INDEX

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1 Lions Clubs International

Lions Code of Ethics

Lions Clubs International Objects

Chapter 2 The early years of The Lions Club of Essendon

Chapter 3 The Second Decade

Chapter 4 Lionsville Beginnings

Chapter 5 The Seventies

Chapter 6 The Leo Club of Essendon

Chapter 7 The Eighties

Chapter 8 Lionsville Development

Chapter 9 The Nineties On

Appendices 1: List of Members 2: Club Office Bearers 3: Recipients of Awards

Preface

When Sir Winston Churchill was said to have been the inspiration of the British nation he replied that the people had been lion-hearted and he only provided the roar. The Lions Club of Essendon has been a lion-hearted club and “A Lions Roar” seeks to provide a history of fifty years of a great club and the service of its members. This is its roar.

The motto of Lions International is “We Serve” and the Lions Club of Essendon has sought to serve the community and in particular the disadvantaged. While making no claims for present glory, this club has served its community well over fifty years and is proud to be part of Lions International, the largest service organisation in the world.

When International Vice President, Judge Pat Patterson visited Lionsville he said “in all our travels through the USA and thirty other countries there is no project we have seen that would surpass it”. Lionsville is our largest project but there are many others including support for the Eye Research Centre, Melbourne, Seeing Eye Dogs and Hearing Dogs, wheelchairs and Hart Walker, support in building the YMCA Centre and Thompson Reserve, picnics for disabled children, transport for blind persons and buses for the disabled and life education, completing a house for a needy family and painting others, bringing an aboriginal children’s choir from Darwin to Melbourne, youth development projects and many others, large and small including support for National and International projects.

In raising money, the Lions Club of Essendon gave Melbourne an Orchid Festival and a Sportsmen’s Breakfast for 28 years. It gave Essendon the Henley on the Maribyrnong and Popular Girl and Charity Queen quests. The Good Friday Drive-In Service and I Love Australia Breakfasts were other community services.

The Regional Manager and Australia Secretary of Lions International, Lion A. J. McLardie wrote of the Lions Club of Essendon, “I never cease to get amazed at the productivity of your club”. This book seeks to reveal some of the productivity and the atmosphere of service of this club over fifty years however inadequately. This is the club’s roar.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Appreciation must go first to those who have provided information to newspapers at the time and have collected these newspaper articles and photographs so that this information can be made available through this book. Thanks are due to Ron McFarlane for writing chapters 1 and 7, to Stephen Brown and Phillip Cobbin for chapter 6 and to Gerry Noonan and Helen Campbell for chapter 9. Stan Morrison, Jack Grantham and John Dallwitz provided interviews, Neil Baudinette provided material on Lionsville and Jack Gilbertson, Jim Richards and John Watson provided submissions. Secretary Alan McLean and Lionsville collected records.

We are indebted to Geotechnical Engineering for typing the manuscript and many drafts and particularly to Moonee Valley City Council for a $4,000 Cultural Grant for printing.

Chapter 1 – Lions Clubs International An introduction

Lions Clubs International is the worlds largest, most active service clubs organization. Lions members are caring people, men and women who enjoy working together and making things happen. They provide assistance to youth, the elderly, the disabled and the disadvantaged of the community.

The International Association of Lions Clubs was born in Chicago on June 7th, 1917 when Melvin Jones, a young US Insurance Agent, inspired a meeting of representatives of several existing business groups with his vision of service. Lions Clubs grew rapidly, first throughout the USA and then around the world. Today there are over 1.5 million members in more than 44,000 clubs located in 185 countries or geographical areas.

The first Lions Club in Australia was formed in the northern NSW City of Lismore on July 1st, 1947, largely through the efforts of William R. Tresise, a hardware merchant in the town. Tresise, who had been a national president of the Apex movement, had been empowered by Melvin Jones to bring Lions to Australia. The official charter was presented to the new club on September 29th of the same year.

A club in nearby Murwillumbah followed in 1948, then in 1952 the first capital city clubs were formed, firstly in Melbourne and then in Sydney. This signalled the beginning of the subsequent rapid expansion of Lions throughout Australia. Australia in turn introduced Lions to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and the Pacific Islands. Today there are over 30,000 members in more than 1400 clubs in Australia.

The Association’s headquarters remains in Chicago, close to the meeting place in 1917. It is managed by an elected Board of 34 members representing all parts of the globe. Australia and its neighbours have been continuously represented on the Board since the election of our first International Director, James D. Richardson BEM in 1958. Major policy matters are determined by delegates to the International Convention held each year, alternately in a USA city followed by a convention in an overseas country. The 1992 International Convention was held in Brisbane and was a great success.

Lions Clubs, the basic unit of the Association, are grouped into Multiple Districts. The District governors of the 21 Districts in Australia and PNG form an administrative body known as the Multiple District 201 Council. Each year delegates from the 1400 clubs come together at a National Convention to debate policy, to learn and to enjoy fellowship.

The motto of every Lions Club is We Serve. Whether helping the sight or hearing impaired, conducting drug or diabetes awareness campaigns, providing community recreational facilities or support for the disabled or disadvantaged, giving opportunities to the young or aid to the elderly, or raising the funds to make it all possible - Service always comes first for Lions Clubs and their members. The Lions Club of Essendon can be justly proud of its efforts in over 50 years of service to the community, and the marvellous legacy of Lionsville, with it’s 115 Independent Living Units and 78 bed Hostel.

Throughout the world, Lions are recognized by the emblem they wear on their lapels. It consists of a gold letter “L” on a circular purple field. Bordering this is a circular gold area with two lion profiles at either side facing away from the centre. The word “Lions” appears at the top, and “International” at the bottom. Symbolically, the lions face both the past and the future -- proud of the past and confident of the future. Lions wear their emblem with pride.

The royal colours of purple and gold were selected as the official colours when the association was organized in 1917. Purple stands for loyalty to friends and to one’s self, and for integrity of mind and heart. Gold symbolizes sincerity of purpose, liberality in judgment, purity in life and generosity in mind, heart and purpose toward humanity.

Lions around the World

Lions Clubs are committed to helping solve health and social problems, locally and globally. In 1945 Lions leaders played an important role in formulating the non-government sections of the United Nations Charter. Since 1947 Lions have held consultative status to the UN Economic and Social Council. Compared to some charities the Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) is only young, a newcomer to the world of philanthropy, But its already impressive record of helping those in need, starting with its first grant approval in 1972, has propelled it firmly onto the international stage.

A charitable arm of Lions Clubs International, LCIF has three major objectives: humanitarian services, vocational assistance and major disaster relief. It also oversees the funding and progress of major Lions programs such as “Sight First”.

Lions Clubs around the world, and of course Australia, can apply to LCIF for assistance with major projects such as hospitals, schools and youth facilities. The Lionsville Hostel,Essendon was the recipient of a grant of $127,000 in 2001, which was to cover some of the cost of the new sprinkler system installed in that year. Emergency grants are made for rebuilding and restoring necessary services after natural disasters. In 1996/97 LCIF made grants in excess of $25 million.

The most ambitious program yet undertaken by Lions internationally was an Australian initiative. Since Helen Keller’s stirring 1925 challenge for Lions to become her “knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness”, sight has been a major Lions emphasis. It was an Adelaide General Practitioner and Lions member, Dr. Bob Coulthard, who suggested the SightFirst campaign, aimed at eradicating preventable blindness. Currently 40 million people are so afflicted, and it is estimated that this number will double by the year 2020.

Lions Clubs around the world have raised $200 million to fund this program, which has already restored sight to over a million people through a simple cataract operation. Sight workers are being trained and Lions eye hospitals are being built in developing countries.

A basic object of Lions Clubs International is to create and foster a spirit of understanding among the peoples of the world - where better to start than with the young? Lions make a strong service commitment to young people through a number of international youth programs. Each year millions of students develop life skills and self - esteem through the Lions - Quest curriculum. Lions sponsored Leo Clubs are involved in a range of community service activities. Amongst the numerous other youth programs, Lions Youth Exchange gives young people the opportunity to gain first hand knowledge of other cultures, with an emphasis on family and community life. Lions Youth camps such as Licola provide another perspective.

Lions across Australia

From hospitals and retirement villages to kindergartens and youth program, for more than 50 years Lions have made a difference to the quality of life of many thousands of Australians. No matter how large the national health budget or how tight the welfare net there will always be gaps. That’s where Lions come to the fore.

Improving things for the visually disabled is a traditional Lions activity. Lions Save Sight institutes have been established throughout Australia providing specialist services and undertaking projects ranking them as world leaders in the field. Lions have established Chairs of Ophthalmology in Universities. Lions operate most of our country’s Eye Banks, have provided many Talking Books and were pioneers in extending services to outback areas.

Lions supported the development of the Bionic ear, bringing new possibilities to hearing impaired youngsters.

Lions established and operate Australia’s only centre for the training of Hearing Dogs for people with hearing problems. The dogs are trained to react to the sound of a telephone, a knock at the door or the cry of a baby. In an emergency these animals bring security and confidence to their adopted owners.

Major foundations and health institutes have been established by Lions Clubs in all states, making substantial contributions to the health of the country. Researchers in the immunology laboratory at the Lions Research Centre at Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital have developed a vaccine for cervical cancer. A NSW Lions foundation offers scholarships which enable nurses to undertake advanced study. The Victorian Lions Foundation funds research in several areas. The Tasmanian Low Vision Clinics provide a valuable service in the island state. Adelaide leads the world in Cranio-facial research and the WA Save Sight Institute is recognized as among the top six in the world.

Prostrate and other cancers. Multiple Sclerosis, Diabetes, Motor neurone Disease, Stroke, Renal problems, Rheumatism and Arthritis, Marine stinger research and encouragement of organ donor programs are some of the areas to which Lions are contributing.

Cord Blood is a recent area of involvement, offering exciting new health and transplant possibilities, Lions are supporting research in this field in several states. The home dialysis program in Australia was initiated by Lions Clubs - showing governments the way.

Adopted as a national Lions project in 1995, the Lions MS Foundation has already made possible discoveries which will contribute towards a cure for this disease.

The most recent Lions undertaking, in conjunction with the Spastic Centre of NSW, is the Australian production of the David Hart walking frame device, a deceptively simple but very sophisticated English invention which has enabled many children with cerebral palsy to taste independence for the first time in their lives.

If the country’s future is in its youth, then Australia’s Lions Clubs are making an investment in that future.

The Lions-Quest living skills programs are arguably the worlds best. Lions have trained over 5,000 Australian teachers, Each year 250,000 students from kindergartens to senior years, receive the benefit of healthy and responsible lifestyle education, . ALDAF - the Australian Lions Drug Awareness Foundation - produces videos, books, leaflets and other educational material and is recognized as an active and effective participant in the drug education field.

For more than 30 years the Lions Youth of the Year Quest has encouraged student interest in leadership and the qualities required for active and constructive participation in the community.

An international youth group under the auspices of Lions, Leo Clubs give young people leadership, experience, opportunity and fellowship through involvement in community service.

Young Australians are given the opportunity to experience family life and the culture of other countries, and Lions reciprocate by hosting youth from overseas in the Youth Exchange Program.

Lions youth camps are conducted across Australia. Specialized camps such as those for children and teenagers with Diabetes, are a regular part of the program. Lions hosted a major international camp for teenagers with Diabetes in 1996.

Lions arrange beach holidays for country children, take bus loads of disadvantaged children for holidays at the Lions Licola Village, provide scholarships and employment assistance schemes, host the Lions Children of Courage Awards, produce Identikit cards, and a lot more.

In times of crisis Lions Clubs respond quickly. Victims of floods and cyclones, of earthquakes, fires and drought have been helped in their time of need. People in Maitland and Brisbane, in Darwin and Newcastle, indeed in centres all over the country at some stage or another, have been helped in their time of need.

Lions parks are seen around Australia - they were the first facilities provided in many country towns. Today Lions are active in clean up campaigns, tree planting, land reclamation and many other environmental activities.

Every dollar raised by Lions Clubs goes directly to help the community. Ongoing funds are provided by the sale of Lions Mints and Lions Christmas cakes, supplemented by a range of fundraising activities as wide as the imagination of the members.

LIONS CODE OF ETHICS

TO SHOW my faith in the worthiness of my vocation by industrious application to the end that I may merit a reputation for quality of service

TO SEEK success and to demand all fair remuneration or profit as my just due, but to accept no profit or success at the price of my own self-respect lost because of unfair advantage taken or because of questionable acts on my part.

TO REMEMBER that in building up my own business it is not necessary to tear down another’s; to be loyal to my clients or customers and true to myself.

WHENEVER a doubt arises as to the right or ethics of my position or action towards others, to resolve such doubts against myself.

TO HOLD friendship as an end and not as a means. To hold that true friendship exists not on account of the service performed by one to another, but that that true friendship demands nothing but accepts service in the spirit in which it is given.

ALWAYS to bear in mind my obligations as a citizen to my nation, my state and my community, and to give them my unswerving loyalty in word, act and deed. To give them freely of my time, labour and means.

TO AID others by giving my sympathy to those in distress, my aid to the weak, and my substance to the needy.

TO BE CAREFUL with my criticism and liberal with my praise, to build up and not destroy.

LIONS CLUBS INTERNATIONAL OBJECTS

To create and foster a spirit of understanding among the peoples of the world.

To promote the principles of good government and good citizenship.

To fund and otherwise serve the civic, cultural, social and moral welfare of the community.

To unite the clubs in the bonds of friendship, good fellowship and mutual understanding.

To provide a forum for the open discussion of all matters of public interest; provided, however, that partisan politics and sectarian religion shall not be debated by club members.

To encourage service - minded people to serve their community without personal financial reward, and to encourage efficiency and promote high ethical standards in commerce, industry, professions, public works and private endeavours. As approved by the Board of Lions Clubs International for adoption by Multiple District 201

Chapter 2 - The Early Years of Essendon Lions Club

The Lions Club of Essendon received its charter from the International Association of Lions Clubs on 22nd April 1953. The club was sponsored by Footscray Lions Club which had also been chartered in 1953.

Stan Morrison OAM, is a charter member of the Lions Club of Essendon and a Past President, he remembered the start of the club. In 1952 Lions International sent one of their officers to Australia to encourage the development of new clubs. His name was Gordon and he was instrumental in helping the Lions Club of Melbourne establish the Lions Club of Footscray. In the Footscray club was a friend of Doug Harper who enthused Doug into being the instigator of a Lions Club in Essendon. We chartered with about 43 members in 1953 and then we increased our membership. The first thing that I can recall was the club bought 10 tonnes of wood that was delivered to the rear of a chartered member’s premises. Some of us would go down and chop this and then we bagged it. The council provided a list of pensioners and Albert Pennell brought a truck along on Saturday morning and we would go out and deliver this wood. Then we decided we wanted a big project so that people would know what we were trying to do. It was thought that a school for disadvantaged children would be useful so we started to raise money for that. Before we went very far, an organisation with a school in Coburg said they needed transport to bring children there, so we raised money and donated a bus costing ₤750 to the Victorian School for Crippled Children. During our first year, under President Rudy Reid our biggest money raising activity was very interesting. Rudy had a property out from Bulla with a trotting track and some trotters. We arranged a grudge trotting match between Fred Tapper and another top entertainer from 3DB plus some other races arranged to be exciting. It was such a success. I recall looking up the hill where cars were bumper to bumper for a good quarter to half mile. We just could not take the money fast enough so charged per car instead of per person. We made a lot of money and had a good day.

Past President John Dallwitz, while not a charter member, attended meetings from 1954 and has had many years of perfect attendance since, and has been on many important committees. He recalls: I was greatly encouraged by my wife in my work with Lions. We often said that joining the Lions Club of Essendon has been a very important part of our lives. We made wonderful friendships and experienced quite a few achievements through our work with the club. In the first few years we heard of a lady left with young children and a house only partly built. The family were living in the house. The Lions Club of Essendon had a quick committee meeting and in a matter of several weekends we finished the house. Out of the 50 or 60 members, I do not think there was one that did not help. We carried out carpentry work, put in water pipes, completed the sewerage and painted the building. Some members were builders and others also had equipment. This bought us all together and we got to know each other and it was one of the foundations of our Lions Club.

I think my most important experience of the early days was establishing the Eye Research Centre at the Royal Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne. On the committee to establish this centre, five of the 8 or 9 were members of the Lions Club of Essendon. They were Dr. Max Velik, Dr. Graham Jeffrey, Stewart Edgar, Ray Upson and myself. It was a national Lions project and Essendon raised ₤5000 of the ₤25000 required. The appeal was oversubscribed to the extent that we were able to establish three scholarships, which I believe are still available. Our club was the biggest participator because one of our members Ray Upson was an accomplished fundraiser. It was a very worthwhile project and very successful. It gave us confidence to take on future large projects.

