[Allan_L (Allan)]

Their response:

Hi Alan,
In response to your email received by our Treasurer Karen Stapleton July 9th 2013, would you please advise if your club currently holds Liability Insurance. If you would like to reply to our email address before our next committee meeting which is to be held in August, we can further discuss your letter. We will need to liase with Central Coast Jump Club with your requests, as they are also a Licensee to the Mangrove Creek Recreation Reserve Trust.
Regards,
Kerri Best
Secretary
Mangrove Mountain Pony Club

my reply (after discussion with Mike Salway)

Dear Kerri,
Thankyou for your email of 22 July.
To clarify. We are not a “club”, in any legal sense, incorporated or other.
We are simply a local group of amateur astronomers who share a common passion for viewing the heavens, from a convenient location where light pollution is at a minimum.
We are levied no fees.
There are no financial reimbursements, etc..
Each of us is responsible for their own equipment, setup, enjoyment, and conduct.
We have no "club" insurance cover, as we have no legal entity under which to enter such an arrangement, and no facility to pay for one.
Simply sitting at a telescope for a few hours, imposes few risks (except perhaps frostbite), and I have not heard of any incidents in the nine years we have been doing so.
I hope this satisfies your enquiry. Please let me know if you wish to discuss this or any matter further.
I look forward to our continued friendship.
Yours Sincerely,
Allan Lovell
(on behalf of the amateur astronomers of the Central Coast region)