Logistics

Exactly where IS this conference?

The Gippsland region extends east from Melbourne and literally covers all the farming (and mining) area to Victoria’s most Eastern peninsula. The conference venue, Lardner Park, is situated on a showground approximately 6km south of Warragul.

Warragul itself has very limited accommodation and as a consequence, there will be extensive commuting going on from local surrounding towns in order to effectively bring this delegation together.

The conference welcome function and Tom Reid Oration will take place at the Warragul Arts Centre in central Warragul,while the main conference dinner, sponsored by Rabobank, will be at the Kernot Hall in Morwell, not far from Traralgon.

Getting there and getting around

Delegates flying from interstate/internationally and who would prefer not to incur hire car costs can consider two options of getting from Melbourne to the conference ‘hub’.

By bus: The pre-conference tour bus will depart Melbourne Flinders St Station at 7.30am on Monday February 20. Delegates choosing the pre-conference tour option will have no need of a car as following the completion of the pre-conference tour, they will be able to use the conference shuttle that will run between Traralgon and Lardner Park (and then between Traralgon and Morwell for the dinner; and Traralgon and Ellinbank on Friday).

Delegates intending to use the shuttle bus will need to purchase a shuttle ticket. One ticket will provide access to all conference event shuttle runs./i>

By train: Regular trains run from Melbourne to Warragul. This option may suit interstate/international travellers who do not wish to do the pre-conference tour, but who would prefer to not hire a car. Click here to download the train schedule. Delegates intending to travel by train will need to provide the conference managers with their train arrival times, so that we can arrange for our courtesy bus to collect you. Courtesy buses will run to and from the local station to either the welcome function in Warragul, the conference venue or Traralgon accommodation (subject to bookings and demand) on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.

Returning to Melbourne

For delegates without hire cars, the following options exist:

By bus: To effect this option you will need to purchase the post-conference tour ticket, which tours local farms on the afternoon of Friday 24th (following the Ellinbank Research Farm visit); and then returns to central Melbourne at approximately 6.30pm, then on to the airport.

By train: Delegates purchasing a Warragul-Melbourne train ticket for either Thursday or Friday and who require a shuttle run to the train station should indicate this on their registration form.

Accommodation

The ADC has reserved 140 rooms across four hotels in Traralgon, as it is our desire to keep as many of our ‘non local’ attendees staying in the one town, to optimise networking. We therefore encourage delegates to share rooms where-ever appropriate to do so. Traralgon is approximately 45 minutes (via shuttle bus) to the conference venue and approximately 10 minutes by shuttle bus to the Rabobank Gala Dinner venue. These rooms can be purchased via this conference registration form and will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis. Delegates missing this optimal accommodation will need to be able to ‘self drive’ and should refer to www.latrobe.vic.gov.au to secure alternative accommodation (mostly B&B or small style motels) in other nearby towns. ADC accepts no responsibility for bookings made with alternative accommodation providers.

In our ADC preferred hotels in Traralgon, two pricing structures are offered:

• 4 star accommodation $185
• 3 star accommodation $140