thank you letters received from Myeloma Foundation ($500) and Community Hospice ($2000).

 

The programme for the meeting was a visit to the Loved & Shared Warehouse in Cooper Street. This was a follow-up to the meeting on 15 February when Tyson Jakitsch, CEO, spoke about the work done by the essentially volunteer organization.

 

The photo below, thanks to James Cowell, shows Rotarians in the entrance area to the warehouse, with Tyson explaining the handling of new donations which arrive on the two large tables. All donations are checked on arrival and only those which are useful are accepted, donors being given suggestions about other drop-off places which they might try.

 

 

 

Chairman Bill Hewett began by referring to the work of Dr John Birrell, Police Surgeon from 1957 to 1977, who was a tireless and effective campaigner for improved road safety. Compulsory seat belts and breathalyser testing with a .05 limit were two of his major achievements.

 

In 2017-2018, RCWE established the Dr John Birrell Road Safety Practitioner of the Year Award to recognise a serving Police Officer selected by colleagues for having made a significant contribution to the improvement of road safety in the WD2 Police Area, which encompasses Warrnambool, Moyne, Corangamite, Glenelg and Southern Grampians Local Government areas.

 

To quote Bill, “It’s the first responders, the police and the emergency services, that face this problem head on day after day. With the Dr. John Birrell Award, we are recognising the good work the Police do tirelessly to educate drivers and enforce safety.”

 

Bill added the encouragement to us all; “But remember we are not passengers in the fight for road safety; everybody must help by being more sensible and careful on our roads.”

 

The 2024 winner was then announced as Leading Senior Constable Ian McNiven who is based at Koroit Police Station.

DG Ian said that he had been in Warrnambool for six years, where he was Principal of King’s College and a member of the Rotary Club of Warrnambool Daybreak. A change of job brought about a move to Mt Gambier, where he joined the Rotary Club of Mount Gambier Lakes.

Reminding us that November is Foundation Month, Tim gave a comprehensive overview of this most important aspect of Rotary activity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tim and PHF Wendy Micham

Paul Harris Fellow Recognitions:
Foundation Chair Tim McLeod took the microphone and explained the link between a US$1000 contribution to The Rotary Foundation and a Paul Harris Fellow Recognition. He also explained the long tradition at RCWE where the club donates the dollars in the name of a Rotarian or a community members as a way of recognising that person’s contribution to Rotary or community.

 

He explained that there were four such presentations to be made tonight.

STEWART DUMESNY AWARD:

President Cliff spoke about the background to this award, and announced that PP Maggie Dwyer was the recipient for 2021-2022. Maggie, in response, said she never imagined that she would qualify for such an award. She thanked Cliff for bestowing on her such an honour. Maggie offered congratulations to the four PHFR recipients. She indicated that the $500 which is part of the award would go to “Hospice in the Home”.

President Cliff spoke about the background to this award, and announced that PP Maggie Dwyer was the recipient for 2021-2022.

Maggie, in response, said she never imagined that she would qualify for such an award. She thanked Cliff for bestowing on her such an honour. Maggie offered congratulations to the four PHFR recipients. She indicated that the $500 which is part of the award would go to “Hospice in the Home”.

 

 

 

 

 

He noted that Dr John Birrell as Police Surgeon from 1957-1977 worked tirelessly to ensure Victorians understood and accepted the evolution of modern technology to help reduce risks in motoring, and went on to say that Victoria Police Western Region Division 2, which encompasses Warrnambool, Moyne, Corangamite, Glenelg and Southern Grampians Local Government areas took up the challenge identified by Birrell and have continued to work tirelessly to educate drivers and enforce safety.

Bill then announced that Sgt Darren Smart from Hamilton Highway Patrol was to be recognised as this year’s awardee.

They were distributed equally between Anglicare, Salvation Army and St Vincent de Paul Society's Warrnambool branches to pass onto people including those experiencing homelessness, sleeping and living in their car or single parents.

