All posts by Ivan James

Environmental Incident in Tasmania: The Great Forester River Case

16 August 2025Guest speakersIvan James

On 26 August, club member Wayne Riley will address this issue in detail. Wayne brings direct experience to the discussion from his tenure as the senior engineering planning manager at Australian Paper Manufacturers’ mill at Burnie before becoming the mine manager at APM’s clay mine at Tonganah.

Company operations: APM operated major paper mills at Burnie and Wesley Vale, both located in northwest Tasmania. In addition, the company ran a mine and mineral processing facility at Tonganah, in the northeast of the state. The primary focus at Tonganah was extracting and processing Kaolin clay, used as a filler in producing fine writing paper. This clay provided opacity and improved the surface quality of the paper for writing and printing.

Industry image and fallout: After facing negative publicity regarding establishing a pulp mill at Wesley Vale, the company tried to enhance the public image of Tasmania’s paper industry. However, the poisoning of the Great Forrester River, the resulting death of thousands of fish, and its impact on a local hop farm triggered a strong emotional response from the community. Weeks after the event, a remark made during a phone conversation between the farmer and staff at Tonganah reignited tensions. It threatened to undo much of the progress made in improving the industry’s reputation.

Focusing on governance and community Service

17 July 2025Guest speakersIvan James

The guest speaker for our meeting on Tuesday, 22 July, will be Hugh McKenzie, Deputy Mayor and Alderman of the City of Launceston. (Image: Mercury Newspaper)

Hugh is a Chartered Accountant by profession, having been a partner in the advisory firm KPMG for 24 years until his retirement in 2011. Since then, he has been involved in governance roles, emphasising those that give back to the local community.

On Tuesday, Hugh will recount stories from his life before retirement and the values that drive him post-retirement.

Researching the history of St John’s Church

10 June 2025UncategorizedIvan James

Our guest speaker on Tuesday, 24 June, is Julian Burgess, author of the recently published history of St John’s Church, Launceston.

The foundation stone of St John’s Church in Launceston was laid in December 1824, the year the northern headquarters of Van Diemen’s Land was relocated there from George Town.

St John’s is the oldest public building in Launceston and has reflected the city’s progress over the past 200 years.

Julian is a retired journalist and former Associate Editor of the Examiner Newspaper in Launceston, where he held numerous roles over 45 years. He is the author of 12 non-fiction books on Tasmanian history and has written hundreds of articles on local history, contributing to many local historical publications.

Bibliography:

St John’s: Launceston’s First Church 1825-2025

Doing Time: Stories Of Convict Clock And Watchmakers In Van Diemen’s Land

Duck Reach: Launceston’s Electric Light, Marvels Of The Cataract

Holyman’s Of Bass Strait: Shipping And Aviation Pioneers Of Australia

Cruel Wind: Business Post Naiad And The 1998 Sydney To Hobart Yacht Race Disaster

His Own Man: The Cecil Burgess Story

Home Of Peace: The Eskleigh Story

William Gow’s Anzac Diary: Serving With The 3rd Field Ambulance At Gallipoli

The Outcome Of Enterprise: Launceston’s Waverley Woollen Mills

The Tamar Yacht Club: A History Of Sailing In Launceston, Tasmania From 1837

A Woman Of Charity: The Winifred Daphne Booth Story

The Australian Three Peaks Race: The First 20 Years

Walks against racism and supporting multiculturalism

22 May 2025UncategorizedIvan James

On Tuesday, 27 May, Peter Gutwien, former Premier of Tasmania, will tell how he decided to conduct two lengthy walks to oppose racism and support multiculturalism.

Peter chairs the Migrant Resource Centre Tasmania, which provides services for the Federal Government’s humanitarian settlement program.

He is also a company director and strategic adviser for a range of companies, including Incat, Sea Forest, and TasRex Ltd, which are companies involved in energy transition and low-emission technologies. He also acts as a consultant for various firms regarding leadership and strategic planning.

He loves Australian Rules football and recently took on the role of the President of the Northern Tasmanian Football Association.

