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Walk Round Australia
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BROTHERHOOD AND BLISTERS 1969
Last week our guest speaker was no other than our illustrious President Gerry Greenway, who spoke very eloquently to his captive audience about the Apex walk around Australia which he formulated and coordinated in 1969.
Gerry was 34 years young and a member of the Blackwood Apex club when, participating in a local walkathon, his overactive mind started working overtime and he decided that it would be a novel idea to extend his walking ambitions beyond our borders.
At that time he hadn’t decided the why or wherefores of this rash decision, but it was destined to become a major money spinner for Apex and its eventual charity,Autism Australia.
The path to any brilliant scheme must come with the approval of both zone and National conventions and much to Gerry’s great relief his ambitious idea was approved.
Local sponsors were quickly procured, namely Claridge Motors, BP and the National Bank who donated $2,000 towards a prize for the person who could guess closest to the total distance covered at the end of the walk.
Claridge motors donated a fully fitted out sedan and BP donated the fuel.
Gerry reminded us that these were the days before computers and mobile phones and every single walk in all of the States had to have map references and local coordinators with whom he liased by trunk calls and copious plane flights using a map and pins from his mother’s sewing box.
Nine months of planning went into this ground breaking event and at all stages the weather was also a major consideration.
It was decided that the walk would proceed in a clockwise direction from SA to WA, eventually passing through each state with many local mini walks on the way, ensuring that as many local Apex clubs as possible could participate. Highway 1 was the major arterial route it would follow.
Support was rallied by the RAA, a bus company and local airlines.
Barry Ford, a banker from Perth, volunteered to participate the whole way which assisted enormously in the overall communication of information to all participants.
Here in Adelaide, Robin Millhouse, a local politician, and also the Lord Mayor supported the cause and local TV coverage was solicited.
The East coast of Australia was the most densely populated section of the walk, so in NSW QLD and VIC many minor road networks evolved so as many small clubs as possible could be included.
In the NT, one of our Hyde Park Rotary stalwarts, namely Neville Highett, our incoming president, walked with other Tennant Creek locals and on this occasion, he provided us with several colourful anecdotes of his experiences and those of several of his fellow walkers. Gruesome tales of pigs, donkeys, bones and death added to our interest in the evenings presentation steadfastly ensuring no one could comfortably finish their meals.
All in all with combined input from both Gerry and Neville we were left mesmerized by how one man’s crazy imagination and vision conceived in simpler times and with rudimentary communications, could result in such a wonderful result for such a worthy cause.
The sum of $120,000 was raised which in present times would add up to roughly $1,000000.
A total of 9,380 miles or 15,097 km were covered and the Topic of Autism had now presented itself to everyday Australians and would result in more research, more staffing and wider public awareness into the future.
Well done Gerry you crazy visionary for having the courage and fortitude to follow through on your dreams and never being afraid to “give it a go".
FESTIVITY, FRIVOLITY, FOOD, FUN AND FRIENDSHIP
Carols, calories, quiz and cuisine. All the elements needed for a successful soiree were present in spades on Saturday evening December 14th when our club members gathered together with partners in tow for a happy night of fellowship and fun.
With all the members providing delicious contributions to the table, no one went hungry and the bar provided ample beverages with which to wash them down.
Everyone joined in to the Christmas spirit, carols were sung, stories shared and conversations flowed as freely as the wine that washed them down.
The grand master of quiz games namely President Gerry Greenway, provided an impromptu brain stretching quiz whilst Ros and Peter Griffiths had us guessing over sweet delights.
The lucky door prize was won by Ann McIntyre and husband Iain returned to his past role of leading the carols. Iain also succeeded in winning the quiz and money man Alan Moss guessed the coins.
A very successful end to another year of fellowship and service to the community. May there be many more to come.
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Travels to Cuba and beyond.jpg)
This week we were treated to an interesting travelogue by Chris Edwards who undertook a journey from Florida to Cuba and then on to Columbia.
After a confusing start Chris and his wife finally departed on their holiday and arrived in Florida and began their adventure exploring the wetlands. They saw examples of American wildlife including alligators and bird life such as bald eagles. Moving on they visited Disneyland in Daytona and also saw what is billed as the world’s most famous beach (they were not convinced) before visiting a gun shop which was more like a huge supermarket.
It is not possible to go direct to Cuba from the US and so they boarded a small cruise ship and sailed to Nassau in the Bahamas and then on to Cuba.
