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• Geography Writing Competition

  • Start
    Monday, April 21, 2025
  •  
    11:30 PM
  • End
    Monday, July 14, 2025
  •  
    11:30 AM
  • Location
    Online

  Register

  Geography Writing Competition

  

  This is your opportunity to write a short story set in Queensland using imagination, creativity and with a wide interpretation.

  Opening date: 21 April 2025
  Closing Date: 14 July 2025

  Entrance fee: $10.00

  This competition is open to all writers, nationally and internationally, at any stage of their writing career.

  Prizes:

  • First Place - $300 and publication in the RGSQ Bulletin and on the RGSQ website
  • Second Place - $150
  • Third Place - 1 year membership to the Queensland Writers Centre

  Length: Short fiction up to 500 words

  Download the Competition Terms and Conditions.

  Download the GWC Registration Instructions for further details about the registration process.

  Download the Competition Flyer if you want to publicise the competition.

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• Visit to the Queensland Communications Museum

  • When
    Wednesday, July 16, 2025
  •  
    10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Location
    On the corner of Oriel and Sandgate Roads, Clayfield
  • Spaces left
    5

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  Map Group Presentation
  

  Visit to the Queensland Communications Museum

  Map Group is about to lift the veil on that substantial red brick building at the corner of Sandgate and Oriel Roads at Clayfield.  The building houses an extensive collection of all things postal and telecommunications.  The museum is run by a dedicated group of volunteers and is officially known as the Queensland Communications Museum (sometimes referred to as the Telstra Museum).  The volunteers are from the Postal-Telecommunications Historical Society.  Most of the equipment is in working order and the volunteers are keen to give us a guided tour and demonstrate the equipment that they used when they were part of the PMG, Telecom, Australia Post and Telstra.  Yes, Telstra did have maps of their network.  There is plenty of off-street parking at the back of the building accessed from 3 Oriel Road, Clayfield.  The Council bus service from the northern suburbs passes the building along Sandgate Road.  A Map Group member will provide a shuttle service from the Albion Railway Station to the Museum.  It is planned to have a lunch at the Albion Hotel after our visit to the Museum.  The Albion Hotel is across the road from the Albion Railway Station.

  Final arrangements will be communicated to those who register for this event.

  Costs: RGSQ Members $5:00.  Non-members $10.00.  Register and pay via the website.

  Limit: 20

  Coordinator: Len Lowry

  Photographs and videos may be taken during RGSQ events for use in promotional materials including, but not limited to, the RGSQ website, social media channels, newsletters and other publications. By attending an RGSQ event, you consent to the use of your likeness for these purposes, unless you inform the event organizer or photographer otherwise. Click here for more information. 

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• Our Future Geographers

  • When
    Tuesday, July 22, 2025
  •  
    5:30 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Location
    Gregory Place, 1/28 Fortescue St, Spring Hill Qld 4000
  • Spaces left
    46

  Register

  Geography in Conversation

  For the Geography in Conversation for July we’re hearing from three outstanding geography and environmental science students. Ranging from Year 12 fieldwork to PhD studies, the students will present their work and share insights across a range of geographic topics. Whether you’re a fellow student, educator, or simply passionate about research and innovation, we encourage you to attend and support these emerging scholars.

  
  

  Speakers:

  Jinwoo Bang, Year 12 student, Wavell Heights State School.

  Jinwoo will be sharing two of his recent Geography projects that explore real-world environmental and urban issues using modern geospatial technologies.

  The first project focuses on Montague Road in South Brisbane, where he investigated how the land is currently used and could be developed for the area, especially looking ahead to how the space could be transformed after the 2032 Olympic Games.

  
  

  The second project is based on Cylinder Beach on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island). There, he used tools like drones, 360-degree cameras, and interactive mapping to study changes in land cover and the rising levels of faecal coliform bacteria found in the water.

  
  

  This was part of his Year 12 fieldwork report, where data collection and spatial analysis were combined to produce a high-quality investigation.

  
  

  Edmund Goebels, Graduate Honours student, University of Queensland.

  For his Honours research project Edmund used GIS and spatial statistical approaches to examine voting patterns in the 2022 federal election. He particularly assessed the impact that flooding just prior to the election may have had on these patterns.

  
  

  Jas Singh, PhD student, Griffith University.