 

This is the second year the fund-raiser has run. In 2021,  30 blankets worth more than $3000 were donated by the Rotary Club of Warrnambool East

After a little bit of 'roasting, in a more serious vein, Peter referred to Ian’s big “trust me” grin and the fact that his mind was always racing, like Kevin Sheedy, with the next idea, even if sometimes it had to be reined in or tweaked a little to fit within the bounds of reality. Peter referred further to Ian’s passion for Rotary and his pride in the organisation, his integrity and sincerity.

 

Ray Welsford then presented Heardies’ This is Your Rotary Life, making special mention of the club’s activities during his Induction Year (1981-1982), his year as President (2002-2003), and his final year of membership (2021-2022). There was also a record of the facts that he was presented with a Paul Harris Fellow Recognition (26 June 2003), Sapphire (24 June 2010), Avenues of Service Citation (23 June 2011), and the Stewart Dumesny Award (30 June 2016).

 

There was special mention of his outstanding contribution to the Hole-in-One, the development of the BBQ program, and to the club fellowship by making his home available for pie nights, BBQs, footy watching, and other activities.

 

 

Special mention was made of the support Ian received from Margaret through the many years.

 

Noel Kenna spoke of Ian’s enthusiasm for golf and the many adventures they had all round Australia at activities of the International Fellowship of Golfing Rotarians.

 

$950.00 from members for Foodshare – sensational!!!!! Add $1000 budgeted by Community Service Committee makes $1950 :: 221kg of food with assistance of Safeway & Aldi. More member money still coming in.

President Cliff with Commander Allan Wood, celebrating the delivery of two Personal Water Craft (PWC). The purchase of the PWC’s was the Rotary Club of Warrnambool Easts R100 project. In partnership with the Rotary Club of Warrnambool, who took the lead role in funding raising, funds were raided to purchase the PWC’s.

The Rotary Club of Warrnambool East would like to inform the community that we are no longer able to facilitate the City of Warrnambool Art Show. Unfortunately we have not been able to find another group or individual to take over this event.

 

As well as supporting many worthy causes over our 26 years, we believe we have also provided valuable opportunities for artists to show their work to a wider audience, and the opportunity to be rewarded financially.

 

We acknowledge and thank sponsors, artists and the community most sincerely for your contribution and support over the years – it has been truly invaluable.

At the 50^th Anniversary Dinner and Changeover Dinner held 1 July, Rotarians, Ex-Rotarians and guests celebrated the 50^th Anniversary of the Club.

 

Paul Harris Fellows in attendance at the 50th Anniversary Dinner

 

 

(Article from Warrnambool Standard)

 

 

Warrnambool East Rotary Club is hosting a special birthday celebration – and it’s hoping some old mates will attend.

Club member and keen historian Ray Welsford and club chairman Peter Reeve want former club members and partners to make contact before the end of June in anticipation of 50th anniversary commemorations.

 

“It is the 50th anniversary of the club on June 28, 1967 and we plan to commemorate this very important anniversary with a number of events to mark the occasion,” Mr Welsford said.

 

“We want all past members and partners to contact us and be part of the activities planned for July 1.”

 

Mr Welsford said festivities would include a memorabilia display in the afternoon followed by a formal dinner and speeches.

 

“The evening will incorporate our annual changeover dinner, speeches on the history of the club, recognition of members and certificates for award winners,” he said.

 

Mr Welsford said Rotary was originally founded in 1905 with the sole purpose of fellowship.

“Paul Harris and three business friends founded the organisation in Chicago as a means of country-minded men maintaining friendships in a city,” he said.

 

“There were just four of them back then, now there are over a million worldwide, but we still maintain those country-style friendships.”

 

Warrnambool East Rotary Club, Warrnambool’s second Rotary club, currently has 52 members.

“The club was chartered in 1967 when Warrnambool was deemed big enough for another Rotary club,” Mr Welsford said.

“During the next 40 years there have been 253 Rotarians inducted into the club, and along the way two new Rotary clubs have also been chartered in the city.

 

“Warrnambool East has indeed come a long way.”

 

Chairman Peter Reeve, himself a past club president, said he hoped the event would attract large numbers.

“I’d love at least 200 to come and celebrate with us,” he said.

 

“It’d be great to have a round up of past presidents, Paul Harris Fellows, and past members and, of course, we want to encourage partners to attend as well.”

