G'day Joe.
Only 57 more sleeps till Queensland Astrofest 2016 starts.
http://www.qldastrofest.org.au
I went to my first Astrofest in 2009 just for a look - didn't even own a telescope. There was no shortage of people happy to give me a look through their telescopes and show me the sky. I will be there on the observing field for seven nights from first Friday with my Skywatcher 12" collapsable dob and more than happy to help as best I can.
Good advice already given about Stellarium.
I recommend you borrow a book from Brisbane City Library Service called
“Star Watch: The Amateur Astronomer's Guide to Finding, Observing, and Learning about Over 125 Celestial Objects” by Philip S Harrington.
This is a wonderful book to get you into learning to star-hop. The stars and objects for each season are presented in 6 or 7 charts with clear instructions how to hop you way to the target object. (It is NOT just Southern Hemisphere specific). You can also check it out on-line at
http://www.philharrington.net/swtchtoc.htm
Once you realize that YOU CAN find objects – well the sky is the limit!
See you at Astrofest maybe.
Cheers.