The Rotary Club of Northbridge gratefully acknowledges the generous sponsorship of Northbridge Plaza
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
David Robertson
August 7
John Garrett
August 8
Peter Russell
August 14
Peter Hodgson
August 24
Anniversaries
Jon Gidney
Gail Giles-Gidney
August 17
Join Date
John Bolton
August 9, 2011
9 years
David Hyde
August 25, 1998
22 years
Fay Petrou
August 26, 2008
12 years
Club Meeting News - 11 August 2020
Welcome
President Kevin welcomed members and guests, Jane Lovett-Cameron and Nereda Shute, and our guest speaker, Adrian Mitchell.
Announcements
President Kevin reminded members of the upcoming Food Drive scheduled for 26 September. Planning is well under way, volunteers will be needed to assist and information will be sent to members soon.
The planned Kiah Pavilion opening scheduled for 8 August was postponed due to bad weather. A new date will be advised shortly.
There is to be a meeting with Northbridge Plaza on Friday re sponsorship, and Kevin reminded Directors that Board reports are due on Monday prior to the 20 Aug board meeting.
PP Paul Sullivan said that for anyone interested, there is a very interesting series on SBS on Sydney’s Super Tunnels on Wednesday evenings starting on 12 Aug at 8.30 pm. It can also be viewed on SBS On Demand.
Guest Speaker
Kim Wilkins introduced guest speaker, author Adrian Mitchell. Adrian was born in Adelaide in 1941 and graduated from the University of Adelaide after which he completed his PhD at Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario. He was a lecturer in Australian literature and English Literature. In 2006 he retired to become a full-time writer and wrote a book called “Plein Airs and Graces: the Life and Times of George Collingridge”.
George Collingridge was an Australian writer and illustrator best known today for his early assertions of Portuguese discovery of Australia in the 16th century. He was born in Oxfordshire, England in 1847, however after living in London the family moved to Paris where, as Catholics, it was a better place to obtain an education. He grew up more a Frenchman then an Englishman and was fluent in a number of Languages.
As an apprentice George worked to restore the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and took up wood carving to make wooden blocks in order to make copies of designs to then print on paper. He became an expert in his field and one of the three best illustrators in France. He was a contemporary of Renoir with whom he attended art school.
George served with his brother Alfred in the Papal Zouaves, an infantry force formed in defense of the Papal States. Alfred died in the Battle of Mentana in 1867 against Italian volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi.
George migrated to Australia in 1879 aboard the Lusitania. He settled in an isolated area of Berowra before moving to a nearby Hornsby house called “Jave la Grande”. This is a standstone home built by Collingridge in 1895 and where he taught art and French and which still stands today within the grounds of Hornsby Hospital. He married in 1882, and Collingridge Point, Berowra Waters is named after him.
In Australia he worked as an artist and art teacher and contributed drawings and articles to the local newspaper. He founded the first Australian art magazine, Australian Art: a Monthly Magazine & Journal and was one of the founders of the Royal Art Society of NSW. He also taught at Barker College, Hornsby Technical School and Sydney Technical College.
His publication on The Discovery of Australia in 1895 earned him accolades. In 1908 he received his first knighthood from the King of Portugal and in 1917 a second knighthood - Knight Commander of the Order of Isabella La Catolica from the King of Spain.
George also wrote books on Berowra and the unsolved mystery of its amazing ridge, and principally about a collection of wood cuts. In 1922 he published “Alice in One Dear Land” - a handmade book containing 12 wood engraved illustrations. In his book Alice is depicted in the Australian bush with a koala.
Adrian showed the audience two of George’s many paintings. Unfortunately many have gone missing or been destroyed. He also showed us the original book “The Discovery of Australia”. George Collingridge died in 1933 leaving three sons and one daughter.
Kim thanked Adrian for his very interesting talk from which we learned much about one of the more colourful characters of Australian life.
Ros Virtue
DID YOU KNOW
In 1993 the Club was introduced by former Rotarian John Downs to Father Chris Riley and his work in the Kings Cross area with the charity that he had established only two years earlier in 1991, known as Youth Off The Streets (YOTS). The aims of Father Chris was to help disadvantaged young people, the homeless, the drug dependant and the abused, who were inhabiting Kings Cross and the surrounding suburbs. The organisation that he established is a non-denominational community organisation and its activities were delivered initially by a single food delivery van. Father Chris became the CEO of the charity which grew out of that community group and still holds that office, the organisation currently having an employed staff of some 200 people, aided by over 400 volunteers, administering 35 different aid programs to all ages and through the schools.
