Where we are:
U3A Hawthorn is located in Melbourne Australia. Originally established in November 1984 as one of the first U3As in the State of Victoria, we commenced classes in 1985 on the campus of Swinburne University in the municipality of Hawthorn. We are now located beside the Glen Iris wetlands, as you can see from the photo, where our birdwatchers are constantly on the lookout for new arrivals.

Membership:
In 2014 we currently have some 1300 members and some Associate members from other U3As also share in our courses. As with many U3As, we find accommodation something of a challenge and believe we have the potential to increase our membership in line with the demographic trends in our Region.

Our Activities:
We have a curriculum containing some 100 courses, the majority of which run throughout the year. These cover a diverse range of topics and subjects; from languages, current affairs, history to book groups, bridge, chess and mah-jong. We also have a choir and a symphony orchestra of some 60 players.

In addition to continuing courses, we offer short courses based around 4 semesters in the year. These short courses provide an opportunity to try new things, such as arts or crafts, or to bring together a range of related presentations such as a series on medical issues. We also run a large Summer School in January with some 400+ participants attending sessions which are run each morning and afternoon over the 4 weeks. Full details of our curriculum are available on our website >>>.

Personal Comment:
In Victoria we now have over 100 U3As and our peak body, U3A Network Victoria, recently hosted the Asia Pacific Alliance Conference 2013. It was great to meet with representatives of other U3As in our region and to hear from Prof. Francois Vellas about the origins of the U3A movement.

With the communication made possible through the internet and world wide web, I believe U3As around the world are now able to feel a greater sense of sharing in the principles of life-long learning and positive ageing, whilst learning from each other how best to adapt the ‘volunteer model’ to work in each local environment and produce great outcomes for our members. This website is one such opportunity!