DIARY DATES 15th Mar Clonlea Picnic evening (to be discussed).
11th Apr Barossa Air Show, Rowland Flat
21st Apr Centenary of Rotary in Australia
PRESIDENT'S PIECE
I hope you all enjoyed your Australia Day and were in some way able to celebrate its significance.
The day commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in New South Wales on the 26th January 1788. This was a significant date because it marked the beginning of the European settlement and the colonisation of Australia.
A reminder to all that this week’s meeting will be at the Gawler Bowling Club where we can play a few games of bowls and enjoy some great pizza from Café Nova. This will be a fun night with some great fellowship, Please try and get along so we can all enjoy this together. Partners, family and friends are all welcome.
“Quote of the week”
I love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains.
Of rugged mountain ranges, of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons, I love her jewel-sea, her beauty and her terror – the wide brown land for me.
Report on Dinner Meeting
18th January 2021
The meeting had an attendance of 28 made up of 26 Rotarians, guest speaker Pat Adams, and Kinsley Folland as guest of Kathy Heinrich. Williams made a welcome return to meetings. Apologies were received from Julie Tekell, Leanne Clinch, Bob Ahrens, Dino Donati and John Lyons. Debbie
Chairman for the evening Steve Barilla, called for Rotary spots:
Ron Lloyd reported being met with a horrible smell when he went recently to the Rotary shed. The cause was that a 2013 bottle of Shiraz had exploded and made a mess of everything nearby. President Mark admitted to being the culprit when moving items from the Rec Centre cupboard to Nixons and finding a place for them. So, in future no wine to be kept in the shed.
Colin Bazeley described the arrangements for the Australia Day breakfast. The awards ceremony would be held at the Rec Centre and televised to participating hotels. Volunteer Rotarians from our club are to cook and serve at the Kingsford Hotel, and two tables have been reserved for eight folks to eat breakfast. Stan Roulston took the names of those interested and was to notify the Hotel.
Mike Williams reported having visited Julie Tekell and found that she is coping quite well with her cancer illness. It is planned for her to undergo radiation treatment followed by Chemotherapy but the details are still to finalised.
Lance Hatcher has received official confirmation that amendments made to the Club’s constitution are OK. He went on to say that Milton Vadoulis would welcome a vocational visit by the club to his garden centre when a mutual time has been agreed.
The fines session began with Colin Bazeley and Trish Williams winning the barrel roll, followed by several of Barry’s jokes raising laughter. He displayed a Bunyip article that gave news of former exchange student from America, Peggy Kessler and the mentioning work she was doing in Africa with underprivileged children until halted by Coronavirus pandemic restrictions.
Chairman Steve then introduced guest speaker Pat Adams who has led a varied adult life mainly in the army and ambulance service, but with other occupations in between times. Now retired he is involved with the R.S.L. and is currently the Vice-President of the Gawler branch.
President Mark gave Pat a certificate of appreciation and informed him that a donation would be made for the vaccination of 45 children against polio.
The meeting then closed with the reciting of the 4-way test.
Guest Speaker: Pat Adams
My Life in the Army & Ambulance Service
Pat was born in Surrey, England in 1957. His father was a physicist and his mother was a nurse. In 1966, financial difficulties caused his parents to accept an uncle’s suggestion to come to Australia where his father got a position at the Woomera missile establishment.
Pat joined the army at the age of 17, and trained as an infantryman. After completing his contracted six years he resigned and became a brickie’s labourer.
But he couldn’t adjust to life outside the army, so he re-joined the army at the rank of corporal with duties as a safety commander and involving overseas tours in South East Asia for the next two years.
He was then moved to near Canberra at Duntroon where the duties included ceremonial parades and providing security for Government House.
On being promoted to Sergeant Signalman, Pat was transferred to the battalion that had earlier won a Presidential Citation for its part in the battle of Long Tan in Vietnam. Three years in this position saw time at Butterworth in Malayasia before coming back to Townsville to become an instructor in jungle warfare for two years.
Wanting a change from combat soldiering he undertook a course in Blackhawk helicopter engine fitting. However, army postings to units to perform related duties did not appeal to his wife, so he again resigned from the army and returned to Adelaide without a job.
A choice between work in the prison service and on ambulances was decided in favour of the latter. To become an ambulance officer required three years training that included nine blocks of schooling. When part of the St John Ambulance he was living at Lewiston near Gawler. Over his many years in the ambulance service, he played many roles and worked out of a number of locations.
In 2008 Pat volunteered to provide support for people walking the Kakoda Trail in New Guinea.
