April 2025 Newsletter

Dear Members and Friends,

I was thrilled to see so many of you at our standing room only 2025 International Women's Day event at Australia House last month. Our panel, comprising astronaut and scientist, Dr Meganne Christian of the European Space Agency, Ms Grace Forrest, founder of human rights charity Walk Free, and journalist, television host and indigenous culture and peoples advocate, Ms Brooke Boney, gave us some fascinating insights into their career journeys and the audience was literally on the edge of their seats. We were delighted to discover that nearly half the audience comprised young people under the age of 30 - many of whom were the sons and daughters of B-AS supporters. The audience also very much enjoyed meeting and engaging directly with our panel at the drinks reception after the discussion. Thank you again to Deputy High Commissioner, Ms Elisabeth Bowes PSM, for her expert moderation and the team from the High Commission for its collaboration on this very popular and important annual event in the B-AS calendar. We have some wonderful photos from the event which can be seen here.

Last month we sent details for those who might like to enter the ballot for tickets to attend the ANZAC Day Service at Westminster Abbey on 25 April. And of course there are other ways you can commemorate ANZAC Day. The Dawn Service and the service at the Cenotaph are not ticketed and all are welcome. A reminder that we are hosting our own ANZAC related event, "For We Are One and Free", on 30 April with the Hon. Dr Brendan Nelson AO at the In and Out Club (previously the Naval & Military Club) in London. Brendan is an exceptional speaker and has had a distinguished Parliamentary, diplomatic and business career. We only have a handful of tickets left and I strongly encourage you to book now before the event is sold out. Please scroll down for further details and the booking link. All are welcome but our B-AS Members do get preferential rates and booking. To become a Member of the B-AS and to support the work we do, please click here.

The B-AS West Country branch is also holding its annual ANZAC Day commemorations on Sunday 27 April at Sutton Veny. All B-AS supporters are warmly invited to attend lunch at the Warminster Infantry Officers' Mess at the British Army base in Warminster, Wiltshire, followed by a Remembrance Service at the Church of St John the Evangelist, Sutton Veny, together with the laying of wreaths at the memorial in the church grave yard containing the graves of Australian WWI servicepeople. This annual service was one of the first ANZAC Day services conducted in the world. For further information regarding booking and lunch pricing, please contact the B-AS West Country branch secretary - evahamilton@hotmail.com.

Our next big event will be the always popular annual Summer Party in the beautiful gardens of the Royal Over-Seas League overlooking Green Park. Please save the date of 12 June for this year's event and keep an eye on your inboxes as this event always sells out very quickly. And please do save the date of 1 October for our annual President’s Reception with Lord Hague of Richmond. B-AS Members will, of course, have preferential rates and priority booking.

It was a pleasure to see many of you at the Australia House Ensemble performance at the King’s Chapel of the Savoy on Friday 14 March and/or at the Australian Chamber Orchestra's performance at the Barbican on Friday 21 March which was held as part of the ACO's 50th Anniversary Season. Unsurprisingly, the ACO performance received rave reviews in the press and we look forward to seeing them in London again next year.

We are now looking forward to the Koala Gala in a couple of days’ time. This fabulous black-tie event in support of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy is now sold out but check out the website here for many other ways to support this vital work.

Finally, I am delighted to share that the Australian Wine Festival Tasting and Dinner led by the inimitable Matthew Jukes will take place again this year on 26 April at the Tate Modern showcasing over 50 of the highest scoring wines from Matthew’s annual list of the best Australian wines. There is the opportunity to book tickets just for the tasting or to attend the fabulous dinner in the evening. For more information and to book tickets, please click here.

Damian Walsh

Chair