Cuba has a chequered history. It was invaded by the Spanish in 1492 and after 400 years of Spanish dominance Cuba was eventually put under American control following the Spanish American war in 1898. Cuba gained Independence in 1902 but 40 years later in 1952 Dictator Fulgencio Batista gained control with American backing. In 1958 he was overthrown after a Revolution and this heralded the first appearance of Fidel Castro as Prime Minister.
At this point the US imposed an embargo on arms to Cuba followed in 1960 by all goods except food and medicine. In 1962 the embargo was extended and included food and medicine. These embargos were placed to make life so miserable for the Cubans that they would overthrow the Castro lead Government. Obama eased travel restrictions to Cuba but Trump put them back. There are a lot of exiled Cuban expats in Florida and their vote is critical and they want the embargos to continue.
In 1976 Fidel Castro who had formed the Communist Party in Cuba with the help of Che Geuvara became President until ill health forced him to resign in 2008.
Chris showed us slides of places of interest in Cuban cities that they visited. The capital Havana is a vibrant city with friendly and very musical people. The Embargo has caused many buildings to be in a state of disrepair. There are many interesting buildings, churches and revolution squares in all the places they went. The transport everywhere is old as evidenced by many old cars and even horse drawn transport.
Cuba needs tourism as its only exports are cigars and sugar. Its economy is weak and relations with Washington are deteriorating. The new President is Miguel Diaz-Canel and the Secretary of the Communist Party is Rual Castro. Being a Communist State Cuba has full employment.
After visiting Cuba they went on to Columbia and then Panama before returning to Australia via the United States.
A most interesting and informative evening and after many questions Peter Griffiths gave the Vote of Thanks and presented Chris with a bottle of wine.
Sky High Tales
This week at the joint meeting of the Hyde Park and Adelaide Parks Rotary Clubs at the Naval and Military club, we were taken to “New Heights" when the guest speaker, Wing Commander Darren Jones, presented his tales of life in the Australian air force.
Wing Commander Jones is the “Commander Officer”of the Wide Area Space Surveillance Unit RAAF Edinborough SA.
Having convinced his parents at the tender age of sixteen to let him follow his dreams of becoming a fighter pilot, he began his career in Laverton, Victoria. Not all of those who joined the air force would go on to be pilots and many of his fellow recruits consisted of carpenters, plumbers, radiographers and other skilled apprentices.
The young recruits were given milk and cookies every night to help them grow. In the early days there were at least 800 female staff including nurses and 2,000, 19-20 year olds in electronics.
Shenanigans between the female and male staff ensued and although the quarters were separated by an oval, “Special Cuddles" were often obtained in the dark of night.
A move to Sale Victoria and Edinborough in SA followed and tales of ejection situations and the importance of communications reminded us of the vulnerability we all face each day.
When in East Sale we heard how Ansett airlines folded and how many of our military aircraft were used to fill the void. G Suits, and life support maneuvers were described in detail with one colourful story about search and rescue operations involving vomit to catch fish in desperate situations.
Wing Commander Jones then continued to take us to new heights speaking about topics such as the Air Force evolution since 1987, exciting search and rescue situations, Military crashes and their causes and culminating in a picture of our new Air Force which is highly reliant on cyber space and skilled IT personnel.
Having been re posted every three years, he found himself in San Antonio Texas working with US soldiers many of whom worked in Silicone Valley, where they were working on building firewalls for cyber warfare and hacking into the servers of enemy systems.
They worked on jammers, incendiary devices and satellites and scanners that could detect enemy missile launchers and detect signs of offensive cyber warfare.
Australia’s borders are monitored by satellites and are covered by a “Cone of Protection"
Commander Jones was a very interesting speaker who kept us not the edges of our seats and gave us a very intimate insight into the workings of our defence forces and the invaluable role they play in defending and protecting our culture and way of life each day.
EURILLA (former Bonython residence)
After several weeks of planning and lingering doubts about the weather and just how many people would turn up all was revealed on Sunday the 27th of October at our first ever Open Garden Fund Raising Event. It was a very successful day and almost 300 enthusiasts roamed the magnificent gardens of Eurilla.The weather was kind to us for most of the day and those of us who experienced the early mist and drizzle felt it actually added to the ambience of the surroundings. Later in the day the sun came out and it ended up being a glorious Spring day.
Eurilla was built in 1884 for Sir William and Lady Milne and was sold to Sir Lavington Bonython in 1917 and was used as a Summer residence by the family for the next seventy years. It was then purchased by the current owners.
