Yearly Meeting organising Committee, Queensland Regional Meeting.
Yearly Meeting 2014 will be hosted by Queensland Regional Meeting in Brisbane from Saturday 4th to Saturday 11th January.
We look forward to welcoming F/friends.
The venue will be the Nathan campus of Griffith University, built in the southern suburb of Nathan in the 1970’s so as to minimally disturb bush land, making it a “bushy” campus rather than the traditional sandstone and lawns. The campus is on top of a hill (Nathan Mountain!) which catches the afternoon breezes. Temperatures will be warm, over 30 degrees during the day, and humidity is high. The afternoons generally enjoy a reviving breeze, but may also be enlivened by a dramatic thunder storm.
Friends will be encouraged to arrive on the afternoon of 4th and depart after lunch on 12th January. Nathan campus is 10 kms south of the city centre, close to the Pacific Motorway. Parking is free on the weekends but must be paid for during the week. (Parking permits can be ordered through online registration.) Friends arriving at the airport can take the air train direct to Coopers Plains station, where they will be met by a minibus (1pm – 5pm on Saturday only) or they can call a taxi for the trip to Nathan campus.
Most activities will be held at the Multi-Faith Centre. Live-in accommodation will be close by at Bellenden Ker College. The dining room is also nearby. Some activities will be held at the Eco Centre, a 10 minute stroll or 5 minute brisk walk away. All buildings are wheel-chair accessible.
Accommodation and Meals
Bellenden Ker College is a fully catered college with linen supplied. The daily rate includes three meals, and there is no opting out of this by paying for accommodation and self-catering. (Nor are there kitchen facilities beyond fridge, hot water, microwave.) Friends who wish to self-cater need to find alternative accommodation otherwise they will be paying for three meals anyway. A range of special diets will be offered. For F/friends with more complex dietary needs, it is planned to offer some dietary supplements. The accommodation at Bellenden Ker is basic, and the college is not air-conditioned. Brisbane can be hot and muggy in January and Friends who can are encouraged to bring a small fan for their bedroom.
The accommodation at Bellenden Ker is all single rooms. A mattress can be put on the floor of a parent’s room for children under 3. The rooms are on six floors, connected by a lift and stairs. There is a small common room on each floor. As we are short of rooms, these will often need to be used for meetings. (Continuous tea and coffee will be provided near the Multi-Faith Centre.) The cost for full board at Bellenden Ker is $105 a day for adults, $83/day for concession, and $55/d for children 3 and older. Please make your booking with your online registration.
For off-campus accommodation, there is a large motel at the foot of the hill, and further away there are caravan parks with cabins. Those staying at motels may purchase meals at the campus dining room through online registration. For motel or caravan park bookings, please contact them directly.
Robertson Gardens Comfort Inn, 281 Kessels Rd Robertson, 4111. www.robertsongardens.com.au phone 07 3875 1999 or 1800 777 374. (discount if you are at a Griffith University conference)
Aussie Gardens Caravan Park, 65 Holmead Rd Eight Mile Plains, 4113. www.aussiegardenscaravanpark.com.au
Phone 07 3341 2554, or email aussiegardens@optusnet.com.au
Sheldon Caravan Park, 27 Holmead Rd Eight Mile Plains, 4113, www.sheldoncaravanpark.com.au
Phone 07 3341 6166, or email sshe4700@bigpond.net.au,
Brisbane Holiday Village, 10 Holmead Rd Eight Mile Plains, 4113,, www.brisbaneholidayvillage.com.au.
Phone 07 3841 0520.
Brisbane Meeting is a small meeting and we are unable to offer organized homestay options.
Volunteers
Because Brisbane is a small meeting, we must also appeal for more help than usual from interstate F/friends. We may need bus drivers (ordinary license is valid for a minibus) and helpers with set-up (etc) for rooms. The great need is always for volunteers for the children’s meetings.
You may have heard about the Queensland government’s singular approach to child safety. We have investigated, and are satisfied that volunteer helpers working with children at a religious gathering of less than 10 days are exempt from the requirements as long as they are not likely to be alone with children. We will have at least two adults with any children’s group at all times. Quakers also have requirements in our Child Safety Policy, so you may want to check that on the website.
Children at Yearly Meeting.
We start with the Backhouse Lecture, given by Tracy Bourne of Melbourne, on the theme of bringing children into the centre of our meetings. Her title is ‘Our live is love, and peace, and tenderness’: bringing children into the centre of Quaker life and worship
Children’s meetings will cater for two age groups, aged 1 – 5, and 6 – 12. They will meet in the large common room and deck area on the ground floor of the accommodation, next door to the Multi-Faith Centre. Junior Young Friends (aged 13 – 16) will use the EcoCentre about 5 – 10 minutes walk away. Junior Young Friends will also have three days and two nights at “Kindilan”, a Guides outdoor centre at Redland Bay near the coast. They will have outdoor adventure activities including swimming and canoeing. JYFs will need to bring sleeping bags, towels, swimmers etc.
Young Friends
Young Friends (aged 17 – 30ish) will be holding a camp over the New Year’s holiday, finishing at Yearly Meeting. For more details or more information about Young Friends see the box below.
Summer School
Summer School this year is on the theme Promptings of love and truth in our hearts. More details are in the separate article.
Fees and Deadlines
| Registration Only | Full Board Accommodation (above registration) | |
| Adult | $15 day / $100 week | $105 day (includes dinner, breakfast, lunch) Total $120/day) |
| Concession | $12 day / $80 week | $83 (total $95/day) |
| Children, JYFs, | $0 | $35 day (total $35/day) |
| Children under 3 | $0 | $0 |
| YFs | $0 unwaged,
$12 day / $80 week waged |
$55 day unwaged (total $55/day)
$83 day waged (total $95/day) |
Casual meals (please order when you register on-line) are $15 per meal, breakfast, lunch or dinner.
To meet the college’s needs, we need to have all accommodation bookings by 22 November. After that date we cannot reserve further rooms or meals. If you can pay the full cost up-front that will be helpful, but a deposit of 25% will hold your reservation as long as you make a final payment by 20 December. Registrations only (to attend sessions but with no accommodation or meals) can be accepted after 22 November, but there will be a 10% late fee. So the message is – please plan early!
Young Friends Camp
Young Friends are a group of people aged 16 to 30ish, with a connection to Quakers. We have two gatherings a year, one prior to YM and the second over the Easter long weekend. We also hold (semi-)monthly Skype meet-ups. We are an informal group and would like to encourage anyone interested to join us
When: Approx. 28 December to 4 January
What: anything and everything, including but not limited to cards/beach/marshmallow-fights/in-depth-discussion/business/juggling/dark-chocolate/not-sleeping-enough etc.
Where: TBC – hopefully near beach, or near swimming of some sort. It will be cheap, and vegetarian.
Contact: Find us on Facebook (Australian Young Friends) or email our Clerk at YFClerk@quakers.org.au for more details
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