40 Years, One Incredible Night: Our Crocodile Dundee Gala

What a night!

On Saturday 5 September, more than 270 members, families, supporters, sponsors and friends of New Horizons Tasmania came together at the Tailrace Centre for a very special celebration – our 40th Anniversary Crocodile Dundee Gala.

And what better way to celebrate 40 years of New Horizons Tasmania than with a night full of community, entertainment, laughter and, of course, a little Aussie spirit!

Every dollar raised will help New Horizons Tasmania continue creating opportunities for Tasmanians with disability to connect, participate, build confidence and experience the sense of belonging that has been at the heart of our organisation for the past four decades. We are still in the process of tallying up our total raised – stay tuned!

From the moment guests arrived, the Tailrace Centre was transformed for our Crocodile Dundee-inspired celebration.

The evening showcased so much of what makes the NHT community special, with performances from our members and local performers, plenty of entertainment, fundraising activities, live and silent auctions, and a dance floor that certainly didn’t stay empty for long!

But beyond the fun, the Gala was an opportunity to celebrate an extraordinary milestone.

For 40 years, New Horizons Tasmania has been creating inclusive opportunities through sport, recreation and social connection.

Our Gala brought together people from across our community who have played a part in that journey – past and present – while helping us raise vital funds to continue that work into the future.

Thank you to our partners

An event of this scale simply isn’t possible without the businesses and organisations that choose to stand behind our community.

We extend an enormous thank you to our Platinum Partners, Wayne Manion Plumbing Services, CommBank and The Kitchen Centre; Gold Partner, Becks Mitre 10; Silver & Entertainment Partners, Pets Now Boarding and Cornerstone Pet Crematorium; Exclusive Print & Signage Partner, Flying Colours Group; Bronze Partners, Adaptcare and Up Loans; and In-Kind Partners, Weeding Hire, Sound House, Jade & Dane, Platonic Productions and Boland’s IGA.

Your generosity, support and belief in what we do helps us continue creating opportunities for people with disability across Tasmania, and we are incredibly grateful to have you as part of the NHT community.

Thank you, Tailrace Centre

A special thank you must also go to the wonderful team at Tailrace Centre for once again hosting New Horizons Tasmania and helping us bring this year’s Gala to life.

From the planning in the lead-up to the work happening behind the scenes on the night, we are incredibly grateful for your hospitality, support and contribution to making our 40th Anniversary celebration such a memorable one.

More than 40 volunteers behind the scenes

While our guests saw the finished product on Saturday night, behind it was an extraordinary team of more than 40 volunteers who gave their time and energy to make it happen.

From setting up, decorating and preparing the venue, to welcoming guests, selling fundraising tickets, assisting throughout the evening and returning to pack everything down again – there were countless hands involved.

A special mention must go to Dom Vittori, Gaz Artis and Nick Shaw who were the driving force in the months and days leading up for bringing our theme to life. Hours were spent chopping, drilling, screwing, sawing and painting and we couldn’t be more grateful for their time, energy and generosity. We must also thank the wonderful Tanner family who saw our Crocodile entrance vision and brought it to life!

To every volunteer who gave up their time for NHT, thank you. We simply could not have done it without you.

We also extend our thanks to the performers, suppliers, prize donors, auction contributors and everyone else who helped bring the night together.

Celebrating the heart of NHT

Above all, the evening was about our members.

Our members have always been, and will always be, at the heart of New Horizons Tasmania.

Seeing our community together – celebrating, performing, dancing, laughing and enjoying the night – was a fitting reminder of why New Horizons Tasmania has continued to grow and thrive for 40 years.

Our organisation may have changed enormously since it began in 1986, but the belief at its core remains the same: everyone deserves the opportunity to participate, connect and belong.

Relive the Crocodile Dundee Gala 📷

We captured plenty of special moments throughout the evening and will continue sharing photos, videos and highlights across our social media channels.

Follow New Horizons Tasmania on Facebook and Instagram to relive the night and see more from our 40th Anniversary celebration. Feel free to repost photos, crediting Rod Thompson, our amazing volunteer photographer.

To everyone who attended, sponsored, donated, volunteered, performed, supplied a prize, placed a bid or supported us from afar – thank you for playing a part.

What an incredible way to mark this milestone.

Here’s to the next 40 years 💛