We had another good roll up of thirty-four (34) for this event – Thirty-seven for lunch which included three members Phil Cash, Neville Sarquis & Pat McNamee who were unable to join us for the event – Welcome Phil, Neville & Pat.

Our first stop of the day was Southbrook Bi-Centennial Park for smoko where we were welcomed with a short shower of rain, but fortunately there was sufficient shelter in the park to keep us all dry.

Following Smoko, we travelled onto Boomaroo Nurseries where we were met & welcomed by Damian Hughes (Production Manager) & Benita his assistant. Damian then provided us with an overview of the nursery’s history along with a guided tour of all operations.

I found Damian’s talk & guided tour very interesting & informative, & some of the things I learned are as follows –

• Boomaroo Nurseries Site was originally a dairy farm.
• The nursery has only been in operation (at this site) for three & a half years & employs a staff of eighteen.
• The company has invested twenty-eight million dollars into this site to date & is expanding.
• The total operation is fully automated viz.
  • Weather, humidity & temperature is regulated – roofs & walls open & close as required.
  • Water, fertiliser & pest control – programmed to suit the time of year e.g., summer more water & winter less water etc.
  • Benches are all on conveyors that move as required.
  • Mowers trim the tops of plants whilst they are on the benches.
• The growth period for most seeds is around five to six weeks on site.
• They use underground water on site & have sufficient water reserves along with licenses to cater for their planned expansion.
• Boomaroo Nurseries main market is Qld. & NSW. – they do not export overseas.

Following our guided tour we travelled back to the Downs Hotel, Drayton where Phil, Neville & Pat joined us for lunch.

Following lunch, members birthdays falling in September were acknowledged & celebrated in our usual manner viz. Brian Douglas, Noel Grant, Bryan Hunt, John Mullen, Pat O’Dea, Don Stansbie, Allan Stenzel, Ray Wells & Greg Whitley.

Special thanks to all who contributed to making this another safe & enjoyable event for all attendees, including Warwick Dingle & Ian Willert (Qld Business Manager – Boomaroo) for organising this event; Damian Hughes (Site Production Manager – Boomaroo) supported by his assistant Benita for their warm welcome & very interesting & informative guided tour; Michael Bourke & Russell Mauch for looking after our finances & name badges including receipting & banking of surplus cash; Warwick Dingle for ensuring we were all accounted for before our coach departed again after each stop; Peter Thompson for ensuring we got on & off the coach safely at each stop; Ron Lewis & Lindsay Reis for looking after our hydration needs; Bob Whittaker & Tony Wind for their usual joint gig as our first aid officers; Jan Neal for making our birthday cake; Montana & staff at the Downs Hotel for our great lunch; & finally our coach driver Nick Peters for transporting us to & from Southbrook safely.

To conclude, based on the feedback I have received I can safely say that this event was enjoyed by all attendees.

Dick 17^th September 2023

We had another good roll up of thirty-four (34) for this event (35 for lunch) which included one (1) visitor (Noel Cass) – Welcome Noel.

On arrival we were treated to a cuppa & biscuits along with an opportunity for informal mixing & chatting with a variety of QIMR staff including Doctors & Researchers.

After Smoko we moved to the auditorium & Clare Blake (Community Relations Officer) formally welcomed & provided us with a history of the institute from its inception in the 1940s to the present – It was a great presentation, very informative & well received by all members in attendance. On completion of Clare’s presentation, we broke up into five groups for our guided tours of the following laboratories (Labs) –

1. Blood Cancer Lab. – Including Leukemia & Lymphoma.
2. Transplant Immunology Lab. – Including Graft/Host Disease.
3. Skin Cancers Lab. – Including Melanoma & Immunotherapy.
4. Mosquito Control Lab. – Including Malaria, Dengue Fever & Ross River Fever.
5. Mental Health Lab. – Including Dementia & Depression.

I was fortunate enough to be a part of the guided tour of the mosquito lab., & some of the things I learned from this tour along with Clare’s presentation are as follows –

• The institute operates a total of sixty-six Labs.
• Every dollar donated to the Cancer Research Institute (QIMR Berghofer) is spent on Cancer Research – The Qld. Government Funds All the Institutes Administration Costs.
• 800 people (Doctors, Researchers & Administration Staff etc.) work on site.
• There are 30,000 different species of Mosquitoes world-wide.
• Thankfully, we only have 300 different species of Mosquito in Australia.
• Surprise, surprise, only the females of the species bite us – The males contribute to the proliferation of the species etc.
• The Lifespan of a Mosquito ranges from two (2) to four (4) months depending on conditions etc.
• The main incubation/hatching period is after rain.
• Mosquitos love stagnant water & wet leaves etc. in house gutters – Obviously, this is a good hint for all of us to keep our house gutters always clean, but, in particular straight after rain.
• One example of what is currently being researched at the institute is the development of a pill/tablet for control of Asthma.

