For those that remember or have retained the earlier issues, yes it was 1992 when it all began.
Then came the inaugural meeting in early 2004 with Chris Bland from Pipeline Publications Australia (PPA), now Great Southern Press, and my life changed as far as putting together ASTT newsletters.
Within months of that meeting, an agreement was signed between the ASTT and PPA that would ensure ASTT would have its own dedicated magazine.
This magazine was to be called Trenchless Australasia and it was to be produced in full-colour and distributed quarterly to all our members as well as other interested companies and individuals.
Its primary aim for the ASTT was to fulfil the ASTT’s objectives to advance the science and practice of Trenchless Technology for public benefit, while providing a forum for interchanging ideas and knowledge among Trenchless Technology users.
Obviously this objective has and continues to be achieved.
As well as covering Australia and New Zealand, the magazine was to be distributed throughout the Pacific region and Southeast Asia.
We anticipated then that the distribution will be in the order of some 1,500-2,000 copies.
Today, the Trenchless Australasia magazine continues to be published quarterly and has increased its distribution significantly since its launch in 2004 and now sits around 2,600 copies per edition.
The first edition of Trenchless Australasia was launched at the 2004 Australasian Society for Trenchless Technology Conference in Melbourne.
The feedback that was received immediately after its release was extremely positive.
As of September 2014, Great Southern Press would have successfully produced 40 magazines and still the feeling is the same – what a wonderful flagship magazine for the ASTT.
For me personally, I was and am still absolutely delighted with our world-class magazine and more importantly its serious distribution network.
This, in my mind, has given the ASTT the ideal opportunity to spread the trenchless message to all readers.
This is without doubt one of the great success stories for the ASTT and Great Southern Press.
I, as the ASTT Secretary, want to thank all those from Great Southern Press, past and present, the advertisers and the readers for continuing to support this wonderful publication, and want to congratulate Great Southern Press on reaching their 10th Anniversary of this magazine.
I am confident that this magazine will continue being the most useful trenchless publication for a very long time to come.
Once again, congratulations GSP and keep up the great work.
Jeff Pace
ASTT Secretary