Entering into the final week before WordCamp is upon us we can share a few more things with you all.

First, the design for the shirt (above) that will be given to all attendees of WordCamp. The design is by Anne-Louise Dadak, thanks Anne-Louise!

Second, we have finalised the line-up of scheduled speakers for the conference. Keep in mind the list doesn’t include our speakers who are giving lightning talks.

Third, a good part of the second day of WordCamp will be in “unconference” mode. So any attendee that wants to speak, run a workshop, network or just socialise can do so. A whiteboard will be setup during the conference where people can slot themselves into the schedule. The second day will also feature some “normal” pre-scheduled talks as well.

Fourth, I’m pleased to announce that we have a great panel discussion confirmed for the event. The panel will consist of a mixture of bloggers, journalists and new-media folks talking about the impact of new-media on journalism (and vice-versa).

Fifth, there are still places available! We have extended the standard pricing of $82 to the end of this week. If you had been indecisive about coming then now is a good time to commit. If you haven’t already done so, register now!

We’re just putting the finishing touches on the new look site. Shifting around and creating some new content. Everything should be all pretty really soon!

Goodbye Kubrick!

Great news, Matt Mullenweg will be attending and speaking at WordCamp Australia.

Matt is the lead architect of WordPress, the founder of Automattic and was recently named one of the 25 most influential people on the web!

So, what are you waiting for, sign up to come along to WordCamp Australia today!

Ticket registration is now open. You can grab your tickets at EventBrite.

As far as Hotels go, anything close to Central, Darling Harbour, or near the light rail will be appropriate. If you have suggestions, please let us know.

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Sorry for the inconvenience, but we thought the benefits of holding the event a week earlier more than outweighed the negatives, and we’re pleased to announce that Matt Mullenweg, the principle architect of WordPress and the founder of Automattic, will be attending and giving a presentation.

We’re still in the process of confirming the venue, and will post an announcement very soon regarding the location and also open up ticket registration.

Early ticket purchases will be $60 + booking fee for a short time only. Standard registration will be $80 + booking fee. The cost will cover both days and lunch will be included.

We’re going to have a Wordpress meetup in Sydney this coming Thursday, September 11th at The Bavarian Beir Cafe in Moore Park. You can check it out and add your name at Upcoming.

If you’re interested in helping out, Anthony Cole is putting together a list of volunteers. Volunteers will be helping out with registration on the day and possibly setup in the morning or the day before.

Let us know if you’ve got any input on the event. We’d appreciate to hear any feedback you have got.

We’ve had intermittent issues with the contact forms on the site, so if you’ve sent us something and we haven’t replied, please, feel free to resend it. The forms should be working now or you can just email via our contact form.

We have created and registered a non-profit association through which we can both run the WordCamp Australia conference and create a continuing base for WordPress user activity in Australia. See our new wiki for more information on the intended activities and aims of the WordCamp Association.

We have moved both the mailing list and the website to here. As you are probably noticing, the site is rather plain awesome (thanks Dan!), so we are calling on volunteers to lend us a hand with a theme for the WordCamp website. It’s a great chance to get your work in front of a lot of other WordPress users. Along with this, or separately if you prefer, we are looking for a volunteer to create a visual identity for the WordCamp Association. This visual identity will in turn influence the conference’s visual identity. Please contact us if you are interested.

We have decided to go ahead with a two day event for WordCamp Australia. This will give us plenty of time to focus on the often under-emphasised networking potential of a meet-up like this.

The dates for WordCamp Australia will be Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th of December 2008 Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th November 2008. The location is yet to be revealed.

You can now tell us if you are planning to attend by using Yahoo’s Upcoming service (requires Yahoo account).

Also don’t forget to join the mailing list for more fun and updates on the event as it falls into place.

The first WordCamp Australia will be held in Sydney in late November or early December, with an intention to alternate the host city annually with at least Melbourne and possibly other cities in the future.

At this stage we have a small but enthusiastic organising team consisting of:

• Anthony Cole - Fresh Pacific
• Sam Bauers - Automattic

If you are interested in helping out with organising or just want to send us a suggestion or a word of encouragement, then I suggest you contact us.