 

Mr Reeve hopes club celebrations generate fond memories.

 

“It’ll be a great chance for some to see themselves in old photos and celebrate 50 years with the club,” he said.

“Its just a great chance to remember old times and have a laugh.”

 

Celebrations will be held at the Warrnambool Football Club followed by dinner at the Carmichael room at Warrnambool’s City Memorial Bowls Club.

 

We want all past members and partners to contact us and be part of the activities planned for July 1.”

PP Roger outlined how memorial was the realisation of a dream of PP Andrew Coffey.  Andrew was aware of the plane wreck from his diving days, and in 2002 Andrew started the chain of events which finally led to the acknowledgement of the passing of the four airmen. Roger acknowledged the contribution of PDG Ray Welsford and Andrew to the event, as well as ex Rotarian Bernie Farley.

A STRIKING memorial has brought closure for the families of four airmen who died in a crash off Lady Julia Percy Island during World War II.

 

The stone monument, unveiled at The Crags west of Port Fairy on Saturday, features a scale replica of an Avro Anson aircraft which the men were flying in on February 15, 1944.

 

The bodies of the RAAF aviators — flight sergeants James MacLellan and Dennis Baulderstone and leading aircraftmen Norman Kruck and Brian Ladyman — were never recovered and the remains of the plane still lie in the ocean at the base of a cliff.

 

The men had been based at Mount Gambier, supporting air observers and carrying out training missions along the coastline.

 

The crash was a tightly kept secret, hidden in the war files, and the airmen were never given a burial service or recognised in any way. Family members were not formally notified of the men’s death until nearly eight months later.

That all changed when East Warrnambool Rotary Club member Andrew Coffey, an abalone diver, became aware of the wreckage and led a movement to have the lost men honoured.

 

About 50 of their relatives gathered for the dedication service, where Air Force Group Captain Terence Deeth asked them to look across to Lady Julia Percy and “be mindful of the great loss of these men and the loved ones that suffered”.

 

Captain Deeth said it was only due to the dedication and work of Rotary members that all four families were able to gather together for a final farewell.

 

Aircraftman MacLellan’s daughter Ann Sorensen was just two days short of her first birthday when her father died.

 

 

 

“I heard so many stories when I was little. I spent my childhood hoping he would ride up on a white charger and rescue me,” Mrs Sorensen said.

 

Aircraftman Ladyman’s sister Elizabeth Hastings, who travelled from Western Australia with her family, described the day as “fantastic”.

 

Mrs Hastings said her family was emotionally unable to speak about the loss of her brother until one of her nephews, Bill Ladyman, began asking questions.

 

Mr Ladyman, who also attended Saturday’s dedication, was just six years old when he noticed the initials “BCL” carved into the door of the family farm’s chaff shed. His father revealed the letters were placed there by his brother, Brian Carter Ladyman, who had died in the war. Craig Baulderstone, nephew of flight sergeant Dennis Baulderstone, said his uncle signed up for the airforce at the age of 20 and worked his way through the ranks. He spent his tour of active service in Hudson bombers out of Darwin.

 

He survived and spent 40 days on leave with his family in the summer of 1943-44. After a tour it was compulsory to spend at least six months in a training role and he took up his position at the air observers school in Mount Gambier.

 

He was killed in the mysterious crash in his first week in the new role and only a few days off his 23rd birthday.

“Dennis’ mum Beatrice was convinced he would come home,” Mr Baulderstone said.

 

“She always thought he had been captured by a Japanese sub and one day he would walk in through the back door.”

The monument, made from locally quarried bluestone, was donated by Michael and Cheryl Steel and sculpted and erected by Bamstone of Port Fairy. Stonemason Ian Knowles spent 100 hours cutting and hand finishing the sculpture.

 

“We wanted it to be significant and the design (of a banking plane) does that in two ways. Number one, it means it’s coming home, so there’s some closure for the families. Number two, if you are being rescued, a plane will tilt its wing to acknowledge it has spotted you.”

