Tuesday Forum 2026
Tuesday Forum presents a variety of guest speakers who speak in depth on their area of expertise. The topics are as varied as the people who present them – from university lecturers to the local fisherman. Once a term we go on an outing during Tuesday Forum, usually on the last Tuesday of the term.
Tuesday Forum is held from 10am until 12 noon at The Hub, Rajah Road, Ocean Shores. It’s on the corner next to KHub. A cost of $4 covers hall hire and morning tea. There is no Tuesday Forum on the first Tuesday of the month, nor during the school holidays.
Term 3 2026
Tuesday 21 July
Faith Duffy – Through Teddy’s Eyes
Faith is a long-time member of our U3A but we haven’t seen much of her recently as she has been busy writing a book which was launched in May this year. The book is about Warumangu man Teddy Plummer, a man whose memory is revered in Tennant Creek and whose friendship opened up the Aboriginal world to Faith during the year that they worked together. Faith experienced things then in Teddy’s company which the aboriginal people wanted preserved in writing – hence this book. It has taken 19 years to write but Faith has finished at last and is coming to share Teddy’s story with us.
Tuesday 28 July
Des Wann
A big thank you to Des for stepping up at short notice to talk to us today about one of his passions – the English language. We will look at a couple of Rob Words videos which are always interesting and informative. Des will also spend some time informing us how he uses AI to prepare his presentations.
Tuesday 4 August
First Tuesday of the month therefore no Tuesday Forum
Tuesday11 August
TED Talks – Denise Curran
TED Talks are short, powerful presentations where speakers share ideas worth spreading on a variety of topics. They’re designed to be engaging, accessible, and thought‑provoking, which makes them ideal for group listening. They become a springboard for conversation: people react to the speaker’s perspective, question assumptions, and connect the talk to their own experiences. This time we will explore some issues facing Australian youth today. We’ll hear from an expert in the field and, more importantly, we’ll listen to young peoples’ perspective and even some suggestions for solutions to these problems.
Tuesday18 August
AGM – Everyone
It’s that time of year again. Our AGM is intended to be a time for all members to get together and show each other what they do during the rest of the year. Aside from a brief President’s and Treasurer’s report there is very little talk. Just a brief election then demonstrations from several of the small groups. Other groups will have a static display and a reminder of what they do each week throughout the year. Even if you are not a regular Tuesday Forum member, please come along and be part of this special event.
Tuesday 25 August
Tell Us Your Story
We have held Tell Us Your Story meetings in the past. This time we are taking a slightly different approach. Various members will interview other members, using a series of questions designed to draw out aspects of their lives, from their childhood, working life and retirement years. In other words, the questions will elicit stories from their 1st, 2nd and 3rd Age.
Tuesday 1 September
First Tuesday of the month therefore no Tuesday Forum
Tuesday 8 September
Aged Care and Allied Services – Danielle Pirera
Dr Danielle Pirera is an exercise physiologist who is an Allied Health Team Leader at Feros Care. Danielle has offered to share her expertise with us today – across two different aspects of her work at Feros. She will provide some information about aged care and accessing services and will be able to respond to our various questions around that. Danielle will also talk about the best types of exercise for aging bodies and why they are effective. These exercises will be for people with limited mobility, as well as for able bodies people. It’s about body connection and body awareness with ageing.
Tuesday 15 September
Kayla Gravenall – Staying Safe Online
- Identifying and avoiding common online scams
- Safeguarding personal information and privacy
- Best practices for secure online activities
- Resources for additional help and support
Please invite your friends and neighbours to join us for this very important Tuesday Forum.
Tuesday 22 September
Excursion – Sunshine Sugar Retail Packing Facility
Term 2 2026
Tuesday 21 April
Norman Appel and Magenta Appel-Pye – All Things Piano
Norman and Magenta are well known to locals. Norman is the pre-eminent piano tuner in the Northern Rivers with many very special pianos under his care. Magenta is, amongst other things, the teacher of our Ukulele group. They are a musical family, complete with a grand piano in their family room. Aside from anything else, they recently went to Sydney to be filmed for the ABC’s series The Piano. They will have lots of stories to tell.
