InStudio Art Trail Brochure 2019
Artistic flair will be on display this weekend in the Crows Nest area at the annual InStudio Art Trail. Visitors will be able to drive along the art trail, stopping in at the home studios of local artists on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th August, 2019.
The trail gives people a chance to take a leisurely drive through the High Country north of Toowoomba, while offering a chance to view the amazing works of local artists and view them at work in their studios. Some original artworks will be on sale.
Participating artists include:
Bruce Griffiths Chris Norris Warren Pashen
Stacey Blinco Tina Cherry, and
a collaborative exhibition at Perseverance Hall
Brochures and a map are available from Visitor Information Centres in Toowoomba and Hampton, Crow’s Nest Community Arts & Crafts or Download Here
The self-drive Art Trail first began in 2011. The InStudio Art Trail will run from 10am-4pm on both Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 August.
National Science Week is one of Australia’s largest community festivals, and it’s about to take off in hundreds of locations all over Australia. Packed with something for everyone from every walk of life, this year’s festival promises to be bigger than ever before! The aim of National Science Week is to encourage Australians to get more involved in the incredible world of science around them, including a look at the amazing innovations and people that use science to make our lives better.
In 2019, National Science Week happens between August 10 and 18 with nearly 2,000 events scheduled to take place across the country.
National Science Week is an initiative of the Inspiring Australia Program â€Â a non-profit program administered by Questacon, Australia’s National Science and Technology Centre.
Darling Downs Health Donation Specialist Nurse Liz Hill at the Toowoomba Hospital foyer standing with the permanently installed mosaic art tribute to honour donors and their families for the amazing gifts of life.
Last year Toowoomba experienced an increase in donor registrations, with around 1124 new organ and tissue donors. This year, DonateLife Week is aiming to double the number of registered donors.
Organ and tissue donation is the life-saving and life-transforming medical process where organs and
tissues are transplanted from a recently deceased person, to a very ill or dying person because one of
their organs is failing.
The organs that can be transplanted include the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and pancreas. Tissues that
can be donated include skin, heart valves, cornea and bones. An organ and tissue donor is someone
who has registered to donate their organs and tissues when they pass away.
“The decision to donate organs and tissues is an act of  extraordinary generosity,†Darling Downs Health  Donation Specialist Nurse Liz Hill said. “If every  registered person finds at least one friend to register on  the Australian Organ Donor Register, we would double  the number of registered donors.â€Â
DonateLife Week is held 28 July to 4 August annually to inspire all Australian’s to make a real difference to the lives of others by registering to be an organ and tissue donor. “We want to inspire all Australians to register and tell their family they want to be a donor,†Ms Hill said.
“One-by-one is how we’ll make that difference.”
“Registering your decision during your lifetime takes all the stress out of the decision for families. People can feel sure of the decision, knowing they are honouring their final wish.
“Registration is easy and takes less than a minute. All that is required is your Medicare card number.â€Â
Around 1,400 Australians are currently on the waiting list for a live-saving transplant. For more information about registering as a donor visit www.donatelife.gov.au The generous act of donation has far reaching effects, changing the lives of both transplant recipients and their families.
Submitted by: Shannon Petersen Acting Senior Media Officer Media, Communication and Engagement Darling Downs Health
Hospice Chairman Mr Graham Barron OAM said the team at the Toowoomba Hospice were delighted with the response they have had so far for their Birthday Fundraiser ‘Roll Out The Carpet’ with over $20,000 being raised out of the $30,000 birthday gift they are looking for.
Mr Barron reaffirmed his admiration for the achievements of staff, volunteers and supporters especially in the last 16 years who have helped in providing professional palliative care service to the local community in a nice home-like environment.
