Please note the following. The next Program Committee meeting is on Tuesday September 8 at 7pm by Zoom (link below). 

Here’s a lookahead to our proposed meeting schedule for September and October which may be subject to change.

Our August meetings kicked off on the 6^th with local historian John Tully examining the evidence that bushranger Ned kelly was secretly married, along with some related history of the Kelly Gang, followed on the 13^th with our monthly board meeting. 

On Sunday, June 28th, some of our members attended the District Changeover at Casterton where the role of District Governor was changed over from PDG Christine Dufty to new DG Toni Thiel. We congratulate Christine on her year and wish Toni all the best as she leads the District during 2026-27 with it's theme of “Create a Lasting Impact”.

On June 25th, our club changed over its leadership team to the Board members who will lead our club during the 2026-27 Rotary year. Pictured from left to right: PP John Williamson (Treasurer and President Jan-Mar 2027), PP Thea Allan (Secretary), PP Leigh Williamson (Fundraising Director), PP Terry Allan (President Jul-Sep 2026), PP Garry Higgins OAM (Membership Director), PDG Anthony Ohlsen (Foundation Director), PP Alison Teese (Service Projects Director), and Max Berry (Public Image Director and President Apr-Jun 2027). Missing from the image is Shane Dellavedova (President Oct-Dec 2026). Click “Read more…” for more pix.

At last Thursday's meeting, club members and guests brainstormed some ideas for our 2026-27 Rotary Year. Ideas were collected under the headings of “Fundraising Ideas”, “Fun Event Ideas”, "Possible Guest Speakers" and “Possible Vocational Visits”. The results can be seen by clicking “Read more…” and the lists will be forwarded to our 2026-27 Program team. If you would like to be a part of the 2026-27 Program Team, please contact current President and President Elect, Terry Allan.

At last Thursday's meeting (June 18th), President Terry inducted our newest Rotarian, Tony Savage. Tony was nominated by PDG Anthony and will hold the Vocational classification of “Plumbing Services (Retired)”. Tony explained that he commenced his plumbing career in Fitzroy with his father in the 1970's. In the early 90's, Tony started a small plumbing business in Murchison, Victoria, moved back to Melbourne about a decade later where he worked with his uncle for a while, became a “Property Service Manager” at the Casino for a time, and then a “Facilities Manager” with T.A.F.E. for over a decade. Tony and his family moved to Maryborough 5 years ago and he took up his tools again with a contractor in Ararat - an experience he really enjoyed. Tony retired last year and now wants to give service back to the community. Welcome, Tony!

At our June Board meeting held on June 11th, we confirmed the fee structure for the 2026-27 Rotary year. Despite all costs going up, we decided to keep fees the same as the past Rotary year at $310 PA. The Next Gen club will develop their own fee arrangements. We also decided that since we do not have an administration chair, the role would be covered by whoever is the President at the time. We also decided that for 2026-27, the Program Committee would be made up of the 2026-27 Presidential team with the current President being chair. The minutes of the meeting will be emailed to all members as soon as they are completed.

On June 4th, members of the Maryborough-Castlemaine Rail Trail Committee as well as members of our City Council joined us for an update on this ambitious project in our community. Carolyn Dennis of the Rail Trail committee provided our members with an engaging outline of the goals of the project, the projected timeline, the proposed route, estimated costs, community benefits and assistance requested of Rotary for the project. Click “Read more…” for more pics including slides of the presentation.

As part of our celebration of Rotary Youth Month, we met at the local Guides Hall on May 28th and enjoyed a great home cooked meal by Guides and a talk by current Guide Youth Leader, Lucy Austen-Paine (pictured). Lucy, a wine-maker at Blue Pyrenees Winery outlined her own journey into Guides and the current programs offered by the group. See “Read more…” for more pix.

Several of our members joined the large crowd at the Highland Society on Monday, May 18th to celebrate Volunteer Week. See “Read more…” for more pix.

On May 21st, as part of Rotary's Youth month (May), members watched a talk from the November 2025 Shoulder to Shoulder Youth Conference in the USA. The speaker was Mike Johnston, the current Mayor of Denver, Colorado who has, in just 18 months in the office, halved the very high homelessness rate in that city. Mike uses three principles for tackling social issues: (1) Understand the problem by getting to know the people who are suffering; (2) Believe you can achieve difficult challenges; and (3) Be prepared to fall (and get back up). See “Read more…” for more pix and a link to the video.

The May 2026 Edition of the “Rotary Magazine” features an article on the family violence issue. Here's how they introduce the topic: 

Family violence is a major health and social issue in Australia, according to the national Institute of Health and Welfare. Rotary Safe Families focuses on reducing the stigma around recognizing the problem. This year the project, which was founded in 2018 and has a presence in 48 countries, is preparing to enlist Rotary clubs to sponsor a local school through a program called Towards Respectful Relationships. It fosters “safe spaces for kids to talk about family violence and respect,” says program founder Dorothy Gilmour, a member of the Rotary Club of Hawthorn. “It has been a long, bumpy road to get Australians to discuss the taboo topic of family violence.” More recently, though, “I have noticed that family violence is becoming less taboo.” You can read more on the Rotary website.

On May 7th, Annie Constable, CEO of Asteria Services, provided our members with an engaging and comprehensive overview of the ongoing work of this important and well-established NDIS provider of services for disabled people in our community. Annie informed us that in the coming year, Asteria would be re-opening the Goldfield's Cafe, refurbishing additional units at Isabella Warton Place, re-developing a new skills space in Christian Street, Maryborough, developing two fit-for-purpose supported independent living homes in the community, as well as providing further development of homes for children and youth. See “Read more…” for more pics.

