The George Briscoe Kerferd Oration was inaugurated in 2003 by the citizens of Beechworth to commemorate the sesquicentenary of the naming of their town. The purpose of the Kerferd Oration is to promote a culture of community discussion through sharing knowledge. The Oration brings to local people an emerging issue presented by an eminent speaker … Continue reading The Kerferd Oration 2003 – 2012
Giant steps in the right direction This year's Kerferd Oration is to be delivered by Barry Irvin AM, the Executive Chairman of Bega Cheese. Barry Irvin has extensive experience in the dairy industry and has been Chairman of Bega Cheese since 2000. Under his leadership Bega Cheese has grown from a small regionally based dairy … Continue reading 2017 / Barry Irvin AM 2017
BEECHWORTH’S Jane Fowler participates in many organisations, including Border Refugee and Asylum Seeker Support and the Film Society. In the third of a series of Kerferd Oration 2016 lead-in articles, she writes about what she believes her community can celebrate. I’D like to celebrate the richness and diversity of genuinely good people who live … Continue reading ‘What would you celebrate about community?’
STANLEY’S Maggy Tyrie has lived on three continents and admits that settling in to new places is never easy: cities and towns can be unfriendly. But Stanley and Beechworth were altogether different for the former museum curator. Maggy relates how she connects with her community in the second of a series of lead-in questions for … Continue reading Where do you connect with your community?’
THE annual Kerferd oration will be delivered by author and social researcher Hugh Mackay in Beechworth on July 24. In the first of a series of lead-in articles, oration chairman Ian McKinlay asks: ‘How do you belong to your community?’ I HAVE "belonged" to the Beechworth community in many ways over 40 years. The first … Continue reading ‘How do you belong to your community?’
What does it mean to truly belong? RENOWNED author and leading chronicler of Australia life Hugh Mackay will deliver the annual Kerferd Oration in Beechworth this year. Hugh Mackay AO is a social researcher and the author of 16 books, including the 2013 bestseller, The Good Life, sub-titled What makes a life worth living? His latest … Continue reading 2016 / Hugh Mackay AO
THE Ethics Centre's Simon Longstaff this morning delivered to a packed 450-plus audience in the north eastern Victorian town of Beechworth a provocative and powerful 2015 Kerferd Oration about Australia's 'invisible people'. Dr Longstaff drew on the 'fireside chat' broadcasts made by Australian politician and later statesman Robert Menzies in the midst of World War II to argue for … Continue reading 2015 / Simon Longstaff
AUSTRALIAN ethicist Simon Longstaff on Sunday will seek to extend the legacy of a colonial-era businessman known as “the champion of Beechworth” when he delivers the annual Kerferd Oration and challenges the Indigo community to recognise its “invisible people”. The oration – now in its thirteenth year – is named for George Briscoe Kerferd (1831-1889), … Continue reading Kerferd Oration 2015 honours ‘the champion of Beechworth’
'If you could choose one thing to make this community better what would it be?' BEECHWORTH Community Support co-ordinator and Beechworth Neighbourhood Centre kitchen co-ordinator Trish Mom (pictured) has answered the eighth – and final – Kerferd Oration lead-in question before Sunday’s 2015 presentation in Beechworth. ‘If you could choose one thing to make this … Continue reading Ethical question # 8: building community
'How much do you know about where your food comes from?' BEECHWORTH livestock production consultant Kristy Howard (pictured) has tackled the Kerferd Oration committee’s seventh lead-in question – ‘How much do you know about where your food comes from?” – for the 2015 oration in Beechworth on July 19. “It’s an interesting question because there are … Continue reading Ethical question # 7: tucking into food
THE KERFERD ORATION 