In June 1958 a party of 47 Lions members and wives flew out of Melbourne for the International Lions Convention at Chicago. John Dallwitz had this to say: That was an experience of a lifetime. There were 12 members from Essendon and their wives. We had three stops for fuel before San Fransisco and the pilot circled twice for photos. Then we bussed across the USA to Chicago. We had a busy time attending forums and discussing plans and our status in the community. We gained an enormous amount of experience of Lions aspirations and achievements. The parade was unbelievable. The route we marched was several miles long and crowded with people all the way. Ern Basford took his son and somehow they had a little Joey kangaroo. It sat on the bonnet of a car the boy was in. Later it was presented to the Lions Club of Chicago and it was a real talking point. There were marching girls and bands following one another just far enough apart with all types of instruments including Scottish. These were blind bands marching with shoulders touching. I think helping the blind has been a real challenge to Lions Clubs throughout the world.

After seeing a movie on Yooralla Hospital for Crippled Children at their luncheon meeting, the club raised ₤2640 towards the Victorian Lions Appeal for ₤25000 for Yooralla. The club also took a large party of the Yooralla children to Williamstown with police escort and sirens sounding. There they boarded the Royal Motor Yacht Club’s launches for a trip on the bay. The club raffled a luxurious Fordomatic valued at ₤2100 for Yooralla and the Eye and Ear Hospital. Tickets sold at 2/- each.

At the luncheon on 1st September 1958, a guide dog brought in its owner, Mrs Gration, who spoke on the need to establish a training centre for guide dogs in Victoria. Delegates to Chicago had seen a Lions project for this in USA. The club resolved to raise ₤500 to purchase and train a guide dog.

In November 1958 the Lions Club of Essendon and Victorian Orchid Club ran an Orchid Festival at Preston Motors, Russell Street, Melbourne. It was opened by the Governor, Sir Dallas Brooks, and raised ₤1000 for the Eye and Ear Hospital. It then became an annual event. The District Governor described the Lions Club of Essendon as one of the top Lions Clubs in Lionism and said Jack Hewitson was the best secretary in the Lions organisation in Australia.

The presidency of Lance Beach in 1958-59 was successful in fundraising as ₤9800 was distributed during the year. The Baby Show and Popular Child Quest raised ₤430 for the Ascot Day Nursery and the Ascot Youth Centre.

Lion William Tresise, then Mayor of Hawthorn, spoke at a club luncheon at New Ascot House in July 1959. He had brought Lionism to Australia by forming Lismore Lions Club in 1947. He spoke of perseverance saying it took three years to get the Lions Club of Melbourne started. He said the Lismore Club began working for underprivileged children and had helped many to proceed to secondary education which was not universal at the time. He complimented Essendon Lions on their splendid record of service and said that there had been a great increase in community service since Lions Clubs were formed in Australia.

The Lions Club organised the Charity Carnival in Queens Park which ran from Wednesday 25/11/59 to Saturday 5/12/59. Many charities benefited from this event.

On August 12th, 1960 the Lions Club of Essendon celebrated seven years of community service with an Anniversary Charter Dinner at New Ascot House. It was reported that a total of ₤16,000 had been raised for charitable purposes in the seven years. Of this total, ₤8,000 had been given to the Eye and Ear Hospital. In the initial year of 1953-54, ₤875 had been raised from which a bus was purchased for disabled children.

On December 7th, 1960 the Essendon Gazette published an Anniversary Supplement commemorating seven years of service. This was produced by Ray Upson as Publicity Officer and paid for by advertisements. It reported on the ₤16,000 raised and the 60 major projects with 35,000 man hours of work for others. Wheelchairs had been provided for the Geriatric Unit at Mt. Royal; furniture, clothing and firewood given to needy; assistance given to mentally retarded, crippled and orphan children and seats provided for Essendon Council for various parts of the city. Completion of a home for a needy family was valued at ₤700.

In this supplement the mayor of Essendon congratulated the Lions Club of Essendon on seven years of noted charitable community service and the Lord Mayor of Melbourne offered congratulations on seven years of unselfish community service and said, “ Nowhere, I believe, could the code of ethics and objects of Lions International be better observed and pursued.”

During 1960-61 the club’s activities continued. Dr. Keith Benn spoke at a luncheon on intellectually handicapped children and thanked the Lions Club of Essendon for providing the annual picnic and the distribution of birthday presents to Travancore. There was a speaker on the Royal Women’s Hospital and the proceeds of the five-day Orchid Festival of ₤950 was donated to this cause. Another Baby Show and Popular Child Quest was held. Forty elderly people from Mt. Royal were given a day out. A notable speaker at a club luncheon was the leader of the Federal Opposition, Mr Calwell.

A distinguished Essendon Lion was Ray Upson who raised ₤5 million for charities. There was ₤125,000 for a Nurses’ Memorial Centre, ₤300,000 for St Vincent’s Hospital, ₤250,000 for Prince Henry’s Hospital, ₤250,000 for the Royal Women’s Hospital and ₤386,000 for the RSL’s Operation Gratitude. He then exceeded the Cancer Campaign of ₤500,000 by ₤1,000,000 and the Royal Women’s Hospital Appeal target of ₤500,000 was raised three years early. He still lived in the modest Ascot Vale house he had lived in for 35 years.

The Lions Club of Essendon sponsored the Lions Club of Coburg which was chartered in 1959. It then sponsored the Lions Club of Preston in 1961. Next came the Lions Club of Broadmeadows, which was chartered in 1962 and a club at Glenroy was also sponsored.

A satisfying project in 1962 was to sponsor a 15 year old aboriginal girl, Dianne Day, to study at Broadmeadows High School for two years while she stayed with her foster parents. The cost to Essendon Lions Club was ₤145 per year, which paid for school and sports fees, uniforms, shoes and books.

Chapter 3 – The Second Decade

Lion Ern Basford B.E.M was one of the two remaining charter members of the Lions Club of Essendon, until his death in November 2002 at age 96. He was a life member of Lions International, a past president of the club and a past district governor. His presidency in 1962- 63 was an important one for the club.

A fund raising activity commenced during his presidency was the Popular Girl Quest. The winner was the person who raised the most money, half of which went to the organisation sponsoring the entrant and half to the Lion’s Club of Essendon’s charity fund. The title and “Miss Essendon” cup was won by Marion Mason and the cup was presented by Essendon centre half forward Ken Fraser at a 50-50 dance in the Essendon Town Hall supper room. Marion, who was sponsored by the Elderly Citizens’ House, raised ₤531. Over ₤1000 was raised, the Lion’s Club share being ₤500.

A successful innovation in 1962 was the First Annual Sportsmen’s breakfast held at the Savoy Plaza, Spencer Street Melbourne at 8am on Melbourne Cup Day. It was attended by the Premier, Mr Bolte, who said the Lions Club of Essendon had started something that would be an outstanding annual event. There were to be 28 such events. Charter member, Lion Stan Morrison compered a first class entertainment with professional singers, dancers and impressionists. A feature of the show was a “phantom broadcast” of the Cup by 16 year old Grantley Dee, a singer who also sang “that old black magic”. Grantley was the son of Lion Jack de Zoette who was to be President in 1968-69. Grantley, who was blind since birth, was led in by his seeing eye dog Penny which he had only had for six weeks. Stan Morrison remembers this first breakfast. Grantley Dee, a son of one of the members of our committee, did a phantom broadcast on the Melbourne Cup. It was enjoyed so much that Lion Jack McGrath stood up, grabbed the microphone and said we want the boy to sing again, and he threw on stage some money and others followed suit.

The Sportsmen’s Breakfast was to raise money for a Seeing Eye Dog. At the Lions Club of Essendon Christmas Party on 18th December 1962, President Ern Basford presented a cheque for ₤600 to Mrs. Phyllis Gration, President of the Guide Dog Owners and Friends Association for two guide dogs. The cheque represented ₤500 from the Sportsman’s Breakfast and ₤100 from a street stall. Mrs Gration, who was accompanied by two blind young men and two newly trained Seeing Eye dogs said “I am overwhelmed by the generosity of the Lions Club of Essendon, whose members have already provided one Seeing Eye dog for blind professional pianist Mr. Arthur McKay who, with his dog Saki, is with us tonight.” Essendon football coach John Coleman was present to officially represent the 200 who attended the Breakfast and said “ I am delighted and very honoured to be present tonight and to see the final result of the first annual Sportsmen’s Breakfast. This function was a tremendous success and reflected the greatest credit on the Lions Club of Essendon. I am sure that all my fellow sportsmen would have liked to see these two Seeing Eye dogs presented to their respective masters.” President Ern also presented Mrs Davis of Kensington who was blind with a talking book. In thanking the President, Mrs Davis said “This book will give me many hours of great comfort and pleasure and I am extremely grateful to the Lions Club of Essendon”.

The second annual Sportsman’s Breakfast was held at the Savoy Plaza Hotel at 7.30am on Cup Day 1963. There were over 250 present. Pastor Doug Nichols pronounced the invocation and Lion Stan Morrison compered the show. The Gazette reported that: An excellent program was provided by Charlie White and his band, Beryl White vocalist, the ballet girls, the Phillip Zachini Trio from Ashtons Circus, The Seekers Quartet TV and recording group, English comedian Johnny Lockwood and Grantley Dee. Grantley also introduced Bert Bryant who did a phantom broadcast of the Melbourne Cup.

At that time The Seekers were a recently formed part-time group. Stan Morrison had this to say: I can recall The Seekers doing a spot on our show. That happened because I knew Judith Durham, I had been best man at her mum and dad’s wedding. I knew it would be a bit of an embarrassment but I asked her just the same and she came back and said that a couple of the boys are not too keen on it. We said it was a good opportunity to bring what you have got to a mature audience, so they agreed. I introduced them and they sang about three numbers. I started to introduce the next item and could hardly hear myself talk for the roar and clapping. It was the only time I have been involved where the show has been stopped by a spot. Jack Leary who was well known as an Australian entrepreneur was there and so was the man who did all the entertainment bookings for Federal Hotels. The following morning, Judith’s father Bill rang me and said that after the show this man said he would like to have a talk to the four of them because he offered them three weeks. I think it was at Lennon’s Hotel at Brisbane. That was the first real engagement they had had. It sent them on this way and they got an offer of entertaining on a ship with a free passage to England.

An album released by The Seekers in 1964 explained they were on TV in their first week in England and that a full engagement book and a growing reputation would keep them there until the end of 1965. Judith Durham did not forget the Sportsmen’s Breakfast and sent a cable each year, for many years, to wish it well.

In November 1963, English migrants Mr and Mrs George Hanson with their one year old daughter, began life in Australia with a new flat in Robb Street Essendon and a promise of employment. They were sponsored by the Lions Club of Essendon who arranged the flat and decorated it for the new arrivals.

Also in November 1963 the Lions and Lions’ ladies of Essendon held their sixth annual Christmas Picnic at Keilor for the children and teachers of the Travancose School for Mentally Retarded children. Approximately 100 children attended and were given rides in a large wagon, pony rides, games and races. Prizes were given and drinks, ice cream, sandwiches, cakes and finally sweets were provided for all.

Ashton Wirth’s Circus, advertised as Australia’s best, performed for two days at Thompson Reserve Keilor Road, with a proportion going to the Lions Club of Essendon. This was arranged by Lion Doug Ashton who also provided free seats for children who were mentally retarded or disabled. Lion Ern Basford was well known as a previous Mayor of Essendon as well as for his Lion’s activities. He challenged local businessmen to subscribe ₤200 towards the Lion’s Club Flats for the Elderly Appeal, agreeing to enter the Lion’s cage with Captain Schulz of Ashton’s Circus if they gave a donation. It was a Lion in the Lion’s cage as Ern thanked Doug Ashton in particular for the assistance of the circus.

The cup and title of “Miss Essendon” was awarded to Jill Langan at a dance in the supper room of the Essendon Town Hall on 10th April 1964. Jill was sponsored by the Ladies Auxiliary of the Elderly Citizens Centre and raised ₤432 of the ₤1086 total raised. Half of this total went towards the Lions Club of Essendon’s planned flats for the elderly in Moreland Road while half the individual amounts raised went to charities nominated by contestants. One of Jill’s prizes was two weeks for two at Surfer’s Paradise. Second was Maida Morgan who raised ₤277 and won a weeks trip to Launceston where she was well looked after by Lions Clubs who arranged tours of North West Tasmania. The local papers treated Maida as Miss Essendon and claimed she returned as an ambassadress for Tasmania.

In June 1964 at Ardmillan House the District Governor Frank Litchfield congratulated President George Holmes on a successful year. As well as the above activities the club had collected 3000 old spectacles for India and Pakistan and together with other Lions Clubs in Victoria had raised ₤6000 worth of drugs for medical clinic at Pusan , South Korea. Miss Margaret Salmon, a Melbourne girl was in charge of the clinic. The Lions Club of Essendon had moved its twice-monthly dinner meetings to the newly opened Ardmillan House in January.

Lion Jack Gilbertson joined the Lions Club of Essendon in 1963. He was President in 1986- 87 and had been Secretary, Treasurer, Chairman of Health and Welfare and Finance Committees and President of Lionsville. He said this of the club: My first impression was how devoted all of the members were. The club had been going 10 years and service was an honour not a duty with volunteers aplenty. The hours of devotion that some members gave was inspirational. Working Bees for all club members were common and regular. Cleaning up gardens, mowing lawns and painting put pressure on time and energy. Ern Basford’s energy, activity, promotion of Lionism and enthusiam made him an outstanding Lion. He had many other supporters. Lion George Neuss never missed an oppurtunity to further the cause of Lionsville. Lion Lindsay Woods was an ardent toiler and made sure you played your part. Lion Eric Hattam kept us all on the straight and narrow and his effort on the Millingimbi Project was outstanding. Lion Max Velik made sure our finances never went astray.

The third annual Sportsmen’s Breakfast was held on Melbourne Cup day 1964. As well as the usual high-class variety entertainment, a highlight was the presentation of the first “Sportsman of the Year” award. This went jointly to Nell and Harry Hopman. Nell was unable to attend but Harry received a portable typewriter from President Stewart Edgar. Stewart said that Nell Hopman had been a power of strength in women’s tennis and mainly because of her enthusiasm the Federation Cup was instituted. She has also been a great influence in Australia winning it that year. He said that Harry had proved to be an astute non-playing captain and a capable diplomat as well. In reply Harry said that Roy Emerson was the fittest tennis player he had known and while praising Fred Stolle for his part, said it was Roy’s play which brought the Davis Cup back to Australia. More than £300 was raised at the function.

The Lions Club of Essendon sponsored an American Youth Exchange Student for 1965. She was Louise Fenner from Missoula, Montana, USA. At a dinner meeting at Ardmillan House she presented the Stars and Stripes flag to President Stewart Edger from Downdown Missoula Lions Club.

In July 1965, Ern Basford returned from the USA after being installed as District Governor for District 201F, Australia, at the International Convention in Los Angeles. Since becoming a charter member in 1953, Ern had attended all District conferences, most Australian conferences and three International conventions.

The fourth annual Sportsmen’s Breakfast was held on Cup Day 1965 at the Savoy Plaza and was the usual success. A very happy winner of the Australian Sportsman of the Yeas as selected by the Lions Club of Essendon, was cycling star, Barry Waddell. His fastest time from scratch and win in the Sun Tour of Victoria, both for the second year in a row, were among the performances that earned him the honour. He received the first “gold” lion on a marble base. When asked for it back to be engraved he said “Not on your life, I’m going to take it home and show it to the wife and kids. You can have it next week.”

One endeavour of Jack Bate’s year of presidency was the painting of the exterior of the Coronation Free Kindergarten by Jack and about 15 members of the Lions Club of Essendon. Jack, a painter himself, estimated that the value of the work would be approximately $500. At his President’s Night, June 1966, Jack reported that community service for the past twelve months also included transport of blind people weekly to Kooyong Craft Centre, firewood for needy pensioners, assistance to needy families, Braille typewriters for India and a tour to Canberra for two students for appreciation of the Capital. President Jack also thanked the Lions Ladies for their effort in raising $650.

A real highlight of 1966 was the opening of the first three blocks of four single units each for elderly residents at Lionsville. The story of this development will be told in the following chapter.

1966 saw the commencement of the annual national Lions Youth of the Year quest. The winner of the Lions Club of Essendon competition was Warren Maloney. In his chosen five- minute talk to the club, Warren called for increased foreign aid by Australia. He advocated the formation of an Australian Peace Corps comprised of volunteers from professions such as medicine, teaching and engineering, and skilled people from all trades. Warren won the district final and went to Brisbane for the Australian final in which he was placed fourth.

The fifth annual Sportsmen’s Breakfast was held in 1966 at a new location, The Lido Nightclub. Entertainment included the Lido chorus and Johnny Lockwood. The phantom broadcast of the Melbourne Cup picked the eventual winner, Galilee. Sportsman of the Year was Alan Jeans, who coached St. Kilda to its first premiership. He said it was an honour to be given such an award and that it was a delight to have Darrell Baldock and Ian Stewart in his team. He received the traditional golden lion trophy. Judith Durham sent her usual cable wishing the Breakfast every success. Over 350 attended the function which raised $1400 for the Lionsville flats for the elderly project.

Lions International, in its 50th jubilee year, to bring peace in the world ran a worldwide competition for the best essay on how peace can be attained. The winner of the competition conducted by the Lions Club of Essendon was Bruce Drinkwater. He went on to win the district final where he was presented a plaque and golden lion by one of the judges, Edward (Weary) Dunlop, who is famous for his medical work as a POW in Changi.

