Mr MATT KEAN ( Hornsby—Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation) (17:49):Today I pay tribute to an Australian legend, a man who received recognition and awards within Australia and internationally, aman who stood up for freedom when he fought for his country in the Second World War, and a man who helped put Australian music on the map, so to speak. Geoff Mack was all of these things and, putting him even closer to my heart, he was a resident in my own seat of Hornsby, living in Mount Kuring-gai.Geoff's real name—and perhaps I should not say his "real name" when it was his stage name that was known by millions, but his birth name was Albert Geoffrey McElhinney.
Although Geoff lived in Mount Kuring-gai for more than 60 years, he was n o t born there or even in the State but in Surrey Hills, Melbourne. I think his move here is almost as much proof of his good taste as his music was . Geoff served during the Second World War in the R oyal Australian Air Force , working as an aircraft mechanic. Even then his talents were recognised as he would be roped in to support any visiting entertainer. When they were n o t around he was just as happy to pull out his guitar and sing himself . After the war he served in Japan, at Radio WLKS , as the voice of the Commonwealth forces. There he also performed for audiences from Britain, the United States, France, Germany and of course Japanese home audiences.
He returned to Australia in 1950 and it was here that the mantle of the immortals was draped on his shoulders. In 1959 he wrote a song which he thought he would call The Swagman Rock , a reference perhaps to his own well - known rendition of Waltzing Matilda . The Swagman Rock was never played because Geoff was told by a producer that rock 'n' roll would be dead within a year. However, renamed I've Been Everywhere and first recorded here in Australia by musician Lucky Starr, it has been covered by more than 130 artists, including versions by such icons as Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson. It i s not just country music figures who have used the song. In 2011 Rihanna sampled the refrain in her own Where Have You Been , showing that more than 50years on that song still brings out something in music fans. I note also that Geoff was a Mount Kuring-gai resident at that time , so we really can claim the song for the seat of Hornsby .
Following his success with I've Been Everywhere , Geoff toured through the outback, performing to hundreds of thousands of Australians and playing alongside the likes of Lucky Grills and Slim Dusty. In 1963 Geoff was inducted into the International Songwriters Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee, and into the Hands of Fame at Tamworth in New South Wales in 1978. In 1997 he received the Tamworth Song w riters Association Song m aker Award and finally he was honoured with the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Golden Guitar Award . Whatmakes Geoff's achievement even more spectacular is that I've Been Everywhere was the very first of his songs to be recorded or published.
Geoff passed away at the age of 94. He was survived by his wife, Tabbi Frances, who was a fellow entertainer. Geoff was a brilliant man, a man whose musical talent touched the lives of millions here in Australia and throughout the world. But today I want to remember him for more than a song, for more than a career spanning decades, a career which helped shape Australian music. I want to remember him as a man who saw and loved his local area, Mount Kuring-gai, who saw something of himself there, something that drew him back and kept him living there for more than 60 years. Today I want to remember Geoff as a representative figure for his local community in Mount Kuring-gai and for our community in the Hornsby shire .
His passion, the passion which kept him coming back on stage through the years and kept him playing his guitar, is the same passion I see in our Hornsby sports teams and in our Hornsby artists. It i s the same passion I notice in community outreach and other organisations — the passion for our area that brings us together at great events like the Hornsby f estival. Geoff's undeniable talent, while it was definitely unique in itself, is mirrored in the talents of Hornsby residents. It i s seen not only in the talents of residents whose names made the history books,like Edgeworth David, who led the first expedition to reach the South Magnetic Pole, but also in daily life — in the mother who paints watercolours after taking her children to sports on the weekend and the writer whose poems delight his grandchildren and work colleagues. Geoff Mack was an iconic Australian, a great resident of our shireand a true local. It i s my privilege to be the one to put his achievements on the record and to note again thewonderful people who make the Hornsby electorate the great place that it is today.