Tuesday 28 April
Roger Curran – Morals from the Musicals
Roger will review a number of examples from the Golden Age of musicals to provide a light-hearted look at how we might live a better life if we follow the advice of Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Gordon MacRae and Julie Andrews.
Tuesday 5 May
First Tuesday of the month so no Tuesday Forum
Tuesday 12 May
Brunswick Heads and Rescue – Fire Safety for Seniors
As part of their community education program, some officers from the Brunswick Heads Fire Station will visit us to offer safety tips, to inform us of the latest regulations, and to bring us up-to-date on their smoke detector service. They’ll be able to illustrate their talk with real life examples of incidents in the community where a bit of prevention would have provided a much better outcome for the residents.
Tuesday 19 May
Ray Essery – Bush Poet
By popular request, bush poet and Brunswick Heads local, Ray Essery is returning to recite more of his poems and tell us more of his yarns. Ray is highly regarded for his storytelling ability and unique persona. He has been performing since the early 80s and has received multiple awards for his work. He is always a winner at Tamworth.
Tuesday 26 May
Denise Curran – Three generations in Paris
In April, Denise went to Paris with her daughter and granddaughter. This trip was very special in lots of ways. The idea was to tick off Denise’s bucket list of things to do in Paris, along with passing on her love of this beautiful city. For example, one of the bucket list items was to visit a Laduree store for morning tea. DId you know that Laduree, a French manufacturer and retailer of high-end pastries, claim to have created the macaron in 1930? This claim warranted some investigation.
Tuesday 2 June
First Tuesday of the month so no Tuesday Forum
Tuesday 9 June
Al Clark – How do we stay strong, steady and energised in th second half of life?
From Al: “Many people tell me they feel more tired, less resilient, or more easily disrupted in their sleep than they expected at this stage — and they are not always sure why. This talk explores the difference between natural ageing and accumulated strain, and how understanding that difference can support greater longevity and enjoyment. In clear, practical language, I discuss: why energy and sleep often shift over time, how long-term stress quietly affects the body, the importance of recovery, not just activity, Simple ways to improve resilience and day-to-day wellbeing.”
Tuesday 16 June
Janis Watson-Wood – AI
Janis is a member of the Brunswick Debaters. She led the discussion at a recent meeting, provoking a lot of interest and a lot of comment from the debaters present. Janis is coming along to share her perspective with all of us. Trevor Rollings, convenor of the debaters summed up the discussion: “At our May meeting, Janis skillfully led us through the dark recesses of the black box version of AI. The many benefits and potential threats of AI were explored, Janis concluding that what we really need is a glass box, so that we can all peer inside to see what the Tech Bros are up to. The second hour was spent considering AI’s relation to human creativity. Having a composer, artist and several writers in the group allowed us to see how, skilfully employed, AI can enhance the human imagination, or create hybrid art forms which open up new vistas. The challenge is going to be protecting human creativity, and making it plain when AI has been called upon.”
Tuesday 23 June
Darren Scheuner D.C. is the principal chiropractor at Atlas Chiropractic on the Gold Coast. Darren called in to Dirver Reviver when Suzy, Bess and Denise, member of the Walkers and Talkers, were on duty. We chatted away and ended up with Darren showing us how to use walking poles correctly. Darrren offered to speak to us, not only about walking poles, but about all things related to staying mobile as we age.
Tuesday 30 June – Excursion
Craig Reid – Brunswick Heads Surf Club
The long-awaited revamp of the Brunswick Heads Surf Club is now open. Craig Reid, the long-term President of the Surf Club will show us around. He will talk about funding, problems encountered along the way and and the stages still to come. We will meet at the Surf Club at 10am. After Craig finishes his tour we will have morning tea on site.
