land stands as a memorial to his vision and his passion. As we celebrate this day, his legacy, let us be challenged to continue it for the coming generations.