News

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Amaroo Events
If you would like to be informed when an Event with Prem Rawat is confirmed please register for updates at WOPG Events

A new Lockdown series has now commenced on YouTube – Prem Rawat Official Subscribe Here

July News:

Mike Brown’s video news episode 2 is now available. Highlights include interviews with staff and volunteers, the recent Working Bee, and the successful opening of the Caravan Park. Click on the image.

June News:

Welcome back to our Volunteers!

As you may know, Stage 2 of the Government’s roadmap to easing Queensland’s Covid-19 restrictions has been brought forward. Health experts are satisfied risks appear to be reducing at a manageable rate.

Happily this means we can safely welcome back volunteers!

This Friday 12 and Saturday 13 June there is a Working Bee in Green Campground painting the bathroom facilities. We need experienced painters only for the final painting work, but there is plenty of preparation to be done beforehand on Friday which does not require any professional skill.

This is to be ready for the opening of our new Caravanning and Camping site which will be open to the public 27th June in time for the school holidays!

More help is needed in other areas. If you are interested please contact Lorraine at HR. We are also working hard to provide the possibility for overnight accommodation for volunteers while meeting the Covid19 Safe Gov guidelines. Hopefully this will be available soon.

Please email [email protected] for further information.
Thank you!

May News:

Meet the new Facilities Manager

We’d like to introduce you to our new Facilities Manager Neil Cairns, but first we’d like to thank Ben Salk for his hard work in the role these past 18 months, and wish him all the best with his future pursuits. Thank you Ben!

Neil comes to us directly from The Brisbane Powerhouse where he worked for 17 years, 6 of those as Precinct Director.

For those of you who don’t know the Powerhouse, it is a former power station and now a premier Arts and Festival venue on the banks of the Brisbane River, hosting over 1,000 performances a year as well as hundreds of weddings and events.

As Precinct Director Neil was responsible for Operations, Health and Safety, and the IT side of things. Neil sums it up as “giving everyone what they need to be able to do their job”.

Neil loved his time at the Powerhouse but was ready for a new challenge and jumped at the opportunity to work at Ivorys Rock. After his job interview Neil was given a tour of the site which left him hoping even more that his application was successful. Neil said he is “amazed at both the size and the beauty of the property, and is honoured to be a part of the team”.

It’s also worth noting the considerable experience Neil brings from the Entertainment Industry, where he began his working life backstage in Productions, in lighting and sound. He has worked in every venue in Brisbane including La Boîte, The Queensland Theatre Company and toured with many shows in regional towns.

Neil and his partner live in the western suburbs of Brisbane with their 2 young children about 30 mins drive from Ivory’s Rock.

It’s been a very unusual start for Neil with all the restrictions Coronavirus has brought.

All commercial event bookings have been postponed and the site is temporarily closed with the exception of a few essential staff who are on reduced hours. We are very fortunate that the Australian Government is supporting people during this time with Jobkeeper payments.

Neil says “Its been quite surreal with no people or activities. I’m using the time to go through the maintenance tasks so they are ready to go when restrictions are lifted. Apart from keeping the essential services operating, I’m also tailoring existing Maintenance Software systems to fit our needs.”

Fortunately Neil was able to see the venue in action shadowing Ben during The Earth Frequency Festival and also having a 3 week handover with Ben to familiarise himself with the site’s operations.

Welcome Neil, we look forward to working with you at the next Amaroo Event!

April News:

The ‘Nurture Your Nature’ Amaroo Raffle 2020 is a terrific way to ‘nurture’ and support Amaroo from wherever you are ‘locked down’ around the globe. At the same time it offers you a chance to win one of four great cash prizes – a big A$3000 first prize, A$1000 second prize and two A$500 third prizes.
Buying a ticket is an easy and fun way to support the work of Ivory’s Rock Foundation. We really appreciate your support at this time!  A single ticket is only $10, and the more you buy, the cheaper they get. Choose the $31 Bundle, the $65 Super Bundle, $106 Mega Bundle and the $180 Uber Bundle Find out more

*** The Raffle is now closed and has been drawn with the winners being notified by email.

March News:

A message from the IRF Board during this time of COVID-19.
Includes a short video of the Amaroo after the rains!

Greetings from the IRF Board – 20 March 2020

Hi everyone,

We wanted to take this opportunity to express our gratitude for all the support that has been consistent for so many years towards Ivory’s Rock (the home of Amaroo) and IRF. We hope above all that you remain safe and healthy.

In these extraordinary circumstances, we all remain linked in our desire to keep Ivory’s Rock functional and maintained, and ready for re-opening! In accordance with official guidelines, the site has been temporarily closed for all non-essential activities, so for the time being, the wallabies and wildlife are keeping an eye on everything, along with the handful of live-in caretakers.

The Board and the Ivory’s Rock teams continue to work behind the scenes with weekly ‘virtual’ meetings to ensure that communication remains robust, and relevant information is shared with the broader community.

Staying in touch:

Volunteers and staff at Ivory’s Rock receive regular communications and updates from the HR team.
Periodical updates will be posted to the Amaroo facebook page.
Enquiries can be directed to [email protected].

So once again, we wish to thank the Ivory’s Rock staff for your tireless efforts, and in particular to honour the extraordinary commitment of our sponsors and volunteers, who have been the lifeblood of our wonderful Amaroo.

We look forward to celebrating with everyone as the situation evolves for the better. In the meantime, take the best possible care of yourself and each other.

