About NACAA XXV (Brisbane 2012)

The 25th NACAA was held over Easter 2012, from Friday April 6 until Monday April 9, and was hosted by the Astronomical Association of Queensland (AAQ) with support from the other astronomy clubs in south east Queensland. NACAA took place in the historic Great Court of the University of Queensland at St Lucia in Brisbane.

The programme included an exciting mix of invited speakers, technical sessions, group discussions, and social functions.

Activities and awards

The 2012 Berenice and Arthur Page Medal was presented at the convention dinner to Anthony Wesley of the Canberra Astronomical Society. Astral Awards were presented to Tony Dutton, Greg Bond and Julian West (AAQ) for “Spectrography and Variable Star Research”, and to Ray Johnston and Rick Stevenson (also AAQ) for “Fire in the Sky”. The Perdrix Address was given by Martin George of the International Planetarium Society, on “The Life of Grote Reber”. The Guest Speaker at the Convention Dinner was Vince Ford, who spoke about “40 Years Behind the Telescope: How a starry-eyed school kid turned into a ‘real’ astronomer.”

Venue

NACAA XXV was held at the University of Queensland, St Lucia campus — twin auditoriums in the Parnell building were used for sessions.

NACAA 2012 was held at the Parnell lecture theatres in the Parnell Building of the University of Queensland. The university is located on the Brisbane River at St Lucia, an inner western suburb of Brisbane and about 7 kilometres from the centre of Brisbane.

2012 Accommodation Map
The above map courtesy of Google Maps.

The map below shows the location of the Parnell Building, (red circle) on the Great Court of the university. For a full resolution version of this map see http://www.uq.edu.au/maps/pdf/StLuciaMap.pdf
University of Queensland site map

Transport

Options for getting to the University of Queensland (St Lucia campus) included:

  • Car — main entrance via Sir Fred Schonell Drive (accessed from the CBD via Coronation Drive); free parking on campus over Easter.
  • Car pooling — most out-of-town visitors were expected to stay in Toowong, so NACAA ran a car-pooling arrangement matching visitors needing transport with those who could provide it.
  • Ferry — the CityCat ferry from Brisbane City to the St Lucia campus terminal, or the Regatta terminal near Toowong.
  • Bus — routes 412, 411 and 109 ran directly from the CBD to the two campus bus stations (Chancellor’s Place and UQ Lakes); several other routes connected from surrounding suburbs.
  • Train — nearest station Toowong (Ipswich line), then a short bus ride; alternatively Dutton Park station near the Eleanor Schonell Bridge, walkable or a short bus ride to campus.
  • Bicycle — a riverside bike path connects the campus to the city via the Eleanor Schonell Bridge; on-campus bike parking available.
  • Airport — Airtrain to the city, then change to the Ipswich line for Toowong (~$20); taxi fare from the airport to Toowong was around $55.