Stories

 

 

On Saturday, 27th August, members and friends of the Rotary Club of Mount Barker met at the Lifestyle SA Village (Mount Barker) Bowling Clubhouse to assemble 200 birthing kits to assist vulnerable women and newborns in underdeveloped areas of the world to survive and hopefully thrive. These birthing kits have significantly reduced the infection and death rate of childbirth.

Twice per year, the Members of the Rotary Club of Mount Barker participate in the Hungry No More program. Held weekly at the Mount Barker Uniting Church, the Club provided a meal for those less fortunate.

 

The Members provide the food and serve the meal up to the public as though they were in a restaurant.

 

On Sunday, 10th July 2022, the Club served a 3 course meal of soup, followed by roast chicken and vegetables followed by desert of puddings and ice cream.

 

During the ANZAC Gunfire Breakfast at the Mount Barker RSL, it was mentioned by RSL President Barrie Scott that they needed to spend a considerable amount if their funds to upgrade the smoke detector and alarm systems in their premises.

 

At its next Board meeting, the Rotary Club of Mount Barker discussed this matter and agreed to provide the funds to the RSL for this project.

 

Pictured are Rotary Club of Mount Barker President James Hawker presenting the funds to Mount Barker RSL President Barrie Scott.

The initial project was a joint venture between the District Council of Mount Barker, the Rotary Club of Mount Barker and the Mount Barker Community Centre. The Computer Refurbishment project resulted in 28 desktop computers and a few laptops becoming available for Not-For-Profit Charitable organisations, and families who are doing it tough and needing a computer for their children.

 

For his outstanding contribution to his role as Community Service Director, the Board of the Rotary Club of Mount Barker submitted Peter Baur to the District Council of Mount Barker for consideration for an award presented during the Australia Day ceremonies held at Auchendarroch.

 

Peter was duly awarded the District Council of Mount Barker Community Service Award for his outstanding service to the Rotary Club of Mount Barker and the Community.

 

Congratulations Peter.

Year 12 graduating student Tahlia Badenock has been selected as the recipient of the Mount Barker High School Community Award funded by the Rotary Club of Mount Barker.

Tahlia has been recognised for her community involvement and particularly her interest in assisting First Nation people in the APY Lands. Tahlia applied for, and was granted, 2 weeks of experience as a student in the APY Lands.

On Monday, 18th October 2021, family, friends and fellow Rotarians were present at a special event to witness Rotarians Florence and Richard Yeardley become Australian Citizens.

 

Approximately 55 people attended the ceremony conducted by Mayor Ann Fergusson in the Robert Charles Room at Auchendarroch.

 

Florence and Richard have been members of the Rotary Club of Mount Barker since 2012 and decided it was time to become citizens of this wonderful country.

 

Both hard working and dedicated Rotarians, Florence is in her eighth (and last) year as Club Secretary and Richard is always putting his hand up when there is a donut or two to be made.

 

One of the highlights of the evening was the Lobethal Harmony Choir performing Advance Australia Fair to welcome Florence and Richard. 

 

 

The very successful Membership Networking Evening held on Monday, 15th March has resulted in a possible 6 new members for the club.

 

The theme of the evening highlighted the clubs involvement in Rotary and other Youth Programs.

 

The Master of Ceremonies for the evening was Rotarian Michael Bagshaw.

 

The meeting was officially opened by President Shawn Hutchinson who welcomed all members and the 23 guests attending the evening.

 

Guest speakers were:

Rotary Leadership Class of February 2021.

 

Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) seeks to provide quality education in Rotary knowledge and leadership skills to Rotarians interested in developing their Rotary participation and to those identified by Rotary Clubs as having a potential in club leadership. These educational opportunities will teach skills that will benefit the members in their lives and in their volunteer service.

 

A group of passionate and enthusiastic Rotarians from the Rotary Clubs of Victor Harbor, Morphett Vale, McLaren Vale, Mitcham, Salisbury, Mt Barker, Berri, Adelaide, Holdfast Bay, Adelaide Parks and Campbelltown attended the Rotary Leadership Institute on the weekend of 6th and 7th February.

 

Special congratulations to President Nominee Karen Nolan and President Elect James Hawker for giving up their weekend to attend.

 

On Monday, 30th November, our special guest speaker was Colin Wagener, father of member Paul Wagener.

 

Colin spoke of his experiences during World War II, a distant memory for most of us, but all fresh in Colin's mind.

 

On 1st December, Colin turned 103 years old and to celebrate this outstanding milestone, the club presented him with a special birthday cake.

 

On Saturday, 14th November 2020, James and Judy Hawker hosted an Austerity BBQ at their property on Native Avenue, Mount Barker.

 

Attended by most Members, along with our Friends of Rotary Members, Honorary Members and Members partners we all enjoyed a great afternoon of eating and drinking and, more importantly, fellowship with like minded Rotarians.

