The Australian Friend
Journal of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Australia
About
The Australian Friend is the official journal of The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Australia Inc. It has been continuously published since 1887. There are four issues per year, in March, June, September and December.
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Editorial
We have already begun the preliminary sessions for our on-line Yearly Meeting in July, and Friends are reminded that “at Yearly Meeting we gather together to connect with friends old and new, share...
Yearly Meetings 2023 and 2024
Vidya and Jo Jordan,Yearly Meeting Organising Committee YEARLY MEETING 2023 – online! At Yearly Meeting we gather together to connect with friends new and old, share ideas, seek new Light and find...
My time with Quaker Service Australia
Jackie Perkins, New South Wales Regional MeetingMy time with QSA has been extensive, full, very varied, and, for the most part, a sheer delight. The sheer delight part, as will come as no surprise...
Reflections on Poetry and Spirit: Judith Wright: Environmental, Indigenous and Spiritual Concerns.
Michael Griffith, New South Wales Regional MeetingIn early March this year I was fortunate to be able to lead a Silver Wattle week-long workshop/ retreat on this topic. Judith Wright, Australia’s...
The Elder Tree
Duncan Frewin, Queensland Regional MeetingAt Silver Wattle beside the lake, there is an old gum tree. I don’t what kind of gumtree it is, but it stands out – bigger, older than the others around it....
QSA Notes: Peacebuilding in Cambodia: Reducing inter-ethnic conflict and building connections
Fleur Bayley, QSA Project Manager, Cambodiat’s just over 12 months since the start of this project, designed to reduce conflict and strengthen collaboration in ethnically diverse Cambodian...
Know thy Friend: Joss Brooks
Joss Brooks Peter Jones, Tasmania Regional MeetingJoss was born in Manchester to Kenneth and Helen Brooks who had been married there at Mount Street after originally meeting at Woodbrooke. Kenneth...
Young Afghan Peace Workers on their Way to Safety
Dorothy Scott, Victoria Regional Meeting, in collaboration with Dale Hess, Victoria Regional Meeting, Rosemary Morrow, New South Wales Regional Meeting, and Alan Clayton, Victoria Regional...
Liz Terry’s African adventures
Judith Pembleton, Queensland Regional MeetingAs a 21-year-old geography graduate, Liz Terry (Queensland RM) imagined going to Africa to explore her fascination with the desertification of Africa's...
Ubuntu: Responding with hope to God’s call to cherish creation and one-another
Tim Gee, Friends World Committee for ConsultationI began this year as an online participant at Southern Africa Yearly Meeting. Physically I was just south of Manchester in England. Mentally and...
Australia/Invasion Day?
Michael Corbett, Queensland Regional MeetingAt the beginning of the Standing Committee Meeting on the 21st January, I offered my owns words from heart as follows. In 5 days’ time it will be the...
Transferable Skills
Juan Roberson, New South Wales Regional MeetingI put this compilation together for the non-Quaker Chairman of the company I worked for some years ago. In addition to my role as CFO, as Company...
Book review: Truth-Telling by Henry Reynolds
Published in 2021, Reynolds latest book on our Aboriginal history provides an excellent backdrop into the current national conversation on “The Voice”. Like Reynolds, many Australians have not heard...
Stop Press: Quakers Australia Coordinator
Quakers Australia (QA) is revisioning its support structures to assist organisational effectiveness and vitality within the Australian Quaker community. We invite applications for the role of QA...
Editorial
A new year can bring with it a variety of sentiments: relief that the old year has departed, the anticipation of better times, the hope for change, to name but a few. The March issue of the...
Our Way Forward to a New QA Office
Kerstin Reimers, Tasmania Regional MeetingFriends in what we call Australia have embarked on an adventure. We are about to make the transition to a different way of running our national office with...
DISRUPT LAND FORCES CAMPAIGN: DECEMBER 2022
Christine Venner-Westerway, Queesland Regional MeetingIn many respects the June 2021 Disrupt Land Forces Campaign never ended. It continued on with actions occurring at different...
A Quaker’s response to a man who is a bully
Kaye Wright, Victoria Regional MeetingI had known my neighbour, Kelly, for over twenty years. He was a tall, gruff man who was born overseas. He spoke English, but poorly. He once told me that he...