Fifteen members enjoyed each other's company and Chinese food at Peach Village for our April Social Outing on April 30th. See “Read more…” for another pic.

The Rotary Office in Parramatta is experiencing an increased volume of emails and phone calls asking for their bank account details. For donations to Annual Fund, Polio Plus, Disaster Response, Paul Harris Society/Fellow, Centurions and other funds of the Rotary Foundation, you can make a bank transfer to the accounts below.  

If your Club is the donor (receipt is not tax-deductible):
HSBC Bank Acct Name: The Rotary Foundation of RI
BSB No: 342 011 Acct No: 523 370 001
Bank Description/Reference: Club Name Club Number PP (for Polio Plus) or Club Name Club Number AF (for Annual Fund)

If your Members/Individuals are the donors (each individual will get a tax deductible receipt):
HSBC Bank Acct Name: The Australian Rotary Foundation Trust
BSB No: 342 011 Acct No: 663 499 001
Bank Description/Reference: ClubName ClubNumber Members - please email us an excel list or multiple donor form

See “Read more…” for more details




 

President Terry Allan represented Maryborough Rotary Club and Courtney Higgins represented Next Gen Rotary by laying wreaths at Saturday's ANZAC Day service in McLandress Square. Hundreds of local residents watched the ANZAC Parade and Service on the day. Thanks to Garry Higgins for the photo. See “Read more…” for pics of the wreath laying in action - sort of.

On April 23rd, local mining engineer and train buff, Noel Laidlaw laid out the case for the return of the Mildura Passenger Train Service to Melbourne - via Maryborough. The passenger service ceased in 1973 and was “replaced” by a bus service that travels through the night. Travellers also have the option of a $700+ plane trip if they really need to get to Melbourne quickly. Noel explained that there is a lot of community support for the train service which could “piggy back” on one of the existing Maryborough to Melbourne services and also one of the Melbourne to Maryborough trips five days each week. See “Read more…” for access to more information on the proposal.

Eight of our members travelled to Ararat on Wednesday April 15th to join with Rotary club members from Ararat, Beaufort and St Arnaud in welcoming District Governor Christine to our area. Christine outlined her work as Governor and some of the changes to be expected in the latest round of Regionalization decisions. Presidents or representatives from each of the clubs also provided an overview of what has been happening in their respective clubs. Click “Read more…” for more photos and details.

Ten Rotarians and friends gathered at the Hospital on Wednesday morning, April 8th, to assist with the collection of used Hospital furniture and equipment  and then the packing of those items into a trailer for the SHARE organization to distribute to medical centres in Papua New Guinea and Uganda. Thanks to those members and friends who assisted. See “Read more…” for more pix.

15 Members attended our April Board Meeting on April 9th. Highlights were the confirmation of new member, Tony Savage, who will be officially inducted in the coming weeks, a report on the club's collection and distribution of used Hospital Equipment from the Maryborough Hospital (see the report below), a report on the recent Multi-District Conference, confirmation of a $1000 donation towards the update of signage at Brian Dowie Park, the purchase of three Peace Poles with the assistance of District funds, and the confirmation of our club process for the storage of historical records.

Follow Rotary's newest social media channel, “Discover Rotary”, to keep informed about programs, offerings, events, and news. The channel shines a light on resources, tools, and learning opportunities to help your club and district succeed. Look for Discover Rotary on Facebook and Instagram and engage with us!

At our Easter Thursday Morning meeting, PP John Williamson inducted PP Terry Allan as our new President for the last three months of the 25-26 Rotary year. Congratulations President Terry on your new role, and many thanks to John for a great three months as President. Both of these Rotarians have committed to doing another three month stint as President in 2026-27. We also thank Terry and Secretary Thea for providing their home and the breakfast for our Easter Thursday meeting. Click “Read more…” for more pictures of the meeting.

PP Thea Allan met Past Rotary International President 2022- 2023 Jennifer Jones at the District conference in Horsham this last week-end. Thea was thrilled to meet the first lady International President, because Thea was the first lady President of Maryborough Rotary. Jennifer was Rotary International President's Representative at the Multi District Summit at Horsham, with Rotarians from District 9800 to our east and District 9510 to our west. Rotarians came from Melbourne, Adelaide and the Northern Territory, and everywhere in between. There were around 400 in attendance. Thea's assessment was that it was a wonderful conference and that the Country and Rock music on Saturday evening was fantastic. See “Read more…” for more Pix of the Conference

Thank you to those members who helped out with the cooking at today's community barbeque to honot our valued CFA volunteers.

Last Thursday, members were treated to a fascinating story of the stamps and covers collecting history of President John Williamson. John's parents were both stamp collectors, so John took up the hobby in 1952, became serious about organizing his collection in 1955, and after attending a philately conference in 1984, became passionate about discovering local history stories through stamps and covers. He now has thousands of envelope-stamp-postmark and letter packages that reveal insights into the lives of local gold diggers and residents from the 1800s to recent years. He shared many of these intriguing stories with members at our Thursday meeting. One story that tickled the funny bones of attendees was the exploits of a local dignitary named Mr George Shovelbottom Esq. in 1859. See “Read more…” for more pix

Members gained a real insight into the current state of district farming when member, Shane Dellavedova shared his thoughts at last Thursday's meeting. He pointed out that in the current financial climate exacerbated by the war in Iran, agriculture has reached a situation that has never been experienced before to his knowledge. A fat sheep is currently worth more money than a ton of grain, for example, thirty kilo lambs were recently selling at Wagga for around $450 each. Needless to say, Shane has focussed his own farming practices on the raising of sheep instead of grain. Click “Read more…” for more info and pix from the meeting.

