U3A Toowoomba

Early Settler History of Crows Nest

Discover the stories that shaped our region.

U3A Toowoomba members have been exploring the fascinating history of Crows Nest and its early settlers, uncovering the people, events and challenges that helped build the community we know today.

Through engaging discussions, historical research and shared knowledge, participants gain a deeper appreciation of local heritage and the lives of those who came before us.

Learning about local history helps connect us to our community and preserves stories that might otherwise be forgotten.

This morning's class concentrated on the Anduramba area north of Crows Nest. The content was based partially on the book "Anduramba Then and Now: A History of the Anduramba District and Surrounding Areas" which is a local history book published in October 2021.

For further details, visit our Website or Facbbook Page, or call the U3A Toowoomba Office.

COMING NEXT WEEK!

THE GREAT DEBATE

Thursday 25th June 9am - 11am
Austral Room
Philharmonic Society
7 Matthews Street
Harristown

ALL WELCOME
Details below:

On Thursday morning, U3A Toowoomba had a visit from Peter from ABC Radio. He was recording an advertisement for S.E.QLD to be played on radio.
He needed community members with knowledge of Toowoomba and the surrounds so of course he went straight to the experts - our U3A members!
Peter spoke to a number of members from our Archaeology and Shakespeare classes. If you tune in to ABC radio you may hear a few familiar voices!
Pictured with Peter we have Hazel Fusae and Bruce Arthur.

Symphonic Sounds

From the concert hall to Niagara Falls – through the power of music.

This term, the U3A Toowoomba Symphonic Sounds class has been exploring the theme "Composers' First Symphonies", discovering how composers introduced themselves to the musical world through their earliest large-scale orchestral works.

In today's class, members enjoyed Niagara Symphony (1854) by American composer and music critic William Henry Fry. A highly imaginative and experimental work, Niagara is considered one of the earliest American symphonic tone poems. Written for P.T. Barnum's famous "Monster Concert" in New York, the 14-minute composition vividly depicts the power and grandeur of Niagara Falls through music.

Fry employed an extraordinary orchestra, including 11 timpani to recreate the thunderous roar of the falls, while swirling strings and hissing snare drums evoke the rushing water and mist. The result is a dramatic and innovative musical experience that was well ahead of its time.

The Symphonic Sounds class continues to offer members an opportunity to listen, learn and discuss a wide variety of orchestral music, exploring the stories behind the composers and their works while sharing a love of music in a friendly and welcoming environment.

Not many Wednesday Strollers braved the damp morning for a constitutional stroll around Kearneys Spring. However, it was fun and quite invigorating to embrace the damp weather and enjoy the misty vistas over the southern escarpment.
We even saw a wallaby cautiously observing us from the edge of the bushland.
Morning tea was a different story - quite a few Strollers joined us for coffee in the cosy surrounds of the Fire and Ice Cafe!
Always lovely to chat with fellow walkers over a good brew!
🫖☕️🍰

‘God Save the Queen!’ Or perhaps ‘God Save Grahame’?

Grahame Blackman, Tutor of ‘Australian History & its Exceptionalism’, donned the crown and royal jewels to celebrate Queen Victoria’s coronation on 28th June 1838.
Today’s class re-created this event in colonial history. It was observed as a public holiday, Governor Gipps held a formal military function and the Australian and Sydney Gazette newspapers waxed lyrical on the far away colony bonds.
Orders were written, spoken and published, and feasting was great.
It was a momentous occasion at U3A today with the Australian History Course also celebrating Queen Victoria’s 188th anniversary.

“Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.” Arthur C. Clarke
Professor Jonti Horner is an astrobiologist and astronomer based at the University of Southern Queensland. He is a passionate science communicator and teacher and takes great pleasure from delving into the mysteries of the cosmos, and the question of life elsewhere.
This morning at the U3A Speaker’s Hub Group, we had the absolute pleasure of listening to Jonti as he as he spoke about “The Search for Alien Worlds”.
He also told us how UniSQ is at the forefront of planet discovery work through the Mount Kent Observatory, located at a dark-sky site outside of Toowoomba in southern Queensland.
Mount Kent Observatory is Queensland’s only professional research observatory for astronomy teaching and research training. This world-class facility includes an array of state-of-the-art telescopes and technology, bringing UniSQ researchers and students to the forefront of ongoing research.

Jonti is also a passionate astrophotographer. In his own words:
“I first became interested in astrophotography as a teenager back in the 1990s. Back then, I took photos using an old Pentax ME Super camera, on slide film. Taking pictures was a costly and frustrating experience - especially when the photographs took several weeks to develop! Nowadays, I take wide-field photographs using my Canon EOS R6 camera, with Samyang lenses, and a Star Adventurer tracking camera mount. I am also the proud owner of a Celestron 8" RASA telescope, which I use to image deep sky objects across the night sky.”
You can check out examples of Jonti’s astrophotography at: AstroJonti.com
Many thanks to Jonti for taking us on a fascinating journey through space this morning.

After last weeks walk was cancelled due to the wet weather, the Thursday walkers turned out in force today, eager to get back into exploring the parks and streets of Toowoomba.

Rugged up in various winter accessories to ward off the chilly breeze, we met up at Carly Hibberd Park on Velodrome Drive, Kearneys Spring where, led by Helen, we began our walk through the newer housing estates in this part of Toowoomba; namely the Kearney West estate and the Charker and West Streets project.
Due to their close proximity to the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) land in these estates is highly sought after.

After walking approximately 5.5 kilometres we returned to Carly Hibberd Park.
This park has a range of recreational activities including picnic and BBQ facilities, extensive children’s play equipment, a fenced off leach dog area and beginner mountain bike trails, making it very popular with families.

The park is named in honour of Carly Hibberd, an elite Australian cyclist who was tragically killed while training in Italy in 2011. She was just 26 years old.
Her love of cycling began as a 6 year old with the Toowoomba BMX Club.
She then took up mountain biking before quickly progressing to professional road racing at the age of 19.

Following our enjoyable but rather chilly walk, it was lovely to step into the warmth of Cafe Inferno, one of our favourite coffee venues, where great coffee, cake and conversation warmed us even further.
Maureen McHugh
Photos: Lesley Walker

The U3A Drayton Tai Chi class, tutored by Marie Kajewski, practicing some moves. And what do U3A members do after a class on a rainy, cold morning.

☕ Coffee Time!!