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27/11/26
Greg Hebble - CEO of Wheelchairs for Kids
This organisation’s mission is to manufacture and distribute wheelchairs to severely disabled children throughout under-resourced countries of the world, helping them to gain a new level of freedom and mobility.
Volunteers carry out thorough testing as well as sewing covers for the wheelchair seat backs. This reduces manufacturing and admin costs, allowing for 100% of our funding going towards our mission.
23/10/26
Chris Bowman - boat builder and adventurer.
Enjoy a morning with author and boat builder C.E. Bowman, who will recount some of the adventures which led to his exciting life taken from his recent memoir Me, the Boat and a Guy Named Bob, in which he, among other things, built a 70-foot sailing schooner on the beach on a small island in the Caribbean with Bob Dylan.
25/09/26
Jennifer Morgan - Managing Editor of Have A Go News
It's our 35th anniversary this year and I'll discuss the history of Have a Go News - we have been owned by the same family for the entire time.
28/08/26
No speaker this month.
We will have a quiz again because it was so well received last time. I am told the questions were aimed at our age group. People thoroughly enjoed the format of the quiz. It allowed members time to speak to each other and to better get to know each other.
As per last time the quiz will be hosted by Jenny Collins together with her helper Lesley Turnock and/ or Cliff Chorley.
24/07/26
Dr Sue Boyd OA
Sue is a retired diplomat, with 34 years in the Australian Foreign Service behind her.
She was Head of Diplomatic Missions in Bangladesh, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Fiji and also servedat the UN in New York, Portugal and East Berlin. Returning to WA in 2003,
Sue started her second career as a non- executive company director, Executive Business Coach with Foresight Global Coaching and, from 2004 to 2013, as President of the AIIA Western Australian Branch. She continues on the AIIA Board.
Sue has also been on the Boards of Gold Corporation, Volunteering WA, and Gelganyem and Kilkayi Trusts with the Argyle Diamond Mine in the East Kimberley.
She is currently on the Council of St Catherine’s College. Sue loves theatre, opera and music and was once a good golfer.
Sue entered UWA in 1966, immediately on arrival as a migrant from the UK and livedat St Catherine’s College for her four years at Uni.
Elected to Guild Council in 1968, she became Guild President for 1969 the first woman to win the position (beating Kim Beazley!) and the first Guild President to serve on the University Senate.
Sue again served on Senate from 2004-2013.Sue has recently published her memoir, “Not Always Diplomatic” which covers her time at UWA, her career with DFAT and her “afterlife”, since 2003. It was published by UWA Publishing.
26/06/26
Brian Langley
"The City Poet" - Calling himself a Story Teller in Rhyme, Brian is actually an award winning Bush poet both for writing and performance. Like the masters from the past, Brian's poems have perfect rhyme and metre, but unlike them, you wont get much in the way of horses, dead dogs or billabongs. What you will get is his poetry about getting older, being Australian, Contemporary living, fishing and such modern topics. Brian's poetry follows the Bush Poets Mission Statement, Make 'Em Laugh, Make 'Em Cry, Make 'Em Think
22/05/26
Linda Bettenay
Linda has written two historical novels; amazing yarns steeped in our state’s history and in our pioneering past. Linda explains how she uses historical facts to weave historical fiction.
Linda J Bettenay has now published three books in her Secrets Series - fictional novels set in Western Australia.
Linda was born in Roleystone, into a pioneering family who have farmed the land since 1901 and lived in the area since 1895. Linda is editor of a community magazine, The Roleystone Courier.
Previously Linda was in education and spent over 30 years as a teacher and a principal, in schools across regional Western Australia.
Linda and Mike have two sons, Joe and Brett, two daughters-in-law Rebecca and Beth and three very cherished grandchildren Leigh, Violet and Mirabelle.
Linda's stimulus to write her first novel 'Secrets Mothers Keep' came from the discovery of an amazing true story, from her husband's family's past. This story was kept secret since 1928 and was only recently uncovered.
Her second novel, based on her father's stories, 'Wishes For Starlight' is set largely in the Perth Hills area - a location Linda is very passionate about. The Apple Core Wars is based around the astounding war experiences of Charlie Parkin, one of seven Parkin brothers to serve during WW2. It is a story of boyhood jealousies which morph into friendship as the POWs face-up to terrible odds.
Linda writes fictionalised stories based in our State's rich history.
27/03/26
Geoffrey Thomas
Geoffrey Thomas has been writing about and commenting on aviation for 50 years and has been full time for last 28 years.
He is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of www.42KFT.com the world’s first airline environmental rating website, Editor of YouTube Channel @Geoffrey Thomas On Air , Aviation Editor at Business News, the state’s leading business news service
He is the former Chief Editor of Air Transport World (2000-12), SE-Asian Contributing Editor for Aviation Week and Space Technology (1996-2000) and Aviation Editor of the West Australian (1996-Feb 2023) and former Editor-in-Chief of Airlineratings.com
In the past 25 years Geoffrey has won 47 international and national awards for his works.
In 2009 he had the dual honour of being named the overall Aerospace Journalist of the Year at the Leadership Forum in Paris and also named Australasian Aviation Journalist of the Year by the National Aviation Press Club. In 2018 he was awarded a Life Time Acievement Award in London at the Royal Aeronuatical Society. In 2020 he was awarded an international Outstanding Achievement Award for his work covering the disappearance of MH370.
Geoffrey has fronted and written two aviation documentary series for Australia’s Channel 7, appeared in four aviation investigative documentaries, is a consultant to and participant in Air Crash Investigation / Mayday and is a regular aviation commentator on global TV, radio and print.
He has appeared extensively on CNN, the BBC, Channel News Asia, Bloomberg and Sky News as well as Al Jazeera.
In 2018 Geoffrey was a commentator in The Age of Aerospace documentary series celebrating Boeing’s 100th year.
Geoffrey has also co-written 19 books with his wife Christine Forbes Smith and Aviation Week’s Guy Norris, the latest being Greening Wings on aviation’s true effect on the environment.
Many of Geoffrey’s works are used by the University of Southern California in the aviation human factors course.
Prior to a full time, career in aviation journalism Geoffrey spent 25 years in commerce and international banking plus two years working for an airline.
27/02/26
Cyril Ayris
Informative and hilarious experiences of a journalist here and abroad. Cyril was a journalist on the West Australian for 36 years, 25 of them as Crime reporter. He covered many assignments and has written 21 books and published his autobiography.
22/01/26
Kirsty McClenaghan
Commonwealth Bank staying safe online seminar
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