Gala Dinner – Celebrating 30 Years of the Internet in Australia!

We can't tell you how excited we are to share this opportunity with you. You will join some of the biggest names in Australia's internet history as we pay tribute to the pioneers of the most fundamentally transformative technology to have occurred in our lifetime.

In 1989, the first trans-Pacific link from Hawaii to Australia heralded the beginning of Australia’s connection to what would become the global internet. From the early 1990’s, the number of internet users grew steadily, from a small band of enthusiasts on low bandwidth, dialup connections to today, with near-universal adoption over broadband, dominating much of the nation’s commercial and social activity.

However, the birth of the internet was not without its challenges. While the technical hurdles were slowly overcome by innovation and the ingenuity of a growing band of techs, the policy challenges thrown up by a medium that has no centralised control and enourages disruption of tradional models of business and governance, were in some ways more critical to the development of the internet as we now know it.

You'll hear from some of our pioneers and revolutionaries as they recount the highs and lows of delivering to Australia something that many today take for granted. What was it like being at ground zero? What challenges had to be overcome? And what kind of future will the internet bring?

The Venue and the Evening

This event will be held at the award winning Doltone House ‘Heritage Wharf’ venue at Jones Bay, overlooking Sydney Harbour. The evening will start with networking cocktails and canapés on the outer deck. Here, you’ll meet and mix with some of the luminaries of Australia’s internet history, former colleagues and future business partners, before moving inside for the start of the evening’s entertainment.

Single Tickets

The ticket price includes drinks and canapés on arrival, the pre-dinner networking cocktails, a splendid three course meal and premium drinks package, an event showbag and a full evening’s entertainment with a unique look at the history and prospects of the Australian internet.

Corporate Tables

Corporate tables of 10 are now on offer at the standard price of $2950 plus booking fee (total $3113.34)

Booking a whole table will:

• guarantee that all your guests are seated together at the same table (there is no function in the individual ticket booking form to nominate table name)
• ensure that multiple menu choices (eg. allergies) are allocated to the named table
• allow display of the company or organisation name. (Logo branding is reserved for sponsors)
• allow for your guest names to be added at the time of booking or later, ensuring that all your guests receive the appropriate name tags on arrival
• allow us to issue a single tax invoice to the company concerned.

With the exception of sponsors who will receive priority positioning, corporate table placement will be allocated on a first-come, best-placed basis. We therefore urge corporate table organisers to get in early. This will enable proper invoicing for accountability purposes and will ensure we correctly receive your table guest names once settled. (You can provide these later).

About the Organiser

The event host, former Internet Industry Association chief, Peter Coroneos, has personally overseen 14 previous gala dinners of this magnitude, eight at this particular venue. The IIA Annual Gala Dinners became legendary in the industry for their scale, quality, energy and originality. And cheekiness. All prior events sold out. Peter returns for the 30th Anniversary of the Internet in Australia with an event that promises to be “All-time “. A few phone calls in the last week confirmed a hunch. The end of the epic IIA gala dinners had “left a hole that nothing since had filled”, said one former partygoer. “Nothing came close” said another. Well, now we’re back.

Sponsorship Inquiries

Limited sponsorships are currently available at Platinum and Gold Levels. Sponsorship benefits and participation options are available on request. Please use the Contact link below for a prompt response or visit 30iGala.com.au