Following lunch, members birthdays falling in August were acknowledged & celebrated in our usual manner Viz Eric Canning, Bevan Devine, Bob Mackinlay, Peter Neylon & Keith Ott.

Special thanks to all who contributed to making this another safe & enjoyable event for all attendees, including David Turner & Clare Blake for organising this event; Clare & the Institute Team for hosting this event, providing us with a very educational overview of the history of the institution along with the guided tours of the labs.; Michael Bourke & Russell Mauch for looking after our finances & name badges including receipting & banking of surplus cash; Warwick Dingle for ensuring we were all accounted for before our coach  departed again after each stop; Michael Bourke, Russell Mauch, Warwick Dingle, David Turner & Bob Whittaker for assisting the researchers during our lab. Tours; Bob Whittaker for his usual gig as our first aid officer; Rowdy Reid for looking after our hydration needs; Jan Neal for making our birthday cake; The staff at the MiHi Tavern for our excellent Lunches; Warwick Dingle for assisting the kitchen staff to ensure the correct meals were received by our members in a timely manner; & finally our coach driver Graham for transporting us to & from Herston safely.

Based on all the feedback (verbal & email) that I have received from members & Clare (on behalf of the institute), I can safely say this event was thoroughly enjoyed by attendees & researchers alike – Full credit to David & Clare for hanging in there since 2019 through all the hiccups & postponements (mainly due to COVID-19 restrictions) to finally make this event a reality – Well done David & Clare.

Dick 8^th August 2023

We had a roll up of thirty-eight (38) for this event (40 for lunch – included two guests) which included one (1) new member (Harley Storch) & two (2) visitors (Terry Gabbett & Dean Purssell) – welcome Harley, Terry & Dean.

All up including the Tweed Heads Group we had a total of sixty-five (65).

As we all know, sometimes the best of plans come unstuck. On this occasion we were anticipating a travel time each way to Redcliffe of around two & a quarter hours. However, after encountering a major accident on the highway just short of Helidon (requiring a diversion back to Withcott & along Flagstone Creek Road to Gatton) as well as heavy traffic, fog & rain we were lucky to be only three quarters of an hour behind schedule when we arrived.

The nett result was that we had to forgo our guided tour of the facilities.

On arrival we went straight to the practice oval & observed the players running through their training drills. There was a small crowd in attendance apart from our groups competing for dry spots out of the rain to observe the players training. On completion of their training, Coach Wayne Bennett brought the players over & invited us to interact with them. This was well received by all members as we were able to chat on a one-to-one basis with the players & some of our members had their photos taken with the players.

Following lunch, members birthdays falling in June & July were acknowledged & celebrated in our usual way Viz. June: Ray Andersen, Peter Aylward, Ron Bathurst, Tim Blades, Peter Cavanagh, John Cutler, Keith Hoffman, Michael McGoldrick, John Schmidt, Kerry Smith, Terry Sullivan, Peter Taylor & Bob Whittaker. July: Steven Berghofer, Lance Chilcott, Warren Goodhew, John O’Connor, Terry Parker, Kelsley Schelberg, Jon Schwartz & Pat Sullivan.

Next up Bobby Jones (president of the Dolphins Club) carried out an interactive presentation which included a Q & A session. Bobby provided us with a bit of history of the club, talked about several past players in their pre-NRL era as well as players recruited for next year – this was very well received by members.

To cap the day off Rowdy Reid auctioned a dolphins jersey signed by all players & donated by Russell Mauch with the proceeds of the auction to be donated to the successful bidder’s charity of choice. The successful bidder was Tom Bourke from the Gold Coast (member of the Tweed Heads Group).

Special thanks to all who contributed to making this another safe & enjoyable event for all attendees, including Russell Mauch, Warwick Dingle & Damian O’Rourke for organizing this event; Michael Bourke & Russell Mauch for looking after our finances & name badges including receipting & banking of surplus cash; Peter Thompson for his usual gig of ensuring we all get on & off the coach safely at each stop; Warwick Dingle for ensuring we were all accounted for before our coach departed again after each stop; Ron Lewis & Eric Canning for   attending to our hydration needs along with the loading & unloading of the coach; Bob Whittaker supported by Denis McCarthy for their gig as our first aid officers; Jan Neal for making our much appreciated birthday cake (2 cakes on this occasion to cater for the extra numbers); Annalise Beech & kitchen staff for providing & serving our cupper & lunch; Warwick Dingle & Russell Mauch for cutting up & serving our birthday cake; Wayne Bennett & the football players for so generously giving of their time to come & interact with us (obviously, the highlight of our visit); Bobby Jones for his interesting presentation; Russell Mauch for his most generous donation of a Dolphins Jersey; Rowdy Reid for conducting a very colorful auction; &, last but not least Nick Peters for transporting us to & from Redcliffe safely along with coming up with a safe alternate route to by-pass the Warrego Highway Accident Site.

