June 2026 Newsletter

Dear Members and Friends

The sun was shining, once again, for our magnificent Summer Party “The Big BBQ” in the beautiful gardens of the Royal Over-Seas League. And once again, it was a sellout thanks to the inspired BBQ idea from long-standing B-AS supporter and Summer Party sponsor, Informed Solutions. Thank you especially to founder and CEO, Elizabeth Vega OBE, who put it so beautifully in stating that “you always know you have made a friend of an Aussie when they invite you to their BBQ!” The event was certainly full of friends and friendship and you can see some photos of the event below and also here.

I know quite a number of you missed out on tickets for the Summer Party but unfortunately we had capacity constraints and I know this happens with a number of our other events - including our annual International Women’s Day, President’s Reception, Christmas Carols and other hugely popular events. We try our best to manage this by always giving as much notice as possible and Members always get priority. So, if you are not already a Member, please join us and support the work we do (and improve your chances of attending our most popular events). We hugely value your membership. Please click here to join. And Members, please get all your friends to join - we have some fabulous events coming up!

On 28 July we are supporting a magnificent concert and reception with Australia's largest choral organisation, the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs (SPC) which also serves as the chorus for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. This will be a spectacular event. Just imagine, 140 choristers singing a cappella in the Exhibition Hall of Australia House! We are delighted to report that this event will be free to attend, thanks to support from the Australian High Commission and NSW Trade & Investment Commissioner, Mark McLean, (whose team sourced some delicious Brokenwood wines). Even though it is free to attend, booking will be essential and on a first come first served basis. Please save this date and keep an eye on your inboxes!

Coming up after the Summer we have a full and varied programme. Please save 23 September for our always popular President’s Reception with Lord Hague. William Hague is one of the world’s great statesmen and a hugely insightful writer and speaker and we are privileged to have him as our President. Then on 22 October we have a very special event with The Lord Marland, Chair of the Commonwealth Enterprise & Investment Council, where we will be discussing “Australia’s Place in the Commonwealth”. And we wrap up the year with our wonderful Carol Service on 3 December, again at St Clement Danes church adjacent to Australia House and again bringing together key groups supporting the British-Australian relationship in the UK. There were almost 400 of us at this event last year - stunning solos from Naarah and Sarah Prestwidge, Champagne from Penfolds and lamingtons from Daisy Green.

And we have a couple of other thoughts in motion for unique events that we just might squeeze into the calendar.

Looking back over May, there are a couple of other events to mention. On 21 May, the South Australia Agent General’s office kindly invited me to a fabulous party in the brilliant sunshine at the Royal Over-Seas League to officially thank and farewell the Hon David Ridgway as he heads back to Australia after five years as AG. And I have now met Leon Bignell, SA’s new Agent General. Welcome Leon!

The House of Oz launched its 2026 programme for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival at a very entertaining event at Australia House on 28 May. Georgie Black, the founder and very generous powerhouse behind the House of Oz, presented the programme and gave us a taste of what to expect with three spectacular performances. It was a privilege to be included. I plan to get to Edinburgh to see as many of the House of Oz artists as possible and I hope many of you will too. Without the generous House of Oz support, many of these world class Australian acts would not be seen on the world stage! For more information, see the House of Oz website.

I want to take a moment to say a special thank you to a long term friend of all things Australian in the UK, Michael Whalley OAM, who has just stepped down after nine years as Trustee and Co-Chair of FANZA - the Foundation for Australian and New Zealand Arts. In that role, Michael has worked tirelessly in supporting and promoting Australian and New Zealand talent, art and culture in the UK. Michael has had a long and distinguished association with the Britain-Australia Society and the community generally and was the recipient of our Lifetime Award at the B-AS 50th anniversary celebrations at The Savoy Hotel back in 2022. Thank you Michael! And congratulations to Alison Payne who will now take on the role of FANZA’s Australian Co-Chair. Alison is also a Trustee of the Britain-Australia Society Education Trust (BASET) and please let me remind you of our fundraising campaign for BASET over the course of the next 12 months.

Our campaign is off to a great start but we must continue to strive for our goal of £10,000 to support two Endeavour Awards. Thanks to some generous early contributions, we are already well on the way but I know we can pull together as a community and do more! Click here to make your contribution to support the work of this life-changing charity. For more information about BASET, please click here.

We are also pleased to announce that the Northcote Trust (to whom the B-AS provides administrative services), has once again launched its applications for its Northcote Trust scholarship for students ordinarily resident in Britain wishing to embark on a PhD or research-based Master’s in Australia. The Northcote Trust award is highly competitive and extremely prestigious with generous terms - further details can be seen by scrolling down or may be viewed here. The Trust itself has a long and interesting history having been founded as the result of a 1932 testamentary bequest by the Rt Hon. Lady Northcote, the Canadian-born wife of Australia’s third Governor General, first patron of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and a champion of women’s rights and the arts. That’s a story in itself!

Finally we have another fabulous prize draw for our Members this month. One lucky B-AS Member can enter the draw to win a pair of tickets to ‘Kelly’ by acclaimed Australian playwright Matthew Ryan, starring Australians Richard Lund and Patrick Shearer. Scroll down for details!

Damian Walsh

Chair