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Welcome to The Rotary Club of Northbridge
Northbridge
We meet Tuesdays at 6:00 PM
Northbridge Golf Club
Sailors Bay Road,
Northbridge, NSW  2063
Australia
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Please send apologies to Helen Gulson before 10:30am each Monday at helen.gulson@ozemail.com.au
Club Service Duty Roster
Duty Roster
Speakers
Sep 24, 2019 6:30 PM
The Skinny Girl

Steve Matthews was born in the UK in 1953, migrating to Australia in 1985. At the age of fifty-five, Steve sold his business interests to fulfil a lifetime’s ambition to write. Since then, his acclaimed children’s books have been published in Australia, UK, Canada and the USA. 

‘The Skinny Girl’ is Steve’s first adult novel. Although this is a work of fiction, it is based on interviews, research, published works and other materials. It deals with women's issues, domestic abuse, and adversity.  Like most people, Steve assumed that a victim of abuse was identified by a black eye or broken arm. While the frightening statistics about domestic violence and abuse regularly appear in the media, he learned that there are some statistics that are not recorded.

Steve is donating all of his income from this book, in perpetuity: 50% to the Homicide Victims’ Support Group (Aust) Inc. and 50% to various other organisations that help the victims and families of domestic abuse in many different ways.

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Upcoming Events
Club Commitee Evening
Oct 08, 2019
6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
 
Board Meeting
Oct 17, 2019
7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
 
MELBOURNE CUP DAY - NO MEETING
Nov 05, 2019
6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
 
Board Meeting
Nov 21, 2019
7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
 
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Wellington Children Enjoying a Day at Dubbo Zoo
 
Thank You Northbridge Rotarians for helping to give Welington children an enjoyable day out at Dubbo Zoo to take their minds away from the hardships of the drought
Sponsors
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
Garth Carter
September 8
 
Barry Anderson
September 16
 
Therese Stubbs
September 23
 
Spouse Birthdays
Mary-Ellen Feeney
September 14
 
Shush Landers
September 14
 
Therese Stubbs
September 23
 
Join Date
Noel Phelan
September 6, 2011
8 years
 
Peter Antaw
September 13, 1988
31 years
 
Therese Stubbs
September 21, 2009
10 years
 
John Garrett
September 26, 2006
13 years
 
ClubRunner Mobile
Club Meeting News
 
Welcome:
 
President Peter welcomed members and guests Beau Villaneuva and Adrienne St Clair.
 
Toast:
 
Ian Burnet gave a toast to the Rotary Club of Apia Samoa, which he visited in 2007 at their Changeover dinner. The club is made up of members from seven Pacific nations.
 
Announcements:
 
Kim Wilkins said that more children’s books are needed to go to children in the inner west. If you have any please contact Kim.
 
Sally O’Neill advised there are Bunnings BBQs scheduled for October, November & December. For this reason she is going to allocate members to a roster. She will be sending out an email next week.
 
Luke Keighery reminded members of the Halloween Party being organized by North Sydney Sunrise. A group of members is already going so if you are interested please advise Luke. It is being held at Cammeray golf club on 2 November and the cost is $60pp.
 
Mike Cock’s Welsh Choir is performing at St Peters Church, Blues Point Road on Sunday, 22 September at 2.30 pm for those interested in hearing some beautiful voices.
 
David Hyde talked about the Grolman Challenge. The next club blood donation day is Friday, 4 October. He asked members to raise the issue with friends and family and encourage them to take part in the Challenge.
 
Bob Farrar advised members about a very clever scam which saw his Visa card compromised and advised all members to always make contact with their banks themselves if there is any question that their card has been misused. As Bob is well aware of such scams, it was a very convincing and professional approach that caught him out on this occasion. So be aware!
 
President Peter talked about the Rotary Club meeting at Wellington that he and other club members attended, and showed the Channel 7 film clip of the Zoo visit on 11 September. It was definitely a worthwhile project and the Wellington club is very appreciative of our support. He also talked about the radio interview he and Wellington Rotary president, Greg Hart, had with ABC Western Plains.
 