Tuesday 7 July
School holidays – no Tuesday Forum
Tuesday 14 July
School holidays – no Tuesday Forum
Term 1 2026
Tuesday 10 February
Kerry-anne Manning – Northern Rivers Wildlife Carers
Northern Rivers Wildlife Carers Inc. is a not-for-profit network of trained volunteers that is licensed to rescue and rehabilitate sick, injured or orphaned wildlife for release back into the wild. This locally based independent organisation has been part of the Northern Rivers community since 1992. Kerry-anne is the training officer with NRWC as well as being a trained possum handler. Kerry and another volunteer will tell us about the work that they do and what we can do to help them. Hint: this involves your old, unused towels.
Tuesday 17 February
Jan Olley – Byron Bird Buddies – TBC
Jan Olley is “2025 Byron Shire Community Member Of The Year”. As Byron Shire Mayor, Sarah Ndiaye, said:
“Jan Olley’s contribution to the protection, awareness and preservation of birds in the Byron Shire is truly exceptional,” “Jan, well known for her hat and the binoculars around her neck, was a founder of Byron Bird Buddies some 20 years ago, a conservation group committed to the preservation of habitat for resident and migratory birds including their roosting, breeding and feeding areas. Jan is a fierce advocate for the birds and so very respected, in the community, at Council and by many other agencies such as the NPWS and BirdLife Australia”. Jan will give us an update on the Wallum development and tell us about her latest project.
Tuesday 24 February
Des Wann – Ways with Words
By popular demand Des is back again to inform and entertains us, this time with Ways with Words. “This presentation studies in a lighthearted manner the use of words in different contexts. In the first half we see how words and music can occupy the same “space” but sometimes, though the music is pleasant to listen to, the lyrics might make very little sense. We end this first half with a couple of examples of the use of ‘worded’ humour.
Following morning tea Rob Watts (whom we have previously met) discusses some common words in English that have just suddenly appeared without any idea as to their derivation to other languages.
Tuesday 3 March
First Tuesday of the month hence no Tuesday Forum
Tuesday 10 March
Di Browne – Together She Thrives
Di Browne founded Together She Thrives as a community dedicated to supporting and empowering women at every stage of life. Di’s group runs free weekly events that bring women together in a welcoming, relaxed environment where they can connect, learn, and be inspired. At its heart, Together She Thrives is about fostering genuine friendships, nurturing personal growth, supporting wellbeing, and creating safe spaces where women feel seen, heard, and supported – so we can all thrive, together.
Tuesday 17 March
Lisa Strauss – Keeping Healthy
Lisa is a Dietitian APD, Nutritionist and Naturopath who provides expert dietary advice, medical nutrition therapy and expert supplement advice for a wide range of health conditions and nutrition-related issues. The focus for her presentation will be Type 2 Diabetes/Heart Disease. Lisa prefers to make her talks informal, so there will not be many slides, but an interactive approach with discussion and questions. We will be asked to fill out a short questionnaire before and after the presentation.
Tuesday 24 March
Paul Brown – Colonies, The Geometric Sublime – Art That Makes Itself
Artist Paul Brown lives and works in Ocean Shores. Over a career spanning 6 decades, he has earned an international reputation as a pioneer of computational and generative art, and in 2023, he received the prestigious Distinguished Artist Award for Lifetime Achievement in Digital Art from the Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group in Graphics – ACM/SIGGRAPH. His exhibition Colonies: The Geometric Sublime – Art That Makes Itself opens at the Northern Rivers Community Gallery in Ballina on 30 April and runs until 21 June 2026. The exhibition opening is at 17:30 on 30 April, and everyone is welcome to attend. The exhibition by-line states – These artworks are created by digital colonies of artificial agents—small programs that use artificial intelligence and artificial life (A-Life) to interact. Each agent observes its neighbours and adjusts its behaviour based on the overall state of the group. Paul’s illustrated talk will discuss his work, its origins and ambitions. https://paul-brown.art
Tuesday 31 March
Excursion – TBA