Geoff Edwards
Saturday 22 August 2026 1.00 pm (AEST)
Online and in person at James Cook University Brisbane Campus, Level 3, 349 Queen Street, Brisbane.
Held during Queensland National Science Week 2026, this seminar brings together researchers and innovators showcasing how emerging technologies are transforming conservation science, biosecurity and environmental management.
Our speakers will present cutting-edge research on environmental DNA (eDNA) for detecting invasive invertebrates and strengthening biosecurity surveillance in northern Australia (Dr Cecilia Villacorta-Rath), fungal ecology and ecosystem health, exploring how eucalypt-fungi relationships can provide new indicators of forest health in landscapes affected by lantana (Braden Willows), and underwater robotics and AI, demonstrating how autonomous drones are being used to control invasive sea urchins, protect marine habitats, and develop the world’s first underwater marine debris-collecting drone (Alicia Dunn).
Registration: https://events.humanitix.com/fungi-drones-and-edna
We hope you can join us for what promises to be an engaging afternoon highlighting innovative Australian conservation research and technology.
Best wishes
Dr Andrew Grodecki
President
The Royal Society of Queensland
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Hydraulic connectivity and inter-aquifer leakage
An important paper published by the Bureau of Rural Sciences “Inter-aquifer leakage in the Queensland and New South Wales parts of the Great Artesian Basin“, authored by Dr M.A. (Rien) Habermehl in 2009, presented evidence that some twenty per cent of investigated artesian water bores (not gas wells) showed leakage.
A fact sheet by Dr Bryce Kelly of the University of New South Wales titled: “Evaluating the extent of hydraulic connectivity focus on between the Condamine Alluvium, the Great Artesian Basin and the Walloon Coal Measures.”
See related post on corrosion of gas wells, free gas and lost exploration bores.
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The Bureau of Rural Sciences published a series of guides entitled Science for Decision Makers in 2006-2007.
Plantations and Water: Plantation Impacts on Stream Flow
Managing Connected Surface Water and Groundwater Resources
Managing Non-renewable Groundwater Resources.
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QSN is indebted to transport planner Wally Wight for making available a number of reports on transport planning in South East Queensland. Some of these reports are quite dated but will be useful to researchers and contemporary planners. Reports from prior to 2012 – when the unit responsible for regional land use planning was summarily dismissed – are likely to retain contemporary relevance.
Brisbane City Transport Plan 2002-2016 (Draft) – submission by W. Wight.
Sunshine Motorway 2032 – submission by NORSROC planners.
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Queensland hosts large deposits of “oil shale”, a sedimentary rock carrying a hydrocarbon called kerogen.
An overview paper by Tony Noon in 1984 for the Department
A powerpoint presentation to the Queensland Government by Exxon in 2010.
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Dr Alexander Gofton of CSIRO Health and Biosecurity presented to QSN member body the Entomological Society of Queensland on “How ticks cause turmoil: The surprising ways that Australia’s ticks are making us sick“. His address was published in the Society’s Newsletter 54[3] of May 2026. The Society and the author have generously agreed to allow QSN to re-publish the article, given its medical importance and the general lack of knowledge of the Australian status of Lyme Disease.
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QSN mourns the passing of Grahame William Rogers born on 10 Jan. 1932 on 04 Sep. 2025.
The website MyTributes records the following details from the Toowoomba Chronicle 13 Sep. 2025.
“Beloved Husband, Father, Grandfather and Great Grandfather, Brother, Uncle, School Teacher and Principal, Conservationist, Volunteer, Friend, and Mentor to many.”
A celebration of life was held on 1st October 2025 at St George’s Anglican Church, Crows Nest.
The tribute acknowledged his wife Donalda (nee Maskall) and their family.
Grahame and Donalda warmly welcomed QSN to their house on 4 Feb. 2023 in QSN’s search for the papers of the lapsed Stock Routes Coalition. He wrote “I have largely withdrawn from active engagements – my mind is no longer as sharp as it once was. I have just recently had a big cleanout of my files, and got rid of a lot of the stock route stuff, but I still have some books and maps, and electronic photos and records”.
These records are progressively being uploaded to QSN, to Grahame’s approval.
Grahame also wrote: “We are very happy with the current situation of the stock routes in Qld. They are still being looked after, and it was mainly the long haul of [Stock Route] Coalition lobbying that got this result.”
The price of an effective stock route network however is eternal vigilance. It is depressing to read on the Queensland Government’s website that long-term (static) grazing is one of the major uses of the stock route network. “Today, it is mainly used for moving stock, pasture for emergency agistment and long-term grazing.”
QSN welcomes the recent (2024- ) involvement of the Azadi group in advocating for the protection of the network and the continuation of Grahame Rogers’s legacy.
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In 2024 a group of enthusiasts embarked on a journey across 1000 km of stock routes by horseback and on foot from Goondiwindi to Tocumwal under the banner “Azadi” with a view to publicising the value of the stock route network for outdoor recreation. They have produced an account of their ride Azadi Far Ride to the Murray 2024 in the form of a feasibility study for development of the stock route network for livestock and tourism.
“This feasibility report explores the potential of recreational slow-travel eco-tourism initiatives along Australian stock routes. Drawing insights from the successful completion of the Azadi Far Ride… the report assesses the opportunities and challenges associated with promoting slow travel along these historic cultural pathways. By leveraging slow travel as a sustainable approach to tourism, the report aims to enhance cultural preservation, support local economies, and ensure the long-term preservation and viability of Australian stock routes.”
Author Shané Steffen has advised QSN that “The award winning documentary and feasibility report we created from that journey became reference documents for the next five year NSW Stock Route State Management Plan”. The documentary has been uploaded to Youtube – it is an unlisted link (can’t search for it) but anyone with the link can view it. https://youtu.be/p5qNtPJ8Zvc.
Also that the group proposes four forthcoming expeditions including a dedicated geotrail focusing on the values stock routes bring: environmental significance; geotourism potential; cultural heritage (both pastoral and First Nations; and economic impact.
The group has also written a submission to the Queensland Government (Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport) titled Destination 2045.
“The Azadi Far Ride project is an initiative dedicated to promoting slow travel tourism in Australia, with a particular focus on leveraging the state’s unique cultural, historical, and natural asset – the stock routes. Our submission provides feedback on the development of Queensland’s next 20-year
tourism plan, with a focus on the key areas of ecotourism, 2032 legacy, investment attraction, tourism experience development, access and connectivity, and events delivery.”
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This monumental work is being re-published by QSN because it has disappeared from the former CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems website www.cse.csiro.au, now defunct. Sustainable Ecosystems was restructured in 2011.
Future Dilemmas: Options to 2025 for Australia’s population, technology, resources and environment by Barney Foran and Franzi Poldy, Working Paper series 02/01, October 2002 is a benchmark report of tier 1 status.
The authors also produced a summary: Dilemmas Distilled: A summary and guide to the CSIRO technical report.
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See Events calendar – Friday 22 May, 9:00 to 12:30 at Samford Valley.