An emphasis on youth continued during the Presidency of John Dallwitz with William Bowen winning the 1967 Essendon “Youth of the Year” and Peter Francis winning this section of the competition the following July.

The sixth annual Sportsmen’s Breakfast was held at a new location, the Southern Cross Hotel, on cup day 1967. The winner of the Sportsman of the Year was boxer Johnny Famechon. One of the entertainers, 15 year old Cheryl Gray was signed to a contract after her performance. This contract included moving to Sydney with her parents, also entertainers, and then with plans for England. The Breakfast raised over $1000 for the Lionsville project.

The Lions Club of Essendon ran their Charity Queen quest from November 1967 with the winner announced at a dance in the Essendon Town Hall at the end of June 1968. The winner was Janet McPhee who raised $1376. In all the competition realised $4062 which to went to the club’s charity fund.

In May 1968 the Lion’s Club of Essendon gave a donation of $7000 to the Essendon YMCA Youth Centre Building Appeal. President John Dallwitz said that most of the club’s community service had been directed towards the welfare of elderly people and this was a timely opportunity to extend a helping hand to our young people. Many large gifts were also given by members of the club.

World Bantamweight Champion, Lionel Rose, was awarded the Sportsman of the Year title and golden Lion at the 1968 Sportsmen’s Breakfast. Congratulations were extended to Jack Rennie of Essendon for his part in training Lionel. Last years winner, Johnny Famechon, attended just 11 weeks before winning the World Featherweight Championship. Proceeds were to bring a group of aboriginal children to Melbourne for a holiday and a new experience.

A highlight of 1969 was the bringing of 40 aboriginal children to Melbourne from Milingimbie, an island off Arnhem Land’s north coast, where 50 mission workers live alongside 650 aboriginals. Lion Jack Gilberson was secretary treasurer for this project and had this to say: My vote for the best community project would be the Milingimbi project. Eric Hattom was the instigator and leader. The club flew the children, ages 10-15, from Darwin to Melbourne for three weeks. They had never been in a big city before. They stayed in Motels and performed concerts being transported by bus. Their singing was wonderful.

Past President Eric Hattan had visited the Methodist Mission at Milingimbi and prepared the visit. The conductor of the choir, Alan Fidock, was in charge of the group and Anne Rickwood accompanied on the piano. Some of the boys attended a Lions dinner meeting and met Lionel Rose who was guest speaker. The children particularly enjoyed their visit to Melbourne Zoo. They gave four wonderful concerts of singing, dancing, and musical entertainment at the Union Theatre, Melbourne University. The girls wore attractive yellow frocks and the boys white shirts and dark shorts. The children appeared on TV and sang at Wesley Church, Lonsdale Street, where they were recorded by the ABC. They sang for a large congregation at an evening service at Moonee Ponds Methodist Church for which some other churches closed to attend. The children then met the congregation at supper in the hall afterwards. The visit was an experience not only for the children but also for all who met them or heard them sing.

The Lions Club of Essendon organised a special drive-in service at the Sunset Drive-In Theatre, Rosamond Road, Maribyrnong at 10.30 on Good Friday morning, 1969. Families sat in the comfort of their cars for the service. The club arranged transport for the elderly or people with a disability who could not arrange their own transport. Olympic Silver Medalist, Peter Norman gave a special Easter message.

The annual Sportsmen’s Breakfast was again held on Cup Day at the Southern Cross Hotel. At this location numbers exceeded 300. There was the usual high-class entertainment compered by Lion Stan Morrison. The Sportsman of the Year 1969 was world squash champion, Geoff Hunt.

Chapter 4 – Lionsville Beginnings

Following successful fund raising particularly for the Eye Research Centre at the Royal Eye and Ear Hospital, the club looked for a new major project. It was decided that there was a need for flats for elderly persons. Application was made to the Essendon City Council in 1962 to erect flats in Rose St, but when difficulties arose with this site another location was sought. Crown land in Moreland Road was applied for and after considerable negotiations the Essendon City Council and the Minister for Lands in 1965 approved use of the land requested.

In 1964 the Lions Club of Essendon started raising funds for the project. The Lions Club of Coburg, which had been sponsored by the Essendon Club, was also seeking to provide accommodation for the elderly but had not been successful in acquiring land so became a partner in this project. Plans were made to build the first 12 units where elderly persons could live in comfort and fellowship, yet with dignity and independence. Four units were financed by the Lions Club of Coburg and eight by the Lions Club of Essendon. The estimated cost was $60,000 which included a Government subsidy. Tenants were to pay $3 per week. The name of the project was decided to be Lionsville.

The first stage of 12 units was officially opened by Mr Phil Stokes MP on 2nd October 1966. He said it was the finest community project he had seen. He also advised that the Commonwealth Government had given a grant of $38,762. During the afternoon a commemorative plaque was unveiled to the memory of the late Dr. Stan Whiteside,a past president of the Lions Club of Coburg. Architect was Fred Neuss and the builder was J. Newbold.

As 80 applications had been received for the units, it was decided to build another four units immediately. To meet this and future construction costs it was decided to require a donation of $2000 for a single unit and $2500 for a double in return for life tenancy. The additional four units were occupied during 1967.

To take advantage of the two for one Federal Government subsidy it was decided to proceed with further construction. Two double units and four single units were built and occupied in 1968 making a total of 22 units. During 1968 and early 1969, two double storey blocks of eight single units were constructed completing Stage 4 and bringing the total to 38 units. This was the completion of the project envisaged by the Lions Club of Essendon.

Units 23–38, together with the earlier units 13–22 were officially opened on 27th April 1969 by the Federal member for Maribyrnong, Mr P.W. Stokes MHR. Each self-contained single flat comprised a bed-sitter dining room, bathroom and kitchen with floor coverings, venetian blinds, power and TV points, stove and gas heater, built in cupboards and linen press. Each block of four units had a community laundry with washing machine and dryer.

The Essendon Spastic Society had been granted adjoining land and now offered to withdraw its option in favour of Lionsville. This offer was accepted gratefully and a further 31 units including three double units were planned together with a recreational hall called Ruthville. Mr Edward Clayton had lent Lionsville $20,000 interest free during Stage 4 and then offered it as a gift to build a recreation hall named Ruthville after his first wife. Mr Clayton had had his wallet stolen in Canada and was lent money by a stranger wearing a Lions badge. This motivated him to help others resulting in him being introduced to Lionsville.

This project of Units 39–69 plus Ruthville was Stage 5. The Units were officially opened by the World President of Lions International, W.R (Dick) Bryan on 23rd March 1970 just prior to completion. The World President said that he had travelled many miles in many countries and had inspected many fine projects for aged persons but nothing could compare with Lionsville.

Adjacent land was a little used rifle range held on lease since 1908 by a Ladies (small bore) Rifle Club. The Lionsville Committee sought to negotiate with the Club offering money to relocate and then with the Minister of Lands without success. Finally after four years and with the co-operation of local member, Ken Wheeler MHR, the Rifle Club was given notice from the Minister of Lands to vacate the area by February 1975. This was without cost to Lionsville. The Essendon City Council then granted Lionsville the use of the land.

Lion Joe Clift came out of retirement to build Stage 6 comprising 21 single and four double units on the new land. The cost of $346,000 was $27,000 less than the lowest tender previously received. A government subsidy of $240,000 was received.

This stage was completed in 1976 and brought the total number of units to 94 including eight double units. The cost to this date had exceeded $800,000. The Honourable Sir Kenneth Wheeler MP officially opened Units 70–94 together with Ruthville on 6th June 1976. Sir Kenneth outlined the growth of the project which he described as “possibly the biggest continuing project undertaken by Lions Clubs throughout the world”.

Stage 7 was a further 16 single units and four double units and these were built in 1980. This gave a total of 114 units completing what was then seen to be the development of the available site. The cost of construction of Stage 7 was $400,000 taking the estimated value of the complex to $2,500,000. For this stage the donation required was $5000 for a single unit and $7000 for a double unit although this could be reduced on a means test.

Stage 7 was officially opened on 15th June 1980 by Lion A.J. (Jim) McLardie, the Australian Secretary and the Regional Manager for Lions International. Special guests included the Mayor of Essendon Cr Kevin Dowling, the Mayor of Coburg Cr Shirley Robertson, Mr Barry Rowe MLA Essendon, International Director Lion Ian Stockdale and Dr Sam Merrifield.

Jim McLardie said that the greatest honour that had been bestowed on him was the invitation to officially open Stage 7 and went on to say that “he knew of no better club than the Lions Club of Essendon”. Musical entertainment was provided by the Debney Park High School Band. A plaque commemorating the opening acknowledges the assistance of the Commonwealth Government.

Chapter 5 - The Seventies

An important event for Lions Clubs in Victoria was the purchase of a township Licola for a youth camp. District Governor Ian Stockdale showed a film of Licola and outlined plans for the project to a dinner meeting of the Lions Club of Essendon in February 1970. Licola consisted of 34 acres on the banks of the McAllister River and included 17 houses, a store, a power plant and a sports oval. It was planned to provide camps for underprivileged youth and to be available for schools and other organisations. The Lions Club of Essendon agreed to contribute $500.

The second of the Good Friday drive-in church services for all denominations organised by the Lions Club of Essendon was held on March 27th 1970 at the Maribyrnong Drive-In. The service was particularly for the elderly, disabled and people with young families unable to attend other services on this day. Transport was provided by the Lions Club. The speaker was Father Michael King, director of Catholic radio and television and lessons were read by TV commentator Eric Pearce and Olympic Silver medallist Peter Norman.

The Sportsman of the Year in 1970 was Bob McIntyre a paraplegic champion. He had his lion trophy presented by Johnny Famechon at the eighth Sportsmen’s Breakfast. Bob won five gold, two silver and two bronze medals at the paraplegic Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in swimming, basketball and wheelchair racing and slalom. The event raised $2000 for the Lions Club charity projects.

The annual Good Friday service was held again at the Sunset Drive-in Theatre, Maribyrnong, in 1971 with an attendance of about 1100. An inspiring Easter message was given by the Rev Lyall Dixon who had recently retired as minister of the Collins Street Independent Church. Eric Pearce, OBE, read the Scriptures and John Birt, the Essendon Football club coach, led the prayers. Lion Ern Basford, in thanking those who took part or helped to bring others to the service, said that if the service had brought a spiritual blessing to those who attended, the Lions would be well rewarded for carrying out this community service.

The tenth annual Sportsmen’s Breakfast was held on Cup Day 1971 at the Southern Cross Hotel with an attendance of 550. There was a first class program of entertainment and a professional compere standard from Lion Stan Morrison who gave a song and dance act of his own. Sportsman of the Year was racing car driver, Allan Moffat, but as he was overseas it became “ladies night” as his wife, Pauline, received the lion trophy from Mrs Jean Pascoe the managing director of Calder Raceway. This position had been held by her late husband who had been a member of the Lions Club of Essendon. Allan Moffat was the first to win the Bathurst 500 twice, winning it for the second year in succession. He also won the Jim Pascoe Memorial race at Calder. He had won 58 out of 100 races in his Mustang. Allan later spoke to the Lions Club at its meeting at Ardmillan House and said it was a great honour to receive the award and the trophy would have a place of honour in his home for all time. The Breakfast raised $2000 for Lionsville, the YMCA and the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind.

Essendon Lions members conducted an amblyopia or “sleepy eye” survey in the Masonic Hall, Maribyrnong Road on Saturday 27th November 1971. Although 740 children had been registered only 480 actually appeared. Of these, 47 were to be referred to their doctors and three were found to be extremely bad.

At the annual Good Friday service in 1972 held at 11am at the Maribyrnong Drive-In Theatre, the guest speaker was the Rev Douglas Risstrom, President of the Victorian Methodist Conference who was then the minister of the North Essendon church. The lessons were read by Essendon footballer John Williams. Others taking part were Father John Carroll, Rev Robert Catford, Frank Clift and Les Roberts.

The annual President’s dinner at Ardmillan House in 1972 was the final function for Bruce Collings as President. He thanked the office bearers and also the boys from Turana Homes for helping with the painting of the home of an elderly woman under the guidance of Lion Jim Nicholls. The club had given woodworking machinery worth $300 to the remand homes.

In addition to commitments to Lionsville a number of organisations had been helped. $3000 had been given towards an artificial kidney machine, $1000 to the YMCA, three talking machines for the blind, $200 to the District Nursing Service, $100 to the Paraplegic Appeal and $100 to Licola Village. During the year the Lions Ladies had raised $958.

The President for 1972-73 was Dr. Max Velik. He was on the committee to raise money for a Research Centre at the Royal Eye and Ear Hospital and remained as one of the trustees and treasurer to invest the amount oversubscribed and to raise further funds. In 1969 the trustees presented a cheque for $28,000, which together with a government subsidy, provided $56,000 for a new research unit of the Melbourne University School of Ophthalmology which was called the Lions Club Unit.

The Lions Club of Essendon conducted a second Amblyopia Survey on Saturday 25th November 1972. It was attended by 481 children and it was suggested that 73 of them should seek further treatment. This was over 15% of those attending, which is higher than the average. Members of the Leos Club assisted Lions and Lions Ladies in the Survey.

The 1972 Lions Sportsman of the Year was Mr. Judy Patching who was general team manager of the Australian Olympic Games team for Munich. His trophy was presented at the Cup Day Sportsmen’s Breakfast by Ron Casey the general manager of HSV7. Proceeds of the breakfast were used to purchase a kidney home dialysis machine and to support the Lions Licola Village for underprivileged children.

The Lions Club of Essendon continued its program for youth. A Leos Club for ages 17-21 was formed in 1972. Allan Maxwell was Youth of the Year in 1972 for the Lions Club of Essendon competition while Alan McNab won this event in 1973.

The annual Good Friday service in 1973 produced a large attendance. Guest speakers were a Baptist minister, Rev Alex Kenworthy, known for his radio talk back program and Rev Fr John Brosnan, the Roman Catholic chaplain of Pentridge. Prayers were given by Archdeacon R.H Deasey and Scripture lessons by Eric Pearce. Bob Clarke sang two solo numbers. Lion Ern Basford thanked the helpers including Hoyts for use of the drive-in theatre.

Speakers at the club’s fortnightly meetings at Ardmillan House in 1973 included Deaconess Hilda Fisher who spoke on rehabilitation at Fairlea Women’s Prison and Brownlow Medalist Neil Roberts who returned from 15 months at Mawson Base in Antarctica. At another dinner two “talking books” costing $125 each were presented to two local blind persons. A dinner dance was held and raised $1000 for Mont Park and Plenty Psychiatric Hospitals.

At the 12th annual Sportsmen’s Breakfast on Cup Day 1973, Richmond coach, Tom Hafey, was presented with the Lion Trophy for Sportsman of the Year. Stan Morrison continued as compere with his usual topical humour. The phantom broadcast of the Cup was given by ace caller, Bill Collins, who named two of the three placed horses in his finishing three. Proceeds of the breakfast were devoted to monitoring equipment for pre-birth checking for the Essendon and District Memorial Hospital. The amount raised was $2369.

In March 1974, the Lions Club of Essendon held a meeting at Pentridge with 50 prisoners from A Division present. The popular speaker was footballer Lou Richards. There was a barrage of questions from prisoners, many tricky ones being fed to them by Chaplain Fr. Brosnan who later said, “Visits such as this one by the Lions are of tremendous value”.

A feature of 1974 was the sponsoring of the combined Ashton's Circus and Circus Royale, advertised as the world’s biggest road show with over 100 vehicles. Lion Jack McGrath arranged transport for an elephant through Essendon as advertising and Lion Alex Downey provided bookings at his newsagency. The circus performed for five nights and included “The Flying Royales” on the trapeze, the world’s only lady lion tamer with five lions, clowns and performing elephants, horses, camels, pigs, monkeys and dogs. The circus raised $2490 towards the club’s fund to purchase equipment for the Essendon and District Memorial Hospital.

The annual Good Friday Drive-In Service in 1974 proved the advertising that the service would be held “rain or shine” as the weather turned wet. Speakers were the Rev. P Hollingsworth, then associate director of the Brotherhood of St Laurence and Dean F. M. Chamberlain of St Patrick’s Cathedral. Soloist was Dennis Walters then a popular Young Talent Time Star.

The Lions Club of Essendon celebrated its 21st anniversary in April 1974 with a dinner dance at Ardmillan House. At this function the President of the Club, Lindsay Woods, presented a cheque for $5000 to the chairman of the Essendon and District Memorial Hospital, Mr. J.W.S, Fraser, for the purchase of monitoring equipment for the hospital.

In June 1974, another dinner dance marked the end of President Lindsay Woods’ year of office. He said that the club had given the above $5000 and $500 to the Essendon YMCA and $300 to Licola. The club also sent 6 children and 2 supervisors to Licola at Christmas for a cost of $240. Many smaller donations were also made. President Lindsay thanked the Lions Ladies for raising $1000.

Following a request to assist in transporting a 4-year-old blind boy to Kew and return for school, the Principal was contacted and he suggested that if the club financed a station wagon the school would provide a driver. With a 2 for 1 government subsidy this would cost the club $1000. In September, a new Ford Falcon station wagon was presented to the St Paul’s School for the Blind. The school Principal, Mr. Brian Quilligan, addressing the Lions at their dinner meeting, said the present enrolment at the school was 52. The school helped any child in need of assistance and parents paid no fees, finance coming from State and Federal aid.

