Report by ACT ARM Convenor, Anne Witheford
on her visit to northern Tasmania to campaign for the YES case
(from The Republic, newsletter of ACT ARM, September 1999)
Trip to Tassie, 26 to 29 August
I was first interviewed by The Launceston Examiner about voting YES and the ‘scaremongering’ expected from the monarchists. This was followed by a rally at the University of Tasmania, Launceston campus, and an interview with the campus newspaper.
That afternoon, republican sentiment burned brightly at an information drive in Launceston’s Irish Murphy’s pub. Distribution of pamphlets and stickers was met with overwhelming YES sentiment. T-shirts were grabbed and even more ordered. This was followed by dinner with the Launceston Forum Convenor, Marguerite Scott, the deputy editor of the local paper and members and friend of the ARM.
The following day came a visit to Burnie on the north-west coast, a region hurting from the recent closure of its paper mill. In the classic Burnie Bowls Club, a vestige of 1950s Australia, we launched the Burnie Forum, signed up locals and raised money with a raffle. The local Forum Convenor, a well-respected local identity involved in charity work and possessing formidable organisational skills, will stand the area in good stead during the campaign.
My impressions from my time in northern Tasmania were extremely positive. Grassroots sentiment is swelling in favour of a republic. Following on the heels of a poll in Tasmania’s most conservative electorate by The Burnie Advocate indicating that 80 percent of people will vote YES, it seems republicans are emerging aplenty in the Apple Isle.
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Last modified: May 11, 2002