Plans for Largs to strengthen its links with Brisbane in Australia through its historic Sir Thomas Brisbane connection have received further backing - with hopes that Largs Academy and Inverclyde Sports Centre could play significant roles.
The News recently reported that Brisbane in Australia is gearing up to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2032 - and the city wants to bolster its historical links with Largs to put Sir Thomas Brisbane's home town in the spotlight when the city hosts the global sporting spectacle.
At a meeting last week in the Brisbane House Hotel, local councillors, members of Largs Community Council and local residents met with David Muir, the chair of The Clem Jones Group, from Brisbane.
Clem Jones was a former lord mayor of the city of Brisbane and at the meeting, Mr Muir presented the North Ayrshire Councillors present with a letter from the current lord mayor, Adrian Schrinner, to the provost of North Ayrshire.
Largs councillor, Alan Hill, who was in attendance, said: “As your readers will know, there are historic connections between the city of Brisbane and Largs which have extended over many years. Brisbane is named after Sir Thomas Brisbane, who hailed from Largs.
"When I was at school and the Brisbane Queen Festival still took place, the highlight for the winner was an annual trip to Brisbane at some stage during her reign. With the passing of the festival, these close links fell away and this meeting was held to explore the possibility of establishing new links over the coming months and years.
"The lord mayor of Brisbane expressed his hope that we can foster closer links between our communities and this has some exciting possibilities in the run up to the Olympic Games which are due to take place in Brisbane in 2032. The group will be reaching out to the senior management at Largs Academy to see if there would be any interest through the school.”
Brisbane is the capital city of Queensland and is Australia’s third largest city. It was named in 1834 and currently has a population of 1.2 million people. Clem Jones was Brisbane’s longest serving lord mayor, from 1961 until 1975. He took a great interest in relations with Largs and personally oversaw the Brisbane Queen exchanges and other activities.
Clem Jones died in December 2007 and the trustees of his estate founded the Clem Jones Group which carries philanthropic works, especially in medical fields. The trustees are keen to build new links with the Largs area, North Ayrshire and Scotland.
Cllr Hill continued: “With the Olympic Games coming to Brisbane in a few years’ time, there are real opportunities for us to build and grow links between local organisations, sporting groups and individuals in the area. We have a chance and can take some time at the moment to explore options and hold discussions with Largs Academy, Inverclyde Sports Centre and others to see what we do next.
"The Clem Jones Group has offered its support to work on a new co-operation agreement between our communities in some form which may be useful in ensuring that Largs capitalise on any opportunities in the period leading up to the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.
"This was a very good meeting and I am looking forward to getting some discussions going about how we might seek to take matters forward.”
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