Dear Fellow Members

A CLG at last! The Society year is ending with very welcome news – on 30th October we received confirmation that, taking effect from 25th October, our registration as a Company Limited by Guarantee had been approved by ASIC. This is the culmination of a 3-year challenging process. On behalf of all members, our congratulations and thanks to Roger Grimley, Lilia Darii and Chris Spriggs for their efforts in seeing this through. Our lawyer, Heather Beckingsale, has provided legal advice pro bono throughout the process for which we are most grateful. So the RGSQ Council now constitutes a Board of Directors (although we still retain the nomenclature “Council” and “Councillors”).

UQ Students present their findings: On 17th October the UQ post-graduate students who had been researching our membership as a project for their degree, presented their report to RGSQ. A copy is available to members in the office. 100 members responded to the online survey part of the exercise. Key findings include:

• Over half of members responding are over 70 years of age;
• 43% have been members for more than 10 years;
• 80% intend to renew their membership;
• 75% now prefer to receive their Bulletin via email;
• RGSQ website was the most favoured channel for information on day trips and treks;
• Based on analysis of ABS demographic and economic data, the suburbs most suitable for targeting potential new members were The Gap, Coorparoo, New Farm, Ashgrove, Clayfield, Bridgeman Downs, Carindale and Indooroopilly

Engaging with the UQ Business School has been a worthwhile exercise, incurring no cost to RGSQ and the UQ staff involved have been very good to work with. We hope to continue this association in the future.

A visit to the Museum, Lands, Mapping & Surveying: On 31st October I represented RGSQ at the opening in 317 Edward Street of the new Museum of Lands, Mapping and Surveying (Dept. of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy). This occasion also commemorated the 200th anniversary of the birth of Queensland’s first Surveyor General, A.C. Gregory. Links have been made for RGSQ Map group to visit the Museum which houses many items of interest used by surveyors and cartographers in bygone eras. For example, in 1919 the Harvard Observatory in Peru expressed interest in shifting its instruments to Australia and Queensland was chosen for the relocation. In 1921 the Qld Surveyor General conducted tests for the “clarity of the atmosphere” at various sites on the Darling Downs. The 4-inch Grubb Astronomical Telescope now in the museum was used for this. Although the tests were satisfactory, the transfer of the observatory to Queensland never eventuated.

The Museum also has a bust of our foundation president, Augustus Charles Gregory. Bill Kitson, who is known to many members, related the story of its acquisition. For many years the bust was held in the Gregory Masonic Lodge, Cairns. In 2018 through the efforts of John Cavill-Jones and others, the bust was entrusted to David Kirchner who arranged for the transfer of the Gregory bust to the Museum of Lands, Mapping and Surveying in Brisbane where it is now on display.

The RGSQ Christmas Party: I look forward to seeing you at our Christmas party on December 3rd. There will be a couple of special awards and a quiz to test your geographical knowledge ! This year we will also have a raffle (tickets $2 or 3 for $5) so bring along your spare coins. On behalf of Council and Staff I extend my best wishes to all members for a happy and safe Christmas-New Year season.

Iraphne Childs, President