With very best wishes
Ivory’s Rock Foundation Board of Directors

Joy Winnel
Sherry Bolton
Jeffrey Johnson-Abdelmalik
Brian Murray
Roland Klepzig

By the way, the drought broke last month … take a look!

Video News from Ivorys Rock
Mike Brown will be producing regular video updates from Ivorys Rock. We hope you enjoy this first edition.

Easter Retreat UPDATE:
To protect everybody’s health and well-being and due to the coronavirus (COVID-19), it has been decided to cancel the Easter Retreat at Ivory’s Rock.
For those of you who have booked and paid, a you will receive a full refund. Please allow 7 days for the refund to come through.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this cancellation.
For enquiries or assistance email [email protected]
Warm regards
The Ivory’s Rock Retreat Team

February News:

Volunteer
Preparations and improvements happen all year round, offering opportunities to help out for a few days, weeks or even longer. Did you know you are also welcome to stay onsite when you volunteer? Contact Volunteer Liaison Bruce Parmentier email

We now have a terrific new volunteer website. Subscribe and receive notifications Visit

Retreats and Volunteer Weekends
Although there wasn’t an event with Prem last September, approx 100 people came from around Australia and as far afield as Canada, the UK, Israel and New Zealand for 9 days. Volunteers helped out for appox 4 hours a day, and then enjoyed the offerings of yoga, Qi-jong and videos in the afternoons, as well as time to rest and take in the beautiful environment. The days ended with music and good food, with a party at Dayas being the highlight on the final evening. Read more on the Volunteer page

Knowledge Review
On Saturday 22nd Feb, 78 people attended a Knowledge Review in the beautiful Hall. Afternoon tea was served and followed by the screening of the Madrid Event. Thank you to everyone who helped make it a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.

Knowledge Reviews are available by request, through PEAK. More information is available on Prem Rawat’s website https://www.premrawat.com/engage/peak-know-yourself

January News:

Wishing you a happy and prosperous New Year

The summer wet season has begun with good rainfall recorded at Amaroo. The wallabies and kangaroos are enjoying the fresh green grass, and the koalas are safe in their treetops. The lake is filling.

Many parts of Australia are still in drought, but the terrible fires are now out.

Thank you all for your concern. The team was calm and prepared, having worked very hard putting in place a fire plan. The caretakers were trained, and leaves and debris were cleared from around buildings. The closest fires were 35km away and were being fought with an army of QEFS volunteer firemen. We are grateful to them, and the local community who rallied to support the efforts Read more

We hope 2020 brings the possibility of an event. As always, it depends on Prem’s busy global schedule. You can keep up to date with event announcements through WOPG

We will also keep you posted here and you can also follow us on Amaroo Facebook
Best wishes to all.

Photo by Kim Gunther

Ivorys Rock Foundation Website has more interesting stories – Read More Here

Ensuite Cabins progress report

96 Air-conditioned Ensuite Cabins have been purchased, providing a new level of comfort and privacy for guests.

21 Aug Turf was laid this morning along the “Avenue.” Steps and landings are continuing for the others
3 August All the bedrooms are wired up but getting the power to the whole area has been hard. We got delayed ten days by underground obstacles. Similar with the water. Ten bedrooms have full water supply now, we start again on Monday. I think by Thursday we will have good results!
27 July – The last of the Cabins was hoisted onto the foundations at 11:08 this morning and is being welded down. The first bathroom became functional with all plumbing connected (but not electricity yet) at 2:00pm.
23 July – Big day today. Fourteen bunkhouses hoisted into position ready for electrics, plumbing and steps!
20 July – Five of the twenty-four buildings have been craned onto the foundation poles and plumbing and electricity connection started. We lost a week because of a crane shortage but we are back on track now.
6 July – Most of the trenches are now filled in. Next week the foundation poles go in, then the cabins are lifted in & welded into place.
25 June – Work is underway to have all the cabins sited & plumbed.

Thank you to Chris Hamerton for the photos / updates – and the hard work!

1. Mapping it out
2. Cabins arriving
3. Digging the trenches
4. Trenches filled in
5. Craning into place
6. Placing on the Footings
7. In place ready for plumbing and turf.
8. New Steps and lights
9. The Avenue is turfed!

Recycling – How you can help

Amaroo 2018 – further steps taken in the commitment to recycling!

A Brisbane based Waste Removal company which has a good recycling program was contracted in for Amaroo 2018. The Operations and Event managers went to visit the plant and were very impressed with their operations.

Dumping charges have risen, so by recycling and composting as much of our waste as possible we can reduce our bill. You can imagine the amount of waste that 3,000+ people generates each day of the event!

How you can Help

The recyclable waste has a value to the Waste Company (and to Amaroo) The key factor is that it is well sorted.

Recycling Bins are situated in the Pavilion by the posts of the main Dome. Each bin is clearly signed.
You can help by putting your bottles, cans and general waste into the appropriate bins.

- Plastic – water or juice bottles
- Metal – aluminium cans, metal lids
- Glass – bottles, jars
- General Waste – food scraps, soft plastic bags, disposable plates, cups, cutlery.

Food scraps are not able to be sorted for compost, as volunteers only have the resources to deal with the restaurant compostable waste.

Behind the Scenes

All compostable waste from the restaurants and Pavilion vendors is collected by volunteers and taken to a pit on-site, where it is mixed with soil and later used around the property as compost. (It is not used at the farm as it is not organic.) This greatly reduces the amount of waste needed to be dumped!

The spent cooking oil from the restaurants and food vendor’s kitchens has a value. It is collected and sold on by the waste company to make Bio-diesel Fuels. This is factored in to reducing Amaroo’s waste costs.