 

There were a number of highlights during the afternoon:-

 

 

On Monday evening, 25th May 2020, Our Inbound Exchange Student from France, Thibault Finnochiaro, gave a presentation on his stay in South Australia hosted by the Rotary Club of Mount Barker.

 

Whilst there were some disappointments as a result of the restrictions caused by the Caronavirus restrictions, Thibault focused  on the positive aspects of his time in Australia.

 

Please click this link to view a video of Thibault's presentation. 

Each year, the Rotary Club of Mount Barker supports the Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal by staffing a Bunnings BBQ with all proceeds being donated to the Appeal.

 

With the current COVID-19 restrictions in place, this year's Bunnings BBQ cannot proceed, so the club is supporting the Red Shield Appeal by promoting and supporting a Salvation Army initiative to go online.

 

The Salvation Army have stated "Not only is Covid 19 impacting those already doing it tough, but we are still continuing to work with those many families affected by the summer bushfires. We have also had an influx of  people in the community in financial need and general support".

 

To view a video promoting the Red Shield Appeal, please click here ...

 

To make a donation to the Red Shield Appeal, please click here ...

 

 

On Monday, 17th February 2020, the Club held an austerity evening at the Olive Branch Cafe in Balhannah.  Attended by 30 members, family and friends, the evening supported cafe owner Nicole McIntosh and her family who sadly lost their home in Lobethal during the recent Cudlee Creek fires. 

On Monday, 3rd February 2020, the Club hosted Anna Baric and Stephen Handrick from Beyond Bank who are in training for a Ride for Cancer event in April which will see them riding from Adelaide, along the great Ocean Road to Melbourne.

Being a fundraising event for CanTeen, meeting Chairman Shawn Hutchinson presented a donation of $1,000 on behalf of the Club.

On Saturday, 26th October, the Board of the Rotary Club of Mount Barker hosted a BBQ to thank all Club members, family and friends who helped out in the donut van at the Royal Adelaide Show.

 

 

On Monday, 21st October, the Club held an austerity evening at the home of James and Judy Hawker.

 

Our thanks go out to James and Judy for opening their home.

 

Great for the Club to have social time together.

 

 

 

On March 6th, President Shiralee Judge, Helen Marshall, Carola Sanders and Mary Roebuck from the Rotary Club of Mount Barker celebrated International Women's Day by attending the Women in Rotary SA Chapter breakfast at The Pavilion, Veale Gardens on South Terrace.

 

The club provided funds to sponsor two students and one teacher from each of Mount Barker High School, Cornerstone College and St. Francis de Sales College to attend.

 

 

 

 

On Saturday, 22nd September, the Board of the Rotary Club of Mount Barker hosted a BBQ to thank all Club members, family and friends who helped out in the donut van at the Royal Adelaide Show.

 

Held at the Lifestyle SA village, home of Community Service Director Rod Cooper and Jeanette, guests were treated to a meal of gourmet sausages and gourmet patties, complemented with salads, and later desserts, provided by Club members.

A massive undertaking to cleanup the Rotary Shed was undertaken over 2 days.

 

The Conquer the Summit event, which is held in April each year, has been an undertaking of the Mount Barker Lions Club, for some 6 years, with assistance on the day from the Rotary Club of Mount Barker. The event is an 11km run (or walk) from Keith Stephenson Park, along the Linear Trail, then up to the Mount Barker Summit and raises funds for Operation Flinders, a program that provides support and guidance to "young adults at risk".

 

This year, the Mount Barker Lions Club approached the Rotary Club of Mount Barker proposing the event becomes a Joint Service Club event, to which the Rotary Club of Mount Barker agreed.

On Saturday, 21st July, Members of the Rotary Club of Mount Barker, ably assisted by a few Members of the boxing club, spent the day installing insulation to the roof of the "Counter Punch" training facility.  This involved removing all the roof iron, installing the insulation, then re-installing the roof iron. Thanks to everyone involved, especially Marg Inglis who provided a great lunch.

The Mount Barker Council approached the Rotary Club of Mount Barker with a proposal that, if the Club wished to clean out, dismantle, transport and re-erect it, there was a 4-bay shed available that could go to Operation Flinders Base Camp at Yankaninna in the Flinders Ranges.

 

Never being a Club that backs down from a challenge, the Club accepted. Over a period of 2 weeks, members worked on the shed and, eventually, on Thursday, 19th July, the shed was finally cleared, ready for the next phase of dismantling.

 

Along the way, members encountered a number of species of wildlife so great care had to be taken so that they were not disturbed too much.

Each year, the Rotary Club of Mount Barker allocates a sum of grants money which community groups can apply for. Each grant is limited to a maximum of $1,000 which allows the funds to be spread over a larger number of community organisations.

 

The 2018 recipients were:-