On retirement along with his wife, in 2015 Pat went on a trip to the middle-east to celebrate the centenary of Gallipoli landing. He presented a slide show of the journey showing the many countries and the places they visited.
Member Profile
Name: Mike Williams
Age: 64
Place of birth: Blyth
Place of growing up: Halbury. S.A.
Wife: Debbie
Present place of residence: Willaston
Education & Academic: Balaklava High, TAFE Business Cert.Banking
Vocations: Banking, Sales, Funeral Director
Leisure interests: Motor racing, old cars, renovating, caravanning, fishing
Just a thought
Bladder infection means urine trouble.
Some Rotary Projects
A shortlist projects our club wishes to concentrate our support on this year.
- click on heading to link for more information
Polio Eradication: Polio is a crippling and potentially fatal infectious disease with no cure. The strategy to eradicate polio is therefore based on preventing infection by immunizing every child worldwide until transmission stops and the world is polio-free.
Operation Cleft: - provides free cleft repair surgery for underprivileged children in Bangladesh. Many are ostracized by society, also suffer ear, nose, and throat infections, depression, and malnutrition. Surgery provides an opportunity for a normal life, an education, and to reach their full potential as contributing members of their community.
ShelterBox: responds instantly to natural and manmade disasters by delivering boxes of aid to those who are most in need. Each box supplies an extended family (up to 10 people) with a tent and essential equipment to use while they are displaced or homeless.
Interplast Australia & New Zealand: provides access to life-changing reconstructive surgery and related medical services to those in need across the Asia Pacific region, with a focus on facilitating medical training and mentoring for in-country medical personnel by supporting and building the capacity of local health services.
R.A.M. – Rotarians Against Malaria:Objective: “The prevention of mortality, and a reduction in morbidity and social and economic loss caused by malaria through a progressive improvement and strengthening of local and national capabilities in malaria control.”
S.W.S.L. – Save Water Save Lives: Encompasses the provision of water, water catchment, reticulation, and the construction of a variety of water tanks. 50% of the world’s population does not have ready access to safe drinking water – water-related diseases may claim as many as 25 million lives a year.
R.O.M.A.C. – Rotary Oceania Medical Aid (for) Children: ROMAC brings children under the age of 15 from developing countries to Australia for often life-threatening and dignity restoring surgeries not available in their home country.
D.I.K. – Donations in Kind: Provides donated equipment and material in two main areas – Education and Health. Container freight costs are met by contribution/donations. Every $1 donation results in $50 of goods delivering hope to needy communities.
A.R.H. – Australian Rotary Health: provides Research Scholarship in focus areas - Mental Health, Indigenous Health, Rural Medical & Nursing, also, Research Grants and PhD Scholarships in a broad range of general health areas including cancer, heart disease, children’s health, motor neuron disease, diabetes and more.
Rywell recognises that some of our youth are quite disadvantaged as a result of family circumstances and seeks to provide them with opportunities for enjoyable recreational activities. The Committee has formed a liaison with Families SA over recent years to organise holiday programs of activities for young people who live in Government Accommodation Units under the responsibility of the Minister.
Please nominate one of these projects for the fines box when you are Chairing the meeting
*Members wishing to eat may dine at the Gawler Arms from 6.15pm prior to the meeting start. Bookings by emailing gregory.morris.gm1@gmail.com or phone 0409 185 452
WEDNESDAY
TIME
LOCATION
Playford
1st Wednesday
3rd Tuesday
7.30am
7.00pm
Grenville Hub
THURSDAY
TIME
LOCATION
Barossa Valley
(meet 1st & 3rd )
(meet 2nd & 5th)
6.30pm
6.30pm
Clubhouse, 45 McDonnell St.
Tanunda.
Via Zoom or off-site
Apoligies & Guests
Members of the Rotary Club of Gawler should either:
reply to the weekly email Attendance & Meal form
or call or sms on 0437 759 256 before 10.00am Mondays.
Failure will be taken to be an apology and no meal will be ordered.
Visiting Rotarians and others should call or sms on 0437759 256 before 10.00am Mondays.
Committee Meetings – please notify your host by 10.00am of the meeting day if you are unable to attend an in-home Committee Meeting.
Club Almoner – PP Mike Williams 0407 605 354
Bulletin Editor – Stan Roulston 8523 0158, 0439 305 389
Sponsors
Wilhelm Road, Kingsford SA 5118
PO Box 2, Sheaoak Log SA 5371
Phone: 08 8521 0000
Name: Mike Williams