Barry Anderson and Susan Law also talked about the Zoo visit. Barry said that in conversation with the children a number of them had not had breakfast, and Susan said that all the shops are struggling and some of the stories she heard about the drought conditions are horrific. More people are needed to help man the BBQs and she encouraged as many members and friends as can to go up to Wellington to help on the Zoo days. You can read Susan’s report later in this Bulletin.
President's Message
member photo
Last week I reported on our Club’s visit to Dubbo Western Plains Zoo. This week I would like you to share our experience visiting Wellington.
 
On the Monday Vicky and I travelled to Orange for the night to find freezing weather and snow flurries. We made out by retiring to a winery and sat in front of an open fire with an enormous cheese platter and enjoyed a very extensive wine tasting.
 
On Tuesday we proceeded to Wellington in fine weather for our joint meeting with the Wellington Rotary Club. The Club has a long history starting in 1937. It has lost members and currently has only 20 who meet fortnightly. Their meetings are at the Hermitage Hill Resort, a charming hotel high above the town created from the 1904 buildings of the former Wellington Hospital. The place oozed charm with wide verandahs and high ceilings and a beautiful function room where we met.
 
Our Northbridge contingent consisted of 8 members and 3 partners and the Wellington Club added 28 more with members and partners made up of town folk and the local farming community. So small is the world one confessed to being a first cousin of our own John Garrett!
 
We were warmly greeted with their members very appreciative of our visit and contribution to the project to take local children to the Zoo. President Greg Hart gave special mention to Susan Law, our member now, but a past President of their Club.
 
The guest speaker on the night by coincidence was Sally Bryant, the ABC Rural presenter for the Western Plains. Sally lived in the area but this was her first visit to the Club. She told us of the evolving drought over her 6 years in the job. She has seen first-hand the efforts of farmers to develop new methods to cope and she spent much time bringing new ideas to her radio audience. One of the issues she faced was always to be constructive and not to lecture to a very competent farming community.
 
Sally has found the growing drought was leaving her very depressed and she was about to leave the program after her many years. She commented that, if she was feeling that way, how tough was it for the farming and town communities.
 
Sally was very taken with our project to take the local kids to the Zoo. She was on leave but promised to contact the Dubbo studio and to have us interviewed. Sure enough we got calls in the morning to be in the Dubbo studio to be interviewed by Nick Healy, the breakfast presenter. He told us he got an urgent late night call from Sally, wrecking his beauty sleep before his early morning gig. He gave us a good interview and allowed us to tell our story.
 
You can see that our Northbridge team had a great time in Wellington and visiting the Zoo. Karin and Derek even went Glam Camping one night with the animals. I can recommend to members to take the opportunity to visit the Wellington Club and enjoy a visit to the Zoo. The District can sure use the financial injection.
 
It was also my pleasure last Friday week to travel to Mascot to pick up two more laptops from WorkVentures. This time they were for two applicants from StreetWork seeking support from the SEE’s Fund.
It is really pleasing to be getting the applications from StreetWork. The proposals are coming from the Care workers themselves who are talking to each other and making direct application.
Peter Antaw
 
Report from Susan Law
 
Ian and I drove up to participate in the first drought-affected Primary School Zoo Outing, resulting from the combined initiative of the Wellington and Northbridge Rotary clubs. On the way up we stopped at each small town, tried to find something to buy and chatted to the locals about the impact of the drought.
 
Shops everywhere in the drought-affected area are battling as people just do not have any cash to spend. This has resulted in many closures throughout the region. Ian chatted to two lovely young ladies at ‘Just Jeans’ in Bathurst. When he tried to pay for his pants their credit card reader died. The one lady collapsed onto the floor in tears saying “this is just the final straw"! Ian was happy to go and draw the money from an ATM, but the next customer in line abandoned his purchase as he did not have the time to go and find cash.
 