If anyone has any jokes or funny stories, feel free to send them to me for the humour section of the Bulletin! We certainly need a little humour in our lives at the moment!!! Email them to helen.gulson@ozemail.com.au
Local and international humanitarian disasters have become the new norm and the Rotary Club of Northbridge has been involved in assisting wherever possible. Recently COVID-19 has received the bulk of media attention. Before that it was the eastern seaboard drought and bushfires. Then, in April, Cyclone Harold devastated parts of Vanuatu, Fiji and Tonga.
COVID-19 has considerably reduced Northbridge Rotary’s 2020 fundraising capability, including cancellation of its major fundraiser, the annual fireworks. Prior to this, the Club had raised $29,580 to aid those areas in NSW affected by the bushfires and drought.
With some of its remaining funds, the Club has committed $22,500 towards building a Community Pavilion at Kiah on the NSW south coast and repairing gardens around the Boomerang Centre in severely fire-damaged Mogo near Batemans Bay.
Internationally, the Club has been asked to assist in the fight against COVID-19 by the Rotary Club of Kathmandu in Nepal.
Covid-19 cases have increased significantly in Nepal since late May with tens of thousands of migrant workers returning home from India and Nepal commencing a phased reopening in mid-June.
With the assistance of other local Rotary Clubs, Northbridge Rotary has been able to donate $10,000 to help with the purchase of PPE equipment for medical staff, installing hand washing stations in strategic locations and supplying food for orphanages and others in need, as the photo(s)on this page illustrate.
3 weeks ago Sally, Valda and I along with 2 friends took a 5 day road trip down the south coast to support local communities and at the same time checked out the two projects that our Rotary Club has supported, namely at Mogo and Kiah.
The Mogo project near Batemans Bay Sally, Valda and I met with representatives from the Batemans Bay Rotary Club and visited the Boomerang Indigenous Centre where our Club had agreed to partially fund to the tune of $5,100 a landscaping project, which involved the tidying up of a landscaped area and replanting.
Mogo had been devastated by the fires with several buildings lost and it was interesting that the Batemans Bay RC were very involved with restoration by operating a Hub in Mogo, where counselling services are available as well as computers available for use by the local community.
The Kiah Pavillion project Whilst our group was in Bega I drove south to Merimbula to meet up with representatives of the Merimbula RC who drove me south past Eden to the little village of Kiah to see the pavilion project where our Club has contributed $22,500 in partnership with the Rotary Clubs of Bega, Merimbula and Pambula.
The concrete slab has now been poured and the structural steel is now being manufactured.
After the inspection I returned to Merimbula and participated in their face to face Changeover Dinner where our contribution to the Kiah project was gratefully acknowledged, knowing that Rotary Clubs working together can make a difference.
Thank you to everyone in our community who contributed generously towards our Northbridge Shopping Centre bucket appeals, BBQs' fund raising and other activities.
Our traditional Rotary Club fund raising activities have been halted in recent months by the social isolation restrictions to prevent the spread of the COVID19 virus.
Members of the club have come up with a few innovative ideas to raise funds to help the needy in our community.
On the 4th July the club ran “Dine-in for a Cause” fund raising event.
The Dine-in for a Cause event was attended by 32, mainly Rotarians, over 4 Host homes. It included a Quiz and a Silent Auction, raising $1,425 all up, with the funds going to Phoenix House, a charity located at Crows Nest over the last 30 years, providing early intervention and support services to the most vulnerable and challenged young people living in Northern Sydney.
COVID 19 has severely impacted the ability of Northbridge Rotary Club to raise monies to support our various Charities, so one of our talented Rotarians has found a way to
combat cabin fever & put self-isolation to a good cause.
She has been busy knitting various children’s items from headbands, baby comforters, owl mobiles, snail cushions, toy animals & scarves. These would make ideal gifts for children, grandchildren or those of friends & relatives and you would be helping our Rotary Club with much needed funds.
Another option if you don’t have anyone to gift to, then choose an item and we’ll donate it to a child in our country areas which has been devastated by the droughts, bushfires and now the virus! Many of these families would not have the spare cash nor the ability to purchase their children a gift for that special occasion. Every item will come with a gift tag stating that the knit has been hand-made by a Rotarian from the Rotary Club of Northbridge.
As these gifts are knitted to order you have the option of choosing your own colours. Looking forward to your support.
The cost of these knitted items have been generously donated and prices range from $10 to $40.
Photos and costs of these knits are below (or on the next page)
You can make your payment directly to Northbridge Rotary’s Charity Account - BSB 032 199, Account 901063 and then email your order to Eleanor - erchevor@yahoo.com
