Dear all

I hope this finds you safe and well and preparing for festivities with family and friends. Current weather predictions are for a warm spell of weather with temperatures in the mid 20’s so an opportunity to get outside and enjoy it without it being unpleasantly hot.

The recent PHILAS AGM went smoothly, with two new directors in Mick Evans (Tamworth) and Billy Lau (Sutherland) voted onto the Board and myself being retained into the President’s role. Mick had already been acting on the Board as an appointed director so was already familiar with what was going on, whilst Billy will be brought up to pace over the next couple of months.

The day provided attendees an opportunity to look at the new premises in Pennant Hills, which PHILAS takes possession of on 22nd December. Plans for its development were shared and the Board was able to share the big opportunity that is being realised by moving to these new premises, which is that PHILAS will bank more than $2.5 million, the difference between the sale of Egerton Street and the purchase and development of 2 City View Road, Pennant Hills. The income earned from this money will allow the organisation to take its main volunteer focus away from auctions, which have traditionally been the driver of volunteer activity, and put some of it into other areas like prepping for Open Days, developing club resources, research, reach out initiatives for youth and the online collectors and other tasks.

Following this presentation a guided walk through the site was undertaken. Feedback was positive, with some opportunities to improve on its functionality being identified by those who were part of the look through.

As has been previously noted the major development will be the transformation of the bar area into offices and a storeroom. Fortunately, the other parts of the premises are not subject to much (if any) construction work, so we will be administratively functioning by the new year, operating out of the café part of the premises in the short term.

The other side of that coin is that by 22nd December PHILAS and the Library have to be out of Egerton Street, with a bit of work to be done to make that happen seamlessly. Volunteers on Saturday spent the day packing unsold album lots so that they could be more readily transported (thank you Paul, Robert and Meng), IT is being packed up and moved this week (thank you Mike McHugh) and a moving company has been organised to pack, transport and relocate everything from 15th December onwards.

Whilst Board members are committing themselves to help with the relocation, if anyone within our community would like to help, please let Mike McHugh know via office@philas.org.au. There are a range of tasks including staffing the kitchen at lunchtime, to directing the movers where different things need to be put, and even a bit of pavement cleaning in our outdoor areas. None of the work will require heavy lifting, we have hired people for that, but your support would be greatly appreciated and will help turn the property into a new home for PHILAS.

That will be our focus for the next couple of months, so any support you can provide would be valued.

And in the meantime, on behalf of PHILAS, wishing you and your families a very Merry Christmas (if it’s a relevant celebration for you) and a Happy 2026.

Bruce Chadderton

President