  Jas is a PhD candidate in Environmental Science who has recently submitted his thesis titled "Remote sensing of phytoplankton community biomass in surface waters of lakes in southeast Queensland." His research focused on applying remote sensing and GIS techniques to retrieve key water quality indicators — specifically the pigments Chlorophyll-a and Phycocyanin — in lakes with varying trophic states.

  
  

  Moderator Mr Ben Gan ESRI.  

  In the National Geospatial Excellence Awards Oceania, Ben won the Future Leader of the Year Award.

  
  

  Each speaker will have 8 minutes to spotlight their work. During the Q&A forum the audience will have up to 60 minutes to ask questions of the experts on their research.

  
  

  Light refreshments are served on arrival. This is a chance to network with colleagues and friends interested in this topic.

  
  

  Please post your questions on notice to:

  Email questionsonnotice@gmail.com

  
  

  Date: Tuesday 22 July

  Time:  5:30 pm light refreshments – doors open @ 5:15 

              6:00 – 6:30 pm Presentations

              6:30 – 7:30 Q&A Forum

              7:30 – 8:00 Mingling 

  Place: Gregory Place, Level 1, 28 Fortescue St. Spring Hill 

  Cost: $5.00 for refreshments, included in registration. 

  Cost: $5.00 Members 

            $10.00 Non-Members 

            Free Students 

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• Mary Valley Self Drive Geo Tour

  • Start
    Monday, July 28, 2025
  •  
    12:00 PM
  • End
    Thursday, July 31, 2025
  •  
    12:00 PM
  • Location
    Wide Bay - Burnett Region
  • Spaces left
    3

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  RGSQ Traveller Event

  

  Have you ever driven the full length of the Mary Valley – from Booroobin (near Maleny) to River Heads (near Maryborough)? Are you aware of the Borumba Pumped Hydro project? Did you know the native fish are having to compete with an invasive species, Telopia?   How can the "punk" "bum-breathing" Mary River turtle be protected (Picture above)? What is happening with train manufacturing in Maryborough?

  Find out this and more with a self-drive/tagalong trip along the valley from 28 July to 30 July. It will finish with an optional whale-watching cruise in Hervey Bay on 31 July.

  As part of the geotour, a forum is being organised in Imbil with a range of speakers talking about local issues of geographical interest, particularly the Borumba Pumped Hydro Project.  The town of Imbil is near the southern end of the valley.

  See map of the catchment area below.

  The trip will start in Imbil on Monday 28 July and overnight in Gympie, Maryborough and Hervey Bay / River Heads. Accommodation will be in caravan parks with cabins

  The cost is  $50 to cover coast of venue hire in Imbil plus other expenses.  A half-day whale-watching cruise is an optional addition.

  Participants will pay their own accommodation, vehicle costs and meals. Also, participants will need to make their own accommodation bookings.  Preferred caravan parks with cabins will be advised to registrants.

  For insurance purposes, participants will need to be members of RGSQ.

  Whale-watching cruise: 
  A group booking will be made for a half-day whale watching cruise with the Pacific Whale Foundation (https://pacificwhale.com.au/ ) from Urangan (cost $119).  The registration process will provide for this option.  If you wish to do this cruise, please register as soon as possible, so a group booking can be made.

  Geotour Coordinator for RGSQ Traveller: Ralph Carlisle

  
  

  
  

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• Ipswich

  • When
    Thursday, August 21, 2025
  •  
    9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
  • Location
    Ipswich
  • Spaces left
    0

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  RGSQ Traveller Event

  

  It probably wasn’t planned that Ipswich, one of the earliest towns in Queensland that first emerged as a limestone mining settlement in 1827, and at one stage a candidate to be the state Capital, sit  within the same local government boundary as Springfield, the adjacent master-planned greenfield city development which has been emerging  since 2000. A group of RGSQ members visited Springfield in July 2024 and heard and saw something of how that is being achieved.

  Thursday, 21^st August 2025 offers the opportunity for members to visit Ipswich to see, and hear about how that city has navigated the intervening near 200 years, and developed to the city it is today, while maintaining linkage to it’s fascinating past and heritage. 

  The visit will commence (and end) at the Ipswich Rail Station.  There is a half-hourly train service to Ipswich (one end of the Caboolture line) and it is suggested that participants use the service that arrives at Ipswich at 9.56am. (It’s about a 60 minute journey from Central Station.)   The Journey Planner tab on the Translink website is useful in identifying travel options.