The Sportsmen’s Breakfast on Cup Day 1974 saw cyclist Graeme McVilly named Sportsman of the Year as he had won three of the last four Sun Tours. The compere was Lion Royce Pepin for the first time. Stan Morrison who had compered on the previous 12 occasions occupied a “spot” with a comedy act.

In December 1974 it was announced that the Lions Club of Essendon would run a Henley on the Maribyrnong Regatta and Carnival. This had been popular pre-war. The Regatta on Saturday, 15th February 1975 had 49 events and was organised by the Essendon Rowing Club. The carnival in Maribyrnong Park had rides for all ages and sideshows. It ran on Thursday and Friday evenings, Saturday including evening and Sunday afternoon. Refreshments at reasonable prices were provided. The Essendon Gazette kept the community well informed particularly about the Miss Henley and Charity Queen Quests. There were 25 entrants, sponsored by local business, and Miss Henley 1975 was Robyn Dixon. Many prizes had been donated by local retailers.

The Lions Club of Essendon in March 1975 held the second of its regular fortnightly meetings at Pentridge with about 50 prisoners from A Division present. The guest speaker was Neil Roberts who spoke of his experiences in sport and as officer in charge at Australia’s Antarctic base.

The club conducted its third free Amblyopia Eye Survey for children on 22nd March 1975. On this occasion it was held in the foyer of the Essendon Town Hall.

The seventh annual drive-in Good Friday service in 1975 was held in fine weather and attracted what was probably the best attendance to date of approximately 1500. A highlight was the singing of Markeeta Little Wolf. Eric Pearce who again read the Scriptures introduced Markeeta and recalled meeting her father, wrestler chief Little Wolf, 30 years ago while helping the appeal for the Royal Children’s Hospital. Markeeta’s parents were in the congregation on this occasion. An offering of $254 was taken for the Royal Children’s Hospital.

Jane Lock MBE won the award of Sportsman of the Year for 1975 at the annual Sportsmen’s Breakfast. She was the first golfer to win and the first woman to win since Nell Hopman won jointly with her husband in 1964. After successful years in 1973 and 1974 she was awarded an MBE for her services to golf at the age of 20. In 1975 she was undefeated in Commonwealth Teams matches in Britain and won the Australian title and the Benson & Hedges event in Auckland. Neil Baudinette was compere and $4000 was raised for the club’s community service. Money raisers included raffles and a sweep on the phantom broadcast.

Christmas cakes were introduced as a National project to raise funds for the National Save Sight program. They were called “Lion Save Sight Christmas Cakes”. Jim Richards became responsible for club sales in 1972 selling 1000 cakes. In 1973 sales were 2724 cakes and in 1975 a record number of 5000 cakes was sold earning $2205 for the club plus a $100 prize. A large number of the sales had been made through R.J.Gilbertson Butcher Shops.

The second Henley on the Maribyrnong Festival was run in 1976 and it proved even more successful than the first both in enjoyment by the community and financially. The club’s community service account profited by $5000 due largely to the Henley Girl Quest, which was run again by Lion Ern Basford.

Ashton’s Circus was again sponsored by the Lions Club of Essendon in 1976. It raised $1060 for the club, which gave half to the Italian Earthquake Disaster Appeal.

The Good Friday Service at Hoyts Maribyrnong drive-in was again appreciated by those who attended. It was again organised by Lion Ern Basford.

President John Watson ended his term of office in June 1976. In 12 months $18,000 had been raised for community service and over $17,000 dispersed. Recipients included Lionsville $8500, Essendon and District Hospital $2000, YMCA $1500, Strathmore Chaplaincy $500, Lions International Foundation $500 and Licola $425.

At the 1976 Sportsmen’s Breakfast, Bob Middleton became the newly named sports personality of the year. A bowler, Bob won a silver medal in the world championship singles and a bronze medal in the pairs. A new award, Entertainer of the Year, went to Gus Mercurio.

The Henley on the Maribyrnong Festival was a highlight of 1977 with 31 girls entering the Miss Henley Quest. It was again well advertised by the Gazette with photos of the girls and a special supplement. The Henley Charity Queen, Adele Pearson, won a holiday for two to the Gold Coast including a week’s accommodation at Broadbeach International Hotel. Debra Chapman was judged Miss Henley.

The annual drive-in service continued to be held on Good Friday in 1977. Rev Lyall Dixon was guest speaker, football coach John Birt led the prayers and Eric Pearce OBE read the Scriptures.

For the year to June 1977, the amount raised for community service was $18,000. Significant allocations included Essendon and District Hospital $6000, Melbourne Overseas Mission (New Guinea) $2000, Lions Bushfire Relief $1000, Lions International Foundation $1106, Licola $646, World Vision $644, YMCA $600, Sudan United Mission $600, St. Barnabas Hospital (New Guinea) $500 and Eye Camp (India) $500.

Ron Barassi received the award as Sports Personality of the year for coaching North Melbourne to back to back premierships. He congratulated the Lions Club of Essendon for their running of the Sportsmen’s Breakfast. Over 750 attended and $9,235 was raised for community service. Bert Bryant was Entertainer of the Year.

The 1978 “Henley on the Maribyrnong” was the most successful to date. Miss Don Smallgoods, Christine Middleton was chosen “Miss Henley” from 27 entrants. Miss Charity Queen was Debbie Woods. She was sponsored by the Essendon Police Dance Group and raised $4358. The total raised by the festival was $9427 eclipsing even the record Sportsmen’s Breakfast.

The Lions Club of Essendon celebrated its 25th charter anniversary with a dinner dance at Ardmillan House and 185 attending.

Guests included Lion Jim McLardie, Australian secretary and regional manager, Sir Kenneth Wheeler, MLA Essendon, and Lady Wheeler and the Mayor and Mayoress of Essendon, Cr and Mrs. Jan Blair. Dance music was provided by Lion Ken Chadwick and his orchestra.

As part of its anniversary the Lions Club of Essendon conducted another very rewarding eye screening project. Using a specially equipped Lions mobile caravan, wives of Lions screened 528 children, from four primary schools for amblyopia and referred 26 to optometrists. On Saturday the caravan operated in the mall, Puckle Street with the aid of 10 optometrists from the College of Optometry, who gave their time free of charge, and 202 people were tested for glaucoma with four definite cases detected.

In 1977-78 with Alex Downey as President, a total of $23,919 was raised for community service and $20,994 dispersed. This included $8000 to Lionsville, $2000 for Muscular Dystrophy, $2000 to Essendon City Council for a slide in Woodlands Park, $1100 to Lions International Foundation and $525 to Autistic Children. $2,629 was given to the Police Youth Dance Group, which included half of the amount they raised for the Miss Charity Queen Quest. $500 was given to each of the YMCA, Citizen’s Advisory Bureau, Essendon Technical and Strathmore High Chaplaincies and Licola Village.

The Sports Personality of the Year for 1978 was cyclist Phil Anderson and his “Lion” was presented by Sir Hubert Opperman. John McMahon won the Entertainer of the Year Award.

Sir Hubert Opperman was guest speaker at the club’s dinner meeting on April 2nd 1979 and spoke mainly on his memories of Malta where he was High Commissioner for five years, although he also related some humorous experiences of his bike riding days.

At the annual Henley on Maribyrnong, Julie Treasure was crowned Miss Henley 1979. Anne Cayley, who raised $2,354 was named Miss Charity Queen.

President Neil Baudinette announced at his President’s night in June 1979 that the club had raised $30,500 in the past 12 months for community service. The Sportsmen’s Breakfast and Henley on Maribyrnong had each raised over $9000 and the bingo nights at the Moonee Valley Racing Club, run jointly with the Rotary Club, raised $6500 for the Lions Club of Essendon. Christmas Cake sales provided $2000 profit for the club. An allocation of $10,000 was made to Lionsville, $3500 to school chaplaincies, and $3000 to each of “Gladswood” Homes and the Thompson Reserve project. $1500 was given to the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, $1250 to the Police Dance Group and $1000 to each of the Lions International Foundation and the YMCA. $500 was given to each of Licola, Autistic Children’s Centre (Ascot Vale), Deaf and Blind Rubella Children, Debney Park High School Band and Sri Lanka Cyclone Disaster Fund.

Lion Jack McCraith had been chairman of the club’s Health and Welfare committee for a number of years arranging transport of blind people to their day centres, testing of eyesight, toys for Baltara, assistance for Turana and in other ways providing for the needs of the disadvantaged. On President’s night he received the $1000 cheque for the YMCA from President Neil. The YMCA Building Fund was another charity for which Lion Jack worked very hard.

Carlton Football Club’s captain / coach, Alex Jesaulenko received the ‘Lion’ trophy as Sports Personality of the Year 1979 at the annual Cup Day Breakfast. Tiki and John Newman were named Entertainer of the Year. A feature was the Melbourne Cup on Wheels. Winner of the stationary bicycle event was Sun Tour winner John Trevorrow. A cheque for $4000 was received from the Sponsor plus $500 to Debney Park High School Band for an Outback Tour. The Band from a disadvantaged school had also performed for Essendon Lions and guests at a dinner meeting. Over 600 people attended the Breakfast at the Southern Cross Hotel and over $9000 was raised for community service.

Chapter 6 – The Leo Club of Essendon

Written by Stephen Brown

The concept of the Leo Club was established under the banner and guidance of Lions International. The idealism embodied in the organisation was set out in the Statement of Purpose and Statement of Objectives as documented in the Leo Club Handbook, published by The International Association of Lions Clubs.

The purpose of Leo Clubs was:

“To promote service activities among the youth of the community which will develop the individual qualities of LEADERSHIP, EXPERIENCE and OPPORTUNITY.

To unite it’s members in friendship, fellowship and mutual understanding.”

The objects of Leo Clubs was:

“To provide the youth of the world an opportunity for development and contribution, individually and collectively, as responsible members of the local, national and international community.

To stimulate among its members acceptance of high ethical standards. To develop leadership. To provide experience through service to the community. To provide an opportunity to promote international understanding.”

The Leo Club of Essendon as established by the Lions Club of Essendon was one of the very first such clubs established in Australia.

The charter year The suggestion and possibility of establishing a Leo Club linked to the Lions Club of Essendon emerged towards the end of 1971. A formal resolution of a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Lions Club of Essendon in December of 1971 started the process which led eventually to the formation of the Leo Club of Essendon. The resolution, under the sponsorship of Lions Club President Bruce Collings committed the club to investigate the possibility of forming a Leo Club for young persons aged 15 to 20 years of age living in the Essendon area. At the February 1972 directors meeting, Lion Andy Brown was elected as “Leo Club of Essendon Charter Chairman”. In this capacity, Lion Andy was basically given the brief to bring this bold and exciting initiative to fruition.

Andy Brown immediately set to work and a preliminary meeting of interested young people was held on 15 April 1972 at Ardmillan House, Moonee Ponds. At this meeting, which was convened by the President Bruce Collings, Lion Bruce and Lion Andy addressed the assembled gathering. Leo Pauline Woods from the Leo Club of Keilor was also in attendance and spoke about her club. Some fifteen young people were present at the initial meeting with considerable interest and enthusiasm displayed. A follow-up meeting was planned for Tuesday 13 June 1972, to be held at “Ruthville” Hall, Lionsville, Pascoe Vale Road.

Publicity for the initiative was immediately forthcoming from the local newspaper, The Essendon Gazette, which carried an article on June 9 under the banner “Who wants to be a Leo?”. The article, together with an accompanying photograph reported the initial meeting and provided valuable publicity for the meeting planned for later in June. A general invitation to any young person between the ages of 16 and 21 years who might be interested in joining the new club was also conveyed in the article. The philosophy behind the Leo Club was also spelled out briefly for interested individuals.

[Insert Photograph of Bruce Collings, Andy Brown, Stephen Brown and Julie Collings about here.]

At the followup meeting on 13th June, a decision was taken to proceed to form the Leo Club of Essendon. This meeting, which was held under the acting chairmanship of Graeme Chalmers (later to be the Charter President of the Leo Club of Essendon) followed a formal agenda and the first guest speaker for the club was Sgt. Tom O’Keefe of the Essendon Police. More publicity was forthcoming with a second article in The Gazette reporting the decision taken on June 13th to establish the club.

Despite the formal chartering of the club not happening until September 1972, the future club members wasted no time commencing activities and making contributions to the local community. The major fund raising activity held at this time was a Pramathon where members pushed an old childrens pram around the streets of Essendon and Moonee Ponds. Several local identities, including the Mayor of Essendon, Councillor Ken Davis, donated time riding in the pram and helping with pushing. The Mayor received some welcome publicity when a news crew from the (then) ATV Channel 0 attended and reported on the clubs activities in the evening news bulletin. This inaugural activity, which raised the sum of $500 for the Essendon District Hospital, was to be the first event in a long list of activities designed to support the Hospital. From this early point an ongoing relationship was to develop between the soon to be Leo Club and the Hospital.

Formal chartering of the club occurred on the 12th of September 1972 with a gala evening at the Hotel International Banquet Hall, Tullamarine. On this occasion 201F District Governor Eric Hattam conducted the Certificate of Organisation ceremony. Representatives of the Lions Club of Essendon introduced the charter office bearers and the District Governor formally installed them in their positions. By the time of chartering, membership had increased to twenty six. The office bearers and members at the time of charter were:

President Graeme Chalmers Members: Jan Colquhon Vice President Ken Gilbertson Paul Conaghan Secretary Stephen Brown Beverley Craven Treasurer Julie Collings Rodney Leo Tamer Peter Gilbertson Crosthwaite Tail Twister Jill Murdoch Heather Dallwitz Directors Phillip Cobbin Ian Douglas Deborah Sexton Julieann De Zoete Pauline Wright Trevor Foreshaw Edwina Harrod Neil Hunichen Dianne Cranwell Don Williams Karen Morley Beth Murdoch Robert Thompson Geoff Watt

A burst of enthusiasm set off a long list of projects and activities in the first year. Immediately following charter, the members conducted a fund raising car wash on Fathers Day and were involved in lawn mowing and garden clean-up for a number of elderly and deserving citizens. A major effort was given over to painting the Essendon Ladies Rowing Club Pavilion on the Maribyrnong River in an attempt to remove what was then quite an eyesore in the area. A successful Shoe-shine activity was conducted in Puckle Street together with a distribution of pieces of Christmas Cake to shoppers. Whilst this was not a fund raising activity, it engendered a significant amount of goodwill from the local community and once again some timely and valuable press publicity was provided courtesy of the Essendon Gazette. The Lions Club had, for many years sold Christmas Cakes in the local area as a major fundraising effort and Leos were immediately co-opted to help with this project.

[Insert photograph of Carol Groves at Shoe Shine in Puckle Street about here]

The inaugural year of the Leo Club continued through 1972 / 73 culminating in the first changeover night and charter anniversary being held in September of 1973 at Ardmillan House, Moonee Ponds. Charter President Graeme Chalmers passed the symbol of office, a gong and gavel, to new president, Leo Ken Gilbertson.

Throughout the 1970s and into the early 1980s, the Leo Club of Essendon continued to serve the communities of Essendon and Moonee Ponds, raising funds and performing community services as the opportunities arose.

Community Service The list of community service activities is impressive and includes, among others:

 Participation in the Amblyopia Survey conducted in conjunction with many primary schools in the district. Otherwise known as the Sight Conservation Project, many young children received lasting benefit from this survey in the form of early detection of potential vision problems. This was a major, on-going project of the Lions Club that continued for a number of years;  Collecting for the Royal Childrens Hospital at the Inter-denominational church service held each Good Friday at the (then) Maribyrnong Drive-In Theatre;  Conducting a Road Safety Day for young children at the Essendon Traffic School complex in Montgomery Park in Albion Street;  Participation and coordination of a number of activities associated with the Henley- on-the-Maribyrnong Festival which was a feature of late summer in the city. This festival, which was actually the fore-runner to the Moonee Valley Festival, was another idea conceived and introduced by the Lions Club of Essendon. Leos helped out in a number of areas particularly with side show and carnival activities as well as selling refreshments. Involvement with the Miss Henley Quest was a further area of involvement not only in respect of logistical activities but also a number of Leos participated in the quest as contestants;  Provision of time to help some families in the district who had intellectually handicapped children. Leos volunteered time to enable family members the opportunity of some relief from the pressure of having to care for loved ones;  On a number of occasions a group of students from Yooralla in Glenroy were taken to Brimbank Park for a picnic and an afternoon of fun and relaxation. A number of individuals were seen to fall in the creek but a terrific time was had by all participants;  Painting and general maintenance was carried out for a number of elderly citizens. Some projects were short lived while others continued on for a considerable period of time. The decision to paint the outside of the house of an elderly lady in Moonee Ponds consumed a great deal of Leo time and the project was finally brought to a conclusion much to the relief of all concerned. A valuable lesson was learned from this project for future years in that the club needed to be a little more careful in accepting only projects for which it had not only the expertise but was sure it could bring to completion within a reasonable period of time;  Preparation of an Information Booklet for secondary school students. This booklet was compiled by members of the club and circulated widely to many high schools in the area;  Collecting at various sites was done on behalf of:  The Royal Childrens Hospital;  National Heart Foundation; and  The Yooralla Society.  A significant number of worthy causes were the recipients of annual distributions from club funds, typically as the final task of the outgoing president. Among causes supported in this way were;  The Essendon & District Memorial Hospital;  Council for Christian Education in Schools;  Youth Line – Life Line  Outward Bound Sponsorship for Ward of the State  Hartnett House  Yooralla Glenroy  Peter McCallum Clinic  Multiple Sclerosis Society

Club Activities From the outset, the Leo Club of Essendon was established much along the lines of a Lions Club but with a rather more relaxed approach to the manner in which business of the club was carried out. Meetings were held on a fortnightly basis (twice a month) on Friday evening usually at Ruthville Hall, Lionsville. A formal agenda and formal meeting structure was adopted with Program, Project, Membership and Publicity chairpersons presenting oral or written reports on club business and progress. In this way all members were kept fully informed as to club activities. The Tail Twister and Leo Tamer carried out similar roles as those within the Lions Club. Whilst the meeting part of the evening retained formality, it was typically dispensed with inside 90 minutes after which an activity was organised for members to participate in. The listing of activities is large and extremely varied and is a testament to the originality, ingenuity and hard work of the various Program Committee chairpersons and their respective committees. Some activities were conducted at Ruthville, for example guest speakers, Dutch Auctions etc whilst others required a move to an alternative venue, for example Ten Pin Bowling, Progressive Dinners, etc. Supper was organised after each activity prior to the close of business for the night.

