Dear Members, I would like to bring you up to date on some recent activities and to express some acknowledgements.

The search for new RGSQ premises: We are continuing investigation of various properties. The Gregory House Committee has been very busy, working with our real estate representative, to identify suitable properties within 7km of the CBD. A BIG THANK YOU to committee members, Bob Abnett, Paul Broad, Chris Spriggs and Bernard for their efforts in this regard. From the many properties reviewed so far, RGSQ Council has inspected and seriously considered six buildings, located in Rocklea, Toowong and Milton. While the buildings were attractive in many ways, all have drawbacks of one kind or another relating to location, price, size, layout, etc. Council has considered the pros and cons of each property with a great deal of discussion. The reality is, however, that we will probably need to compromise on some aspect of a new building. Nowhere is perfect, and you will recall that the decision to sell 237 Milton Road was, in part, determined by the fact that our current building had some major problems. We are seeking the best possible option for RGSQ future requirements and will not rush into a purchase without extensive consideration and background research. I hope to have more positive news on this over the next month or so. Meanwhile, the Society will lease our current office and meeting spaces at 237 Milton Road until the end of the year if we need to do so. Monthly meetings/lectures continue on the first Tuesdays of the month at Magda Community Artz Hall.

The Australian Geography Competition (AGC) has been very successful this year, with 782 schools and over 72,000 students participating across Australia, an increase from 2017. The AGC is RGSQ’s most effective activity in promoting Geography in high schools. A BIG THANK YOU to the AGC Committee for their dedication in organising the AGC, to Bernard and Lilia for coordinating the AGC and creating AGC materials and to all RGSQ volunteers who work tirelessly to pack the nearly 4 tonnes of materials into envelopes, satchels and parcels for the mail-out to schools on time. Students take part in the competition in schools from 17 to 31 May.

The top male and female students in Year 11 from each State and the combined Territories, participate in the annual Geography's Big Week Out, (GBWO), a six-day event on Kangaroo Island, South Australia in early October 2018. This exercise focuses on fieldwork, spatial technologies and analytical skills, allowing selection of Australia's team for the following year’s International Geography Olympiad (iGeo). This will be held this year in early August in Quebec City, Canada.

The new RGSQ website: The new Society website has been launched! Check it out at https://rgsq.org.au.

A BIG THANK YOU to the website committee, Graham Rees, John Fairbairn, Ian Francis, Lilia and Bernard for the considerable time and effort that has gone into creating and setting up this much-improved website which will be a valuable portal for the Society in reaching out to members and the wider world. Among other features, the new website will allow members to look up the latest calendar of the Society’s events, activities and lectures, renew and pay annual memberships online and access a private section where every individual RGSQ member can login to see information for “members only”.

To find out more, come along to the Tuesday June 5th evening meeting at the Magda Community Artz Hall for a “show and tell” presentation followed by hands-on assistance with using the new website. Members of the website committee will be available to answer questions. You are welcome to bring along your laptop to “play around” on the website at the meeting. There will be some laptops for use on the night for those who are unable to bring a device.

Dr Iraphne Childs, President