Remarks of Consul-General Hidenobu Sobashima at the Negoro Lacquer Launch on Wednesday 19 March 2014
Mr Sidney Baillieu Myer, AC,
Mr Roderick Carnegie, AC,
Mr Bruce Parncutt, President of the NGV Council of Trustees,
Mr Tony Ellwood, Director of the NGV,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my honor and pleasure to join you today to appreciate and celebrate the achievements and contributions of Mr Baillieu Myer and Mr Carnegie.
I have to confess that I have not done my homework about Mr Carnegie. So I apologize to him for that.
Currently an Emeritus Trustee and an Honorary Life Benefactor of the NGV, Mr Bailleu Myer has had a long and important relationship with the NGV, including as its Trustee and the Chairman of the NGV Foundation, and together with Mr Carnegie, contributed to the largest collection of Negoro lacquer ware in Australia at the NGV.
He was also the Chairman of the Ad Hoc Working Committee on Australia Japan Relations which produced the so-called “Myer Report”, was the Deputy Chairman of the Australia Japan Foundation from 1976 to 1981, and was a Member of the Consultative Committee on Relations with Japan from 1978 to 1981.
My wife Chikako and I had the honor and privilege to be invited to the house of Mr Baillieu Myer to enjoy not only the concert of the Duo Sol, that is a group of an Australian pianist and a Japanese violinist, but also the violin performance of Mr Myer himself.
I should like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to Mr Myer and Mr Carnegie for their contributions to deepening understanding of the Japanese culture in Australia which, I believe, in turn has contributed to further enriching the culture of this admirable multicultural society.
Thank you.