Directors meetings were held on a monthly basis, once again on a Friday evening between club meetings. Similar procedures were adopted for each meeting with reports presented and various decisions taken. Committee meetings were held on an ad hoc basis depending on the need as determined by the committee chairperson at the time. Full and formal reporting of all activities of the club was expected and detailed annual reports were prepared and presented at the conclusion of each year of office. The anniversary of charter celebration was the occasion on which the report was circulated to members and formally adopted as a record of club activities for the year.

Charter anniversaries were the social highpoint of the Leo year. The Leo Club of Essendon varied its location and celebrated this occasion at Kismet, Sunbury; Emu Bottom, Sunbury; Roslyn Court, Essendon and Ardmillan House, Moonee Ponds.

Membership Twenty five individuals were inducted as charter members of the Leo Club on 12th September 1972 and this level of membership was to remain fairly constant throughout the life of the club. Whilst the average number of members remained around this level, turnover was quite high with a significant number of members passing through the club in a fairly quick period of time. It is interesting to note that a number of charter members retained membership through the 1970s and eventually confronted reaching the age limit imposed for membership. The initial limit of the club was set at 23 years but this was subsequently moved to 25 years. The problem and challenge for any organisation with a membership caveat like this is to find new and enthusiastic members to replace those who will inevitably move on.

Visitation From the outset, a strong network of contacts promoted and fostered by Lions Clubs between Leo Clubs. The Leo Club of Essendon entered in the spirit of this aspect of Leoism and made many visits to others clubs and were pleased to host reciprocal visits for those clubs. Members of the Leo Club of Essendon attended charter celebrations at Anglesea, Bendigo, Broadmeadows, Geelong, Keilor, Kilmore and Portland, among others and a number of lasting friendships developed from these visits. We hosted visits from Bendigo and Keilor Leos. A link was also established with the Essendon Rotoract Club which proved quite beneficial to both parties.

Concluding comments The Leo Club of Essendon drew together, over a period of a dozen years or so a large number of young people who had a mutual interest in making a tangible contribution to their community. Under the careful guidance of the sponsoring Lions Club, the Leo Club made a significant contribution to the community of Essendon. Some valuable and lasting benefits reside in the community today from club activities and projects and while tangible evidence of the club’s endeavours is difficult to observe explicitly, the intangible impact is enduring. The particular commitment made to the Essendon & District Memorial Hospital was intended to be enduring. Despite the present condition of this facility being at variance with what the community had originally planned, the contribution and commitment made by the Leo Club was much appreciated at the time.

Throughout the existence of the Leo Club, the support of the Lions Clubs was constant and unwavering. A relatively small coterie of lions took up the challenge posed by various presidents to work actively and closely with Leos. This group were usually in attendance at Leo Club activities and provided wise and timely counsel when needed. Their commitment to the youth of the area was outstanding. Whilst the support of the Lions Club generally was undiminished, the interest taken and time given by this group of lions was particularly appreciated and valued.

The Leo Club of Essendon came into existence at a time which was mutually convenient to a number of young people in the Essendon area. The response to the call for interest came at an opportune time for these people who were willing to make commitment to the ideals of Leoism and a tangible contribution to their community. All who participated in the various activities and projects of the club can look back on those times with fondness and a sense of pride.

Chapter 7 – The Eighties

In December 1979, the free public barbecue area at Thompson Reserve was opened by the Mayor of Essendon, Kevin Dowling. Both the Council and the Lions Club of Essendon had contributed $3000 to the project and Lions members had spent many Saturdays working there. 1979-1980 President, Jack Grantham later had this to say about the project. Thompson Reserve was an old reservoir site. It was wasted space so the Lions Club took it over to make something of it. We donated money to the Council and they graded it and put in some gardens. We had working bees, planted trees and built a bluestone wall to enclose an area for people to sit and eat meals. Two barbeques and a drinking fountain were put in. It was a good project because it involved hands on work for the club. The Reserve got a lot of praise as a much needed recreational centre. It gave an area for children to run around in and kick a football. We hoped to run a steam train and obtained one from Queensland and brought it down but this was unacceptable. Then we were going to put in a plane like a wartime Wirraway on a stand but that was considered dangerous as children might climb up. We had planned a backboard for basketball but some locals objected. A number of ideas did not eventuate so it was left as a park with barbeques, gardens and open space.

The annual Henley on the Maribyrnong festival was held over four days in February 1980 with the Henley Girls again proving good money raisers. Coralie Evans was named Miss Henley. The Charity Queen received a trip for two to the Gold Coast with a week’s accommodation at Broadbeach International Hotel for raising the most money for the Lions Club community service fund.

The annual Good Friday drive-in service was held in bright sunshine with 300 cars there. Addresses were given by Dean F. M. Chamberlain of St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Rev. Ian Ellis, director of St. John’s Home for Boys and Girls, who was Father of the Year for 1978. Readings from the Old and New Testaments were taken by Eric Pearce and prayers were led by Rev. Jim Hazeldine of St. Andrew’s Uniting Church, Footscray. This was now a joint project of the Lions Clubs of Essendon and Footscray.

During Jack Grantham’s year as President the club raised and dispersed $29,000 for community service. Chief fundraisers were Sportsmen’s Breakfast $9237, Henley on the Maribyrnong $6760, Bingo $6300, Christmas Cakes $2450 plus $500 bonus for highest District sales, and Lions ladies $1223. The major dispersals were to Lionsville $9000, Thompson Reserve $3000, North Essendon Ambulance Centre $2000, YMCA $2000, Autistic Children Centre for a bus $1800, Strathmore and Essendon School Chaplaincies each $1000, Citizens Advice Bureau $1000, Gladswood $1000 and to Lions International Foundation for Kampuchean Relief $1000. An additional $790 was given to the Lions International Foundation and $700 to the club’s Youth Exchange program.

The amount of $1052 was returned to the Police Youth Dance Group for their charities, being half that raised by the Group in the Miss Henley Quest.

In June 1980 President Jack Grantham handed over the keys of a Datsun bus to the director of the Autistic Children’s Centre, Helen Byrne. At his changeover night in July, Jack said this donation and $1000 to Kampuchean Relief gave him particular personal pleasure.

Lions Ladies again tested children aged 5 and 6 for ambylophia or lazy eye by visiting primary schools. Only nine children out of 326 were referred to eye specialists. This was the ninth year these tests have been provided.

The Sportsmen’s Breakfast was held once more on cup day with Stan Morrison as compere. Sports Personality 1980 was Bart Cummings after training his seventh Melbourne Cup winner, four in six years. Paul Cronin who was then playing Dave Sullivan in the TV Series, The Sullivans, was named Entertainer of the Year.

The two exchange students chosen by the Lions Club of Essendon for five weeks in New Zealand were Jillian Hassed and Trevor Crook. They flew out on 2nd January 1981 and were guests of New Zealand Lions.

The Henley Girls Quest received good publicity in the local press leading up the judging of Suzie Jones as Miss Henley 1981. Suzie was also second in the Charity Girl section, which was won by Heather O’Gilvie who raised $2987. The Quest raised a total of $5900. Lisa Crittenden of The Sullivans compered the judging. A loud noise came from the Hole in One competition when Ron Duggan won $500 for a hole in one. He claimed he practices in the paddock but had never reached the green before in one. Fortunately the prize was covered by a bet with a bookmaker.

During 1980-1981 a total of $31,000 was raised and dispersed. The Sportsmen’s Breakfast returned $9500 with the major sponsor giving $4000. The Bingo held on Friday nights alternately with the Rotary Club raised $8400, which was a big improvement, while Henley on Maribyrnong returned $6300. Christmas Cakes raised $2527 and again won the District prize, which was a barbeque. Lion mints returned $807 and Lions Ladies raised a total of $1318. The Ambulance Station was not built so the $5000 raised to date was invested and used in 1988 for drug education.

The major dispersal was $9400 to Lionsville. The North Essendon Ambulance Station and Thompson Reserve each received $3000. The YMCA Essendon and the Strathmore Chaplaincy were given $2000 each. The Citizens Advice Bureau received $1500 and Essendon City Council $1000 for Ascot Housing. The Regional Manager and Australian Secretary of Lions International, Lion A.J. McLardie wrote: I never cease to get amazed at the productivity of your club. I only wish that we could have the pleasure of gaining the satisfaction that must be part of your way of life. Would you please let the fellows know how proud I am of their activities. You are an example to us all. Keep up the good work.

The Lions Club of Essendon continued its free testing for ambylopia on Friday to Sunday, 30th October to 1st November 1981, using a four-roomed 40-foot caravan. Testing for glaucoma was also carried out on the Saturday.

The 1981 Sports Personality of the Year was disabled athlete Eric Hubel who won four silver medals at the 1980 Paraplegic Olympics. Johnny Young of the Young Talent Time fame was chosen as Entertainer of the Year. Both received their award at the 20th Sportsmen’s Breakfast and Lions Stan Morrison and Eric Hattam received awards for organising the twenty annual breakfasts.

The 1982 Henley on Maribyrnong Regatta featured 67 events including 17 Ladies’ events. Nine crews contested the City of Essendon Cup. Four girls upstaged the men to win the first Henley raft race with the men perhaps concentrating too much on throwing flour bombs. Kim Kermonde was crowned Miss Henley and Ann Jordan was named Charity Queen for raising $3210.

The drive-in Good Friday service organised by the Essendon and Footscray Lions Clubs attracted 900 people. Sir Eric Pearce OBE continued his tradition of reading the Scriptures. A collection for a CAT scanner for the Peter McCallum Hospital yielded $470.

Ern Basford BEM was presented with Life Membership of Lions Clubs International by Lions International Director Ian Stockdale at the 17th May 1982 dinner meeting at Ardmillan House. Ern was known particularly for running the drive-in services, organising the Henley Girl’s competitions and fund raising, development of Thompson Reserve, for sponsoring more than 20 other members and for his support of Lionsville. At the presentation Ern said, “I live for Lions. It helps people not as well off as ourselves”. He said the most rewarding of all Lions projects he had been involved in was when they finished building a house for a needy mother and her five children, referring to an early project of the club. He said the lady’s smile of appreciation was the best reward.

Again the amount of $31,000 was raised in 1981-82 for community service. The big recipient was Lionsville, which received $23,500 towards its building program for the Hostel. Many charities received amounts up to $1000.

The Sportsmen’s Breakfast raised another $10,000 largely due to sponsors. Carlton’s premiership coach, David Parkin was Sports Personality of the Year and Football Commentator Lou Richards received the Entertainer of the Year Award. A special award was given to SunTour winner Terry Hammond although beaten by a tyre in the rollercycling Melbourne Cup on Wheels final by Clyde Sefton. The Victorian Police Trumpet Trio opened the entertainment and was followed in the star maker spot by Chantell who recently won the People’s Choice show of New Faces.

In November 1982 Stan Morrison was made a fellow of the Melvin Jones Foundation for almost 30 years of service to Lions, having been a charter member in 1953. Stan had organised and compered the Sportsmen’s Breakfast for most of its 20 years and recently had been the driving force in the construction of a hostel at Lionsville for the frail aged. Stan had held 23 offices in district cabinet. Only nine such awards in the world had been made in 1982.

A highlight of the 1983 Henley on the Maribyrnong Regatta and Carnival was the parachute jumping display given by the Golden Eagles who landed right on target at the Walsh Oval. Charity Queen Annette Paten raised $3743 and Leanne Davis was named Miss Henley. The carnival was the Top Hat from Rosebud with Lions and Lions Ladies manning many stalls. The total raised for the Lionsville Hostel was $14,300 including the Henley Raffle with $4800 returned to assisting clubs being half of money raised by them.

The Good Friday drive-in service was again organised by the Lions Clubs of Essendon and Footscray in 1983. Guest speakers were Rev. Arthur Preston AO, OBE, former superintendent of Wesley Central Mission and Father Vince Kiss from Sydney former director of Youth Council of Victoria.

The Club’s 30th anniversary dinner on April 18th 1983 at Ardmillan House attracted 140 guests. Former Essendon MLA Sir Kenneth Wheeler said the Lions had proved themselves to be an organisation of leaders and that Lionsville, the biggest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, was a monument to the club.

The three remaining charter members, Past Presidents Ern Basford, Graham Swann and Stan Morrison cut the cake. Ern said “I have enjoyed being a member .. anything I’ve done to help is because I believe it’s better to give than to receive”. Graham said “I’m very proud to be a Lion – it has been a wonderful experience. I hope we have done some good for the community". Stan said, "Satisfaction was a key element in Lionism. Fulfilment is the one thing that keeps Lions in Lionism". Entertainment was provided by Henley Quest entrant and singer Debbie Stevenson and guest speaker was Lion Father Vincent Kiss.

Community service income exceeded $30,000 for 1982-83, the major contributors being Henley and the Sportsmen’s Breakfast. Bingo raised $1986 despite closing during the year. Sale of Christmas cakes raised $2000 including the $500 district prize. A jumble sale resulted in $670. The major disbursement was $16,000 to the Lionsville Hostel building fund. Bushfire relief received $1600 and Strathmore High School chaplaincy $1500. Youth exchange to Indonesia was given $965 and a Safe House Program $625.

The 1983 Sportsmen’s Breakfast saw long distance runner Cliff Young, winner of the Sydney to Melbourne race, announced as Sports Personality of the Year. Actress Lorraine Bayley, former star of The Sullivans and now Carsons Law, was named Entertainer of the Year. Entertainment included the Harmonicans from New Faces, world champion whistling fireman Ralph Weitering, the Tivoli dancers, singer Suzanne Steele and comedian Don Jones. Allen Eade won the roller cycling and the phantom call of the Melbourne Cup picked the eventual winner, Kiwi. This was the first year that women were invited to the Breakfast apart from recipients and performers.

There was a change to the Henley Regatta as the Lions Club of Essendon concentrated on running the newly named Popular Girl Quest won by Catherine Galle. Judging was at the Sound Shell in Queens Park on Sunday March 18th 1984. Leigh Pignatelli was Charity Queen having raised $3136. Together with the Monster Raffle a total of $9000 was raised.

The club continued running a Youth of the Year contest in 1984. The winner at the February 20th dinner meeting was Rodney Gibbard who went on to win the Zone Final and was narrowly beaten in the State contest.

The drive-in Good Friday service was again full and 68 aged persons were transported by Lions and Lions Ladies to the service. Father Brosnan, the chaplain of Pentridge, complimented Lion Ern Basford for initiating and organising the services.

The community service account dispersed $25,000 for 1983-84 with Lionsville receiving $12,500. $6500 was returned to 60 clubs being half their sales in the monster raffle.

Sports Personality of the Year for 1984 was the popular Glynis Nunn who won the Olympic gold medal in heptathlon. Glynis flew in from Adelaide and was looked after by John and Ethel Dallwitz and given a tour of Lionsville before returning. Entertainer of the Year was Bert Newton MBE. After breakfast, a program of 38 events was fitted into 2hours and 20minutes. This included performances by The Wonders, Terrike Trio, Adrienne Jobling, Lionel Wood and Andrew Dudley. Laurie Venn and Murray Hall dead heated in the roller cycling. There was a four-minute interview with triple Brownlow medallist Dick Reynolds.

Lion John DeZoete, President in 1968-69, died at the end of 1984. He had introduced the Youth of the Year contest in 1965 and became Leo District Chairman in 1974. He set the tone of meetings as Tail Twister and was President of Lionsville for the opening of units 70-94 and Ruthville in 1976. Another member Dr Max Velik, President 1972-73, died in early 1985. As a Lion he was on the committee and then trustee for the National Lion Eye Research Centre for the Eye and Ear Hospital and then for the Lions Club Unit for Melbourne University. He was then closely involved in the development of Lionsville for over twenty years.

