Rotary Notes - August 27, 2025, Club Meeting RCGreaterGeraldton
Geraldton Golf Club, Place Rd, Geraldton WA
President Hugh Lavery
Sgt Bob Urquhart
Invocation and Toast - Di Gilleland
Attendance: Tony Ambrose, Dan Crisp, Jim Dillon, Barry Dring, Di Gilleland, Kevin Green, Hugh Lavery, Russell McKinnon, Robert Mosel, Terry Stewart, Robert Symington, Bob Urquhart, Kim Wann, Grant Woodhams, Dave Freeman.
Apologies: Viki Fennell, Bob Hall, Don Rolston, Peter Sukiennik, Ian Taylor, Kelly Bennett, Esther Rosa-Barbosa.
President Hugh Lavery-
"Unite for Good" is our new Rotary message.
Announcements:
President Hugh Lavery:
- Geraldton Grammar School 4Way Speaking Competition- Year 10 student Aashya King will be presenting to us at next week's (3rd September) club meeting. This the Regional Final for the Competition. Donna Hope, Head of English at Geraldton Grammar will also be attending.
4WSC WA originator PDG Fred Marsh will be coming to Geraldton for the State Final on 20 Sept at Batavia Hall, Geraldton Grammar School. Russell McKinnon has offered to billet Fred.
Reminder re Rotarian Nomads and camping/caravanning opportunity at Shane Forth's White Peaks property from 4th Sept to 8th Sept.
Rotary Youth Exchange - Still seeking Host Families for Autumn and Winter placements in 2026. If you know of anyone who may be interested, please contact President Hugh. Rotary International has found that Families who have hosted previously are often the most successful for finding new Host Families. Please discuss with your friends and families.
Shirley McKinnon's leadership course starts on Tuesday September 9th and runs every Tuesday Evening for four weeks. You can register via Trybooking. Register for Leadership Course
(Do we need to spread it out over a longer period? Discussion to be held with Shirley. After some consideration, due to conflicts on Sundays, - the Course Dates have changed to TUESDAY Evenings 9, 16, 23, 30 September at 5:30-7:00 PM. It will still be at the Geraldton Golf Club )
Di Gilleland
Radio Auction update. Waiting for more pledges to be registered. Current tally is $57 k. Tks again to Barry Dring for his work. Tony Ambrose suggests we should get a stall at the Sunday markets. Tony to follow up on this.
Esther (Brazil)
Kelly Bennett (Host Mother), Esther (Brazil) and PP Barry Dring
Thought for the day with B Dring Esq.
"There are only two things to think about... "
(Sorry I can't explain Barry's TFTD... suffice to say, don't miss Rotary next time! [Grant])
"Guest Speaker" PP Dan Crisp
Past President Dan is member of our club and has been a Rotarian since 1992, first joining rotary in Kununurra. He is a former President of the RC of Geraldton Greenough. He was the President the same year that Hugh Lavery was our District Governor.
Dan and his wife Maria bought a farming property in Gingin in 2009 and they moved permanently to Gingin over five years ago but he has maintained his membership with Rotary in Geraldton. The property he purchased had substantial olive groves and although he knew little of the olive business he harvested his first crop, which yielded 6 tonne in 2010. He has been involved with olives ever since and one year his property "Walkalina" produced 154 tonnes!
Olives trees are very resilient and there are some in the Northern hemisphere that have been in existence for around two thousand years. Dan has seen olive trees in Portugal that are over five hundred years old.
The art of farming olives is to prune your trees to the size of your harvesting equipment. At the moment Dan is pruning every second year and the trees come back stronger than ever. In terms of harvesting and crushing olives Dan has had a high of twenty thousand litres of production and a low of two thousand four hundred and seventy. The low occurred last year which Dan attributes to the weather being too hot when the trees were flowering.
The area, where he farms at Gingin, has about seventy five percent of WA's olive oil industry. However despite the trees resilience, the fact that they are planted in generally sandy soils means that they are very reliant on good seasonal rainfall and the right weather conditions. The major crops in the N hemisphere are on soils with far greater clay content where the trees can send down deeper roots.
He has around five thousand trees to harvest every year and works with a local Vietnamese born man to get all the fruit picked. Originally he was of the opinion that his sheep would graze the land under the trees, but he has come to conclusion that it is important to let an under tree growth burden build to create a bigger mulch base.