The Ash Wednesday bush fires in 1983 all but destroyed the majority of the garden and the house itself suffered tremendous damage causing the removal of the upper storey. Only the tower and the bottom two floors remained until 2007 when the top storey was rebuilt. The current owners have lovingly restored the property and have embarked upon a substantial replanting of the garden.
Thanks go to the current owners and the many members of the Hyde Park Rotary Club and friends who helped make this a very successful and enjoyable Fund Raising Event to help the homeless in Adelaide. Thanks also to the CWA who provided a delicious Devonshire Tea - a perfect compliment to a beautiful garden experience.
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Roman Coins
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This week our guest speaker was numismatic, Dennis Nettleton, a collector with a special interest in Roman coins.
In summary:
Dennis told us that his interest in coin collecting started whilst still a youth when his father gave him some WW1 Coins. He found them fascinating and his interest continued to include coins from England's Queen Elizabeth 1 and some of the early Kings.
As he continued Dennis took us for an exciting look at the early Roman times which spanned over 600 years and were presided over by many, many Caesers. Each Caesar that ruled, albeit for either a miniscule term or one more lengthy, deemed a coin be minted in their honour. The Romans were expanding their Empire and each battle also resulted in minted coins. The currency of those times was the Denarius.
Originally coins were pure silver but as the coffers were draining, alloys such as tin nickel and lead were also added. Metals were taken to each battle site so coins could be made to signify the date of each battle. They were moulded in the trunks of trees with the inscriptions being etched in reverse so as to appear in a readable form when finished.
The metals were mainly sourced from India. At the beginning of the Roman Empire the coins were 98% silver but only 2% by the end.
As the Roman soldiers were sent off to battle they were paid in advance, often they would bury their coffers under a tree or bridge, never to return, hence the number of caches being discovered today in modern England.
Dennis sparked our interest with colourful tales of Caesar battles and corruption, and of the ultimate downfall of the Empire.
Dennis showed us his favourite coins, a cartwheel twopence from the reign of King George 111 dated 1797 and one made by the first steam driven coin press. A coin that opened to reveal further small coins inside it also sparked our interest . One tiny coin was minted in 1591. We were also shown a Victorian ½ farthing and sheets of interesting collection items.
We could have listened to Dennis for hours and we certainly left the table that evening a lot more knowledgeable than when we arrived.
Another successful BBQ at Bunnings
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Norma and Lyn enjoying a well earned rest at our 4th of October BBQ
50th Unley Business Breakfast
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On Tuesday the 1st of October 2019 the 50th Unley Business Breakfast was held at the Unley Town Hall. The Guest Speaker was Phil Sims the CEO of Robern Menz.
Robern Menz is an iconic South Australian 4th generation family owned business and the name behind Fruchocs and Violet Crumble brands. It is also SA’s largest confectioner. Phil presented the Robern Menz story from humble beginnings back in the late nineteenth century up to the present day.
The Business Breakfast had its beginnings as an initiative of the Rotary Club of Hyde Park during the Presidential Year of Margaret Blake with the original purpose of addressing club membership.
Margaret together with then Secretary Ian Stewart and Jim Handley liaised with the City of Unley and the Inner Southern Business Enterprise Centre, and the concept of a bi-monthly Business Breakfast was born with the intention of providing a Business Networking platform for the traders and businesses of the Unley precinct.
More than 80 people attended the event proving once again that Hyde Park Rotary Club continues to leave its mark amongst the Unley Community. Many thanks to Jim and Rob Handley, Andrew Sullivan and Margaret Blake for their help in setting up and assisting at the breakfast.
A very successful event.
Our trailer BBQ comes with 2 cooks.
To book, or to discuss your requirements, please phone: ANDREW SULLIVAN on 0418 816 624 OR email Andrew here.
Before you call, check our Calendar (under Activities) in case it's already booked.
Minimum Hire Fee $300 with 2 people for 2-hours - food not included.
For big events requiring more members please discuss with Andrew.
We do not hire out the trailer BBQ without Rotarians in attendance.
Do You have Time for Rotary? Are you new to Rotary? Rotary welcomes women and men.
Interested in joining Rotary, or simply wish to hear one of our excellent guest speakers? Just email your request and contact details to: hydepark@rotaryclub.org.au or call Secretary Alan Moss (+61 0418 845 141) or Past President Mike McAuliffe (+61 0417 855 182) for an invitation to a meeting. It's as simple as that.
