Chairman's Report
Dear Members,
At our last AGM on October 1st 2013 it was agreed to change the financial year of the Society to a calendar year basis to more accurately reflect our operating activities. The meeting, scheduled for March 31st 2014, has been called to consider the 9 month period from April 1st 2013 until December 31st 2013. At this meeting we will consider the accounts for the period and endorse Officers and Board of Management for the period up to the next AGM which will be held in the first quarter of 2015.
I am pleased to report to you that the accounts show in the 9 months under review your Society achieved a surplus for the period and this is a welcome return to surplus from a period of sustained operating losses over recent years. The surplus has been achieved by reductions in staff and operating costs, an increase in membership numbers and an improvement in events income. During this period the Society received a £15,000 donation from John Swire & Sons and I want to recognise this valuable contribution and the very substantial support provided to the Society since its inception from Sir John Swire and his company. The Society would have been in surplus even without this very generous donation, but it has certainly accelerated our return to a more secure financial position. We still have some way to go in returning to a situation where the Society has a significant reserve fund
but we are confident this will be achieved. We are able to say that we can meet our obligations and the Society is very active in promoting its aims and providing an interesting and varied events programme for members and guests.
In the last 12 months we have staged a number of highly successful and profitable events, including an evening in the Speakers Apartments hosted by The Speaker, The Hon John Bercow MP, The Reform Club South Australian Event, The Bradman Dinner in the Long Room at Lords, The Dame Edna Farwell Tour at the Palladium Theatre and reception at the Garrick Club with Barry Humphries, and a Royal reception at St James’s Palace in the presence of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh with an appearance by award winning Australian soprano Greta Bradman.
On July 9th The Britain Australian Society Education Trust will lay a memorial stone to Admiral Phillip in the nave of Westminster Abbey and on July 12th,unveil an armillary sphere monument in the garden adjacent to the Assembly Rooms in Bath, to commemorate his achievements.
The Society is also planning the inaugural President’s Dinner in May to be hosted by the Society President Lord Carrington. The dinner will become an annual event which will highlight the different aspects of the Britain Australia relationship through guest speakers who can contribute to an appreciation of this enduring and important relationship.
After some challenging problems in finding suitable office accommodation following the end of our lease in Swire House, we have now achieved a secure tenancy in Australia Centre, which will be of significant value to the Society. I want to thank the Australian High Commissioner, The Hon Mike Rann and the Deputy High Commissioner Andrew Todd for their assistance in making representations on our behalf to DFAT in Canberra enabling us to negotiate a commercial lease agreement.
Going into 2014 we have increased the Executive Secretary position from part time to a full time 5 day week position and this will increase our staff costs. We will also see an increase in office rental charges compared with the generous terms provided by John Swire over many years. Our new location in Australia Centre has many benefits for our future development and the rental costs, which are in line with market rates, and are manageable within our resources.
The Society is now making a concentrated effort to improve corporate sponsorship income, which is the key to further improvement in our financial position and our capacity to develop.
In closing I would like to thank my fellow Board members for their continuing commitment and also our branches for all they do to expand the activities of the Society. A special thank-you to Dale Eaton and Sarah Witt for their daily contribution in running the affairs of the Society and our valued volunteers, My Chappell for her expertise on financial matters, and Elizabeth Erwin for continuing assistance with events.
Peter Benson OAM
Chairman