Events

This is the first meeting for the 2025-26 Rotary year. President Phil will outline his year ahead and  all memebrs are encouraged to come along and join in the discussion .

This is our Rotary Club which has a very long history in Canberra and it needs your input and support to continue.

Remember that the Club turns 100 in 2028 and we are looking for ideas to help celebrate.

We will be meeting at Olims, the cost will be $35 incluing a free house wine, beer or soft drink.

Come and join your fellow Rotarians at the Red Shed on Monday 21 July 2025. This will be an informal fellowship event in lovely surroundings with great lakeside views.

The Red Shed is located on Black Mountain Peninsular at 45 John Cardiff Close Acton. To get there, turn right off Lady Denman Drive into Garryowen Drive and then turn right into John Cardiff Close.  There is plenty of free parking available at the Red Shed.

The event is order and pay your own way and you can check the menu on the web if you look up the Red Shed. It offers a good selection at reasonable prices.

Please register for this event by Thursday 17 July so we can book a table for those attending. 

Our next Rotary meeting will be at Olims Mercure in Ainslie on Monday 28 July 2025.

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You are invited to come along and hear our guest speaker Tara Pullen who is an experienced Rotarian and community leader, currently serving as the Rotary Community Leader for Capital Region South as part of the Rotary South Pacific pilot.Tara  is a Canberra local and member of Rotary since 2015, and a former Rotaractor for over a decade, Tara brings a deep commitment to service, collaboration, and leadership development. Tara will be speaking to us about Rotary South Pacific. 

This should be a great presentation and it will be lovely to meet a fellow Rotarian with such an interesting background and commitment to Rotary in an area oparticular interest to the Club.

Can you please register by Thursday COB so I can provide numbers to Olims.

Please note that the cut-off time for registration for Monday's meeting is 10.00am Friday 1 August 2025.

PLEASE NOTE:  This meeting will be our first back at the Commonwealth Club.

Start - 12.00 FOR 12.30. DRESS: Smart Casual, no jeans and a jacket required. 

Registrations are essential as the Club as specifically requested exact numbers of those who have registered. Unfortunately meals will not be served to those who haven't registered.

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Our guest speaker for Monday will be Mohammed Ali, from Helping ACT. Mohammed is one of Canberra's most effective and dedicated activists for helping Canberra citizens in need.

HelpingACT was established in 2018 by a small group of Canberra Citizens with the objective of providing benevolent support and relief to all vulnerable members of our community who are suffering from poverty, sickness, distress, destitution, disability or helplessness. 

Only four people started the organisation but now more than 40 volunteers work for improving lives of vulnerable Canberrans. All volunteers offer their time and effort completely for free. Volunteers come from different origins and social backgrounds. It is kind of a United Nation of humans bound together with a single thread of love and care for those in need. HelpingACT helps all without any discrimination of colour and creed. 

While the main focus of helpingACT is to address food insecurity in Canberra it also works closely with homeless, refugees, asylum seekers, domestic violence affected, and disabled. HelpingACT believes in mutual existence and helps and collaborates with other charity organisations. it  aims to achieve a day when no one sleeps hungry in Canberra, when no mother struggles to provide food for her children. 

.It provides free community dinners and lunches on weekly basis to all in need including homeless,  helps refugees with their settlement, international students by providing food and holds Ramadan Dinners each year.  It believes that poverty should not shadow a child’s health and education and runs a school breakfast program and provides once a week breakfast to eights schools and one college. It also works with first Australians and endeavours to promote mutual understanding between all Canberrans.

As members will see, Muhammed Ali and Helping ACT are truly inspirational and a wonderful support for our community. Please come along and hear more about what they do.

Next Monday we will hear from one of our local members of the ACT Legislative Assembly, Thomas Emerson MLA.  Our meeting will be held at Olims Mercure Hotel on the corner of Ainslie Ave and Limestone Ave at 12.30pm.

Thomas Emerson is an MLA representing the electorate of Kurrajong who co-founded the Independents for Canberra group and was successful in being elected at the last ACT elections. Thomas has a philosophy degree from the ANU and started his business Praksis, a movement based studio to help those in chronic pain. Thomas will speak about his experiences in the ACT Assembly and working with a minority government. 

I apologise for the late email and encourage you to register as soon as possible.

Our next club meeting will be at the Commonwealth Club on Monday 18 August 2025. Dress code smart casual  -   jacket and no jeans. The cost of lunch is $65.

Our guest speaker will be Dr Rosemary Hollow - President of the National Parks Association of Canberra. 

The National Parks Association of the ACT (NPA) was formed in the 1960s to lobby for a national park in the ACT. In 2024 with ACT Parks NPA celebrated the 40^th anniversary of the gazettal of Namadgi National Park.

Sixty years on NPA is still going strong. The association has over 400 members, and over 8000 followers on social media. It conducts an active walks and works program, publishes field guides on ACT flora and fauna, supports a scholarship at ANU, leads a  significant research project on Rosenberg goanna, and undertakes advocacy for the protection of parks in the ACT and nearby areas. 

