Need some last-minute help with an assignment or interested in building your GIS skills? 

Join us for an (informal) mapping workshop with The Royal Geographical Society of Queensland on Saturday 16th May (10am - 2pm) at 28 Fortescue Street, Spring Hill. 

Some of RGSQ’s members will be around to answer questions and help with anything GIS-related; whether you're working in ArcGIS Pro, QGIS, or just need guidance on assignment writing. 

This is a drop-in session, so come along anytime, bring your laptop, ask questions, and get unstuck. 

Snacks will be provided! See you there.

Garry Kuhn, Author of Famine to Feast

The Australian landscape is aged in geological terms. It is an ancient land. The soil is infertile by world standards. Agriculture, however, is important to the nation's economy. It supports a population of 28 million at home. Around three quarters of what we grow is exported. In total, we support a population of 100 million. This would not be possible without fertilizers to correct soil infertility and maintain the fertility of our most productive soils.

Two hundred years ago, the fertilizers being used around the world included naturally occurring ores and organic wastes, e.g. manure, bones. There was not enough of these products to meet demand. From the 1840s to the 1870s, guano was mined from the Chinca Islands off the west coast of South America, until these deposits were mined out. Sodium nitrate was then mined from the Atacama Desert on the South American mainland from the 1870s. Byproduct ammonium sulfate became available from the coking of coal in the 1840s with the advent of the Industrial Revolution in Europe.

John Lawes patented a process to make superphosphate in 1843. It was the world's first chemically altered fertilizer, marking the birth of the modern fertilizer industry. In 1909, Fritz Haber, a German scientist, produced ammonia from atmospheric nitrogen. Carl Bosch commercialized the process Haber had researched. The Haber Bosch process is widely regarded as the most important technological development in the 20th century. James Cuming was the first to manufacture superphosphate in commercial quantities in Australia at Yarraville (Melbourne) in 1878. Three of the first five superphosphate plants were in South Australia. The first ammonia plant in Australia to use natural gas as a feedstock was built at Gibson Island (Brisbane), using gas from Roma, Australia’s first gas pipeline. It commenced operations in 1969.

Today, most of these plants have closed. There is one operational superphosphate plant at Risdon (Hobart). The Gibson Island ammonia and urea plants closed in 2023. The future of the ammonium phosphate manufacturing facility at Phosphate Hill in north-west Queensland is uncertain.

Today, it is estimated that 50% of crop yields worldwide are attributable to the use of commercial fertilizers.

Bio: Garry Kuhn grew up on a farm in southern Queensland, Australia, and studied Rural Technology at the Agricultural College at Gatton. He joined the fertilizer industry in 1974 working in research, sales, marketing, administrative and managerial roles until his retirement 43 years later in 2017.

In his book, Famine to Feast, he recounts the history of the fertilizer industry, in Australia and abroad, and some of his own experiences.

Please note: If you registered to attend the lecture via Zoom, the lecture link will be emailed to all registrants closer to the event date. This lecture may be recorded. If you have any questions, please email us at info@rgsq.org.au.

Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens – African plant safari

9.30-10.30 Introductory presentation and BYO morning tea
10.30am - 12.30 pm guided walk.

Join us for an “African Plant Safari” at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mt Coot-tha, one of the best collections of African plants in Australia. The walk will be initially downhill from the lookout, zigzag through the African zone, proceed via the Tropical Dome and finish in the Arid Zone and Cactus House. The visit will mostly be devoted to plants from southern Africa, together with a few species from Namibia, East & West Africa, the horn of Africa, Egypt and one offshore island, depending on time constraints. The visit will be guided by RGSQ member Charles Naylor, a trained volunteer guide at the Gardens, who has been leading this walk since 2022, based on his experiences while a lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe in 1983-85 and a member of the Tree Society of Zimbabwe.

$5.00 members; $15.00 non-members
Max 20 persons

• Meet by 9.30am at the large picnic shelter Lookout located on the ring road within the Gardens (see map attached),
• Wear sunhats and stout walking shoes and bring walking sticks or poles if desired.

Over morning tea there will be:

• an introductory presentation covering a brief history and layout of the Mt Coot-tha Gardens,
• a small display of African wooden and other artefacts,
• an overview of the African collections at Mt Coot-tha – and a little botany!

Parking: The 3-hour visit involves self-drive to the Brisbane Botanic Gardens at Mt Coot-tha. On weekdays the Gardens are less crowded and participants can drive onto the ring road within the Gardens to park in one of the two areas adjacent to the Lookout, or near the National Freedom Wall (see map attached – the Freedom Wall is a 5-minute walk from the Lookout).

Walk rating: The walk is along sealed paths. Distances up to 2 km, gentle slopes, some stairs, some uneven surfaces and 5-minute standing periods for guide explanations.

Enquiries contact the RSGQ office +61 7 3368 2066 or email info@rgsq.org.au

The Royal Geographical Society of Queensland and the University of Queensland School of the Environment have organised a public forum with an excellent panel of speakers to present some critical perspectives on Immigration in Australia. We hope you can join us for this important event.

Friday 28 August, 2026
1:45-5pm; please arrive by 1.30pm
followed by St Lucy’s café for social drinks 5-7pm

VENUE: The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, room TBA

CHAIRS: Dr Iraphne Childs, RGSQ; Assoc. Prof. Thomas Sigler, UQ-SENV

KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Associate Prof. Elin Charles-Edwards UQ SENV
Australian Immigration Trends: Composition, Sources and Prospects

SPEAKERS:
Assoc. Prof. Aude Bernard UQ-SENV
Migration and Population Ageing: Evaluating Policy Trade-offs

Assoc. Prof. Thomas Sigler UQ-SENV
Four Brisbanes, Three Melbournes: Exploring Clustering in International Migration Populations

Dr. Rennie Lee UQ-ISSR
Longitudinal Pathways of Student Visa Holders

ATTENDANCE COST (includes afternoon tea)
General public $20, $10 Zoom
RGSQ $5, $5 zoom
UQ Staff free
Students free

MORE INFORMATION
w www.rgsq.org.au
e info@rgsq.org.au
p (07) 3368 2066

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.