Attendance: Nooka entered eighteen members into the books this week, with no guests and no visiting Rotarians. Nooka observed that our stand-in President, Matt, was ‘going about as well as StKilda’.
Meal: Carbonara.
Gracey got us going with a joke about a priest and an Uber driver before introducing our ersatz president, Matthew Northeast. Matt asked members to remember to rsvp in the Stack App for regular Wednesday meetings and our changeover dinner on the 26th of June. Matt also discussed a sad case of a local student who was struggling to find the funds to go on a school camp. The club elected to assist.
The only report this week was Nooka’s footy tipping update. Unlike the Bombers, Garry is flying with 70 correct picks so far this year. Rob is on 69, T-bone 68, and Robbo and Nooka are on 67.
Our guest speaker was Dr Gerald Irvine, who spoke about his early experience in medicine and with the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Gerald graduated from Medicine in 1971. He then worked in Wangaratta for a year before studying obstetrics, anaesthetics and infectious diseases. He travelled to England and worked as the ship’s doctor on the SS Canberra (appropriately enough for an Australian). Gerald left the Canberra and returned to Wangaratta in 1981. His timing was impeccable because, if my memory serves me correctly, the Argentine air force was firing Exocet missiles at the Canberra in the South Atlantic in 1982.
Gerald spoke about the months he spent working for the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Broken Hill in ’81. Interestingly, remote families could obtain a member’s box from the RFDS that had about 30 medications and a map of the human body. Doctors could use this kit to treat people over the telephone. Gerald also spoke of the contrast in Wilcania between the wealthy retired farming families and local indigenous communities and the somewhat unsuccessful attempts to assist these communities.
Gracey drew the barrel and we took his word for it that he had drawn out his own number. The Compass drew up stumps and we were done for another week.
