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.

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.

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.

Our guest speaker on Tuesday, 27 February will be Dr Scott Bell GP.

In 2007, Scott embarked on a three month trip with Sea Shepherd, on their ship the Steve Irwin to interact with the Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean.

He says this experience, and the company of the folk onboard the ship helped to fine-tune his views and attitudes towards marine conservation, broaden his understanding of the  global climate emergency, and his future role in the world of activism.

Scott’s 31 year professional life as a medical practitioner encompassed a variety of General Practice work, both as an owner/operator of a private practice, a two year stint with the RAN, 7 years as State Director of the RACGP training program, time on remote Aboriginal communities, and seven years in Tasmania as a locum for all rural practitioners.

In retirement, Scott has focused his energy on a 760 acre property in the northeast , obtained a conservation covenant, developed a close relationship with Save the Tasmanian Devil program, become an owner/builder again, spent much time in a variety of volunteer roles (Wildcare, TFS, Landcare. etc) and developed interests and skills in  the environmental and conservation world.

Our speaker on Tuesday, 23 January 2024 is mine geologist, Andrew Millen.

Andrew was born in Launceston and went to East Launceston Public School followed by Launceston Church Grammar School where I first discovered my interest in mines. Here is his story:

“I went for a school excursion to Beaconsfield. I walked around and just wanted to go through and look at everything underground. I finished school in 1995 and moved to UTAS where I finished my science degree majoring in Geology.

In 2000, I moved to WA to start my life in the mining industry as an open pit Mine Geologist/Field Geologist.

In 2001 I went for a job as a geologist working in the oil industry which took me to America. It was very interesting, but I knew I always wanted to stay in the mines. I started in Indonesia before coming back to Melbourne with a consultancy followed by backpacking for a year and a half.

At the end of my backpacking journey, I spent an amazing year gold mining in Mongolia, followed by jobs in Turkey, China, and  Argentina.”

Andrew now lives in Launceston, having taken over the family business.

Our speaker on Tuesday, 28 November is Marion Sargent. Her presentation will cover the history of the Cataract Gorge since 1804. Writers have waxed lyrical about its beauty, but access was limited until the paths and bridges gradually opened the area for all to see. A Victorian pleasure garden emerged from the swampy area of the First Basin.

Marion is passionate about history and loves researching. After working as a librarian with the State Library of Tasmania for 26 years, she retired in December 2014. She has been president of the Launceston Historical Society since 2012, edits the Newsletter, maintains the Facebook and website pages, and co-ordinates and writes for the ‘Our History’ articles in The Sunday Examiner. In addition, Marion has contributed historical articles and essays for publication in books and journals on a variety of topics. She is also involved with other volunteer organisations relating to history, libraries, books, and cycling.