We are located on the Atherton Tableland, a fertile plateau inland from Cairns that is part of the Great Dividing Range. We are well into the wet tropics, but it’s elevated and cooler position and fertile soils provide for a wide range of intensive cropping, horticultural and grazing industries. The Tableland has an area of around 32,000 km² with an altitude ranging between 500 and 1,280 m (1,600 and 4,200 ft). The fertility of the soils in the region can be attributed to their volcanic origins.

The Tablelands branch of the international U3A organisation was founded in March 2011. We hold courses and activities all over the Tablelands and surrounds. Our main centre for courses and meetings is in the Glyn Davies Room (Room 22) at the Atherton Community Centre, 42 Mabel Street Atherton (opposite the Council Chambers in the old Atherton Primary School). Click here for a map.

U3A is for people who have completed their working lives but wish to continue to learn and broaden their horizons. Members share their expertise and interests. No educational or other qualification is required to join and there are no exams. For an annual membership fee members can attend as many classes/activities as they wish. Note: Some classes may be in venues that require a modest contribution from the members, or require members to contribute towards the course content e.g. ingredients for cooking classes.

In some years, U3AAT has made available over 80 different talks, courses, and activities covering a wide range of stimulating subjects. These and other activities undertaken by us have been reported in our very informative Newsletters and Facebook page. Information on courses on offer for the current semester can be found here.

U3AAT is part of the U3A Queensland network and members of U3A Atherton Tablelands are automatically welcomed at any of the U3A branches in Queensland. Our members can also enrol in online courses and sit in on some courses provided by James Cook University.

University of the Third Age is an all volunteer organisation. Without volunteers we could not exist to provide you with the enjoyment of learning. If you have enjoyed membership with us you will understand this, and hopefully have been one of our valued volunteers. If you are a new discoverer of U3A we invite you to share and enjoy with us the knowledge and efforts you can bring. We all have many skills acquired throughout our lives and these can add value to many facets of U3A activity. You may volunteer to tutor a subject that you enjoy and is prepared for you by U3A Online, or you might wish to become a committee member. We would appreciate as little or as much as you would enjoy providing. We know our volunteers enjoy themselves as they go about helping our members. If you are interested and would like to speak with a current member of the management committee, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Interested in becoming a member? Please contact us and a form will be sent to you, or fill out our online membership form. If you would like to print out a brochure on our organisation and pass it on to other interested persons, it can be found here.