“As I have mentioned many times our vision is to provide palliative care based on mutual respect, trust and individual needs and I am proud to say that we do this very successfully and this is shown by the wonderful support we have received for this fundraiser.†Said Mr Barron
L to R: Toowoomba and District Woodcrafters Ron O’Brien , Dale Logan and Tony Kelly as they present Hospice’s Chairman Graham Barron OAM and Administration and Fundraising Manager Mark Munro the beautiful hand-crafted timber pens to help with the Hospice’s Birthday Fundraiser ‘Roll Out The Carpet.’ The Hospice is celebrating 16 years of providing professional palliative care to over 1,400 clients since opening on the 1st of July 2003
Administration and Fundraising Manger Mark Munro said to help celebrate 16 years of providing safe, quality care in partnership with the community for those with a terminal illness “We are asking the community to please donate $16 each to help us reach $30,000 so we can re-carpet the entire facility, and we now only need a further $10,000!â€Â
The Hospice has just been given 20 beautifully hand-crafted timber pens by the Toowoomba and District Woodcrafters to sell with the proceeds going to the Birthday Fundraiser ‘Roll Out The Carpet’.
Mr Ron O’Brien from Toowoomba and District Woodcrafters said they have been operational for about 27 years with their Workshop at the Toowoomba Showgrounds. “Over the years, the membership has increased, the shed has been expended on three occasions and comes complete with many pieces of woodworking machinery. Making Pens is just one of many activities that the Club is engaged in.â€Â
Another member Tony Kelly has a wonderful display of pens at Cobb & Co. Museum and I have been making pens for over 20 years and supply the Toowoomba West Probus Club; where guest speakers at our Monthly meeting receive a Pen as a token of the Club’s appreciation for their presentation.†Said Mr O’Brein
These pens that have been donated to us were especially engraved by Kevin and Zac from the Toowoomba Trophy Centre at no cost †thank you guys, this is another great example of our community working together for the Toowoomba Hospice said Mr Munro
As a bonus to help reach the target, the Hospice will give one of these beautiful pens to the first 10 people who donate $1,000 to their Birthday Fundraiser ‘Roll Out The Carpet’.â€Â - To support this wonderful fundraiser Go to:- www.givenow.com.au/hospice-16th-birthday or go to their web site www.toowoombahospice.org.au and click on the Birthday Fundraiser link
Submitted by: Mark Munro,
Administration and Fundraising Manager,
Toowoomba Hospice,
Ph: 07 4659 8500
Queensland’s State Rose Garden in Newtown Park Toowoomba Inc. are holding their annual Rose Pruning Day on Saturday, 27th July from 8 to 10.30am,
You’re invited to join the Friends of the State Rose Garden and Toowoomba Regional Council gardeners at the State Rose Garden in Newtown Park and learn the skill of correctly pruning rose bushes.
Please bring along a hat, gardening gloves, secateurs and an empty bucket for clippings. A free morning tea will be served afterwards for participants – everyone is welcome
A tour of the Queensloand State Rose Garden will follow at 11am, which will incl;ude a history of the 106 years old Park.
For enquiries, phone Regina on 0408 282 515, or Lorraine on 0429 115 140
The robot that helped Nexus safely complete its line marking (Nexus photo)
With the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing nearing completion, line marking of stretches of roadway has been taking place ….
Meet the TSRC’s tiny surveyor, the robot we used to mark where all the lines and marks need to go on
the road as a guide for the line marking machines following behind.
The robot is operated through the Global Positioning System (GPS), and was put to work on the project last month to map out the whole road surface with painted dashes for the line markers to follow.
These line markers follow the dashes to complete
the lines marking the road edges, traffic islands,
lane arrows, dividing strips, and turning bays.
Using the robot to pre-mark lines is three times faster than doing it manually, and it eliminates the risk of inaccurate marking and safety risks for line surveyors working next to heavy plant and machinery during finishing works.
Line marking on the eastern section of the TSRC (Nexus photo)
The robot marks dashes on the road at five metre intervals so the line markers can complete the lines with greater accuracy. Tiny glass beads in the finished painted road lines will help with reflection at night when the road opens later this year.
As the world celebrated 50 years since the Moon landing, at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ), eyes are firmly set on the future of space exploration.
Marking the completion of Minerva-Australis at USQ’s Mount Kent Observatory (back from l-r) Dr Brett Addison, Professor Jonti Horner, Duncan Wright, Assistant Professor Peter Plavchan (George Mason University), Mathieu Colette, front (from l-r) Dr Belinda Nicholson, Professor Rob Wittenmyer and Professor Brad Carter.USQ Astrophysicist and project lead Professor Rob Wittenmyer (USQ Photography)
Tuesday July 23 saw the completion of Minerva-Australis at USQ’s Mount Kent Observatory, the only facility in the Southern Hemisphere dedicated to providing ground-based observations to support NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission.
