WHEN Melbourne businessman, philanthropist and honorary consul to Monaco Andrew Cannon took his car to Palm Island off the north Queensland coast, it turned plenty of heads.
For three years tourists have been welcomed to the island, but none had ever arrived in a 1923 Presentation Vauxhall. In fact, Andrew’s is the only one in the world.
Since the island became an Aboriginal reserve in 1918, it has been considered synonymous with disadvantage and violence – but many aspects of life for its 4000 inhabitants have turned around dramatically.
Much of it is thanks to the work of the Cathy Freeman Foundation, which started in 2007 when Freeman and Andrew Cannon formed its first partnership with the island’s community.
The foundation now works with Palm Island and three other remote Indigenous communities to improve educational outcomes and future pathways for children, focusing on attendance, behaviour and literacy.
Andrew’s recent visit is part of an audacious 10,000km journey in the vintage Vauxhall to raise awareness and funds for the foundation. His journey began in Melbourne on August 7 and has taken him through South Australia, the Northern Territory, outback Queensland and down the south-east coast back to Melbourne.
The Senior caught up with him when he arrived in Coffs Harbour, NSW. He’d driven 600km in two days, having struck torrential rain – the first he’d seen since the day after he left Melbourne.
“It’s a really rewarding thing to be doing,” he said. “I’ve stayed at 40 different towns and met so many fantastic people. The support has been amazing.
“My target is $140,000 and I’ve hit $132,000. One hundred per cent of donations go straight to the cause.”
Palm Island is a special place for Andrew. He visited with Cathy Freeman, whose mother and grandmother grew up there, in 2006. The foundation really started right then and there when the pair gave out bikes to children to encourage school attendance.
“I wouldn’t have taken a vintage car there 10 years ago,” Andrew said. “But now it’s safer there than it would be in Melbourne.
“There’ve been great improvements in the last three to five years and there’s a really nice feeling about the place.
“There is still plenty to do but over a decade school attendance has increased from 23 per cent to over 90 per cent.”
There has also been a 350 per cent increase in the number of Palm Island students completing year 12.
“People are motivated and are enjoying better health,” Andrew said.
“When I first came here many children were too sick to be able to learn. Today when you hear the older children telling the younger ones they must go to school; it shows how far things have come.
“It’s a beautiful part of the country, and people have a sense of pride in the community. It’s been a success story in a very tough space.”
