On Tuesday, 26 May 2026, our guest speaker will be Jon Addison, the Senior History Curator at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery (QVMAG).

His talk will take us through the main events that led to the development of Launceston. Jon will focus on the landmarks, buildings and personalities that contributed to Launceston, ending in the key year of 1842.

Jon’s work has taken him around Australia and the world.

He has worked at a number of museums and institutions, including the National Trust of Western Australia, the Western Australian Maritime Museum, the London Transport Museum, and the Scottish Maritime Museum, before taking up his current role at QVMAG in 2008.

Jon is also particularly interested in music, and plays flute, piccolo and a variety of unusual medieval instruments.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.