Winner of the 1985 Essendon Popular Girl Quest run by the Lions Club of Essendon was Rowena Harding. Rain forced the judging to be moved from Queens Park to the Essendon Civic Theatre. Shireen Catton was the charity girl.

After returning half the money raised by charities for the Popular Girl Quest and Monster Raffle, the amount of $23,000 was allocated for community service 1984-85. This included Lionsville $10,000, Stroke Research $2000 and $1000 each to Licola, Lions Clubs International Foundation and Strathmore Chaplaincy. The amount of $5000 was set aside for an RAAF aircraft for Thompson’s Reserve which did not proceed.

For Lions International World Service Day, Essendon Lions ran an organ transplant program distributing donor cards at shopping centres. Lions International pledged $500,000 to set up an eye bank at the Eye and Ear Hospital.

The 24th Sportsmen’s Breakfast was held on Melbourne Cup Day 1985. Kevin Sheedy was Sports Personality of the Year after coaching Essendon to Premierships in 1984 and 1985. Entertainer of the Year was cartoonist William Ellis Green or WEG. A feature was the handball competition won by Collingwood’s Peter McCormick. Robert Draper of AFT donated $4000 and an AFT cap for each guest. The Kew City Band and Glendells Marching Girls entertained the guests and John Lidgerwood was compere.

At the 1986 Australia Day celebrations Lion Lindsay Woods was proclaimed City of Essendon Citizen of the Year. Lindsay was President of the Lions Club of Essendon in 1973- 74 and had been honorary secretary treasurer of Lionsville for 15 years. He said the award should be shared with Lionsville and the Lions Club and that he believes the whole function of the club is superb because it helps a lot of people in so many ways. “When you do something like this for a number of years you do it because you like it” he said. In the Queens Birthday Honours Lindsay received a medal of the Order of Australia.

The 18th Lions “come as you are in the family car” Good Friday service had Father John Brosnan as guest speaker and an attendance of around 1000. Sir Eric Pearce read the scriptures as he had from the second service missing one when overseas. Soloist was baritone Lionel Wood and organist was Les Roberts for the 15th occasion.

The amount raised for community service in 1985-86 was almost $40,000 with $18,000 from the Monster Raffle of which $11,000 was returned to participating clubs. Other disbursements totalled $26,700 including Lionsville $15,500, Victorian Lions Foundation $2500 (Licola $1000), Lions Club International $2000, YMCA $1200, Drugs Rehabilitation $1200 and Rehabilitation Youth Centre $1000. A bequest of $50,000 was received which was invested at 16% with the National Australia Bank for future purposes.

Stan Morrison ended three years retirement to compere the 25th Sportsmen’s Breakfast on Cup Day 1986. Entertainer of the Year was Greg Evans, the host of long running TV show Perfect Match. Sports Personality of the Year award went to West Essendon cyclist Gary Neiwand who won the sprint gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh. Entertainment included the Downtown Dixielanders Jazz Band, Lionel Wood and soprano Margaret Nisbett. Sponsor was the ANZ Bank.

The Popular Girl Quest was run in 1987 in conjunction with the Essendon Festival. Christine Faraday won the popular girl section and Karen Strang won the charity section raising $1046 of the total $6400.

In April 1987 the Ascot Vale Lions Club received its charter. The Lions Club of Essendon sponsored the new club, which quickly organised a charter auction.

The Essendon and Footscray Lions Clubs ran their 19th drive-in service on Good Friday. Speakers were Rev. Father Gerard Dowling of 3DB talk back and Rev. Alex Kenworthy of 3AW talk back with Sir Eric Pearce reading scriptures.

After returning $9000 to clubs from the Monster Raffle amount of $13,500, $28,000 was raised for community service. Including $18,000 from capital, $46,000 was dispersed. This included $28,000 to Lionsville, $3500 to Victorian Lions Foundation, $2500 to Lions Club International Foundation, $1000 to Australian Lions Foundation, $1300 to Thompson’s Reserve and $1000 each to the Drug Education Centre, Marivale Nursing Home and Essendon Anniversary Fund. Lions Ladies raised $1350.

Essendon hosted an exchange student Keiko Harada from Japan who stayed with Joan and Andrew Gregoor for six weeks. She was guest at dinner meetings including a special dinner at a Japanese restaurant. She saw a lot of the Melbourne area including Phillip Island, Ballarat, Melbourne Zoo and Aussie Rules.

The 1987 Sports Personality of the Year was Neil Snowden who was Hockey goalie in the 1984 Olympics and the winning World Cup team in Amsterdam. He was chosen in that position in the World Eleven team. He had come through the ranks of Essendon club teams. Entertainer of the Year was TV personality Mal Walden. Entertainment commenced with the St. Albans Tech. Big Band followed by the Renie Ann dancers, singer Gavan McManus, jazz singer Margaret Morrison, daughter of compere Stan and comedian Ray Gilson. Prizes for Phantom Cup Sweep included an interstate holiday for two from Ansett. This phantom call predicted the Cup winner Kensei. Sponsor was ANZ.

The Essendon Popular Girl Quest, run by the Lions Club of Essendon as part of the 1988 Essendon Festival, was won by Pam Zakrzewski who received a weeks trip for two to Surfers Paradise with Ansett. Michelle Seddon was charity girl having raised $1716 of the total $7500.

The annual Good Friday drive-in service had Rev. Bernie Long, Father Vince Kiss and Rev. Dr. A. H. Wood as speakers. Margaret Nisbett MBE was soloist and St. John’s choir assisted.

The net amount raised for community service in 1987-88 was $21,700 after $8500 was returned to assisting clubs from the Monster Raffle. Christmas Cakes contributed $3000 and Lions Ladies raised $2530. With $18,000 from capital allocated to the Lionsville Day Care Centre, the total dispersed was $55,700. $10,392 was given towards a Life Education Caravan to help prevent drug abuse. This amount resulted from $5000 originally raised for an Ambulance Centre at North Essendon, which was invested for seven years when this did not eventuate. Thompson Reserve received $10,000 and Lionsville $4500.

In August 1988 the club hired a bus with a hoist to take 22 residents from the Essendon Nursing Home to Mt. Macedon with lunch provided.

The highlight of the 1988 Sportsmen’s Breakfast was the award of Sports Personality of the Year to Debbie Flintoff-King. Debbie had won the gold medal in the 400 metre hurdles at the Seoul Olympics in an exciting finish. Her husband and coach in presenting the award praised his wife for the work she put into her preparation and thanked the Lions Club of Essendon for supporting sport at the community level. Vivian Gray received the award of Entertainer of the Year.

A total of 74 attended the Christmas Dinner on 19th December 1988. Included in the guests was Sarah Caldwell, an exchange student from Kaikoura Lions Club NZ.

The Popular Girl Quest was judged as part of the Essendon Festival in March 1989. The winner was Samantha Lawson with the charity section won by Wendy Gregoor.

The 21st Good Friday drive-in service was held in 1989. This was the last of these services due to the sale of the drive-in site.

A total of $37,000 was allocated to community projects including $15,000 returned from the Essendon District Hospital, which did not proceed to completion. This gave $18,000 to Lionsville. Thompson Reserve received $4350 and Youth Exchange Projects $3000.

Chapter 8 - Lionsville Development

This period was dominated by the building of the Hostel complex, with the first stage the 36 bed East Wing being opened in August 1983. The genesis for the project can be traced back as far as 1977. In June of that year the Essendon City Council announced that it would develop all the available land north of Lionsville (about five acres) for “passive recreation” and that planning was already under way.

After considerable lobbying by a small sub-committee, Essendon Council finally agreed to make the land available to Lionsville with the proviso that the MMBW would agree to re-zone the land from “Public Open Space” to “Residential Class C”. The sub-committee worked tirelessly with help from the local State Member Sir Kenneth Wheeler and the Essendon City Manager Barry Beattie, and after some two years the MMBW finally agreed to the re-zoning.

Lionsville then requested the Essendon City Council to make the land available and to transfer the title to Lionsville, which would then qualify to receive a Commonwealth Government Land Subsidy. This subsequently was agreed to and Lionsville received a subsidy of $69,000 towards the first stage. When the second stage was built in 1988/89 Lionsville received a further subsidy of $58,000.

With one acre of land now available, the suggestion was made to the Lionsville Committee of Management that a hostel be built and after several months of discussion the concept finally won support. Amid great excitement, Lionsville Lodge (as it was then known) admitted its first residents in mid 1983. In September at the official opening the then Governor of Victoria, Rear Admiral Sir Brian Murray, used these words: “I must congratulate the Lions Club of Essendon on the foresight and energy they have shown and the many sacrifices they have made. This project is one of the finest examples of Lionism in the world”. The heading for the report of the opening which appeared in the Community News the next week was “Miracle by the Creek”.

The next proposal of the Committee of Management was to complete the Lionsville project by the building of a 30 bed nursing home. However at this time the Federal Government policy was changed to greatly reduce the number of aged persons being transferred to nursing home beds, and subsidies for nursing home beds were drastically cut. Lionsville’s application for approval and subsidy to build a 30 bed nursing home was rejected and approval and subsidy was given to the Uniting Church to build a home in our area.

Lionsville then turned its attention to the possibility of adding a wing to the Hostel with 30 additional beds of which eight would comprise a special care section for confused residents. Finally this was agreed to and a small sub-committee formed to follow through its construction.

The amount of money available from the Federal Government at this time for allocation for hostel buildings was quite insufficient to satisfy all the applications being made. It took months of negotiation and several submissions to persuade the Government to favour the Lionsville application. It was finally agreed to grant funding of $772,500, and the work commenced in late 1988, with the ultimate cost of the project amounting to about $1.8 million. The extension was opened on December 2nd by the then Prime Minister Hon R.J.Hawke. In his address Prime Minister Hawke praised the Lions Club for its commitment to elderly citizens by saying: “You are a credit to your organisation, you are a credit to your community, and you are a credit to your nation”. Further he added, that the project was “very very impressive. I haven’t seen one anywhere in Australia that is more impressive in quality and tone than this complex”.

Back in 1985 a residential property on Pascoe Vale Road on the north side of Lionsville was purchased for future development. A survey of aged needs was conducted in 1987 and this highlighted the need for additional Adult Day Centres. As a consequence the Management Committee of Lionsville agreed to initiate such a project and to make the land available without cost, as well as making a cash donation to the project of some $100,000.

A new Essendon Adult Day Centre Committee of Management was formed comprising representatives of Lionsville, Mt Royal, Essendon City Council and the community, and this later became an incorporated body. The value of Lionsville’s input was assessed at about $250,000.

The new centre commenced operations in late 1989 and was officially opened in April 1990 by the State Minister for Community Services the Hon. Peter Spyker, who commented that this was the first purpose-built Adult Day Centre constructed in Victoria.

Having opened The Adult Day Centre and extended the Lodge, the Lionsville Committee of Management now decided to make extensions to Ruthville, the recreation and meeting centre for the units which was originally opened in 1970. Such extensions would provide much more room for social activities and include new office accommodation and two additional units, one replacing a unit taken over by the new office, bringing the total units to 115. Ruthville would now feature dual purpose dining and auditorium facilities for approximately 135 people, a commercial kitchen, lounge, library and recreational facilities. The first floor of Ruthville would contain the administration offices for Lionsville as well as the 2 additional units. Beautification work with brick paving, formation of a Memorial Garden, landscaping and construction of a gazebo would complete the project.

This major extension to facilities was officially opened in April 1992 by Lion Stan Morrison OAM, one of the hard working pioneers of the Lionsville project, and was enthusiastically received by the residents. Further extensions to the front section of Ruthville were carried out in 1998 to provide additional office accommodation.

In 1993 it became apparent that the City of Essendon had pressure on the use of the eleven seater bus the Council operated for the use of the elderly in the city. As considerable use was being made of the bus by Lionsville residents, it was decided by the Committee of Management that it would provide the funds to enable the Council to purchase a second bus. An amount of $28,370 was provided to the City Council in August 1993.

Back in 1989 Lionsville was gifted a property in Reynard Street, Coburg by Mr and Mrs Eric Maddison.

Discussions took place over several years in the early ninties and in 1994 Lionsville agreed to provide a lease of the land to the Victorian Government’s Ministry of Housing and to pay the cost of three of the seven one bedroom units proposed for the site.

Construction of the units commenced in late 1995, and “Maddison Court” was officially opened by the State Minister for Housing, the Hon. Ann Henderson MP in early 1997, which was to become known as the “Year of the Openings”. The total cost of the project was $450,000, of which $194,250 was contributed by Lionsville in addition to lease of the land.

Also during the mid-nineties the Committee of Management was able to purchase three properties on Pascoe Vale Road, to the north of the Adult Day Centre. The committee was ever mindful of the possibility of expanding the services offered by Lionsville. The Lionsville Lodge sub-committee was aware of the increasing demand on its special care facilities, especially the otherwise active aged people who were suffering from dementia and other kinds of vagueness. Investigations were made in 1994 about the possible availability of land adjacent to Lionsville. The Essendon City Council was approached and asked to sell to Lionsville a rectangular piece of land on the north-west corner of our site. The Council agreed to do so following the submission of a plan which the Council could agree to. This was duly arranged and formal agreement given by the Council.

Also during 1994 an application was made to the Federal Department of Health and Community Services for an Approval in Principle for the project. This was considered, along with many others, and we were advised that a grant of $318,350 would be made available. Work commenced on site in late 1995 and the project known as the Hostel West Wing Extension was officially opened by Lionsville President Jack Grantham on March 23rd 1997. The total cost of the project was just over $1.7 million, with approximately $1.4 million being provided from accumulated funds of Lionsville Inc. The extension included twelve private rooms for residents suffering from dementia, dining and lounge rooms, an indoor garden and aviary and an extended lounge and games area for other Hostel residents. A wonderful feature of this extension was the indoor 36 square metre heated water exercise pool and accompanying spa and specially designed change rooms. The extension was made possible by the erection of a 5.5 metre high retaining wall which cost over $120,000.

During the time of the planning for the West wing extension the Committee of Management was able to obtain a further property at 270 Pascoe Vale Road for $300,000. It was intended originally to rent the property as was being done with the other three properties already mentioned. During 1996 the Lions Club of Essendon provided some assistance to the Royal District Nursing Service’s Western Palliative Care Program for the western area of Melbourne. Those Lions involved were so impressed with the program that they followed up the work of this organisation and discovered that they were looking for a building in the local area. They proposed using such a building as their administration headquarters and providing counselling to the relatives of their patients as well as providing training for their volunteers. After considerable discussion the Committee offered the building to them with no rent for 3 years and agreed to spend $5000 to prepare the property for future use.

It was exciting then that the “Year of Openings” was completed with the formal opening of the RDNS Palliative Centre, known as “The Lionsville Centre”, by Judy Maddigan MP on May 15th 1997.

Later that year the Committee of Management approved the purchase of an eleven seater bus for the use of Lionsville residents. This facility enabled Hostel staff to take residents, even at short notice, on various trips and outings which were difficult to otherwise arrange using the Council bus. The Toyota unit was purchased at a cost of $35,000.

The last major expenditure on buildings took place in 2001 with the conversion of the indoor garden area into a recreation lounge, and provision of extra lounge facilities for the special care area. The total cost of this project was $120,000.

The Federal Government released the 1997 Aged Care Reform Act covering the operation of Nursing Homes and Hostels, with particular emphasis on the way they would fund the care of residents and the ways they would monitor the standard of care provided by each facility.

The way in which they planned to ensure that a facility reached the required level was by listing a range of standards of care and buildings to be met, as well as proper methods for the classification of each residents care requirements. This method become known as “Accreditation” and those facilities without it would no longer qualify to receive Government care funding.

The impact of this on Lionsville was significant and it involved expenditure of monies for staff and facilities. New policies were prepared and all care operations were documented and all facilities reviewed against stringent standards. Staff training was a significant item of expenditure. On the facilities side the major expenditure in 1999 was the design and installation of a fire sprinkler system throughout the Hostel at a cost of $330,000. There was no financial assistance from the Government, but we were indebted to Lions Clubs International for a grant of $127,000 from the Lions Club Internatioonal Fund in 2001.

In the period from 1995 to 1997 there developed a belief that the management structure of Lionsville needed to be updated. The then Management Committee consisted of 20 members and was judged to be too large for effective and efficient decision making. Because of the growth in complexity of Lionsville as a business unit, it was agreed that we needed to have more professional than volunteer administrators and that we needed to involve others with aged care expertise from the wider community.

The decision was taken to form an Executive Committee having 8 members in 1998, the purpose being to provide Lionsville with an opportunity to streamline day-to-day decision making and to prepare for the possibility of Lionsville being required to form into a company under the Corporations Act 1981. The effectiveness of the Executive Committee was dulled somewhat by the differing interpretations of its role and purpose, although it proved a more effective forum for debate due to its smaller size.

It was decided therefore in late 1998 to develop a Board of Management of 11 members, one of which would be appointed by the City of Moonee Valley.

The new structure was agreed to at a Special General Meeting of Lionsville Inc. Members on April 15th 1999. The new Board of Management met for the first time on April 28th 1999, at which it elected Lion Peter Gilbertson as its first Chairman.