Making the right choices in life and parliament

23 April 2025UncategorizedIvan James

22 April 2025: Today marked a significant milestone as our new President, Allan Thompson, chaired his first meeting and welcomed our newest member, Dr Daniel Rolf, a former university lecturer, to our club.

Our guest speaker, the Federal member for Bass, Bridget Archer, shared a captivating account of her life.

She spoke of her positive experiences in local government, her election to the Australian Parliament, and her approach to her roles in Launceston and Canberra.

The Q&A session that followed was particularly engaging, with our members actively participating to better understand parliamentary decision-making and the changing pattern of voters and their interests.

Springtime in Japan

22 February 2025UncategorizedIvan James

In April 2024, Club member Peter Jacobson traveled to Japan to see their famous cherry blossom and other spring offerings. He circumnavigated Japan on a cruise boat with seven port stops, and he saw many parks and gardens in magnificent colour. Peter’s talk features a slide display of the parks and gardens visited by him. This should be a treat for those of us who are keen horticultural gardeners and photographers.

Trump 2.0 and Museum Leaning: Two Club Speakers

26 January 2025UncategorizedIvan James

On 28 January 2025, our speakers will be two club members:

Trump’s Second Term

One week after President Donald Trump took office for a second term, historian Dr Tom Dunning will analyse early indications of Trump’s intentions. Will he deliver on his promises and rhetoric?

Among the issues Tom will consider are: Who will he pardon? Who will he attempt to arrest or charge? What immigration policies will he pursue? What actions will he take concerning Panama, Greenland, Canada, Ukraine, and the Middle East? Will he cancel Biden’s environmental policies? What tariffs will he declare, and what taxes will he cut?

Tom will also examine the office of the President. How will Trump change it, and will he be different from previous Presidents or his first term?

Whispers in the Wind

Our second speaker will be retired nuclear scientist and prolific local author Paul A.C. Richards AM. Paul will focus on two books he published in 2024. He will also outline a significant project to introduce museum learning at Launceston Church Grammar School. The aim is to commission a bespoke natural science specimen cabinet to house collections of bird’s eggs, insects, fossils, shells, and other artifacts, thereby resurrecting the school’s museum.

The story behind the retaining wall

19 October 2024Guest speakersIvan James

Our guest speaker on Tuesday, 22 October will be Karen Heathcote, project manager. design and construction for the Launceston City Council.

She will explain why privately owned retaining wall above the Cataract Walkway failed, and the steps the Council took to remove the wall and protect the Walkway.

This was a complex civil engineering project with the potential for environmental and public safety issues. Karen will explain how these problems and the successful solution.

Tamar Estuary River Health Plan

23 September 2024Guest speakersIvan James

Andrew Truscott from TasWater, an Environmental Engineer with over twenty years’ experience is the project director for the Tamar Estuary River Health Action Plan. He is the guest speaker for our meeting on 24 September.

Poop Decks and Stages: Musings on Naval Architecture and the Arts in Launceston

19 April 2024Guest speakersIvan James

The guest speaker for our meeting on 23 April 2024 is Dr Stan Gottschalk. Stan was born in the US in 1946. He grew up in Florida and studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) before emigrating to Australia in 1970, finishing his PhD in Fluid Mechanics at the University of Melbourne (1973).

He moved to Tasmania in 1975, where he has worked as Head of Mathematics and Science at Oakburn College, and as a Lecturer at the TSIT/UTAS), before joining the Australian Maritime College where he was instrumental in setting up the College’s professional engineering degree programs in Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering before his retirement in 2001.

The Arts have always been a part of Stan’s life. Active in the local theatre scene, he has worked as director, actor, production manager, and designer on over 40 productions, and was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Theatre Council of Tasmania in 2021.

Stan is also a Life Member of the Launceston Film Society. He was part of a team that revitalised it in the late 1970s, taking it from about a dozen members to the 1,100 members it has today. He is also a respected folk musician both as a solo performer and with his band The New Holland Honey Eaters.