Part 4: District 9675 Conference in Mudgee, NSW, March 2018
By PP Michael Austin
Mudgee reputedly derives from the Wiradjuri Aboriginal term 'Moothi' meaning 'nest in the hills'. This is a suitable title as Mudgee is an attractive town of fine old buildings, located in the broad, picturesque and fertile Cudgegong River Valley. Surrounded by hills of green and blue, it is situated 265 km north-west of Sydney, 470 m above sea-level and has a current population of around 8200. The area is noted for its fine wool, beef, fat lambs, cereal crops, lucerne, vegetables, vineyards, cheese and honey. There is also a coal mine at Ulan, a livestock exchange and numerous horse, sheep and cattle studs.
Having Rotary links with the Country Education Foundation and the farmers’ mentoring scheme, “Soils for Life”, this was a District Conference not to be missed and I was certainly not disappointed! The highlights for me were in meeting old acquaintances again, accidentally stumbling upon an informal Rotaract gathering whilst exploring the well-appointed Parklands Conference Centre, all of our keynote speakers and Saturday night’s dinner-cum-“shin dig” in a nearby tin shed!
On Friday afternoon, I joined two interactive sessions, firstly on “Branding”, secondly on “ What makes a club viable?”. My wife Gunilla joined our group of Coves for the evening dinner and bush dance. Saturday saw us in full swing, President Edei, Bernadette, Nigel, Jackie and myself enjoying a full day of presentations and keynote speakers whilst Jackie’s husband Neil did his own thing and Gunilla had a golf day with the Mudgee ladies.
Welcomed by DG Stephen Britten, conference proceeded with some encouraging words from immediate Past Rotary International President, John Germ from Tennessee, followed by an entertaining and interesting keynote talk by polio survivor and Mudgee man Ken Sutcliffe, who will be well known to many readers as a radio and television sports presenter. Wine maker of the year John Stein then gave us insights into the history of local winemaking before Gemma Sisia talked about her outstanding and growing project, fighting poverty through education - The School of Saint Jude in Tanzania. Although Jude is the saint of desperate and lost causes, this school is without doubt an outstanding success.
Many Coves will remember Stephanie Woollard from the premier night of her movie “Seven Women” at the Event cinema in George Street. Stephanie held us spellbound again by the story of her stumbling across seven disabled women in India and turning her meager $200 pocket money into an outstanding venture.
Prof Ron Rapee, from Rotary Australia Health, talked about Youth and Mental Health, then the day’s “ official business” ended with singer/song and jingle writer Mike Brady entertaining us with stories and songs.
The Sunday sessions began with a talk by Dominic Teake of the Police Community Youth Clubs (PCYC), a Rotary initiative. Dom spoke about kids at risk and the positive work that continues through PCYC. Judith Mogi then took the stand to speak about Rotaract and working with Rotary, a subject that particularly interests me, then Skillaroo finalist and heavy vehicle mechanic Louise Azzaopardi spoke about her journey from RYLA to her current success.
Finally, remember the London terrorist attack on its transport system? Dr Gillian Hicks from Adelaide lost both legs when a bomb went off in an underground train. Gillian’s sense of humour and obvious courage held the audience towards the standing ovation that she truly deserves.
Thanks for reading this to the end – I don’t often attend these conferences but am so glad that I didn’t miss this one!
