His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (ret’d) was visiting the construction site of the Moree Evergreen Water Ski Lakes when he admitted, though he had water-skied before, he was not aficionado. 

“But if I can come up to open the lakes then I’ll be the first out there on a water-ski to fall off and make a fool of myself,” Mr Hurley said. 

“You certainly won’t be the last,” Member for Northern Tablelands, Adam Marshall, replied. 

Both men inspected the site on Wednesday during the governor’s three-day tour of the North West, and both were impressed with the project to turn spent water from the town’s artesian baths into a tourist attraction. 

“It’s a very innovative idea that deals with a number of issues, like salinity, and turns it into a positive for the town,” Mr Hurley said. 

“Rural economies have their ups and down but this could be a continual drawcard and once word gets out that there is a 365-day-a-year water park, I’m sure they’ll come from all around.”

Earlier this month Mr Marshall used his first speech in NSW Parliament to laud the project, which he said would make Moree a “water sports mecca”.

Mr Hurley lists promoting regional development in his top five priorities as governor.

Sworn into the oldest public office in Australia last October, he said his first year was about listening to the needs of people in NSW and learning of their achievements.

“I’ve been meeting with locals and talking to farmers, then I will look at how to lend the support of the governor’s office to help add value to regional communities,” he said.

The governor and his wife Linda began their tour on Tuesday with trips to Boggabilla and Toomelah. 

After the ski lakes, the governor visited the solar farm, Moree Secondary College and Stahmann’s “Trawalla” pecan nut farm.

On Tuesday, Mrs Hurley met with members of the Gwydir Group of the Country Women’s Association while the governor trained with the Moree Boomerangs. 

“There was a bit of kicking and passing but it was mainly fitness work, so we got him jumping over hurdles with us, running 40 metres, 100 metres…” Boomerangs president Mitchell Johnson said. 

“It definitely wasn’t his first training session – he’s an ex-Army general and he obviously likes to keep fit."

The former Chief of the Defence Force sat in on a club board meeting to learn about its development plan, before donning his Rabbitohs jersey and training for more than an hour.

“He’s spent a lot of living around Redfern and often trains with Dean Widders at the All Blacks, and he chatted to the boys about that,” Mr Johnson said.  

The Rangs gave Mr Hurley a club shirt and hat which he promised to wear the next time he visited the National Aboriginal Sporting Chance Academy. 

“We were really glad he came down,” Mr Johnson said. 

“That could be the first and the last time we ever have a governor train with us!”