When we were invited to participate in the Gladstone Eco Fest, I wasn’t sure what sort of reception we would get in the Queensland coalfields. It was fantastic! Thank you, Anna Hitchcock, coordinator of the Gladstone Conservation Council for the invite and the encouragement. Since we were heading north, we thought that we would combine our trip with a short holiday and a smaller event in the coastal town of Yeppoon. Thank you, Arthur Hunt. We thought that it would be mostly a relaxing trip, but then things got more complicated.
For the Yeppoon event, I was interviewed for the local radio (it was early, so I was still in bed — thank goodness there were no visuals). Prior to the event we had dinner with the local “Think and Drink” group where I gave a brief presentation on “Global EV Trends.” The data supplied by CleanTechnica was most useful.
In Yeppoon, I was interviewed by the local paper and, along with 7 other EVs, we demonstrated that EVs do exist and can manage the distances between towns on the coastal fringe of Queensland. I gave the “Global Trends” presentation and answered all the usual questions about cost and range.
The next day was the Gladstone Eco Fest. It was huge — hundreds of stalls, thousands of participants. Once again, there were only about 5 EVs in our display — 3 Teslas, 1 Hyundai Kona EVs (the only local one), and Paul’s lovely BYD E6. The library had its own display with a council-owned Nissan LEAF. We were positioned between the children’s play area and the toilets, so we had a lot of visitors during the 6 hours of the event. I found out later that this event usually only gets one EV in attendance.
Once again, I did my “Global EV Uptake” chat. Thanks to Rado Trenciansky, it can be found here.
That afternoon, exhausted, we sat outside our hotel room enjoying the view of Tess charging from the solar on the roof and a glass of fine red wine. We want to do this again next year, but will have to find a way to get a break during the day.
Gladstone — sea, solar panels, Tess. Photo by Majella Waterworth.
I will be posting more detailed articles to come as time permits — after all, there are two more expos to come this month — Noosa and Electric Dreams in Brisbane.
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