Rosemary will discuss current NPA activities, and how NPA still remains a successful active volunteer environment organisation 60 years on.

Dr Rosemary Hollow has been President of NPA for three years.  She previously worked in the Australian government Environment Department, and taught Heritage and Museum Studies at the University of Canberra. 

Please register for this meeting by no later than 10.00am on Friday 15 August 2025. Any registrtiion after this date will not be included in the number of meals we ask the Commonwelth Club to  serve

Reminder - . Remember when you register to also press SAVE on the registration otherwise you are not registered.

A reminder tomembers to register for Monday's meeting at the Commonwealth Club.

At present we only have 10 registered attendees so I would encourage you to register if you have not already done so.

Monday's speaker should provide an interesting and topical presentation for members and we should provide a better turn out for our guest speakers.

Remember to register by 10.00am tomorrow.

Our guest speaker for Monday's meeting is Christine Shaw who is a member of our Club. Christine had recently retired from Blackshaw's Real Estate and will talk to the Club about insights into the property market in the ACT.

This will also be our last meeting at Olims so it would be a good to have as many come along as possibe to the meeting to both hear Christine and to express our thanks to Olims for hosting us over recent times.

Please register by cob Thursday 21 August so I can advise numbers to Olims by early Friday morning.

Rotary District Governor Robert Shore will address the Club on Monday . He will discuss membership and the Rotary year ahead. This will be a good opportunity to not only hear Robert's thoughts for the year ahead but to discuss with him issues and questions our members may have about Rotary.

The meeting will be at the Commonwealth Club and remember the usual dress standards apply.

Please register by 10.00 am on Friday so I can advise the Club of numbers attending. It would be good to see a decent turnout for the meeting. 

Rotary Club social get together at the Red Shed, Black Mountain Peninsular.

The Address for the Red Shed is 45 John Cardiff Close, Acton. 

Directions - turn into Garryowen Drive from Lady Denman Drive, then take the second right hand turn into John Cardiff Close.

Come along for a Club social gathering at a lovely venue. 

Please note that you pay your own way for lunch.

Please register by cob Thursday 4 September so we can advise the cafe of numbers on Friday.

As Secretary Helen has advised members, we will be gathering at the Woden Southern Cross Club on Monday 22 September 2025 for a casual social get together. There is free parking either under the building or across the road for 2 hours.

We will have the opportinity to welcome back some of our travelling members and enjoy a relaxed social event.

Please register by noon on Friday 19 September 2025 so we can arrange for a table  to be booked for us. We will book a table on the lower area of the restaurant that overlooks Hindmarsh Drive.

As Secretary Helen has advised members, we will be gathering at the Woden Southern Cross Club on Monday 22 September 2025 for a casual social get together. There is free parking either under the building or across the road for 2 hours.

We will have the opportinity to welcome back some of our travelling members and enjoy a relaxed social event.

Please register by noon on Friday 19 September 2025 so we can arrange for a table  to be booked for us. We will book a table on the lower area of the restaurant that overlooks Hindmarsh Drive.

On Monday 29 September, we will have a fascinating presentation by Club Member Desmond Woods who will speak to the Club on the topic "Polynesian Migration and the Coming of the Maori to New Zealand". The presentation will also address the impacts of colonisation by the Maori on the previously uninhabited islands of New Zealand. Members will recall that Desmond addressed the Club on the history and settlement of Melbourne.These presentations are part of the series of presentations that Desmond provides on cruises to and from New Zealand and are a great source of inforrmation.

The meeting will be at the Commonwealth Club. Could you please register by 10.00 am on Friday 26 September. Lunch will not be provided for those who don't register.

Our guest speaker for Monday's meeting is Admiral Chris Barrie (retired) who will talk to the Club about "Fearless Outreach". Admiral Barrie is co-founder of PTSD Australia New Zealand and Fearless Outreach. Fearless Outreach is able to assist abolut 6 million people in Australia and New Zealand who live with post traumatic stress disorder.

Admiral Barrie had a distinguished naval career and served as Chief of the Defence Force from 4 Ju,y 1998 to 3 July 2002. We encolurge members to attend this meeting as it will address a very important issue in society and what is being done to asist those in the community and in the services who suffer from PTSD.

The meeting will be at the Commonwealth Club and a reminder that appropriate dress wear is required.

Registrations are required by 10.00am on Friday 10 October and a reminder that if members do not register,there will be no provision for a meal.

The Club's guest speaker for Monday's meeting is Professor Peter Leahy. His address to the Club will be on the topic "Headwinds for Australia’s Defence" , a very pertinent subjet at the present time. Professor Leahy will focus on the following:

Overall Australia’s defence and security situation is poor and deteriorating. The Nation is in peril. The warnings are there, the risk is high and the consequences could be catastrophic. What is being done?

