Monday, 3 April 2023
We had a roll up of twenty-six (26) for this event (27 for lunch – including one guest).
We commenced our day with an unplanned diversion off the Warrego Highway at Blacksoil – A truck had caught on fire & traffic was grinding to a halt as we approached Blacksoil – Fortunately, thanks to the quick thinking of our driver Nick we were able to exit the highway & embark on a scenic drive through the industrial area of Ipswich, have Smoko in an Ipswich Park & still make it to our event on time – Well done Nick & Warwick.
Following Smoko we travelled onto the Museum of Land, Mapping & Surveying & were welcomed by Bill & Kay prior to our guided tour & talks.
I am confident all attendees would agree with me that Bill Kitson’s talk on how he was commissioned & established the museum was an absolute inspiration to all of us that were fortunate enough to be there & hear it. His passion & commitment for this task (a major slab of his life’s work) flowed through his voice as he went about telling his story along with giving us a running commentary on all the exhibits in the museum. Then, to top it off (the icing on the cake) his talk on his re-survey in 1980 of Qld Borders from Tweed Heads to the Gulf left us with an understanding of all the proposed & actual border changes there have been in Australia since Federation along with all the characters involved – Well done Bill a great history lesson for us all.
Following lunch, members birthdays falling in April were acknowledged & celebrated in our usual manner Viz. Michael Bourke (80th), Gary Dwyer, Trevor Holm, John McAuliffe, Pat McNamee, Neil Phelan, Bill Phillips, Bruce Sullivan & Peter Thompson.
Special thanks to all who contributed to making this another safe & enjoyable event for all attendees, including Mark Rowland for organizing this event; Russell Mauch assisted by Warwick Dingle & Denis McCarthy for looking after our finances & name badges; Peter Thompson for ensuring we were all safe while entering & exiting our coach at all stops; Warwick Dingle for ensuring we were all accounted for before our coach departed again after each stop; Noel Grant & Tim Sullivan for looking after our hydration needs along with loading & unloading the coach; Bob Whittaker & Tony Wind for their usual gig as our trusty first aid officers; Kay Nardella for coordinating our visit at the museum end; Bill Kitson for his incredible talks & tour of the museum; The team at the Centenary Tavern for our great lunch; Jan Neal for once again making our much appreciated birthday cake; & last but not least our driver Nick Peters for transporting us to & from Brisbane safely.
Dick
20th April 2023