Members gathered in the Highland Board Room for the March Board meeting on Thursday 12th. We confirmed our use of the “Square” Finance app instead of the Tyro option, we agreed to proceed with the purchase of new Club shirts supplied and  engraved by a local retailer, we agreed to supply the funds required to advertise and equip our club to conduct the forthcoming “Wheels and Wattle” event, and we committed to funding up to two students to attend the “Defy the Drift” program this year.

At Thursday's meeting, PDG Anthony drew the Joker from the pack of cards on behalf of PP Garry Higgins to enable Garry to collect the sizable jackpot as part of the club's weekly “Swindle” competition. There was much speculation about how much Anthony will get for his role as “proxy” card selector!

On March 5th, PP Derrick Marsden shared with members his life-long love of cricket, his long-term involvement with Rotary Fellowships and in particular, his experiences with the International Fellowship of Cricketing Rotarians. He also provided a great overview of the various Rotary Fellowships available and encouraged members to get involved. It was an entertaining and engaging presentation and we thank Derrick for sharing his cricketing story - which he plans to continue in the coming year. Click “Read more…” for more pix of the night.

Olayinka “Yinka” Hakeem Babalola is sitting on the wrong side of his desk, staring at the tiny squares on the laptop perched in front of him. He’s just finished speaking on a call with 300 Rotaractors from the African continent and other parts of the world, Rotary’s president-elect explains as he turns down the volume. “They held a celebration for me because I’m a past Rotaractor,” he says. By seeing Babalola, himself once in their shoes, embarking on the highest position in Rotary, who knows how many of the 300 he will inspire. It’s early October, less than two months since the Rotary International Board of Directors selected Babalola to lead Rotary, in a special session in late August after the resignation of RI President-elect SangKoo Yun, who died shortly after, following months of cancer treatment. Taken from the “Rotarian” Magazine - view the full story at https://www.rotary.org/en/the-game-changer 

Club members were engaged and inspired on Thursday February 26th when Major Vanessa Evans from the Salvation Army shared her story about working against Gender Based Violence in the Solomon Islands over recent years. Vanessa and her husband both worked with Salvation Army in the Solomons for around eight years and were key figures in initiating a Gender Based Violence information program that touched the lives of hundreds of islanders.

Click this link to go to the page or type the link into your browser: https://www.rotaryimpactsummit.org/ 

At the February 20th meeting, PP Brian Reed entertained and informed members and guests with a comprehensive overview of the “sport” of “bellringing”. Brian was introduced to Bellringing whilst attending St Pius X Church at Heidelberg West and since then he has become a bell ringing Captain and quite the expert. Attendees discovered there is much more to bell ringing than simply pulling a rope and waiting for the “dong”. See “Read more…” for more pix.

Directors and members met together on Thursday, February 12th for the eighth Board meeting of our club in this Rotary Year. We spent quite a deal of time discussing several issues and some of those will require further research before we can report on them. However, we did decide a few things. Given that we have a series of three-monthly Presidents in this and the next Rotary years, we agreed to NOT hold a public Changeover Dinner as such at the end of June, and instead, conduct new President inductions each three months. We confirmed that the Program committee will now meet on the third Tuesday of each month instead of the second. And, directors wish to advise all members that we will soon need to select or confirm the Secretary, Treasurer, Administration, Membership, Public Image, Rotary Foundation and other important club roles for the 2026-27 Rotary year so that office holders may participate in upcoming District training and /or have time to orient themselves with their new positions. 

There will be a proposal put to our upcoming Board meeting that our club subsidizes the purchase of some updated Club shirts. The argument is that some members do not have club shirts at all and others have a variety of shirts, and it would be good if we presented a uniform image at the upcoming “Wheels and Wattle” event. The proposed shirts are pictured above and are sold by RDU (Rotary Down Under) as “Rotary Focus Polos” with separate models for Males and Females. The proposal is that the shirts would be engraved with the words, “Maryborough Rotary Club”. Currently the shirts sell for $47.00 each and the engraving would be an extra $13. The proposal will be that the club pays $30 or 50% of the tab for each shirt. Contact Max Berry for more details.

At our February 5th meeting, PP Andrew Harman from Wendouree Breakfast Rotary Club updated us on their Ambon Project. The Wendouree Breakfast club have been providing grass roots assistance to the Ambon Island community in Indonesia for around twenty years, largely due to the efforts of past club member, the late Rob McDougal. Over that period, a total of around forty Rotarians have visited the island six or seven times to provide funds and practical assistance for various community driven projects. Another tour will be taking place later this year and members of our club are invited to hop on board.

Congratulations to Kerrie Dowling from Next Gen Rotary for her “Community Festival” being awarded Best Community event of the last year at the recent local Australia Day Celebrations.

After presentations to the club, formation of an ad hoc committee, several meetings, and background work, including tapping the experience of local off-road riders, Maryborough Rotary Club is confidently and meticulously planning our inaugural Grand Final weekend cycling event, Wheels & Wattle.

We hit on the event name Wheels & Wattle to evoke Maryborough’s former much-loved Wattle Festival, which has not been held for many years but is still remembered with affection by many locals. The name also fits because at the end of September the local wattle will be in bloom – along with the similarly coloured canola! Pictured is the Start of the “Strawberry 10” Ride at Victory Park, Wagga Wagga - a possible model for our Ride. Click “Read more…” for more details and pix

At last Thursday's meeting, our club thanked community members who had assisted Rotary at last year's Energy Breakthrough and other events. The event was chaired by new President, John Williamson and held in the meeting room at the Maryborough Uniting Church. Pictured is President Elect Terry Allan leading members in a toast the work of Rotary volunteers in the world. We thank the main organizers of the event, PP Alison Teese OAM, PP Garry Higgins OAM and Rotarian Geoff Bartlett. Click “Read more…” for more pix.