Based on the written & verbal feedback I have received along with my observations on how our two groups mixed & interacted at the training oval & over lunch I have no hesitation in declaring this another successful event enjoyed by all attendees from both groups.

To conclude, for your information I have outlined below the events we have shared since the inception of the Tweed Heads Group in 2015 –

• 2015   Boat ride on the Brisbane River – Tweed Heads Group Organised.
• 2016   Guided Tour of RAAF Amberley Aviation Heritage Centre – Men for All Seasons Group Organised.
• 2017   Guided Tour of the Commonwealth Games Facilities on the Gold Coast – Tweed Heads Group Organised.
• 2018   Guided Tour of a Camel Dairy at Harrisville – Men for All Season’s Group Organised.
• 2019   Guided Tour of the Tramway Museum, Brisbane – Tweed Heads Group Organised.
• 2020   Cancelled due to COVID-19.
• 2021   Guided Tours of the QANTAS Pilot Training Centre & Wellcamp Airport – Men for All Season’s Group Organised.
• 2022   Guided Tour of Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane – Tweed Heads Group Organised.
• 2023   Guided Tour of Dolphins Rugby League Club Facilities, Redcliffe – Men for All Season’s Group Organised.

Planned for July 2024 

            Guided Tour of Brisbane Ports – Tweed Heads Group to Organise. 

Dick 8^th July 2023 

Well, we had a roll up of twenty-seven (27) for this event (28 for lunch – including one guest) which included one new member Rowdy Reid – Welcome Rowdy.

We kicked off our day with smoko in Jack Park, Dalby, followed by Noel Grant providing us with an overview of what we could expect during the live auction & how auction sales work from delivery of cattle to the sale yards, drafting for auction, weighing & transporting away after the auction is complete.

Following are a few observations I made during our guided tour –

• Dalby is the third largest livestock sale yards (behind Roma & Wagga) in the Southern Hemisphere.
• The sale yards are owned & operated by Western Downs Regional Council.
• It costs the sellers $17 per head to process cattle through the sale yards.
• The stock yards are set up with worker safety & animal welfare at the forefront of all their operations – examples of this include:
  • Drafting of the cattle is mechanized with the operator located on a platform above the drafting yards;
  • Cattle can be drafted into eight separate lots;
  • Auctioneers & buyers etc. move around the stock pens via catwalks (complete with handrails) above;
  • The latest extensions of the sale yards are fully roofed with future planning in place to roof the remaining sections of the yards;
  • Ample drinking water is provided for all stock in the pens along with a drinking fountain for auction attendees;
  • Stock kept overnight are fed in special feeder yards; &
  • The old battery-operated jiggers are no longer in use.

It was a good experience for all of us in attendance to observe the auction process from sale to weighing & have both Will Louden (Auctioneer) & our fellow member Noel Grant (retired Auctioneer) available to guide our tour & answer all our questions – Well done Will & Noel.

Following lunch, members’ birthdays falling in May were acknowledged & celebrated in our usual way viz. Leo Cuskelly, Terry Donnollan, Howard Gregson, Bob Kraut, John Kruger, David Lynch & Ross Morley.

To cap the day off Noel Grant auctioned a grain fed rump donated by him & his wife Karen with the proceeds of the auction to be donated to the buyer’s charity of choice – Warwick, Russell & Tim all bid against each other until Tim was successful with a total of $365 being raised from the auction – St. Vincent de Paul Xmas Hamper Appeal were the recipients of this most generous donation – Noel demonstrated how an auction works, all members enjoyed a bit of fun by being involved in the process, & last but not least a substantial amount of money was raised for a very worthy charity – Well done  all.

Special thanks to all who contributed to making this another safe & enjoyable event for all attendees, including Noel Grant for organizing this event & conducting our lunch time auction; Michael Bourke & Russell Mauch for looking after our finances & name badges including receipting & banking of surplus cash; Peter Thompson for his usual gig of ensuring we all get on & off the coach safely at each stop; Warwick Dingle for ensuring we were all accounted for before our coach departed again after each stop; Lindsay Reis & Ron Lewis for attending to our hydration needs along with loading & unloading of the coach; Warwick Dingle & Russell Mauch for standing in as our first aid officers; Jan Neal for making our much appreciated birthday cake; the kitchen staff at Dalby Leagues Club for our great lunch; Will Louden (supported by Noel) for providing us with a very interesting, comprehensive & informative guided tour; Noel & Karen Grant for their most generous donation of the rump/proceeds of the auction to Tim’s charity of choice – St. Vincent de Paul Xmas Hamper Appeal; Western Downs Regional Council for providing each attendee with a souvenir “Sale Yards” key ring; & last but not least our driver Graham Jones for transporting us to & from Dalby safely.

To conclude, I have no hesitation in declaring this another successful event enjoyed by all attendees.

Dick 8^th May 2023