 

I wasn't sure how to say thankyou and express the level of gratitude i have for the ceremony on Saturday, to you and the other Warrnambool Rotary people. I was truly amazed at the extent of your efforts to honour these men. As much as anything to me it was the funeral Dennis never got, so just as we handed out pictures of my Dad at his funeral, I have attached the photos i have and the words i had on the table in the hall. Below i have also reflected on the weekend.
 
I guess I have lived my whole life with the stories about Dennis and the mystery associated with it. The announcement of the monument has been a great trigger to delve deeper into the history and that in itself has been a great journey and I have learnt so much. Sharing this with family and then seeing so many family members that i have generally lost touch with was great, and to be honest I was surprised to find just how interested they also were. So it was also a great family reunion.
 
I had been so busy with research that I suppose I haven't stopped to have expectations of what this event might be like. We pulled into Yambuk, having driven from Adelaide, and thought, "now to find the hall". As we turned the bend, cars everywhere, rotarians guiding cars into parks, huge great buses - it wasn't hard to find!
 
We met some of the people who have dedicated so much of their time to this memorial. We met family we haven't seen for many years, all having heard stories from Dennis' brothers and sisters as they grew up, all just memories though with that generation of family all passed now. Gone the chance to question details, like I had of my dad for many years. And yet from records and first hand accounts of people I met that day, I think we understand more than any of those or his parents ever did.
 
In silence of the bus trip, watching my 8 and 10 yo boys playing with their cousins, 6 boys in all under the age of 10, thinking how WW1 or 2 would have impacted a family like ours. Baulderstone cousins fought in both wars, with loss of life in both. What a tragedy and yet I still want my boys to fight for what is right, don't stand by and watch injustice, don't subscribe to what seems to be the common 'me generation' - why would I get involved if I don't have to. Of course ‘king and country’ doesn’t mean much to me but perhaps that in reality means the same as ‘our collective lifestyle we live in Australia’.
 
Then on the bus the first waves of emotion about the ceremony that hit me, that this huge number of people here to honour these men and my Uncle, I was just wishing my Dad could see this – he was always so proud of Dennis. Then as I got off the bus, the monument, the military representatives, the tents, all these chairs - and it hit me, this is Dennis' funeral, the only funeral he ever had. We are the only family left now to attend and honour him. What a shame that only one person who agonised at the time with the loss of these men was alive to be there - LAC Ladyman's sister - and I was so inspired by her reaction that sent a chill up my spine - "yes" she shouted as she threw her hands in the air - it was like she was saying "at last he is recognised, at last he is put to rest." I feel the same way, but I hadn't met Dennis to directly grieve his loss and the mystery of never finding a body, always hoping as my Grandmother would say "one day he is going to walk in that door" believing the Japanese had captured him in a submarine.  I guess it was easier for her to believe that than that after all the dangers of his active service up north, that he was now gone in a relatively safe training role.
 
But as was mentioned in the ceremony, the war effort is like one big machine and every effort combines to make it effective. You don’t get good pilots and navigators unless they are trained and there is always a risk with flying as so many training accidents demonstrated.
 
And the ‘wake’ as I saw it afterwards had a familiar feel to it – people sharing their stories, meeting other friends and relatives all with the one common aim, paying their respects and honouring the memory as this one big group.
 
On the Sunday, our family organized to be taken out to the island by a long term local fisherman that had helped divers recover a propeller of the plane in the late 60’s, that they had found while abalone diving.  There was this strange sort of comfort in seeing exactly where the wreckage had landed, being in the same location, being able to picture them struggling to land and being so close but obviously something going wrong. But visualising all this, at the location, somehow made it all that much easier, made more sense, I could put to rest so many ‘what ifs’ that were running through my head while researching it. If only I could take my dad or better my Nana there. But at least we have done this and somehow I just feel all the better for doing it - it all seems so right somehow. Like Ladyman’s sister, there is some relief like we have finished something that should have been done years ago. I’m not religious, but if there spirits are there I am sure all four men will rest easier and that would have to appreciate the respect shown to them.
 
But this would never have happened if it wasn’t for Warrnambool Rotary and I don’t know how to do justice to the level of gratitude I have. Sometimes you just have to say thank you and leave it at that.
 
You are the only ones i have email for, so please pass on our gratitude to others.