Last Thursday, PP Derrick Marsden presented a great overview to our members of Rotary's RYLA program in District 9780. RYLA stands for Rotary Youth Leadership Awards and is an inspiring, 6-Day Personal Development program for young adults. It aims to develop leadership, decision-making, communication, conflict management and goal-setting skills based on each participant's personal needs. Most participants typically report that the program is positively “life-changing”. Our club has assisted many young people to attend  RYLA in the past and after last Thursday, many of us want to do so again. Click “Read more…” for more pix.

Rotary International President-elect Olayinka H. Babalola called on members to Create Lasting Impact at Rotary’s International Assembly in Orlando, Florida, USA, on 12 January. He urged members to make their clubs more welcoming, carry out impactful projects, and allow their Rotary experiences to transform them personally. “If we can change ourselves, we can change our districts,” he said. “If we can change our districts, we can change the communities we serve. And if we can change our communities, we will change the world.”  Most Rotary members will be aware that Presidential Messages such as this one have replaced what used to be called the Annual Rotary Themes.

At January's Board Meeting, there were no committee reports, but members discussed several proposals in General Business.

1. Proceed with repairs and modifications to our Club Barbeque based on experiences at the recent Energy Breakthrough, PDG Anthony is handling this.

2. Continue to discuss with the City Council the possibility of opening the local Wading pool as soon as possible.

3. Allow PDG Anthony to explore, on behalf of the club, the possibility of setting up a "Go Fund Me' appeal to fund the transfer of more water into the Goldfield's res.

4. Explore the possibility of transporting recently acquired hospital equipment to the Alice Springs “Purple House” via private transport due to the prohibitive costs of commercial options.

5. Explore ways of how best to donate to fire affected victims in the District 9780 area.

6. Explore the possibility or value of offering “holiday stays” in our area to families of victims in the recent Bondi Massacre.

Due to the extreme heat warnings, we decided to hold our first meeting for 2026 at the Highland Society instead of at the Goldfields Res. as planned. Next week, we will be back at the Highland for our January Board meeting. On that night, we plan to induct our new President, John Williamson who will take over from President Martin. All members and partners are very welcome to attend.

The Rotary Club of Maryborough wishes all our readers peace and joy this Christmas and throughout 2026.

At our recent Christmas party, we took the opportunity to acknowledge members who have reached further milestones in their contributions to the Rotary Foundation. Dr David Tynan, Alison Tesse and John Williamson were all presented with additional sapphire acknowledgements for their contributions of an additional US $1000 to the charity that has been recognized as one of the top five charities in the world for the past fifteen years.

Thirty members and partners from both Rotary clubs gathered in the Bull and Mouth Hotel on Thursday, December 18th to celebrate Christmas and the past year of Rotary service. We heard from Next Gen Chair, Veronica about planned links between the local police and Next Gen plans for youth service projects in the coming year, and we heard from PP Bec of the “Senior” Club about changes that have occurred in the area of family violence in our community. Bec reported that the number of incidents of family violence in our community has remained high, but perpetrators seem to be getting younger - a worrying trend. The information came from a recent meeting between Veronica, Bec, PP Garry and local police coordinator, Detective Senior Sergeant, Andrea Turner. 

Last Thursday, we held our December Board meeting which will effectively be our final meeting at the Highland Society for this year. Next Thursday, we meet at the Bull and Mouth Hotel for our Christmas Party. The main items of business for our Board meeting were to hear reports about the latest plans for next September's Grand Final Weekend Bike Ride, the combined report on our Energy Breakthrough activities, a report on the collection of no-longer-required hospital equipment to distribute to “Donations In Kind” and the “Purple House Project” and a decision to run with “Square” as our chosen method for point-of-sale activities in the future.

Our club was recently awarded a Bronze Champion Award for the 2024-25 Rotary Year by the “Shelterbox” organization for our ongoing and generous support of the charity. See “Read more…” for the accompanying letter.

At last Thursday's Board Meeting, we were delighted to induct and welcome back two past members of our club: Marion Martin and Austin Taylor. PDG Anthony Ohlsen performed the induction ceremony in the absence of President Martin. Marion will join the Foundation committee and Austin will be part of the Fundraising committee.

Last week, President Martin Mackay and our club's Book program Coordinator, Alison Teese presented each Grade 4 student at Carisbrook Primary School with a book as part of our ongoing Book Week program. 

On Thursday, December 4th, club members listened to and discussed a videoed talk by Joshua Bengio, one of the pioneer scientists of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and a developer of ChatGPT. Bengio shared his deep concerns about the unrestricted development of AI programs that have their own “agency” or independence, and he demonstrated that such programs are already capable of lying to preserve their autonomy. His team is advocating for a more controlled Scientist AI Solution that limits the agency of AI programs. We also had a live demonstration of Google's recent AI interface, “Nano Banana” to show what AI can do with our own photographs. 

Rotarians Lowen and Adrian have just decorated the Bristol Hill Tower with orange lights for the 16 Days of Activism running from November 25th to December 10th. That should certainly get people's attention!

Seventeen members gathered at the Highland Society last Thursday to start the review process of our club's involvement in this year's Energy Breakthrough. A small committee involving members from both the Next Gen and Trad Gen groups will meet in the near future to prepare a plan of recommendations, but Thursday's meeting enabled participants to share what worked and what didn't work for them when working on the Rotary Food Stand. Overall, the comments were very positive, and we were delighted to hear that overall, a profit of around $10,000 was achieved from our five days of involvement. Once again, a big “THANK YOU” to all those members and friends who helped us out.

