We are meeting this week at the Timor Street Bowls Club. Wednesday 9th of March, 12.30 for 1.00pm as usual. Parking on the city side of the club off Timor Street. It is very important that you rsvp by texting Brendan before mid-day next Tuesday.
Please rsvp to Brendan 0434 600 114
Club Calendar.
Wednesday 20th April - DG John Clue visits club.
Monday 2nd May - Thoroughbred Club Luncheon, City Memorial Bowls Club.
Friday 24th June - Changeover Dinner, Proudfoots.
Tony’s tribulations.
Greetings fellow Rotarians.
An early Central Spoke this week because our family has managed to avoid testing positive for Covid, so we are slipping away for the first week of the school holidays.
Our meeting this week had a great feel to it. Paul's presentation on Mongolia was fascinating and entertaining. Thank you Paul. Many people don't realise that Australia was initially settled by Mongolians, who build their distinctive round tents all along Australia's coast. They famously used to sing 'Our home is girt by sea.'
John Hutson is working hard to organise the Thoroughbred Club luncheon. If you are wondering what the difference is between a lunch and a luncheon, it appears that a luncheon goes until four o'clock in the afternoon. This will be a fundraiser for Myeloma Australia and our Rotary Club. I hope you can support John with this project.
Wilde Racing have very generously donated a share in a horse for the occasion. We will get more details and try to organise a syndicate to bid for the horse. Let us know if you want to join us in this prudent investment activity*.
Sorry to be absent this Wednesday, but I am sure it will be another good meeting. Please remember to rsvp to Brendan by noon on Tuesday.
Kind regards
Tony
*I challenge you to name a share on the stock market that has given the same rate of return as Sirileo Miss.
Roster.
Please keep an eye out for your name in the weeks ahead. If you are not able to be at a meeting please organise someone else to stand in for you.
Minutes.
another beautiful day saw 23 members roll up. Apart from successfully counting to 23, Nooka also reported on the Footy Tipping. There are 6 joint leaders on 18. He can't remember the others, but you earn no prize for guessing that he is one of them. In a fit of goodwill he has decided that those not putting in their tips will get the home teams, which would mean a complete non-tipper would be only two behind the leader at this point.
Hutto confirmed the Charity May Race Luncheon on Monday 2nd May, which he has arranged under our auspices together with the Thoroughbred Club of Australia in association with Myeloma Australia. I expect details will be set out elsewhere in this Bulletin, but hosted by Matt Stewart, it sounds like a great show.
After some fellowship over another very reasonable meal (How Wednesdays have changed!) we were treated to a fascinating presentation by Sgt Paul Reilly on his two years as a Fly In Fly Out engineer at a concentrated copper mine in Mongolia November 2016 and October 2018. Roughly four weeks on and two weeks off, flying Melbourne to Hong Kong to Ulaambaatar (capitol of Mongolia) to the mine site. Living quarters was a Ger, the traditional round tent of the Mongolian steppes which we often hear pronounced Girt. The mine site is a pop up town of some 5000 people in the Gobi desert where temperatures range from +40 degrees in summer to -35 degrees in winter. Makes Warrnambool sound pretty good.
Mongolia's preferred neighbour is Russia, not China...or was...not sure what their position might be now. It's a democracy of 3 million people where the president is an ex-wrestler. The main sports are wrestling, horse-riding and archery. I reckon they love falconing too but the talk was so good we ran short of time for questions. Narelle went over for what looked to be a most interesting driving holiday in the least. densely populated nation on earth, where the people are happy...but strangely touching feet is a sign of aggression? Any accidental touching, even under a lunch table, needs to be quickly rectified by a shaking of hands.
Thanks Paul for a really interesting address.
A quick fines session from Hutto and we were off into a glorious afternoon. See you all next week,...and remember , as Membership Director, I urge all of us to get back in the pre-Covid routine of regular attendance. If you run into members who haven't attended this year, please look to get them resuming. The more the merrier, and the more we can achieve as a club.
Please think of supporting the Monday 2nd May fundraising event.
Robbo
Rotary Horse Racing Report.
After her recent two third placings in a row, Power of Song was entered into two races; Terang tomorrow and Swan Hill on Monday. Unfortunately, she drew a very wide barrier in the Terang race which would have had her ‘starting in the car park’ according to our friends at Wilde Racing. The decision was made to run her in Swan Hill instead, where she subsequently drew the outside barrier. Hopefully the horse is not spooked by traffic. Despite this, it does appear that the stable will run our charger in Swanny on Monday.
Best of luck to everyone involved.
Rotten returns.
Very interesting talk by Paul last meeting about being an engineer in Mongolia. No doubt he would have picked up some new skills in that vodka-loving country!!!!
Rotary and Climate Change.
Rotary International recently added the environment as one of their areas of focus. At the time R.I. specifically pointed out that this focus included taking action on climate change. Past R.I. president Barry Rassin has written about tackling climate change being Rotary’s ‘ultimate mission’. Barry comes from the Bahamas, where 80% of the country is less than 1.5 meters above sea level. You can read his views here.
R.I have noted that this position is partly a recognition that tackling climate change is supported by the majority of young people, that is future prospective Rotarians. A 2021 poll by the Lowy Institute found that 76% of Australians 15-29 thought climate change was a serious and pressing problem. However, the same poll also showed that only 50% of Australians over 60 view climate change as a serious and pressing issue.
So, we understand that not everybody agrees. Barry Rassin has written; ‘climate change is something we have to talk about’ and ‘I think this is Rotary’s moment to start the conversation.’
However, we are a broad church and we can share different opinions on this and other issues. Pip Ritchie sends us his view this week.
History of Rotary.
The two Canadian envoys to Australia, James Davidson and Layton Ralston were generally very pleased with the results of their trip; the establishment of two Rotary Clubs in Australia.
They were astonished however with the way the new Australian Rotarians addressed each other. In North America it was still customary to refer to acquaintances by their titles. So, Sir John Monash, an early Rotarian, would have been referred to as 'General' or 'Sir John'. Friends were referred to by their surname. For example, 'I say Monash, how are you old chap?' Only close family members called each other by their first names; husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, parents to children.
The Canadian Rotarians were far from impressed to find the first Australian Rotarians calling each other by their first names. Heaven forbid!
Ten Years Ago.
Ten years ago,
Lindsay B. and Tim took Maxi out fishing for her first time in Australia. Maxi showed her skill by bagging a very attractive cray.
Warrnambool Central Committees for 2021-22.
Community Service (Matt).
Brendan, Tickler, Gerard, Blainey, Hicko, Lindsay M, Ian S, Bill, Mick,
Club Service (Bob).
Macca, Quincey, Gracey, Hutto, Bullant, Bruce, Paul R., Trev,
Vocation (Hayessey).
Lynchie, Clive, Paul O’B, Nooka, Sam, Bomber, Reevesy, Brad.
Youth (Greg).
Lew, Pip, Ian B., Dillo, Shane, Rowan, Francis, Peter K.