USQ Astrophysicist and project lead Professor Rob Wittenmyer said the telescope array offered a powerful new approach to planet hunting. “Fifty years ago we walked on the Moon, 30 years ago we found the first planets orbiting other stars and we are now in the new space race †the search for habitable planets.â€Â
“In the next few years NASA’s TESS spacecraft should detect thousands of new worlds, but ground-based facilities are critically needed to follow-up those discoveries, and to help us understand what kind of planets they might be,” Professor Wittenmyer said.
“This is where Minerva-Australis comes in. We are the only dedicated facility in the Southern Hemisphere for this kind of work. We can observe the stars around which TESS suspected planets and confirm the existence of those planets and learn more about them.
“That makes us a vital piece of the puzzle – without our facility, many of the planets TESS finds would remain unconfirmed, and uncharacterised.â€Â
Minerva stands for Miniature Exoplanet Radial Velocity Array, a group of 70cm aperture robotic telescopes that search for Earth-like exoplanets near our Solar system, within about 300 light-years of the Sun.
The observatory on Toowoomba’s doorstep is already playing a pivotal role in the universal hunt, assisting in the discovery of thirteen new planets orbiting distant stars. Mount Kent Observatory is Queensland’s only professional research observatory for astronomy teaching and research training, and this year USQ is offering a Bachelor of Science (Astronomical and Space Sciences) degree for the first time.
USQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Geraldine Mackenzie said the degree would open more doors for students and allow them to work alongside leading researchers and access world-class facilities like Mount Kent Observatory.
“This Minerva-Australis telescope array and the Mount Kent Observatory will provide students with state-of-the-art telescopes and instruments and give them the opportunity to be a part of the international quest to understand nearby planetary systems,†Professor Mackenzie said.
Minerva-Australis is supported by Australian Research Council LIEF Grant LE160100001, Discovery Grant DP180100972, Mount Cuba Astronomical Foundation, and institutional partners the University of Southern Queensland, UNSW Australia, MIT, Nanjing University, George Mason University, the University of Louisville, the University of California Riverside, and the University of Texas at Austin.
Allora †the “best little town on the Downs†commemorates its 1869 municipality inauguration on 20th and 21st July, 2019
Fondly known as the “best little town on the Downsâ€Â, Allora †which is famous for movie-set streetscape, magical ties to Mary Poppins, sunflowers and being the hometown of renowned athletes Laura Geitz and Matthew Denny – will celebrate its 150-year history with two days of commemorations this weekend: 20th and 21st July.
A pioneer dinner, street parade featuring penny farthing bikes, vintage cars, Meet the Makers markets, bullock crossing re-enactment’, a poet’s breakfast, storytelling, afternoon tea at Talgai Homestead and bonfires are just some of the highlights of Allora’s two-day 150 year celebratory program featuring ticketed and free events for all to attend.
His Excellency, the Honourable Paul De Jersey AC, Governor of Queensland will officially open the celebrations at 11am on Saturday, 20th July at Allora’s recently renovated Old Shire Chambers.
Allora is located a short 20 minute drive from Warwick and the 150 year celebrations will coincide with the 16th annual Warwick Jumpers and Jazz Festival †Queensland’s quirkiest yarnbombing and jazz winter festival staged from 18th to 28th July.
PR member of the Allora District Historical Society, John Cowley says the celebrations mark 150 years of local government when Allora was proclaimed a municipality and throw a spotlight on the town’s unique identity and remarkable history.
“Allora is a much-loved town with a closely connected local community and it has been fantastic to look back through history and create an exciting program of events to commemorate Allora’s sesquicentennial milestone,†Mr Cowley said.
“We look forward to welcoming visitors to Allora to join in our celebrations and discover all that Allora has to offer,†he said.
“Two of the headline events with Gary Fogarty as MC & entertainer, include our SOLD OUT Pioneer Dinner and our Poet’s Breakfast on Sunday morning at the RSL.â€Â
