If you have an interest in this trip we encourge you to join the waitlist in case of cancellations. (There is no obligation on your part in joining the wait list.)

Murray River Cruise and Royal Geographical Society of SA
1-8 May 2026

Join us for a Geotour cruise on the Murray River and a hosted visit to our sister Society, the Royal Geographical Society of South Australia in Adelaide.

Twin Share from $4075.00 pp; Single rate from $5830.00 pp

* On receipt of an offer, an Initial deposit of $1,000pp (partly refundable) to secure cabins & flights.

Cost includes:

Itinerary includes:

This Geotour will include guided shore excursions covering geographical, ecological, historical, economic and cultural aspects of this part of the Murray River:

Enquiries:
RGSQ office +61 7 3368 2066 or email info@rgsq.org.au

Speaker: Dr Margaret Cook

Australians have many different attitudes to rivers. First Nations people respect water as kin. Many people love rivers as a vital source of life that must be nurtured and respected. Rivers provide sustenance, solace, and recreation for many but they are also a resource that sustain communities and agriculture, and in a country prone to drought and floods with “unreliable” flows, rivers were re-engineered in pursuit of nation-building. These schemes created an illusion that water was limitless and free which led to overallocation and excessive use. Many now fear for the health of the rivers and all that they sustain. Margaret will draw on oral histories from the Murray-Darling Basin to explore the ways in which these attitudes have shaped riverine histories.

Dr Margaret Cook is a Research Fellow at the Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, and holds an honorary research position at La Trobe University. She is an environmental historian who has published on water histories and climate-related disasters, with a particular focus on rivers, floods, culture and climate. Margaret is the author of the celebrated book A River with a City Problem: A History of Brisbane Floods (2022). She has recently completed two research projects for the Murray-Darling Basin Authority.

Photo of the Lachlan River; credit Dr Margaret Cook

Please note: The ZOOM link for this event is included in the confirmation email which you will receive once you have registered. You will find it at the bottom of the notice Please keep this in a place where you can find it when needed. A reminder email will be sent with the link on the day of the event close to Close of Business hours.

This event may be recorded. If you have any questions, please email us at info@rgsq.org.au.

Presenter:  Neville McManimm, Map Group and RGSQ Member

Neville is an amateur historian. Come travel with him along the road from Canungra to Lamington National Park and find out that there is more to the journey than just the destination.

Register and pay via the website.

Coordinator: Neville McMannim

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.

Presenter: Keith Treschman, Map Group and RGSQ Member

It is impossible to transfer a spherical globe to a 2-dimensional surface without some distortion. The choice of a projection depends on what the map maker wants in terms of accuracy of area, shape, distance, or direction. Some major projections are covered along with their advantages and disadvantages.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Keith has taught Science for over 40 years in Queensland secondary schools. He holds a PhD in Astronomy, an area in which he is passionate. He has lectured on this topic onboard Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth.

He has visited the 7 continents and enjoys geographical places, for example, Hawaii, Great Rift Valley of Africa, Galápagos Islands, Jordan River and Antarctica.

His previous presentations to the Map Group were: Mapping the Night Sky, Areography (Geography of Mars), Life on Europa? An Application of Geography, Struve Geodetic Arc, Plate Tectonics, Seabed 2030 and How the USA States Got Their Shapes.

Register and pay via the website.

Coordinator: Kay Rees

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.

Springbrook Daytrip

To start RGSQ trips program for 2026, we have organised a daytrip to Springbrook on 20th March. Among other points of interest, we will visit Purling Brook Falls and Best-of-All Lookout.

Travel by comfortable coach for a tour of these locations. Pick up will be at Eagle Junction and Coopers Plains.

The geology of the plateaus of Springbrook, Lamington and Mt Tamborine is formed from lava flows emanating from Wollumbin (Mt Warning), now a volcanic plug in the Tweed Valley which we will see from Best-of-All Lookout.

Significant as a UNESCO World Heritage Area, the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia comprise the major remaining areas of sub-tropical rainforest in southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales. The Springbrook National Park is part of the World Heritage Area in Queensland.

The coach will leave Eagle Junction (Bus Stop 27, Park Av, between Sydney St and Junction Rd) at 7.30 am, with a second pick-up at Coopers Plains (Brittain Park, Troughton Rd, opposite Sherrington St) at 8.00 am. Parking is available at both locations, either on-street or off-street (Brittain Park). The first pick-up is close to Eagle Junction rail station.

After the second pick-up, the coach will go directly to Springbrook (Purling Brook Falls) and then to other points of interest.

The return journey will drop off at both pick-up locations. Expect to return to Eagle Junction by mid-afternoon.

There will be stops at picnic areas for BYO morning tea and lunch, so remember to bring your own! Also, bring a water bottle, hat, camera, sunglasses, sunscreen and wind jacket.

Numbers: The trip is limited to 20 people.

Cost: $60 per person (members), $70 per person (non-members)

Registration: When registering, please indicate whether you want to be picked up at Eagle Junction or Coopers Plains.

Enquiries contact the RSGQ office +61 7 3368 2066 or email 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