Speech delivered on Wed, 8 Apr 2026, Queen Elizabeth II Island, Lake Burley Griffin, Canberra. 

I’d like to acknowledge—as you have—that we are on Ngunnawal land, and pay my respects to Elders past and present, and acknowledge that long and enduring connection to all parts of Canberra and the ACT, including the many families and groups who have long attachments to Canberra.

Karen Doran, thank you. I want to acknowledge you in your role as Chief Executive of the National Capital Authority. Of course, Justin Keefe, Acting Deputy Secretary of the Governance and Corporate Group in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. It’s wonderful that we have you both here. I’m also joined by a number of people from DFAT, and from the Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General, including the Official Secretary, Gerard Martin, PSM. So welcome, everybody.

Not quite 25,000 people around the shores of the lake, but a very special group, and a very special moment for us here today.

This is a very special place. Having been born in Canberra, I remember the sounds of the Carillon in the 1970s and 1980s—always a very special place, gifted to Australia by the United Kingdom in 1963 and, as you point out, opened by the Queen here in Canberra. I think it has become part of the fabric—the beautiful fabric—of Canberra.

Often people don’t understand the beauty of this place and the significance of the cultural institutions, and of course the Carillon forms part of this landscape. It’s hard to imagine any photos of Lake Burley Griffin, at any time of day or across the seasons, without the Carillon as a centrepiece.

And as you’ve pointed out, Karen, since 2022 this place has honoured Queen Elizabeth II. It speaks to the enduring ties between Australia and the UK, but particularly today we are acknowledging the centenary of the birth of Her Majesty.

2022 was the year of Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee, and sadly it was also the year of her death, on 8 September. Both of those occasions were momentous for Australians. She had been our Queen for 70 years—an extraordinary service to the world and to Australians.

She was, for many of us, the only monarch we had known. That has changed subsequently, but Queen Elizabeth will forever hold an enduring affection with all Australians who welcomed her many visits to Australia, and in particular, for those in Canberra, her many visits here.

In the time that she was monarch, Australia had 16 Prime Ministers—and from my perspective, 16 Governors-General—and Her Majesty visited Australia 16 times. We were a very special place that she had a great fondness for. The last time was in 2011, and the first time she visited was with Prince Philip on 3 February 1954. It was just eight months after her coronation, as one of the youngest monarchs to take on that role, following the death of her father.

As you enter Government House, there is a beautiful painting by Dargie. It’s called The Wattle Queen, and it shows her as that young Queen visiting Australia, wearing a wattle brooch gifted to her by Sir Robert Menzies. When His Majesty the King visited Australia in October 2024, his Queen, Queen Camilla, wore that same brooch back to Australia as a mark of respect. There’s a lovely sense of circular connection between all these relationships that we’ve formed.

That visit back in 1954 was the biggest single event ever organised in Australia. Seven million Australians turned out to see Her Majesty on that visit. At the time, that was 70 per cent of the Australian population—quite extraordinary—and it spoke to that very strong mutual affection between Australians and their Queen, and I think now Australians and their King.

Of course, I represent His Majesty today, and as we look ahead to 21 April, we mark the centenary of Her Majesty’s birth—21 April 1926.

The tree we’re going to plant today—you’ve already heard more about it from a horticultural perspective—will be a living memorial to Her Majesty. It’s for us to enjoy today, but also for generations who come to Kurrajong Island to listen to the music of the Carillon, to stop and see this tree, which we believe will grow into one of the magnificent trees that encircle this wonderful spot.

Just last week, I thought I’d share with you the bittersweet story of our own at Government House that involves tree plantings. We said farewell to Norm Dunn. Norm started as a gardener at Government House in 1990 and became our longest serving member of the team—36 years as the leader of the horticultural and property teams at Government House and Admiralty House in Sydney.

Those 36 years saw a lot, and last week was Norm’s retirement, hence the bittersweet moment. He’s looking forward to retirement, but for those of us who’ve had an attachment to the House, it’s hard to imagine the gardens and the property without Norm Dunn taking care of it all.

Norm remembered when the House and gardens were first opened up, and in September 2022 those gardens were opened again after the Queen’s passing, when so many Australians came to pay their respects and leave messages of condolence. They were very busy days, and a mark of respect for Her Majesty.

He also remembered helping Her Majesty plant a tree at Government House in 2011, and our planting continues today. We have something called the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative at Government House. We planted a tree for the Jubilee in 2022, and just two weeks ago we invited the King and Queen of Denmark—King Frederik and Queen Mary—to plant their trees. It was the last official royal planting that Norm presided over, and we’re very proud of Norm’s work. I’m sure he’ll come and look at this tree, as he does with the trees he’s leaving behind at Government House, with great affection.

So today it gives me great honour to be given the task of planting the tulip tree in honour of Queen Elizabeth II, marking the centenary of her birth on 21 April 1926. We remember not only her Jubilee and what would have been her centenary, but everything that she stood for and everything she gave to this country—particularly the amount of time she spent here in Canberra, enjoying everything she loved about Australia that she found here.

She is often missed. When her son visited, we were able to show him some of the gardens and the artefacts of his mother’s time here in Canberra and Australia.

So, I think we will now move to the tree planting. It will give me great honour to plant the tree in her memory, and to come back and visit many times.