Local organisations are organising food drops to people in need but in many instances they are having to ensure that the farmer is not at home as they are proving too proud to accept aid – the women are gratefully pragmatic!
 
As is the case with many other croppers, a friend from Wellington has paid for diesel, fertiliser, weed spray and seed in each of the past three years and each time his crop has failed – he is currently battling with shingles which he has been given to understand are an outcome of the stress he is under.
 
Stock farmers are having to buy in both grain and hay and are continually cutting down on stock numbers in order to try and conserve the supply. Budgets are at breaking point and the question for everyone is how long they can continue in this vein? The alternative of selling all stock as meat would probably mark the end of the enterprise as it would be well-nigh impossible to start again, as replacement animals would not be available.
 
A local farmer in the Wellington district recently shot his cows and then himself – don’t know what family he left behind.
 
Everywhere I went I asked for ideas as to how we could help. The replies included providing:
  • coupons to use for showers and washing clothes.
  • second-hand clothes for young people to use at end of year formals.
  • opportunities for farmers to sell surplus equipment.
  • opportunities where drought-affected families could gather for a free meal and social interaction.
  • organising a community ‘rain dance’!
Susan Law
Guest Speaker - Ian Burnet - The Tasman Map
 
Jon Gidney introduced the speaker, our own club member, adventurer and writer, Ian Burnet.
 
Ian’s topic was The Tasman Map. The map shows Abel Tasman’s two voyages to the southern ocean between 1642 and 1644 and charts the south west coast of New Guinea and remarkably accurate sections of Australia’s northern coastline.
 
Ian told the story of how the map came into the hands Sydney’s Mitchell Library. In 1926, anthropologist Daisy Bates read about the map in a 1904 travel memoir by geographer James Park Thompson in which he mentioned that Prince Roland Bonaparte, President of the Geographical Society of France had the map in his possession and his intention was that it would one day be given to the Australian people. Daisy contacted the chief librarian of the Mitchell Library, William Ifould to ask about the map. After much investigation and negotiation the map, which by then was in the hands of the Prince’s daughter Princess Marie, eventually arrived in Sydney in 1933 and is one of the Mitchell Library’s most valued possessions.
 
The Tasman Map is replicated in a beautiful mosaic on the floor of the vestibule of the Mitchell Library and is a centerpiece of the library.
 
Ian also gave a timeline of recordings of Australia prior to Captain Cook’s arrival in 1770. 
 
1606 – the ‘Duyfken’ landed on Cape York Peninsula.
1616 – Dutch landed on Dirk Hartog Land
1622 – first map to showing parts of Australia was published
1628 – West and south coasts of WA charted
1642 – Dutch discovered Tasmania on 24 Nov 1642 – Van Diemen’s Land
1644 – Abel Tasman charted the south west coast of New Guinea and much of Australia’s previously unknown northern coastline.
 
Ian has written a biography of The Tasman Map which will be released in early 2020.
 
Bob Farrar thanked Ian for his fascinating talk and for increasing our knowledge.
 
 
DID YOU KNOW
 
In 1986, following a very pleasant meeting listening to our guest speaker, an importer and blender of fine scotch whiskey, and sampling a number of different whiskeys, the Club became a purveyor of ‘Northbridge Rotary Scotch Whiskey’. The first problem quickly arose. District objected to our use of the word ‘Rotary’ and a representation of the wheel on alcohol, so it became ‘Northbridge Scotch Whiskey. It was also realised that the Club was probably acting illegally selling alcohol without a licence. The project ceased in 1987 but in the interim it earned the Charities Account $6,377.
 
YOU CAN READ MORE IN THE HISTORY ON https://tinyurl.com/rcnclubhistory   
 
Stories
Rotary Ladies
 
THE 4 - WAY TEST of the things we say or do

1). Is it the TRUTH?

2). Is it FAIR to all concerned?

3). Will it build GOODWILL & BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?

4). Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?