Over the past decade recognition has been given to the significant efforts of several Lions Club members and for the service given to Lionsville. They were as follows: On February 1996 a ceremony was attended by about 100 people at which a photograph and plaque were unveiled at Ruthville, recognising the 30 years service given by Lindsay Woods OAM. On December 19th, of the same year a similar function recognised the 30 years service given by Stewart Edgar. At the Annual Meeting in September 1999, photographs and plaques were unveiled to commemorate the nearly 40 years of sterling service given by two of the projects pioneers, Stan Morrison and John Dallwitz. After the unveiling, the Board Chairman Peter Gilbertson announced that the two wings of the Hostel would be named in their honour - the East Wing to be the Morrison Wing and the West Wing to be the Dallwitz Wing. In early 2000 the 34 years of service by Lion Des Cronin (Coburg Lions Club) and particularly for his work as Auditor was recognised by unveiling of photo and plaque in Ruthville.

Lionsville continues to be held in high esteem both throughout Australia and Internationally. The project continued throughout the 80’s and 90’s to receive a stream of International visitors. The most notable of these were the World President of Lions Clubs International Bill Biggs in 1991 and World President James Irwin in 1999.

The Board of Management is currently in the process of setting plans for the next decade and beyond. It is their intention to ensure that this project goes on and continues to provide much needed care to the Aged of our community.

Chapter 9 – The Nineties On

Office bearers for year 1989-90 were under the leadership of President Allan McLean and Secretary Robin Mitchell.

Jack McCraith arranged the Life Education Caravan to be on show at Moonee Ponds Market in August 1989 and planned to further extend this educational service throughout the area.

Major awards were presented to Graham Swann, Melvin Jones fellow and to John Dallwitz, the James Richardson award. Both Graham and John typified the wonderful spirit of Lionism in the community.

Essendon Lions sponsored an exchange student from Canada, Jennifer Ward, who received an Essendon banner from her host Andy Gregoor after speaking at the club’s July 1989 meeting.

The 28th and final Sportsmen’s Breakfast was held at the Southern Cross Hotel on Cup Day 7th November 1989. Entertainer of the Year was Mark Mitchell of The Comedy Company. Sports Personality of the Year was walker Simon Baker who set the Australian Record at the World Cup in Barcelona.

The Popular Girl Contest was continued successfully in 1990 with 19 participants. Kylie Barr sponsored by McDonalds was the Popular Girl with Jo-Anne Musu sponsored by RJ Gilbertson, the Charity Queen.

The 37th Charter Anniversary meeting in April 1990 was reported to be a wonderful night with over 80 attendees including the Mayor, Leo Cahill, DG John Fawcett and many distinguished Lions from all over Melbourne.

Allan McLean’s presidential year resulted in a record $90,000 given to community service. A major fundraising activity was the car raffle. Donations to the club totalled $45,000 with $21,000 given by J.A. Gilberton for Ruthville at Lionsville. Thompson Reserve received $20,000 and Lions Foundations $4000. Support for the Caroline Chisholm Society and sponsorship of children in Thailand were maintained.

Lion’s mints were still going strong with Dennis Harding coordinating the raising of $2500 and winning the “Mint King” award for this wonderful effort.

Andy Gregoor took over the Presidency for 1990-1991. Jack McCraith and John Dallwitz reported on Health and Welfare that the organ donor program was up and running.

The Lion Ladies continued their activities of street stalls, film nights and luncheons and progressive dinners.

Activities that year included a day trip on the bay for underprivileged children organised in conjunction with the Williamstown Motor Yacht Club. Youth of the Year was hotly contested with 5 impressive participants. The title went to Alyssa Duffy.

Financial support was given to Travancore Special School at the Ryder Cheshire International Centre by the club.

The Popular Girl Quest 1991 was again very successful with Janet Kettles the winner of the title “Popular Girl” and Lisa Impy as the Charity Queen, with $6000 being raised through the quest. This was the last such quest due to a general opposition to such contests.

At the instigation and considerable effort on the part of Convenor John Hebden, the schools music festival was established at Thompson Reserve. Eight schools participated and over 300 attended. This initial festival was to be first of many and gave participants opportunities to display and develop their talents.

1991-92 was under the presidential guidance of George Cranwell with Allan McLean as Secretary – little did Allan know that this was the start of a McLean secretarial dynasty that was to continue for more than 10 years.

The World Lions Convention held in Brisbane in June 1992, the first one ever held in Australia, was a great success. The most significant feature to emerge from this convention was the establishment of the Lions “Sight First” Campaign. This campaign planned to raise $100 million over 5 years.

The Lions Club of Essendon was visited in 1992 by Joe Thalhofer of our “twinned” Club of Bend, Oregan USA. The club has continued to maintain contact with the Bend Club since that time.

One of the projects in 1992 was the provision of assistance by Lions members as volunteer drivers for the blind at the Arthur Wilkins Centre, and this was much appreciated by the Wilkins Centre. In addition to this the Health and Welfare committee sent 700 pairs of spectacles to Bangladesh.

Another huge success in 1992 was Guy Fawkes night at Thompson Reserve on Cup night. After weeks of gathering fuel for the bonfire and setting it all up, the bonfire was spectacular. With the Fire Brigade and Ambulance present, the kids and the wanna-be-kids had an exciting time.

Activities for the year also involved monthly paper collections, Lions Mints program, Lions Christmas Cakes and continued involvement of the club at Licola, again sponsoring local children for holidays at this great camp.

Health and Welfare Committee distributed groceries to needy families as they had over many years.

The Car Raffle was again most successful with a cheque for $12,000 being presented by Murray Wilson to President George. Lions Ladies were again active with morning coffee and traditional street stalls.

Youth of the Year was another success with six contestants of a very high standard.

The Annual Schools Music Festival was again held at Thompson Reserve with eight participating schools. The club was pleased that the council deemed to name the rotunda at Thompson Reserve the Ern Basford BEM Rotunda after the club’s past District Governor and charter member.

1992 started brightly under the presidency of John Forbes with a visit by District Governor Ray Fraser.

That year another very successful Guy Fawkes Bonfire was conducted in Thompson Reserve and this together with film nights, monster car raffle and Christmas Cakes kept members occupied.

The club also held a successful car raffle organised by Murray Wilson. The car raffle continued to be a major source of club funds.

1993-94 saw Peter Gilbertson as President. Activities included the car raffle, waste paper collection, and school music festivals together with film nights, mints and Christmas Cakes.

During 1993/94, well earned James Richardson awards were presented to Jack McCraith and George Cranwell by District Governor Geoff Angus.

Under the inspiration of Stan Morrison the club established the “I Love Australia” Breakfast as a project to promote appreciation of Australia and Australian products and services. The inaugural Breakfast held on Australia Day 1994 at the Moonee Ponds Town Hall was a great success. Guest chairman was Bill Dellar the well-known football umpire and the special guest speaker was John Brumby M.P, State Opposition Leader.

The President for 1994-95 was Gerry Noonan. With the success of the club’s inaugural “I Love Australia” Breakfast the club decided to make a presentation on the promotion of this idea at the District convention which was hosted by the Clifton Hill Club at the Fitzroy Town Hall. Stan Morrison at his best gave an inspiring presentation.

The club was fortunate to have as a member Ian Davis MLA who was able to arrange a visit and tour of Parliament House. During this visit club members were able to inspect the gardens, partake lunch in the dining room and sit in on Parliament. This visit was well attended and certainly an eye opener for most members.

The club again supported young people to Licola Camp in 1994.

The “I Love Australia” Breakfast was again held on Australia Day in 1995 and was a great success with a large attendance and significant press coverage. The guest speaker was State Industry and Employment Minister Phil Gude who really got into the spirit of the day with a stirring address supporting Australian Made.

In 1995 the President Gerry Noonan spent a weekend as caretaker at Vizard House in East Melbourne. This Lions Project provides emergency accommodation for country people who have family or friends in hospital in the city. The weekend as caretaker was a most interesting and rewarding experience and showed the quiet but most effective work being done in the community by Lions Clubs.

One of the most rewarding activities in 1995 was the conferring on Stan Morrison of Life Membership of the club. Stan, a charter member, had rendered many years of unselfish service to the Lions Club and the community of Essendon in general.

The Ladies Committee kept up their loyal support with street stalls, a Botanical Gardens Tour, morning coffees etc.

In 1994/95 the club was able to offer financial support to many local organisations including Life Education Centre, Strathmore College Chaplaincy, Caroline Chisholm Society, Schools Music Festival together with assistance to Australian Lions Foundation and Victorian Lions Foundation Licola Village.

Don Daniell who lead the club through 1995-96 had as his motto “keep Daniell in the lions Den” ensuring a very successful year.

At President Don’s initiative, what was to become the famous “Essendon Lions Club sausage sizzle” was established. Don developed an efficient and attractive barbecue trailer. This quickly became well known locally at many community functions and has continued to this day on its regular monthly appearance at Harvey Norman’s in Highpoint West plus on many other local occasions.

The “I Love Australia” breakfast in 1996 moved to the long-term home of the Club at Ardmillan House and with an attendance of over 200 making another great Australia Day celebration.

One of the three remaining charter members at the time, Graham Swann, passed away in 1996 and was remembered by all with great affection.

1996-97 was presided over by John Forbes. The sausage sizzle trailer was on full operation and regularly returned $750 per month for club funds.

The schools music festival continued to grow with sixteen participating schools. This festival provided a wonderful opportunity for teachers and students to gain invaluable experience performing in public, thus developing their confidence.

June 1997 dawned with President Ian Davis at the helm.

An historic year for Lions International started with the signing of a joint proclamation between Rotary International and Lions Clubs International committing them to a partnership to serve the course of humanity. In the community of Essendon the Lions and Rotary clubs have had a long and close relationship, which was strengthened by this initiative.

1997 was the 50th year of Lionism in Australia and the Lions Club of Essendon along with all clubs in the country arranged special celebrations for this significant birthday. The club’s major event was the Lions Flemington Race Day.

In addition to this the club was able to secure the Lions Health Servicing caravan for the Moonee Valley Festival in Queens Park. This enabled over 200 local residents to be checked for blood sugar and blood pressure on the day.

The “I Love Australia” breakfast in 1998 was again a great success with local manufacturer Ken Chambers as the guest speaker.

June 1998 saw the return of Jack Grantham as a second term President, his first being in 1979. At his installation in 1998 Jack referred us to 1996 when international Vice President, Judge Pat Patterson had visited Lionsville. Judge Patterson had exclaimed, “in all our travels through the USA and thirty other countries there is no project we have seen that would surpass it”.

Club members continued their efforts with sausage sizzles, paper collections and the continuation of Youth of the Year.

In the year 1999-2000, the club was fortunate with our new guiding light Ron McFarlane as President. Ron had been a tireless worker for the club in many areas and particularly for the “I Love Australia” Breakfast which continued to go from strength to strength. Lionsville was also high on Ron’s agenda and continued to receive support by all club members.

A highlight of this year was the honours bestowed on two of the club’s stalwarts, John Dallwitz and Stan Morrison who were both recognised for their untiring work for Lionsville by naming the East wing of the Lionsville Lodge the Morrison Wing and the West wing the Dallwitz Wing.

The club was again honoured in December 1999 with the visit of the International President Jim Ervin who was accompanied by the District Governor Terry Collison. The distinguished guests visited Lionsville and gave a glowing and complimentary report.

Coinciding with the visit of the International President, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Lions and Apex who were represented by their National President Mark Fishwick.

Sadly we lost two members in 1999 with the passing of recent past President Don Daniell and Stewart Edgar. Stewart joined the club in 1954 and had served in many roles in the club including President and was the recipient of a James D Richardson Award. Both were great contributors to the club.

President Ron was impressed by the recently developed Hart walker, which was a sophisticated invention by an English Medical Engineer David Hart which enabled people who were unable to walk, to stand upright and become mobile. Ron supported the provision of this wonderful invention to an appropriate local child. Scott James, a young boy from Sunshine was selected to be provided with the Hart Walker.

Another special project adopted by the club that year was to provide another local child with a lycra support suit to assist with her mobility. Lily Day who had mobility problems due to cystic fibrosis was greatly assisted by the lycra ‘upsuit’.

The Lions Ladies continued their activities and support as usual and this year conducted a very successful appeal for assistance with goods, particularly school supplies and medical supplies, for East Timor.

Gerry Noonan was elected President for a second term in 2000-2001 and had as his objective the raising of the profile of Lions in the community as a club that assisted those less fortunate than themselves.

Support for the Australian Lions Drug Awareness Foundation was adopted as a major program for the year with the aim of helping with drug prevention, rehabilitation and after-care through the St Pauls Centre.

The Lions Ladies continued their fine tradition with morning teas, a pie drive, a Victoria Market Foodies Tour and a visit to Werribee Park amongst many other activities of fellowship and fund raising.

The club again met with the Essendon Rotary Club and on this occasion Lions may have even been in the majority. The club also had the opportunity to meet with the Rotary Club of Carlton.

The club honoured a number of members for special contributions. Ken Gilbertson was awarded a Melvin Jones fellow. Ken has been a great contributor to the club for many years in many areas but most noteworthy was his 15 years service on the committee of management of Lionsville. Three James D Richardson awards were made to Jack and Peter Gilbertson and Lion Don Daniell posthumously which was presented to his wife Kay at a very moving ceremony. These Lions had all made significant contributions to the club and to Lionism over many years.

The members continued to keep up the great work of fund raising and fellowship with regular sausage sizzles and Christmas Cake sales.

The “I Love Australia” Breakfast in 2001 was again a wonderful success. The Club was honoured to have Professor Bryan Pyman as the guest speaker. Professor Pyman was responsible for the development of the bionic ear and his illustrated talk was fascinating, informative and most interesting. Lions clubs had funded this project to the sum of $1,000,000. It is no wonder this breakfast has become such a popular event with speakers of such quality.

The recipient of the Hart walker, Scott James, was fully fitted for his machine and his progress was quite amazing. After spending his first nine years lying down he started learning to live vertically which was of course most exciting for him.

Sadly we report the passing of Murray Wilson who had served in many areas of the club including as President in year 1985-86. Murray had also filled the position of zone chairman and had been awarded a Melvin Jones Fellowship in 1993 for his dedicated work for Lionism.

Youth of the Year again had six outstanding contestants. Alice Dohrmann emerged successful in a close contest.

Another great loss to the club was the death of the ‘Rabbit King’ Jack McCraith. Jack was born and bred in Essendon and would probably have been known by more people in Essendon than anyone else. He was a great man, a great raconteur and a great contributor to the Essendon community and to Essendon Lions.

The ladies were most active and extended assistance to the Caroline Chisholm Society, $1000, the Essendon Historical Society, $500, and ‘Regina Caelli’, a support group for women, $500.

In July 2001, Helen Campbell was elected the first Lady President of the club. The first Lady member, Marguerite Portelli, was inducted in June 1989. President Helen changed one monthly meeting from Ardmillan House to Lionsville to be prior to the Directors’meeting. This reduced the cost and meant fewer evenings out for the Directors.

A member, Neil Baudinette, was awarded the Moonee Valley City Council 2001 ‘Spirit of Moonee Valley’ award as a result of his work for Lionsville. Christmas cake sales, coordinated by Doug Ramm, were 1700 which won the $500 District prize for most sales.

The I Love Australia Breakfast in 2002 was again very well attended with the former Premier of Victoria, Joan Kirner, as guest speaker. Joan was a native of Essendon and had great support from the area. Her talk on the Australia Day Ambassadors Program was both humorous and inspirational.

Three well-earned prestige awards were presented on March 4th 2002. Club Secretary of thirteen years, Alan McLean, received the Melvin Jones Award and Ken Taylor and Ron McFarlane both received the James D. Richardson Award. Ken has worked tirelessly on the monthly “sausage sizzles” and Ron organised publicity and the I Love Australia Breakfasts.

The Youth of the Year contest was again a highlight in 2002 with seven contestants, the winner being Laura Halfpenny. In January, five Essendon Lions families had been host to State Finalists for a week and using the Lionsville Bus had chaperoned the students around Melbourne and district.

With the guidance of Community Projects Convenor, Joan Nichols, three disabled children received assistance for wheelchairs. $2000 was provided for a reclining, lifting chair for Renato Franz who suffers from Muscular Distrophy and another $2000 was given to Footscray Lions Club to help provide a Mulholland Growth Guidance Wheelchair for Dominic Gianni who suffers from Cerebral Palsy. Christopher Kessaria, who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy, received $1817 for a Sibbing Wheelchair. Lions Ladies assisted with a donation of $500.

In 2002 the club commenced a Lions Eye Health Program with Lion Leo Hartley speaking at public meetings and Lion John Argentino providing information through local pharmacies.

In 2001/2002 the club was saddened by the death of three members. John Forbes had joined the club in 1980 and served two terms as President. Alex Downey had been President for the club’s 25th Anniversary and was Tail Twister for 18 years. PDG Ern Basford BEM had been in poor health for some years but was remembered as one of the most active Lions in the history of the club. Ern had said “I live for Lions”.

President Doug Ramm took office in June 2002. At his first dinner meeting as President the speaker was Christopher Kossaris, aged 8, who spoke about the wheelchair donated by the club as well as about his life and hopes. The Christmas Dinner meeting at Ardmillan House was the last function at the venue due to its closing thus ending 39 years of meeting at that location.

