Mr TARZIA (Hartley) (15:54): On the weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the 2017 Indian Mela held by the Indian Australian Association of South Australia. All who attended—the many thousands who were there—would agree that it was a wonderful and auspicious occasion.
I would like to especially thank the IAASA committee for 2017-18, beginning with Mr Adireddy Yara, the president; Mr Amarjit Grewal, the secretary; Mr Gagan Sharma, the vice president; Mr Sam Dahm, the treasurer; Mr Mandeep Rikhi, the assistant secretary; Mrs Monika Bhasin, women wing and youth coordinator; Mr Alok Alora, the public relations coordinator; Dr Rajni Madan, the grants coordinator; Mr Gurdeep Singh, cultural coordinator; Mr Pankaj Dumra, the event and sports coordinator; and Mr Harvinder Garcha, the media coordinator. I would also like to thank the Indian Mela 2017 committee for the fantastic job that they did. I look forward to attending the 2018 Mela in my Nehru jacket.
I also pay tribute to the Hectorville Sports and Community Club. I recently attended their annual gala dinner. Many people attended from a variety of sports, including the football club, the netball club and the local cricket club. I would especially like to mention the nominees and winners of the various awards that were awarded that night to acknowledge the outstanding contribution to the club which has done a fantastic job in our community for many years.
I will begin with the Don Grandison Award (formerly the Keith Vincent Memorial Shield) for outstanding non-playing service to the overall club in any one year or for voluntary unpaid service during the prior club year. The sole nominee and winner was Mr Neil Smith. I thank Neil, who has served as an oval boundary marker for football games which, as you know, is a thankless task on many cold, windy mornings. He also cleans the change rooms during the football season, which is also a thankless task after herds of mud-clad footballers have passed through, and has participated in hours of voluntary service behind the club bar. Thank you to him.
The Margaret Morden Proficiency Award 2017 was awarded to Stewie Fincher, who has become an institution at the club for services to junior and senior football. He has been the coach of the under-18's football team, coordinator for social events for the football section, including the steak and wine night and also the football end-of-year presentation. He has also worked tirelessly to bridge the junior and senior football sections of the club. I also pay tribute to the other nominees for that award including Richard Thomm, Dean Evans, Graham 'Doc' Broadbent and Sam McGrath.
Next was the Kym Keogh Most Improved Sportsperson Award. I pay particular attention to Mr Vishal Singh, who was the winner of this award, for his work in junior cricket, but I also acknowledge Paige McGrath, who was a nominee from the netball area. Vishal certainly earned respect from the opposition and also teammates for his positive interaction at the club. He was actually part of the leadership group as vice-captain, emphasising fair play and enjoyment of the game. He had an outstanding record in 2015-16. He opened the batting, scoring 377 runs in 10 innings with a top score of 95 and he also has a strong arm. He is a great and strong bowler, sending down 40 economical overs for four wickets.
The Craig Green Memorial Shield is awarded for outstanding performance in either a single sport or a number of sports during the prior club year. The recipient was to be selected by the HSCC President and can only be awarded to a person once. I pay special attention to Maditha Maduwantha in cricket, a wonderful person who played cricket at almost the very highest level across the world in Sri Lanka.
He is a fantastic cricketer and we are so fortunate to have him at the Hectorville Cricket Club. I thank Madu for all his good work. He has been and continues to be an A grade player, as a batsman and bowler, as well as being the Hectorville Cricket Club coach. I thank Madu for his contribution to the game of cricket. I also acknowledge the other nominees for that award: Hayley Whitington in netball, Danny Forde in football and Jake Mazzone also in football.
I also wish to make mention of St Joseph's in Tranmere. I read in the local Messenger this week that they are celebrating their 90th anniversary. I congratulate the school on reaching that milestone. I thank the board, parents, teachers and students and especially Frank Colagrossi, who is celebrating 25 years at the school.
