May 2025 Newsletter

Dear Members and Friends,

I hope you enjoyed the brilliant April weather before it disappeared! Just as we go to press with this newsletter, we have the news of the return to power of the Albanese Government in Australia and I will write to the Prime Minister with our congratulations and our best wishes at this time of very complex and challenging geopolitics.

On Friday 25 April, we were lucky to enjoy beautiful weather for the ANZAC Day commemorative services. I was privileged to attend the Dawn Service, where I laid a wreath on behalf of the Britain-Australia Society, as well as the services at the Cenotaph and Westminster Abbey and a reception at Australia House later in the day. The Australian High Commissioner, His Excellency the Hon. Stephen Smith, alongside the Acting New Zealand High Commissioner, Chris Seed CNZM, laid wreaths at the Dawn and Cenotaph services and at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey.

These very moving and hugely well attended services were again an opportunity to reflect on the sacrifices made by so many in past wars and to recognise the ongoing contributions of our defence personnel. Thank you to Air Commodore Mathew Harper, Head of the Australian Defence Staff in the UK, and his team for the brilliant organisation of the day’s events. Some photos from the commemorations can be seen below.

ANZAC Day is also commemorated at other events around the UK. Our West Country Branch hosted its annual Remembrance Service at the Church of St John the Evangelist in Sutton Veny. The churchyard was used for the burial of over 160 service personnel, the majority of whom served with Australian Forces and is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. A very moving service was also held in Harefield, the location of the Australian Hospital which treated wounded soldiers from Gallipoli and the Western Front.

In the evening of Wednesday 30 April, we held what is now our annual ANZAC and Defence related event at the In & Out Club (previously the Navy & Military Club) in London. The event was sold out to a capacity audience and the location was perfect, in keeping with the ANZAC theme. We were blessed with beautiful weather for drinks in the courtyard before moving to the King Harald V room for a speech delivered by our guest, the Hon. Dr Brendan Nelson AO. Many will be aware that Dr Nelson enjoyed a distinguished parliamentary career and was Australia’s Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, the European Union and NATO and, more recently, Director and then Chairman of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

Dr Nelson’s speech, titled “For We are One and Free”, was powerful and moving. The audience was spellbound, standing in unison for a long ovation. Set in the context of ANZAC Day, Brendan brilliantly related many stories of the leadership, bravery, kindness and love that Australians and British people have shown through their heroics in the face of terrifying battles in a long history of wars and terrorist atrocities. He spoke also of the development of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra where, as Director, he led a programme of expansion and modernisation, making the Memorial relevant to all ages.

Thanks to B-AS board member Andrew Grill, we have a video recording of Brendan’s magnificent speech which we will upload to our website this week for those that missed this very special event.

In anticipation of the fine weather returning, last week we launched tickets for our always popular Summer Party in the glorious gardens of the Royal Over-Seas League overlooking Green Park.

You may have noticed that we have changed our ticket booking platform to Ticket Tailor. The B-AS is a not-for-profit organisation and we strive to host high quality events at competitive prices with a wide appeal. We have listened to your feedback that some of the more well known ticket booking platforms charge high fees impacting affordability of tickets and so we are trialling this new system. As always, we welcome feedback from all our supporters regarding our initiatives to enhance our offerings.

Summer is approaching in the UK but it is rugby season in Australia with the British Lions heading down under for their tour. The children's rugby charity, Wooden Spoons, is hosting a lunch with Australian rugby legend Michael Lynagh on 6 June in the Great Hall at Bisham Abbey, Henry VIII's hunting lodge in Buckinghamshire, and extends an invitation to all B-AS supporters to attend. Details and booking link can be found below. Speaking of the Lions tour, and picking up again on the ANZAC theme, I heard the incredible story of Blair Swannell, a quite remarkable Brit and a bit of a “boy’s own” character, Blair was one of only two men to have represented both the Lions and the Wallabies. Quite remarkably, he also fought with both the British and the Australian armies. He was killed on the first day of the Gallipoli campaign fighting with the Australian army. After 110 years, a special “man of the match” medal has now been created to honour Blair and will be presented for the first time on this upcoming tour.

You may also recall that I attended a very special service last summer commemorating the re-internment of Matthew Flinders at the Church of St Mary and the Holy Rood in Donington. The service will take place again this year in the church but of course in a much more "low key" format on Sunday 13 July at 3pm. The church parish council extends an open invitation to all B-AS supporters to attend. The locals really do turn on a good show for what is more a celebration of Flinders’ life than a commemoration and could make for a fun weekend away.

The second half of the year sees a big programme! I am thrilled to announce the launch of an entirely new event which we hope will become an annual affair. Please save the date of 10 September for "The Great Debate" with a moderated panel of leading experts examining the question "Is Australia the Lucky Country?". This year's topic was inspired by Australian British Chamber of Commerce Chair (and B-AS supporter) Andrew Low's recently published book "We Should Be So Lucky – Why the Australian Way Works”, itself a play on Donald Horne’s classic “The Lucky Country” which I referred to earlier this year. I am delighted to announce that Andrew will be joining our panel together with some surprise guests! More will be revealed in the coming weeks...

And of course please save the date of 1 October for our annual President’s Reception with Lord Hague of Richmond in the Exhibition Hall of Australia House. B-AS Members will, of course, have preferential rates and priority booking.

Jacqui and I very much enjoyed attending the Australian Wildlife Conservancy's Koala Gala last month at the magnificent Merchant Taylors livery company. This fabulous sold out black-tie event was a huge success helping the AWC raise in excess of their target of £100,000 and photos from the night will appear in the July edition of Tatler magazine! Well done to the Koala Gala committee. The AWC is a B-AS Charity Member.

Finally, many of you saw the incomparable Australian cabaret performer Meow Meow at this year's Australia Day Gala in London. Meow Meow is back with a bang at the Soho Theatre from 6-24 May and ONE LUCKY B-AS MEMBER WILL WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS to attend on a night of their choosing during the run (post 13 May). To enter, please scroll down. For those not lucky enough to win this time, tickets can be booked here.

To become a Member of the B-AS and to support the work we do, please click here.

Damian Walsh

Chair