Our weekly meeting on November 18th was spent finalizing the set up for our Food stand at the 2025 Energy Breakthrough. Members from both the Trad and Next Gen Clubs worked together to set up the biggest and most comprehensive food stand we have had in the several decades of involvement with the event. We served Greek wraps, Kebabs, pancakes and fruit, tacos, quesadillas, sausages, hamburgers, steak sandwiches, bacon and egg rolls, corn chips, donuts, fruit cups, coffee, tea and hot chocolate to the public at set times from Wednesday evening until Sunday afternoon with assistance from partners, friends and members from our associated service groups. Thanks to everyone on our large roster of volunteers for your assistance - particularly those who had multiple, multiple hour shifts!!! This pic was from Saturday around 11am. Click “Read more…” for more pix at different times.

At our November Board meeting on November 13th, we confirmed the place, date and time of our Christmas Break-Up meeting (see below), we confirmed the time and place of our first meeting for 2026 (Jan. 8th at the Lion's Goldfields Res. Barbeque site), and the place and date of our January Social Event (Jan. 29th at John and Alison's home). We also heard reports from our new Bike Ride planning committee and our Satellite Club, and fine-tuned planning for the coming week's Energy Breakthrough. Members are reminded that we meet on TUESDAY evening this week to set up our Breakthrough site.

Koko Patience Samuel (left) is a community health worker trained in maternal and child health care through Together for Healthy Families in Nigeria, a Rotary Programs of Scale grant recipient. She’s also part of a vast, but sometimes overlooked, workforce in public health. Around the world, millions of community health workers provide essential frontline care in low- and middle-income countries. They’re not medical professionals, but they can perform basic health interventions and advise people on topics including maternal and child health, nutrition, vaccination, and family planning.

Last Thursday, our Public Image Chair Max Berry provided members and guests with fascinating overview of the history and major issues facing Rail Freight operators in Victoria. Max comprehensively covered topics such as the Importance of commodities to Australia, how those commodities are moved through Victoria, the main operators and marketers using Rail freight, the current status of Rail Freight in the state and the likely future facing the industry. It was a great talk, enjoyed by all. Click “Read more…” for more pix of the night.

Members received a special treat last Thursday when Maryborough Education Centre students, Naomi Henderson and Renae Neilson, provided an impressive report on their experiences at the recent “Defy the Drift” program held at Longerenong Agricultural College. The program is a District 9780 Rotary program designed to introduce country students to the many meaningful employment options available which enable them to continue living and working in rural areas. By helping to pay some of the costs involved, our club assisted Naomi and Renae to attend the event. Click "Read more… for more pics

Our Board and other members met for our October Board meeting on Thursday the 16th. We decided to continue the practice of combining our Board meetings with the third regular meeting of each month, we confirmed our decisions concerning changes to our Constitution and Bylaws, confirmed two new members (both past members) - Austin Taylor and Marion Martin and heard reports from our Governance committees. 

“Lifting the Lid” is the current name given to Australian Rotary Health (ARH) Hat Day (October 10th) when Rotarians support the work of this great Rotary Program which provides funds for Mental Health Research. Hats protect heads, and ARH helps to protect mental health in Australia where one in every five people suffer from some kind of mental illness. At Thursday's Rotary meeting, members wore silly (and not so silly) hats to celebrate the work of ARH, and by paying for the privilege, the dozen or so of us raised $215.00 for the cause. Thanks to all members who contributed.

No, this isn't our leadership team - but at last Thursday's meeting, whilst we celebrated Australian Rotary Health Hat Day (hence the hats), we held our Annual General Meeting and confirmed most of our responsibility positions for the 2026-27 Rotary year. We will again have four Presidents over the year - Terry Allan (Jun-Sep), Shane Dellavedova (Oct-Dec), John Williamson (Jan-Mar 27) and Max Berry (Apr-Jun). Many thanks to each of these Rotarians for committing to this joint role in our next year. Secretary will again be Thea Allan, but we still have to finalize the Treasurer position - anyone interested? So the door opens (see the pic) on another Chapter for our club!

At the October 2nd. meeting, President PDG Anthony inducted our second President for 2025-26, PP Martin Mackay. Martin will serve in the role until the end of December, and then Rotarian John Williamson will take over from January until March 2026. Congratulations Martin on taking on this role, and Congratulations and “Thank You!!!” to PDG Anthony for leading our club from July until now. Without Anthony taking this initiative at this time last year, our 73 year old club would quite possibly not be operating now - which is a timely reminder that next Thursday, at our Annual General Meeting, we need the names of a Rotarian or Rotarians who will lead us in 2026-27. Please think seriously about this and inform President Martin if you are willing to take on the leadership role next Rotary year.

Over sixty riders from around the State enjoyed this year's Pyrenees Tri-Distance Riding event which started at the Summerfield Winery in Moonambell last Friday. Pictured is the leading peloton of riders in the 100km ride section as they pass through Landsborough. Thanks to the organizers and those members who helped to supervise the event. See “Read more…” for more pix.

IT'S ON AGAIN THIS FRIDAY, SEP. 26TH

PYRENEES MAGIC TRI-DISTANCE BIKE RIDE

STARTING AT SUMMERFIELD WINERY - 9AM

Club Officers, Directors, and members met on Thursday, September 18th at the Highland Society (pictured) to confirm current club business. The main issues discussed and confirmed included proposed changes to our Bylaws, and the setting of fees for the 2025-26 Rotary year: Fees will be $310 PA for Trad. Gen club members and $100 for the first year of membership for our new Next Gen. members. There was also discussion about ways we can develop relevant and pressing local “causes” for the funds raised in our current and upcoming fund-raising projects.

Members are invited to participate in a community wide expression of activism against gender-based violence during the 16 Days of Activism program from 25 Nov to 10 Dec 2025 - initiated by the Zonta Club of Central Goldfields.

