Good thing I checked back here!
Yes, being dry indeed!
I think I will indeed take a 737 service from CBR-BNE to use the J cabin, although the better view of the scenery (including the Snowy Mountains) and the box lunch make for an amusing flight on the Dash-8! I recommend it for the novelty value alone!

(and for interest, am now booking BNE-SYD-JFK-SEA-DFW-ANC-DFW-SFO-LHR-SIN-HKG-MEL-PER-CBR-BNE which should make for a full three weeks, even with deferring the MEL-PER-CBR-BNE portion!)