Not enough – our defence force would struggle to meet likely tasks and we would have great difficulty in sustaining operations for even a limited amount of time. Current and near future operations are being cannibalized to fund far future expenditure. Without AUKUS there is no Plan B. 

As a Nation we face many headwinds.

•            The consequences of ignoring the risk.

•            How we are not being strategic.

•            A declining social license for defence in Australia.

•            A question about who will fight for Australia.

The meeting will be at the Commonwelth Club and the usual dress requirements apply.

Please register by 10.00am on Friday 24 October and any registrations received after that time won't be catered for unfortunately.

Members

Our next meeting is a joint one with The Rotary Club of Weston on Monday 10 November at 6.00pm for 6.30pm. The venue isthe Irish Club at 6 Parkinson Street Weston (near Coolamon Court). The guest Speaker for the evening  is Bethany the Celebrant.

I have included a message from John Green, the Treasurer of the Weston Rotary Club regarding dinner arrangements and options  to assist you. As you will see the preferred option is to pre-order dinner.

"Good morning Allison, I have included the link the Irish club menu at 6 Parkinson Street Weston.

https://www.irishclub.com.au/site/files/ul/data_text12/6159156.pdf

Pre-ordered meals are paid to the Treasurer via our Tyro EFT "tap and go"

machine at the foyer from 6pm. 

Otherwise, your members, visitors and guests can visit and pay at the Bistro to order their meals to be served along with the pre-ordered meals.

If possible, we prefer pre-ordered meals, either way, numbers are needed for tables etc.

Can you please provide your feedback by replying to both Les Sutton and myself by the Deadline of COB Thurs 6th Nov.

YIR

John Green - Treasurer

Can members planning to attend the meeting please register by 4.00pm on Thursday so I can advise John as he has requested of the number of our members who will be attending.

Regards

Alison

Members

Monday's meeting is both the Club's  AGM and a special guest speaker,  Brian Gleeson.

Brian Gleeson is a senior executive leader with over 40 years’ experience both working within the Australian Public Service and the United Nations in executive leadership, strategic management, human resources management, public policy, institutional development, change management, public administration, service delivery and capacity development.

He has had around fifteen years of experience at the United Nations in several senior positions including Director of Human Resources UNRWA, Jordan; Director of the Office of Human Resources United Nations Development Programme; and Resident Coordinator United Nations Libya.

Brian is an expert in change management and has been a Senior Advisor on organisational change to Kofi Annan Secretary General UN, Gro Harland Brundtland Director General WHO, Mark Malloch Brown Administrator UNDP and Michelle Bachelet Executive Director UN Women; in the latter organisation he was responsible for all the human resources aspects of transitioning into the new entity, including leading the selection process for the new ASGs and Directors in UN Women.

Brian’s experience and extensive networks within the Australian Public Service, Indigenous organisations/communities and in the international context, both with the UN and relevant agencies and senior executives of NGO humanitarian response organisations such as ACFID, Oxfam, Save the Children and World Vision, provides a unique opportunity to draw on his lessons learnt from a broad range of contexts and blending international and Indigenous development.

Monday is an important meeting date and President Phil encourages all to attend for both the AGM and to hear our guest speaker.

We are meeting at the Commonwealth Club and you need to register by 10.00am on Friday 14 November at the latest so that numbers for catering can be provided to the Commonwealth Club.

Members

Come and enjoy a social lunchtime get together on Monday 24 November at Poppy's Cafe at the War Memorial. Parking is available underground. Enjoy a delightful cafe and the lovely surroounds and if you feel like it,  you can explore the War Memorial's new additio0ns.

Can you please register if you are coming by COB thisThursday so we can arrange to book a table.

Regards 

Alison

Good morning Members

Our last formal meeting for 2025 will be a lunchtime meeting at the Commonwealth Club on Monday 1 December 2025  We will hear from our outgoing Youth Exchange Student Lily who many of you have met at other meetings. She will be heading off to Brazil for a year in mid January 2026 and will speak about herself, her thoughts about the exchange and what she hopes to achieve.

I encourage members too come along to hear from Lily and to celebrate the end of the year with colleagues.

Venue - Commonwealth Club and as I  advised at the last meeting at the Commonwealth Club members now need to register by COB Thursday 2025. Registration will no longer be available on Friday as the Commonweklth Club has advised it needs to have the numbers to enable Friday for catering purposes.

If anyone has problems registering, please send me an email and I will register you.

Regards

Alison

Dear Members

Our Christmas Party will be on Wednesday 17 December 2025 and this year we are joining with the RC of Murrumbidgee to have a joint celebration at the Hellenic Club in Woden with a cost of just $50 per person. This includes a wonderful meal and you can purchase your own drinks from the bar. Tbi should be a lovely evening and provide the opportunty to join and celebrate Christmas with a fellow Rotary Club.

The Murrumbidgee Club has requested that we register a week berfore the event to facilitate catering arrangements so could you please register by Wednesday 10 December 2025.  Please make you payment to the RCC account so that we can transfer funds to the Murrumbidgee Club before the event.

Regards 

Alison