Possible activities could include:

• Displaying signage or create a display window in orange
• Check out the orange lights display around Maryborough – council buildings, hospital, Bristol Hill tower
• Wearing Orange during 16 Days of Activism
• Attending Orange nail salon in High St, Maryborough on Thursday, 27^th November
• Attending Goldfields Reservoir Parkrun on 6^th December at 8am
• Visit ‘R’ for RESPECT garden bed in Phillips Gardens
• Hold a morning or afternoon tea featuring orange food
• Storytime, book club
• Art & craft
• Visit Calico Ceilings -Women of the Goldfields Painting exhibition at Central Goldfields Art Gallery Sat 6^th December
• Other – please specify how you might get involved

We need to advise Zonta of our involvement by Friday 17th October 2025 to enable marketing of all activities. Rotarians, please pass your ideas to PP Garry Higgins OAM.

Click “Read more…” to learn more about 16 Days of Activism.

District 9780’s Youth Exchange Program is once again growing, with a significant number of local students submitting expressions of interest to travel overseas as well as ever-increasing numbers of students and districts wishing to send their students to our District. 

Yes, it is on again and we need your help to make the day a success. Below is a list of jobs which require volunteers. 

Whilst numbers at our September 11 meeting were low due to quite a number of apologies we had a very interesting meeting.

Maryborough Rotary Club’s book presentation program has a special significance this month because September is Rotary International’s Education and Literacy Month.

Members are reminded that the club is hosting the next Pyrenees Magic Bike Ride on September 26 – less than three weeks away! – and we need “all hands on deck” because this event is one of our few regular and significant fundraisers for community projects. 

Members should by now have received an email from President Anthony outlining proposed changes to the Constitution and by-laws and rules governing our club. The proposed changes were highlighted in yellow in the draft documents. 

Members will be asked to vote to accept or reject the proposed changes to the Constitution at a Special General Meeting of the club on October 2, 2025, 6.45pm, at the Highland Society. Another Special General Meeting will be held on October 9, 2025 at the Highland Society at 6.45pm to determine the proposed changes to by-laws.

The governance and proposed fee changes were discussed at the September 4 meeting. 

Formal meeting notices were attached to the email sent to members on Friday, September 5. 

At Bristol Hill last Sunday, members and fellow volunteers helped to clean up the Bristol Area.

We can put more text here.

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A small group of members and friends (pictured) braved the cold weather, wind and rain to enjoy time together at the Bangkok Thai Restaurant last Friday night. This was another in our series of “last meeting of the month” social gatherings at a different local eating establishment. Thanks to all those who attended.

Workshop Link is that used by program committee - contact GJ if you need it.

Australian Children’s Book Week, themed “Reading is Magic”, coincided with our Club’s Presentation of a book to each Grade 4 student at MEC. Library Assistant Leigh Koop warmly welcomed PP Meryl James  and PP Alison Teese and the students to the excellent MEC library last Friday. We were joined by Wendy Walsh, Primary Literacy Specialist and Grade 4 students for the story behind our Rotary Club’s interest in encouraging literacy not just in Maryborough and surrounds but also worldwide through Rotary International’s focus on improving literacy and numeracy. Click “Read more…” for more info. and pix.

You are invited to attend on Sunday next, 31st August at 9:00 am for a 9:30 am start we will be meeting at the carpark at Bristol Hill to continue with our earlier work at Bristol Hill. We will be grass cutting, weeding, possibly spraying some of the noxious weeds and having a general tidy up. Maryborough CFA will be in attendance to wash down the inside of the tower, they will be looking at it as a training exercise, using full breathing apparatus and obviously with their tanker attending. At the completion of the morning we will adjourn to the APEX playground for a BBQ and with some luck, some entertainment. Would be great if we can see you there.

Fifteen members and two guests met in the Bowls Room at the Highland Society last Thursday for our August Board meeting. Some of the key business discussed included a re-take on our plans to make every member a part of the Board - instead, we plan to introduce a new Bylaw to allow informal polls of all members to be taken at Board meetings which will assist Directors and Club Officers in their deliberations. Read the Administration committee minutes for more details and watch for the minutes of the August meeting. We also confirmed our updated Club Roles chart, voted to repair the original Club Ledger containing details of our early members, formed a committee to explore our new Bike ride proposal, and explored other options to school scholarships. Look for the Minutes coming soon.

On Thursday, August 14th, new Central Goldfields CEO, Peter Harriott provided members and invited guests with a entertaining overview of his personal history, the current plans of the Central Goldfields Shire and his hopes for the future. Our own PP Garry Higgins and President Anthony also provided information on our current club projects and plans and the event concluded with some stimulating contributions by representatives from a large number of local service groups and clubs on how we can all work together to improve our community. Click “Read more…” for more pix.

 Vocational Service is one way that members and participants can serve at 
Rotary. It involves using our professional skills and expertise to serve the 
community, promote ethical practices, and inspire others. 
Vocational Service encourages us to:
• Adhere to high ethical standards in our professional and personal 
lives, inspiring others through our words and actions
• Recognize the value of all skills and occupations 
• Bring our ideal of Doing Good in the World 
to our jobs
• Use our occupations to improve and 
empower communities
• Help others develop skills and 
explore new career opportunities 
and interests
Vocational Service can also take 
place virtually through:
• Mentoring and sharing skills online 
• Taking part in remote professional 
development 
• Engaging in digital collaborations 
• Sharing knowledge internationally

At Thursday's meeting, members watched the Introductory address of new Rotary International President, Francesco Arezzo. The address was given at the Rotary International Convention held in Calgary, Canada from June 21st to 28, 2025 - only a couple of weeks after Francesco heard of his appointment after the designated RI President elect had to resign for personal reasons. Members liked Francesco's plans and his humility, and we all wish him well as he takes on this unexpected but very important role.