Questions:
Russell McKinnon- How is olive oil produced from the fruit? A - They are crushed at a processor which happens to be on a neighbouring property. The process turns the fruit in to an olive paste, and from here the oil is extracted.
Barry Dring- What happens to the paste after the oil has been removed? A - It can be buried, but that is of little value. In Europe the paste is turned into briquettes for burning. The Sumich company, who are olive producers in WA has a mountain of paste that they are storing for use.
Jim Dillon- What is the status of the big olive grove near Regans Ford because it looked like they were pulling out their trees? A - The property was purchased by new owners a couple of years ago and they are replanting their olive trees.
President Hugh presenting Pp Dan Crisp with a Certificate representing 50 vaccinations to the Polio Plus program
Special Presentation
President Hugh presented Bob Urquhart with a Paul Harris Fellow Rotary Certificate to be presented to the Geraldton Voluntary Tour Guides Association. A more formal presentation will be made at a time to be confirmed.
President Hugh presented Di Gilleland with her FIVE sapphire Paul Harris Fellow pin
The Paul Harris Fellow Recognition x 6 recognizes PP Di Gilleland's significant contribution to our Club, community and Rotary and connects her local service to a global network of goodwill through The Rotary Foundation.
President Hugh presenting PP Di Gilleland with her 6th Paul Harris Fellow Recognition Pin (5 Sapphires)
When we recognize someone as a Paul Harris Fellow, we’re doing more than just giving them a title—we’re celebrating their commitment to making the world a better place. By contributing $1,000 or more to The Rotary Foundation in their name, we honor their personal values and dedication to service while also supporting life-changing projects around the globe.
These donations fund important projects all over the world, like providing clean water, fighting diseases like polio, improving education, and promoting peace. In Australia, they support initiatives such as healthcare in remote areas and education for Indigenous communities. By linking someone’s name to these efforts, we’re connecting their legacy to the global mission of Rotary.
It’s a meaningful way to celebrate someone while also helping to change lives for the better. That’s what being a Paul Harris Fellow is all about—honoring the individual and uplifting communities everywhere.
Fines Session with Sgt Bob Urquhart:
Dave Freeman for wearing Dave Aitken's badge upside down.
Di Gilleland's husband Dennis celebrates a birthday today.
Russell McKinnon admits he's been married for forty years.
Kevin Green declares to being a Rotarian for thirty nine years.
Bob Urquhart fines himself for being in Rotary for forty years.
Hugh Lavery for being a guest speaker.
Dan Crisp visitor's tax.
Grant Woodhams Chapman Valley Football Club enthusiast.
Hugh Lavery thanks Di Gilleland for updating and maintaining our Facebook page. Thanks Di!
Apologies for not presenting in person. Thanks for getting zoom working to enable the sharing of the incoming World President Stephanie Urchick's address:
Hugh's message echoes Stephanie's in making our meetings irresistible and engaging. Have conversation, connect, learn and get involved in the Community. It is important that we become a more diverse membership.
In 1998 the Rotary Club of Geraldton (now Greater Geraldton) embarked on an ambitious journey to build a memorial on Mt Scott in Geraldton, dedicated to the 645 sailors lost at sea when the HMAS Sydney II was sunk off the Mid-West coast during World War II. The HMAS Sydney II Memorial is by far the largest and proudest project the RCG has undertaken.
Australia’s worst naval disaster occurred on 19 November 1941 when HMAS Sydney II was lost following a battle with the German raider HSK KORMORAN, in the Indian Ocean off the Western Australian coast. Geraldton was the last port visited prior to her demise. The loss of the SYDNEY with its full war complement of 645 sailors remains etched in the nations psyche. The KORMORAN was also sunk, but 317 of its crew of 397 survived. The fate of the Sydney remained one of Australia’s greatest wartime mysteries until the location of the wreck in 2008. “LEST WE FORGET”
President Hugh Lavery-
"Unite for Good" is our new Rotary message.
Australia’s worst naval disaster occurred on 19 November 1941 when HMAS Sydney II was lost following a battle with the German raider HSK KORMORAN, in the Indian Ocean off the Western Australian coast. Geraldton was the last port visited prior to her demise. The loss of the SYDNEY with its full war complement of 645 sailors remains etched in the nations psyche. The KORMORAN was also sunk, but 317 of its crew of 397 survived. The fate of the Sydney remained one of Australia’s greatest wartime mysteries until the location of the wreck in 2008.
