Thursday, October 2, 2025

Annual General Meeting - Saturday 18 October 2025

                         

Guest Speaker:
Ian Thompson

Join us in Gordon Library Meeting Room 1
at 2 pm on Saturday 18 October 2025 for

More Australian Inventions – Part 3

Saturday 18 October 2025 will be our Annual General Meeting, after which Ian Thompson presents More Australian Inventions – Part 3.

Every day, throughout the world, over a billion people rely heavily on Australian inventions. Every time they drive a car, fly, eat or communicate, there’s a good chance it’s due to Aussies.

We all know some of the great and iconic inventions by Australians – the Victa lawnmower, the Hills Hoist, the wine cask bladder, Vegemite... but our guest speaker, Ian Thompson, knows a whole lot more. Ian will take us through the people and science behind some more iconic inventions and innovations – because there’s so much more than clotheslines and lawnmowers!

If you caught Ian’s first two very popular talks, you’ll know how informative and entertaining they were – and if you didn’t, then catch up with this one!

In Part 3 of this series, we look further into the stories behind some Australian discoveries and inventions from the 19th century colonial era through to our present time, including areas of medicine and public health, sport, agriculture, electronics and more, including several from our very own CSIRO. Plus, we mustn't forget the origin of our favourite chocolate delight, the Freddo Frog!

About Ian Thompson

After graduating in Applied Chemistry (UTS) in 1969, Ian first worked for two years in the pharmaceutical industry as a Quality Control Chemist. He then worked for over 14 years as a Chemist in the chemical manufacturing industry, with a focus on developing products for the control of insects and other pests on agricultural crops and farm animals.

For the next 25 years, and before full-time retirement in 2008, Ian then worked as a Research Scientist and Entomologist in curbing urban insect pests that invade the home, and in particular insects that are vectors of disease and unease. With a passion for Science, Ian now presents a wide range of general science and other topics for non-profit organisations such as U3A, Probus, historical societies, garden clubs and the like.

Note: our Research Room will also be open prior to our General Meetings on Saturday 18 October and Saturday 15 November 2025, from 11.30 am to 1.30 pm, to assist you with any research queries you may have. Additionally, if you have any photographs you would like to digitise, feel free to bring them in (as well as a USB stick) and we will be pleased to scan them for you.

As always, please keep an eye on our Events page in case of any last-minute changes.

Our meeting venue is Gordon Library Meeting Room 1, in the Old Gordon Public School, which adjoins the Gordon Library, 799 Pacific Highway, Gordon (corner Pacific Highway and Park Avenue).

It’s just a 5-minute walk from Gordon Station.

For a map and parking information, see our Contact page.

Wednesday, October 1, 2025

October German SIG Meeting - Monday 13th October 2025

 

Join us at 1.30 pm on Monday 13th October 2025 for the next meeting of our German Special Interest Group

Our German SIG is a fantastic way to explore your heritage and connect with like-minded locals researching their Germanic background in friendly discussions. We share information on researching your Germanic ancestors, including resources, techniques, history and customs.

Coming up at our October meeting will be several topics of interest to anyone with Germanic ancestors or researching their German family history, including an update on the successful publication of the group project, 'German Ancestors of Ku-ring-gai Historical Society Members'; what’s new online to help German family history research; a webinar entitled 'DNA Basics: An Introduction to DNA and Genealogy'; followed by a discussion on topics of general interest.

Whether you’re a seasoned researcher or just starting your family tree, you’re warmly invited to attend. Come and join us for the discussion, then stay for afternoon tea and a convivial chat - guests welcome!

Date: Monday 13th October 2025

Time: 1.30pm

Location: Old Gordon Public School building, 799 Pacific Hwy (cnr Pacific Hwy & Park Ave)

Parking: Subject to time limits in Council’s Wade Lane carpark (entry via Park Ave or St Johns Ave)

Train: Our rooms are a short walk from Gordon Station.

For a map, please see our Contact page, https://khs.org.au/contact-us/#hours

For more details, see our website, https://khs.org.au/german-sig

Please keep an eye on our website's Events page in case of any last-minute changes. https://khs.org.au/events/