August is Rotary Membership or New Club Development month. It's an ideal time to invite a friend along to Rotary or if you are new to our club and interested, drop into one of our meetings - 6.45pm every Thursday at the Highland Society - or earlier if you want to share a meal. Contact our Secretary Thea for more details.

At last week's “Swindle” draw, PP Leight picked the J…Jack - but seemed quite happy with the consolation prize of a bar of chocolate! Attend our weekly meetings at the Highland and you, too can have a chance to become rich (?) quick or at least enjoy a sweet treat.

Members will be aware that “Club Service” is one of the five avenues of service for Rotary - the others are Community Service, Vocational Service, International Service and Youth Service. On Thursday July 31st, members completed a Club Service Jobs Chart made up of the Jobs or roles required to run our club for the next year. The charts will be compiled in the next week and the resulting list will be emailed to members. Members who were not in attendance on Thursday are encouraged to still volunteer for roles to help share the load of running our club. Contact PDG Geoff if you need another copy of the chart.

Thoughts to ponder from Dawn…

Prison is just one word to you, but for some people, it’s a whole sentence.

Scientists got together to study the effects of alcohol on a person’s walk, and the result was staggering.

I’m trying to organize a hide and seek tournament, but good players are really hard to find.

I got over my addiction to chocolate, marshmallows, and nuts. I won’t lie, it was a rocky road.

What do you say to comfort a friend who’s struggling with grammar? There, their, they’re.

I went to the toy store and asked the assistant where the Schwarzenegger dolls are and he replied, “Aisle B, back.”

I’ve started telling everyone about the benefits of eating dried grapes. It’s all about raisin awareness.

Members gathered in the Highland Society “Men's Bowls” Room last Thursday for our club's first “open” Board Meeting involving all members. After dealing with the minutes, correspondence, Treasurer's report and Committee reports, we considered 5 items of business concerning a bank account for Next Gen, updated club computers, our strategic plan, Club rules and Areas of Responsibility in the club. A brief summary of outcomes can be accessed in the “Story Content” section by clicking “Read more…”.

Members were saddened to hear of the recent passing of past President and member of our club, Charles Townsing. Charles was President in 1998-99 and was primarily responsible for the provision and installation of the big rocks lining the pathway at Dowie Park. He was also a very active member of the International Fellowship of Cricketing Rotarians and the Fellowship of Golfing Rotarians. In recent years, he and his wife Faye were living in outback South Australia. The funeral for Charles will be held here at the Catholic Church in Maryborough on Thursday, July 24th at 2pm.

As members will know, there are five avenues of service in a Rotary club: Club Service, Community Service, Vocational Service, International Service and Youth Service. Club Service has to do with the little jobs that help to keep the club running effectively and efficiently. Without people doing these jobs, a club could not function. All members are encouraged to contribute to some club service roles that fit with their skill and interest set and available time. So, this week, all members will be emailed a form with a list of the jobs we need to be completed in our club. We ask EVERY member to look out for the form and indicate your willingness to help with some selected tasks with which you feel comfortable and then return the form to PDG Geoff as soon as possible.

Last Thursday, July 17th, members were treated to a wonderful talk by Past Rotary International Director, Jessie Harman telling of her recent trip to Everest base camp to raise funds for Polio eradication. In setting the scene, Jessie reflected that the challenge was one of the hardest she had ever faced, and it was only thoughts of the generous donors who had contributed to her cause that kept her going. The trek also exposed her to the coldest conditions she had every experienced in her life, but it was worth it. See more pix and read about Jessie's 5 take away messages from her trip by clicking “Read more…”

Four of our members travelled through the rain to join Ararat Rotary club members at their Changeover Dinner last Wednesday to see last year's president, Cameron Whyte hand over the leadership baton to new President, Carolyn Holden. We wish Carolyn and the Ararat team (pictured) a great 2025-26 Uniting for good. Carolyn is second from the left.

Club members are advised that Clubrunner has released an updated mobile app for iOS and Android devices which will give local Rotarians easy access to information about club events, Rotarian's contact details, our Club and District websites, each members own club profile. The app allows you to make changes to your own information right from your mobile device. The image shows the home screen of the app and you can individualize this screen with your preferred headings. We encourage all members to take advantage of this app and service to help improve the communication channels in our club. When you get the app, be aware that you will need to log in with your Clubrunner username and password. Contact Geoff James if you need this information again. When using the app, you might initially get a "No information" available" indicator on some screens - just wait a couple of seconds for the screen to populate. 

The Rotary Legislative Council met in April and among the Rotary legislative changes that took effect on 1 July is a measure allowing clubs to be chartered with as few as 15 members (instead of 20). 
Districts may now opt out of holding annual conferences.
Presidents-elect learning seminar (PELS) is the new name for presidents-elect training seminar. Club leadership learning seminar is the new name for district training assembly.  
Representatives also approved a US$3.50 increase in the dues that every Rotary member pays to Rotary International, which means that dues will increase from US$82 for 2025-26 to US$85.50 for 2026-27. The dues would increase by another US$3.75 in each of the following two years. A five-year financial forecast, presented to representatives at the beginning of each Council, projected that without any increase, RI would have a US$42 million deficit by 2029-30. The organization’s policies require it to have a balanced budget.

Eighteen members gathered at the Highland on Thursday July 10th (pictured) to develop some possible projects for the coming Rotary year. The creative juices were certainly flowing as suggested fundraisers included a Community (plastic) Duck Race, various forms of variety concerts, a full weekend of bike rides, walks and entertainment, and community barbeques conducted by club members. Some of the community needs highlighted in the discussions included the need for accommodation for family violence victims, the need for ways to address the loneliness of people in our area, and the need for access to a community bus to transport people to events. At the same time, members acknowledged the need to continue with current projects such as family violence awareness, barbeques for community groups and the development of the Bristol Hill area. All ideas will be considered by a Projects committee to soon come up with our Club's Project Program for 2025-26.