  A coach will be used to convey the group to various locations including:

  • -          the Ipswich Visitors Information Centre in Queens Park, for a short introductory talk and a Devonshire Morning Tea,
  • -          a one and a half hour Heritage Tour, with accompanying commentary, visiting many of the significant historical and geographic points of interest in Ipswich and immediate surrounds.
  • -          Lunch* at the historic Prince Alfred Hotel
  • -          the Cooneana Heritage Centre (talk by a Centre volunteer and conducted walking tour).  Additionally, the Centre houses a museum of mining history, and exhibits covering the Ipswich district’s wartime history.
  • -          return to the Ipswich Station around 3.15 pm.

  The Event will conclude at 3.15 pm in time for the rail service from Ipswich towards Central Station at  3.37pm (and half hourly services thereafter.)

  The Ipswich Station is located within the Ipswich CBD, and participants might wish to spend more time in the city precinct.

  No difficult terrain will be encountered, and the Event is suitable for Members with reasonable fitness and mobility.

  Cost:  (covers: coach hire;  morning tea; lunch*; Heritage Tours and entry fees);    $80 per head (Members)     Non-members $90 per head

  •      *Lunch selections will be obtained from participants closer to the day.

  Please register on-line (by 25^th July 2025).   Numbers are limited to 20.   A wait-list will operate.

  RGSQ Traveller Coordinator: Roger Grimley

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• Cyclone Alfred Consequences

  • When
    Tuesday, August 26, 2025
  •  
    5:30 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Location
    Gregory Place, 1/28 Fortescue St, Spring Hill Qld 4000
  • Spaces left
    50

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  Geography in Conversation

  

  Severe Tropical Cyclone Alfred was a long-lived Coral Sea event that had a major impact over southeastern Queensland and northeastern New South Wales including widespread coastal erosion, damaging winds causing widespread power outages and some structural damage, and widespread heavy rainfall and associated flooding. More than 500 000 customers were without power over southeast Queensland and northeastern New South Wales with many remaining without power for multiple days. Power outages were generally attributed to the windy conditions, including trees or tree branches falling onto power lines. The slow passage of Alfred southwards parallel to the Queensland coast produced large easterly swell that impacted the coastline of southeast Queensland and northeastern New South Wales causing significant coastal erosion. It is estimated that millions of cubic metres of sand were scoured from beaches leaving escarpments up to 6 metres high in some dunes during the prolonged event. [BOM].

  Speakers

  Dr Michael Hewson, Rockhampton North Campus, CQ University

  Dr Michael Hewson teaches environmental geography from the Rockhampton North campus of CQUniversity. Michael’s research spans the topics environmental policy, creative reflection, spatial analysis of the weather, and threatened species habitat health monitoring and mapping using satellite remote sensing. Michael' research projects involve applying GIS and satellite remote sensing to spatial analysis of Earth systems.

  Dr Annie Lau, University of Queensland

  Dr Annie Lau is a coastal geomorphologist specialising in analysing past occurrences of coastal hazards (e.g. storms and tsunamis) through sedimentary, geomorphological and historical records for assessing the future threat in coastal areas. She is particular interested in understanding the coastal impacts created by waves, and how long those imprints would preserve in the landscape. 

  Mr Reece Pianta

  Reece is an experienced public policy campaigner in government and non-government roles. His work at the Invasive Species Council has helped secure funding and build community support for Australia’s fire ant eradication program. He was also involved in the early formation of Yellow Crazy Ant eradication efforts in the Townsville area. Visits to infestation areas in Cairns and Townsville and living in the Brisbane fire ant biosecurity zone left a deep appreciation of the mounting impacts that little invaders have on every aspect of life.

  Each speaker will have 8 minutes to spotlight their work. During the Q&A forum the audience will have up to 60 minutes to ask questions of the experts on their research.

  Light refreshments are served on arrival. This is a chance to network with colleagues and friends interested in this topic.

  Please post your questions on notice to: questionsonnotice@gmail.com

  Date: Tuesday 26 August 2025

  Time:  5:30 pm light refreshments – doors open @ 5:15 

               6:00 – 6:30 pm Presentations

               6:30 – 7:30 Q&A Forum

               7:30 – 8:00 Mingling 

  
  

  Place: Gregory Place, Level 1, 28 Fortescue St. Spring Hill 

  Cost: $5.00 for refreshments, included in registration. 

  Cost: $5.00 Members 

            $10.00 Non-Members 

            Free Students 

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