Hi Terry and Allan,
Welcome to IIS !
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/....elcomesign.gif
I'm still relativley new to astronomy but I can tell you you have come to the right place!
Have a look through this thread ( or do a search) and you will find lots of posts regarding " what telescope to buy for X amount of dollars".
As a lot of members will say ...'join a club' or 'head up to one of our local observatories' ( such as the one in Bickley
www.perthobservatory.wa.gov.au), and I thoroughly recommend that.
Good luck and clear skies!
Bartman