Hi Paul.
Where abouts in Sydney are you?
It's not too late to organise to come up to
IISAC - it's under 2 weeks away now and you'll get to look through MANY different telescopes, both small and large, and you'll get to see what you can see in them - first hand, before spending any more money. You'll also get a feel for how big or small they are, how you could transport them, etc.
Plus, there'll be many friendly people there to meet, chat to and have a great time.
Even if you can only come for 1 night, I think it will be a trip well worth spending.
Failing that, we have viewing nights at Kulnura (on the central coast) every new moon and again you're more than welcome to come along and see the different telescopes in action. There's a group of 6-12 of us who meet up every month to do some observing and have some fun in each others company.
PS: Welcome to the forum! How did you hear about us?