Excellency Margaret Beazley AO QC and husband Mr Dennis Wilson on Friday.
Local members of the Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association (ICPA) were thrilled to be able to host the NSW Governor, Her Excellency Margaret Beazley AO QC for a morning tea on Friday.
The event was one of a number of meetings requested by The Governor on her recent tour to Dubbo, Cobar and Nyngan.
Her Excellency was given an outline of the ICPA which was formed in Bourke in 1971 by a group of parents who felt that children who lived in isolated places were victims of inequality, especially when it came to getting an education.
The Governor said she understood the importance in having a good education and the difference it can make in a person’s life.
She heard from a number of ICPA members about the hardships they faced in obtaining a quality education for their children including: transport over long distances via private vehicles or school buses and the limited funding available to assist parents with transport; an inability to access early childhood preschool education; problems with internet access;
obstacles involved with distance education and School of the Air; an inability to access subjects like music; and the increased hardships rural families are facing due to the drought.
Her Excellency also spoke to two senior school boarding school students (who were home on holidays) about their experiences.
