October 2025 Newsletter

Dear Members and Friends,

Strictly speaking, I should wait until the November newsletter before commenting on our President’s Reception with Lord Hague on 1 October but that’s just too far away. It was, again, such a wonderful evening! We are privileged to have Lord Hague as our President and we enjoyed another really interesting, insightful and very direct conversation with him across the spectra of major geopolitical and social issues impacting Australia and the UK, and beyond. Our moderator for the event, B-AS Member, Raeesa Rawal, a senior lawyer at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, expertly managed the conversation.

Thanks to B-AS Board Member and acclaimed author, Andrew Grill, we have a professional video recording of the discussion available here. A huge thank you to our event sponsor, BMD, and to Australian Vintners and Auld Family wines for the delicious wines served, on which see our special offer for you below!

In September, we held our inaugural "Great Debate" in the beautiful Old Hall at Lincoln's Inn. The topic “Is Australia Still the Lucky Country” attracted a full house and we enjoyed a hugely entertaining and stimulating discussion amongst our panellists - Andrew Low, Australian British Chamber of Commerce Chair, Will Kingston, Spectator journalist and the host of podcast "Fire at Will", and Elizabeth Ames, Chair of the Advisory Board of the Australian Studies Institute at King's College. The discussion was vigorous and expertly moderated by Sir Clive Cowdery, Chair of Resolution Life and publisher of Prospect magazine. Panellist Andrew Low is the author of the recently published book, “We Should Be So Lucky - Why the Australian Way Works” which provided the impetus for the discussion. And, once again, thanks to Andrew Grill, we have a recording of the debate which you can access here.

Our annual AGM was also held last month and we enjoyed seeing some of our Members there and at the drinks afterwards. The AGM is a formality and, as it addressed the 2024 year, it is somewhat backward looking but it does give us the opportunity to share and approve our accounts, consider the board appointments and to review our performance.

September was also a very big month for the High Commission and Agents General with the biennial Defence and Security Equipment trade exhibition in London and the various Australian and State Government ministers and industry representatives that came for that. I was fortunate to meet many of them at the High Commissioner's reception at Australia House. On top of that, Prime Minister Albanese made a very quick visit to the UK following his speech at the United Nations. As an aside, while I didn’t get to meet the Australian PM, I did meet the UK PM - it was a Saturday afternoon and Sir Kier and I were both doing some grocery shopping in M&S in Westminster. He was very gracious.

On the cultural side, September also saw a confluence of classical musicians from Australia with the Australian String Quartet on their European tour, the Australian Chamber Orchestra's Richard Tognetti & Satu Vanska on a London visit and a number of Tait Memorial Trust awardees performing at an event in Westminster.

Looking ahead, we have now launched our next First Eight Lecture which this year will be held at Kings College London. The immediate response to tickets has been great. Professor David Headon AM from the Australian Studies Institute of the Australian National University will speak to us on the life and times of Billy Hughes, a maverick and Australia's seventh Prime Minister, who led Australia through WW1. I strongly urge you to book by clicking here and scroll down for further details. Tickets are free!

And to round out the year, our annual Carol Service will be held at a new venue, St Clement Danes church adjacent to Australia House. The booking information will be launched shortly and the 2025 Carols will be bigger and brighter than ever as we collaborate with a large number of other organisations with British-Australian interests including Australian Defence, the Australian Women's Club and the Anglo Australasian Lawyers Society. St Clement Danes has a strong Australian connection and not just because of it close proximity to Australia House. Rev William Pennington-Bickford hosted annual ANZAC Day services from 1920 to the 1930s in the church which also houses memorials for the RAAF (including a dedicated lectern) and has been the site of memorial services for fallen Australian aviators. Its role as the Central Church of the RAF during and after World War II further solidified its relationship with Commonwealth forces, which of course includes the RAAF.

We thank St Mary le Bow, the venue of many past carol services, but these had become "standing room only". St Clement Danes can seat several hundred more and we would like to take this opportunity to reach many more supporters of the British-Australian relationship in what will be a very special way to come together. Please mark Thursday 4 December 4.30pm in your diaries. Details will be released soon so please keep an eye on your inboxes! A festive drinks reception will once again follow the service - a wonderful opportunity for us all to kick off Christmas festivities. This is another free event for our Members and friends.

Speaking of Christmas, thanks to Australian Vintners, one of the sponsors of the President’s Reception, we have an exciting offer for all our B-AS supporters for a festive tipple - 10% off all orders in October and November. Please scroll down for details. I have already dived in with my order and I hope that many of you will too to show support to our sponsor.

And don't forget, for all our B-AS supporters, we have a limited time offer from our friends at the Royal Over-Seas League, the venue of our annual Summer Party. Up until 30 November 2025, all B-AS supporters will receive a waived joining fee when applying for membership at ROSL with its Grade 1 listed clubhouse and beautiful garden overlooking Green Park in the heart of St James. To apply or even just to arrange a tour and learn more, please contact the ROSL Membership Team at membership@rosl.org.uk quoting "The Britain-Australia Society”.

This month's Members' Prize Draw is a pair of tickets to see The London Chorus at a special performance at Cadogan Hall on 15 October. There will be a strong Australian collaboration featuring the world premiere of a stunning new Australian piano concerto. The Mozart Requiem includes four internationally acclaimed Australian soloists. See below for prize draw details or click here to book tickets.

Finally, Captain's Choice, who were a sponsor at the B-AS/Australia Foundation Australia Day Gala earlier this year, recently appeared on This Morning discussing their recreation of the historic "Kangaroo Route" aboard their privately chartered Qantas Airbus A330-300. The journey follows an almost identical flight path as the one Qantas first wholly operated in 1947, stopping in seven awe-inspiring cities along the way to Australia over 14 days. Captain's Choice are offering all B-AS supporters an airfare credit of £4,000 per person towards this once in a lifetime experience. For more information click here.

And don't forget to follow us on Instagram and Linkedin for further updates!

Best wishes,

Damian Walsh

Chair