Thank you to all that attended The Rotary Club of Canberra Burley Griffin’s “A Dinner for Angas Downs” at the Brassey Hotel, Barton, ACT, Thursday 25th November 2010. Approximately 100 guests flocked to the Brassey Hotel to hear about progress with Angas Downs Indigenous Protected Area and to hear from special guest speaker The Hon Barry Cohen AM. Money was raised for Angas Downs with proceeds from the tickets, donations and money raised during an auction of Aboriginal artwork, game meat products and emu eggs.
The Guest Speaker, The Hon Barry Cohen AM, delighted us with tales from his life and books about being a Minister for the Environment 1983 to 1987 in the Hawke Government. Barry Cohen admits that the funny side of his profession kept him sane through thirty years as a politician. With his hilarious stories about life in politics, Barry has led a post-political life as a speaker and commentator.
His books are: Life with Gough (1996); From Whitlam to Winston (1997); The Almost Complete Gough (2001); and The Life Of The Party (1987).
Extremely entertaining and a good night was had by all.
The evening raised funds for Rotary-backed development projects supporting the Aboriginal community at Imanpa in central Australia. The community holds the pastoral lease to Angas Downs Indigenous Protected Area. Through tourism and increasing the numbers of preferred wildlife species, Rotary is supplementing support from the Department of Environment to integrate conservation of wildlife with commercial opportunities, strengthen land and culture connections and improve Indigenous health and well-being. Important initiatives that need funding include installing solar power and rain water tanks, improving property communications and starting a quandong nursery.
More details on Angas Downs can be found on Wikipedia at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angas_Downs_Indigenous_Protected_Area
Donations are still welcome.
To find out more info: george.wilson@awt.com.au