Hi Beth. Welcome. I will give you the standard answer for those on a modest budget: 8" Dobsonian for around $400-$550 is excellent value and will let you see lots of things. But to get the most out of the hobby you need a few essential accessories. My recommendation for a basic visual observing setup would be:
- pair of binoculars around 7x50 or 8x40 size. Good choices on a budget are Olympus DPS I 8x40 (nice wide field) from centre.net.au or the 7x50 from aoe.com.au (brighter stars, better optics, narrower field). But even cheaper 7x50s will do. Just don't get ruby coated ones. IMO binos are a must. They are very nice on their own and they help you finds things to point the telescope at.
- planisphere and sky charts, e.g. Southern Sky Guide by Ellyard & Tirion or get the charts from
http://www.astrovisuals.com.au/skymaps.html
- 8" GSO Dob (andrewscom.com.au, bintel.com.au, maybe you can find it in Brisbane too?) or a Saxon 8" Dob which tends to be a little more expensive but it is 20% shorter tube (might be better for the lil' one)
- make sure you get a good basic set of eyepieces included with the scope; you need three for low, medium, high power viewing (e.g., 25mm, 15mm, 9mm);
- 2x Barlow for extra high power you'd occasionally use on planets is optional
- Cheshire/sighttube collimating tool (for aligning the mirrors)
- Red LED torch for reading charts at night (I use a red LED bike light)
- table & chair(s)
I think that's about it.