15 members met at the Mill House last Thursday (pictured) to discuss plans for our Trad Gen Club during the coming Rotary year. It was agreed that as from this coming Thursday, July 10th, we will meet at the Highland Society each week unless otherwise notified. The plan is to start our meeting at 6.30pm and aim to always conclude by 7.30pm or earlier. Meals will be optional and may be ordered before the meeting at the Food bar for delivery after the meeting at 7.30, or for delivery ASAP for those who need to eat earlier. Usually, we will meet in a walled off section of the club, however, when the Thursday Comedy events occur around once a month, we will gather in the Board Room. The issue of “Acknowledgement of Country” was raised and PP Alison OAM agreed to gather an indigenous perspective on this issue from a couple of Aboriginal Elders working on her farm over this last weekend. A report and decision will be made this coming Thursday. Click “Read more…” for more info and pics.

SPAM ALERT! 

District Secretary Scotney has made us aware of a bogus email going out to members from what on the surface appears to be their Club President. 

The email address this is coming from is shown in the image above - we have turned them into pictures so they can't be clicked.  

 Do not respond to this email address, Report it as spam and delete it. The spam has been reported it to ClubRunner Support.

Here is the start of a list of over 100 Fund raising ideas that could work for Non-profits…

What do you think?

• Virtual Walkathons and Fun Runs: Walkathons make great, healthy fundraisers that almost anyone can participate in and enjoy. Add a walkathon theme to make it more fun. Virtual walkathons are great fundraisers for schools that can raise a lot of money with few upfront costs.
• Virtual Happy Hours and Performances: Get your live stream ready! Virtual performances work great for bands and choir fundraisers.
• Online Product Sales: Pop-up stores and merchandise sales are a no-brainer for no/low contact fundraising. Our simple stores make it so easy you can get set up and selling in no time. This is another great school or team fundraiser, especially with our peer-to-peer sales pages.
• Fundraising Raffles: Online raffles are the perfect way to raise money for many groups. We offer the ability to incorporate peer to peer fundraising in raffles, where fundraisers sell raffle tickets via a personal fundraising page. Our raffle software can even randomly select and notify winners. Just find a prize and go!
• Dozens more by clicking “Read more…”

At the Maryborough Rotary Club Changeover Dinner on June 26th, we changed over our leadership team for the 2025-26 Rotary year.  President Bec inducted PDG Anthony Ohlsen as our President for July through September. In October, PP Martin Mackay will take over the reins; in January 2026, John Williamson will lead our club and PP Terry Allan will become President in April 2026. We thank Anthony, Martin, John and Terry for agreeing to take over this vital leadership role in the coming year, We also sincerely thank Bec Lowery for completing such a fine job as President over the past year, The new leadership team will also include PP Thea Allan as Secretary, PP Bec Lowery as Treasurer, PP Garry Higgins OAM as Membership Director, Max Berry as Public Image Director, Alison Teese OAM as Foundation Director, Leigh Williamson as Fundraising Director and PDG Geoff James as Administration Director. Click “Read more…” for more pics.

Four of our members attended the Beaufort Rotary Club Changeover Dinner at the Beaufort Football Grounds on Sunday, June 29th. Outgoing President and legend of the Beaufort Club, George Kirsanovs handed over the leadership baton to incoming President, Michelle Oakman. Secretary will be Meryn Pease and Treasurer will again be Tony Sutherland. Congratulations to the Beaufort team (pictured) for a wonderful changeover and all the very best for the coming year.

(Q111--International groups of Rotarians & spouses who join together to pursue common recreational or vocational interests) 
(Q112—The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service)
(Q113--May)
(Q114--Special programs and Structured Programs) 
(Q115--Polio Plus)
(Q116--Interact/ Rotaract/ Rotary Community Corps/ Rotary Friendship exchange/ Rotary Volunteers/ RYLA/ World Community Service/ Youth Exchange/ Global Networking Groups)
(Q117—Is it the truth?)
(Q118--Support and Strengthen clubs/ Focus and increase humanitarian service/ enhance public image and awareness)
(Q119—High ethical standards in business and professions)
(Q120—Disease Prevention and Treatment)

Questions 111-120

#111--What are Rotary Fellowships? 
#112—The First Object of Rotary encourages and fosters what? 
#113--What month is known as Rotary Youth Service month? 
#114--What two major types of programs are promoted by Rotary International? 
#115--What is the most important "Special" program of Rotary? 
#116--Give three examples of Rotary’s "Structured Programs" 
#117—What is the first question of the four way test? 
#118—What are three thrusts of the current RI Strategic Plan? 
#119—What does the second Object of Rotary encourage and foster? (name the first quality mentioned) 
#120--What is the current focus of the Rotary month of December? 

Answers below…
 

Francesco Arezzo, a member of the Rotary Club of Ragusa, Italy, has been selected by the Board of Directors to become Rotary International’s president for 2025-26. Arezzo will become president on 1 July. The Board conducted a special session following the unexpected resignation of RI President-elect Mário César Martins de Camargo on 8 June. Guided by the RI code and policies, the Board selected the new president-elect from a pool of candidates who were considered by the Nominating Committee for President of Rotary International in August 2023.

The 2025-26 presidential message, announced at the 2025 Rotary International Assembly in February, will remain Unite for Good, which calls on Rotary members to be a force for unity in a world increasingly divided by politics, geography, and ideology. Through service projects, Rotary brings together people of every background — across races, religions, and professions — in a shared mission to do good in their communities.