The tenth I Love Australia Breakfast was the first at the Essendon Football Social Club which will host future dinner meetings. The speaker was John Urquhart an Austrade TradeStart Export Adviser. The local Industry Award went to Lion Gerry Noonan on behalf of Geotechnical Engineering.

The Lions Club of Essendon has served the local community well over the past 50 years. It is hoped that this history will encourage others to uphold the ideals and objects of Lions International in the future.

List of Members 1953 – 2003

Surname First Name Joined Club Left Club

ABBOT George 26/02/1958 01/12/1978 ADAMS Ern 05/04/1988 01/10/1990 ALCOCK Harold 02/04/1979 26/02/1981 ALLISON Cliff 20/02/1984 31/03/2001 ANASTASIOU John 26/07/1999 27/02/2001 ARGENTINO John 07/03/1994 Current BAIN Stewart Charter Not known BAKER Vic 10/04/1975 24/10/1994 BARROW Norman Charter 05/11/1973 BASFORD Ern Charter 07/11/2002 BATE Jack 09/12/1957 Not known BAUDINETTE Neil 17/06/1974 Current BAUL Lea 15/12/1997 18/08/2001 BEAN Peter 05/05/1986 15/09/1986 BEECH Lance Charter 01/10/19?? BERGEN Wilf 01/06/1959 16/09/1959 BERRY Peter 05/04/1983 15/05/1987 BETTS Ted Charter Not known BIANCO Paul 18/06/1990 Not known BINNS Ken 05/04/1996 Current BOLES Jack Charter Not known BRILLIANT Frank 16/03/1959 Not known BROWN Alex Charter Not known BROWN Andy 01/05/1971 23/07/1981 BROWN Cyril Charter Not known BROWN David Charter Not known BROWN George 01/10/1956 13/09/1959 BROWN Peter 05/11/1984 15/06/1988 BROWN Russell 04/06/1979 18/02/1980 BROWN Stephen 17/09/1990 Current BRUMBY Warren 18/07/1992 03/08/2002 BUGG Dorothy 07/05/2001 03/02/2003 BURKE Fred 07/08/1961 Not known CAMPBELL Helen 30/04/1999 Current CAMPBELL James 16/03/1998 25/07/2000 CAMPBELL Max 24/06/1976 26/09/1977 CARTER Reg 18/10/1965 06/08/1973 CATTON Terry 16/02/1981 31/12/1986 CHADWICK Ken 26/04/1972 01/09/1986 CLEGG Roy 01/08/1966 07/04/1975 CLIFT Joe 01/06/1956 01/06/1982 CLOONAN Laurie 17/06/1974 23/07/1981 COLDREY Ern 05/06/1967 23/11/1990 COLLINGS Bruce 09/12/1957 31/12/1987 COLLINGS Ian 01/02/1991 01/04/2002 COLLINS Arthur 26/10/1956 31/05/1959 CONOLAN Peter 17/12/1979 30/06/1981 CONQUEST Arthur 06/08/1956 1962 COOK Alan Not known 26/05/1994 COOPER Alan 03/05/1982 02/05/1983 COPE H.S. Charter Not known COPPOCK Bill Charter Not known COSTELLO Bob 02/10/1960 1962 COUGHLAN Jack Charter 30/05/1958 CRANWELL George 01/07/1987 Current CRANWELL George 04/04/1966 01/07/1976 CRAVEN Lloyd 19/11/1971 16/01/1995 CROCKFORD Bernie Charter Not known CROCKFORD Herb Charter 03/02/1979 CROCKFORD John 10/04/1972 10/08/1983 CROCKFORD John 26/09/1989 Not known CULLINAN Chris 20/10/1980 03/02/1986 CURRY Laurie 04/03/1957 07/08/1962 DALLWITZ John 14/02/1955 Current DALZIEL Ken 25/10/1960 1962

DANIELL Don 04/02/1991 26/10/1999 DANIELS Keith 16/09/1996 Current DAVIE Alan Charter 25/06/19?? DAVIS Bev 19/02/1996 28/06/1999 DAVIS Ian 02/04/1990 28/06/1999 DAWSON Bruce 16/05/1966 01/06/1982 DE ZOETE Jack 09/07/1956 01/07/1981 DEBNEY Bill 21/09/1955 1964 DELZOPPO Ern 16/03/1959 1962 DENCH Harry Charter Not known DENT Leslie 05/10/1970 27/02/1975 DI MAURO Frank 01/04/1996 01/07/1997 DI MAURO Joe 01/04/1996 01/07/1997 DOLPHIN Alex 01/12/1971 01/02/1982 DONOVAN Frank 16/06/1975 01/07/1984 DOOLAN Bernie 03/11/1975 06/10/1984 DOWELL Bert 01/07/1954 25/04/1957 DOWNEY Alex 18/11/1968 26/06/2002 DRAPER Robert 05/12/1983 01/09/1986 DUNLOP Colin 04/09/1972 01/09/1986 EDGAR Stewart 31/05/1954 28/01/2000 EGAN Jim 01/07/1954 08/08/1956 ESSEN John 19/12/1988 Current EUNSON Bob 18/11/1974 01/12/1975 EVANS George Charter 24/09/1981 FAGAN John 16/11/1967 Not known FARMER Alby 01/09/1958 31/12/1961 FELDMAN Heather 01/07/2001 Current FENNELL Ted 01/07/1963 Not known FERNS Kenneth 01/07/2002 Current FORBES John 09/06/1980 26/01/2002 FOSTER Jack 1956 25/04/1957 GAUNE Jim 07/05/1656 23/07/1956 GAUNT Ken 25/03/1964 01/10/1973 GIBB Harold 29/12/1956 30/04/1960 GIBBS Keith 07/10/1974 01/06/1979 GILBERTSON Jack 25/03/1964 Current GILBERTSON Ken 07/11/1983 Current GILBERTSON Peter 19/06/1989 Current GILMORE Clive Charter 01/09/1976 GODDARD Ron 16/10/1959 30/09/1962 GOREY George Charter Not known GOUGH Dave 23/05/1960 15/10/1963 GRANTHAM Jack 17/05/1976 Current GREGOOR Andy 19/08/1985 23/03/1992 GROVES John 19/06/1978 15/01/1983 GUMMERSALL Bob 21/11/1977 01/01/1980 GUYMER Gordon 27/09/1993 01/10/2000 HAMILTON Ken Charter Not known HARBECK John 17/11/1969 14/08/1975 HARDING Brian 01/05/1995 01/14/2000 HARDING Dennis 24/06/1982 15/08/1992 HARPER Doug Charter Not known HARTLEY Diane 10/07/2002 Current HARTLEY Leo 01/07/2002 Current HATTAM Eric 06/02/1956 31/03/1989 HEBDEN John 03/05/1982 28/05/2001 HIGGINS John 16/03/1987 11/12/1989 HILL Kev 04/05/1964 Not known HILL Rowland 16/11/1970 15/06/1984 HISCOCK Ian 15/02/1983 28/10/1996 HOBBS Peter 03/02/1992 12/11/2001 HODGKISS Hugh 21/06/1982 15/08/1983 HOLLAND Ken 04/09/1972 Not known HOLMES George 16/10/1954 Not known IRELAND Geoff Charter Not known IRELAND Stan 30/11/1970 Not known IUISON George 06/07/1964 28/02/1978 JACKSON Gordon 25/11/1957 31/12/1957 JEFFREE Paul Charter 31/12/1961 JOHNSON James 05/02/1965 Not known JOHNSON John 20/03/1967 05/11/1973 KAY Max 19/12/1977 15/11/1985 KELLAWAY Les Charter 31/05/1957 KELLAWAY Robin Charter 29/06/1957 KEOGH Frank 19/06/1989 Not known KIELLERUP Arthur Charter Not known KINGSLEY Alex 05/08/1974 18/08/1980 KIRBY Bert 01/06/1957 31/12/1961 L'HUILLIER Phil 03/05/1971 Not known L'HUILLIER Phil 04/04/1974 31/12/1977 LAWLER BOB 25/03/1964 31/06/1965 LEACH Sam 03/11/1975 06/12/1976 LEVERETT Sid 17/08/1960 29/08/1975 LEWIS Bob 07/07/1980 23/11/1982 LINDSAY Bill 01/05/1955 30/06/1961 LYTTLE Harold Charter 16/07/1957 MACKENZIE Stewart 16/03/1981 15/12/1984 MACLEOD Alasdair 24/06/1976 15/12/1982 MADDIGAN Judy 17/02/1992 20/03/1993 MAGILL John 16/11/1981 15/12/1984 MAGILL John 19/01/1987 26/06/1989 MANUEL Rocky 06/04/1998 25/10/1999 MARLAND F.J. Charter Not known Mc CORMACK Ken 16/08/1976 15/11/1984 Mc CRAITH Jack 30/11/1970 20/04/2001 Mc HARDY Frank 19/10/1960 Not known Mc KERRELL Don 26/02/1958 Not known Mc KERRELL Ken Not known Not known Mc LAREN Alex 30/05/1960 Not known Mc LEAN Alan 16/03/1981 Current Mc NAB Stewart 17/05/1982 01/07/2002 McFARLANE Ron 03/05/1993 Current MERRITT Alwyne 20/08/2001 03/02/2003 MICHALIZZI Ross 19/06/1989 30/06/1990 MIRAMS Ross Charter Not known MITCHELL Robin 17/05/1982 27/02/1997 MORGAN Evan 02/10/1995 Current MORRIS Jack 05/03/1965 31/07/1977 MORRIS Jack Charter 28/06/1955 MORRISON Stan Charter Current MOTT Rupert 11/07/1955 21/01/1974 MUIR Bill 13/10/1958 22/06/1960 MUSTON Jed 04/09/1961 Not known NAYLOR Brian 04/11/1996 Current NEUSS George 31/05/1960 15/01/1977 NEWBOLD Jack Charter 30/05/1960 NEWMAN Geoffrey 05/10/1987 02/05/1988 NICHOLLS Jim Charter 19/11/1973 NICHOLLS Joan 19/02/1996 Current NOLTE David 16/06/1986 15/02/1989 NOONAN Gerry 21/08/1990 Current O'TOOLE Jerry 19/12/1977 15/02/1988 PASCOE James 06/12/1965 Not known PENDERGAST Doug 24/04/1981 01/10/1990 PENNELL Alby 01/07/1954 Not known PENNELL Ian 04/04/1966 Not known PEPIN Royce 01/11/1969 23/10/1975 PERRIN Bill 24/06/1959 Not known PETHEBRIDGE Ted Charter 18/07/1976 PEVERILL Fred 01/05/1971 Current PLATTS George 01/07/1968 Not known PORTELLI Margarite 19/06/1989 Not known PORTELLI Michael 19/06/1989 Not known PROWSE Bert 18/11/1968 01/03/1976 QUINCEY Maurie 03/04/1974 08/08/1978 RAFFERTY Alf 16/10/1959 Not known RAMM Doug 06/04/1998 Current READE Stan Charter Not known REID Rudy Chart. Pres. Not known RICHARDS Jim 01/05/1971 07/10/2002 ROCKE Peter 01/07/2002 11/11/2002 ROGERS Vic 15/09/1958 1963 ROWE Craig 01/04/1996 23/04/2001 RYAN Basil 17/12/1979 02/12/1982 SCHOKMAN Lionel 01/07/1972 01/11/1986 SELVENDRA Selva 06/04/1992 Current SEXTON Roy 21/02/1977 15/01/1979 SHANAHAN Brian 06/05/1987 05/12/1987 SHORT Theo 01/10/1969 Not known SILVERWOOD George 15/10/1962 Not known SIM Bob Charter 30/06/1955 SIMMONS Christine 05/09/1989 21/09/1990 SINGH Chandar 21/04/1981 05/02/1982 SMITH Bernie 09/12/1957 05/04/1983 SOUTHIN Roy 01/12/1973 17/02/1975 STEEDMAN Alan Charter 31/05/1958 STEGGAL Reg 05/10/1970 01/06/1981 STOKES Bill 05/12/1983 11/11/2002 STUCKEY Reg Charter 01/07/1960 SWANN Graham Charter Not known SWIFT Maurice 01/04/1971 Not known TABLEY Cliff Charter Not known TAYLOR Ken 03/04/1995 Current THOMPSON A.M. Charter Not known TIBB Harold Charter 30/06/1956 TREWIN Bill 15/10/1973 14/02/1974 TREWIN Gordon 05/02/1979 02/08/1992 TULLOCH John Charter Not known TURNER Allan 01/07/2001 Current TURNER Wendy 20/08/2001 Current TWIGG Colin 15/04/1985 31/03/1989 UPSON Ray 26/03/1955 Not known VELIK Max 10/05/1955 03/02/1985 WALKER Harry Charter 20/11/1956 WALLACE Max Charter Not known WARD Ken 05/02/1979 01/09/1988 WARD Martin 03/09/1979 01/10/1980 WATSON John 01/11/1969 01/03/1998 WATTS John 27/11/1957 29/08/1958 WERRETT Bryce 22/08/1957 Not known WILLIAMS Bill Charter 12/06/1957 WILLIAMSON Cliff 16/10/1972 30/06/1987 WILSON Fred 01/10/1959 Not known WILSON Murray 18/06/1973 19/01/2001 WINWARD John 20/02/1978 29/10/1981 WOODS Graeme 03/11/1986 31/03/1989 WOODS Lindsay 01/03/1964 Not known

Appendix 2 CLUB OFFICE BEARERS

Year President Secretary Treasurer 1953 - 1954 R.C. Reid(Charter) B.M. Crockford F Marland 1954 - 1955 F.J. Marland S.C Morrison No record 1955 - 1956 D.J. Harper No record No record 1956 - 1957 A.G. Pennell No record No record 1957 - 1958 E.C. Petherbridge No record No record 1958 - 1959 A.L. Beech No record No record 1959 - 1960 S.C. Morrison J.Hewitson B. Collimgs 1960 - 1961 R.E. Mirams J.Hewitson B. Collimgs 1961 - 1962 H.R. Crockford J.Hewitson B. Collimgs 1962 - 1963 E.B. Basford J.Hewitson B. Collimgs 1963 - 1964 G. Holmes J.Hewitson B. Collimgs 1964 - 1965 F.S. Edgar J.Hewitson B. Collimgs 1965 - 1966 J.A. Bate H. Crockford B. Collimgs 1966 - 1967 E.L.A. Hattam H. Crockford B. Collimgs 1967 - 1968 J.G. Dallwitz H. Crockford B. Collimgs 1968 - 1969 J.M. DeZoete H. Crockford B. Collimgs 1969 - 1970 E.G. Swann H. Crockford B. Collimgs 1970 - 1971 R.B. Carter H. Crockford B. Collimgs 1971 - 1972 B.L. Collings H. Crockford J. Harbeck 1972 - 1973 M.M. Velik H. Crockford J. Harbeck 1973 - 1974 L.G. Woods H. Crockford J. Harbeck 1974 - 1975 E.A. Coldrey H. Crockford J. Harbeck 1975 - 1976 J.H.D. Watson H. Crockford R. Hill 1976 - 1977 L.M. Cloonan C. Dunlop R. Hill 1977 - 1978 A.W.E. Downey C. Dunlop R. Hill 1978 - 1979 D.N. Baudinette C. Dunlop R. Hill 1979 - 1980 J. Grantham C. Dunlop R. Hill 1980 - 1981 A. Dolphin. C. Dunlop R. Hill 1981 - 1982 K. Chadwick C. Dunlop R. Hill 1982 - 1983 K. Holland C. Dunlop R. Hill 1983 - 1984 A.L. Craven K. Chadwick L. Schokman 1984 - 1985 H. Hatton K. Chadwick L. Schokman 1985 - 1986 M.W. Wilson K. Chadwick C. Allison 1986 - 1987 J.A. Gilbertson R. Mitchell F. Peverill 1987 - 1988 P.J. Brown R. Mitchell F. Peverill 1988- 1989 D. Pendergast R. Mitchell F. Peverill 1989 - 1990 A.N. McLean R. Mitchell F. Peverill 1990 - 1991 A. Gregoor. R. Mitchell F. Peverill 1991 - 1992 G. Cranwell A.N. McLean F. Peverill 1992 - 1993 J.M. Forbes A.N. McLean G. Cranwell 1993 - 1994 P.J. Gilbertson A.N. McLean F. Peverill 1994 - 1995 G. Noonan A.N. McLean R.A.McFarlane 1995 - 1996 D. Daniell A.N. McLean R.A.McFarlane 1996 - 1997 J.M. Forbes A.N. McLean R.A.McFarlane 1997 - 1998 G.I. Davis A.N. McLean R.A. McFarlane 1998 - 1999 J. Grantham A.N. McLean R.A. McFarlane 1999 - 2000 R.A. McFarlane A.N. McLean J.B. Campbell 2000 - 2001 G. Noonan A.N. McLean K.R. Gilbertson 2001 - 2002 H. Campbell A.N. McLean K.R. Gilbertson 2002 - 2003 D. Ramm A.N. McLean K.R. Gilbertson

Appendix 3 RECIPIENTS OF AWARDS

MELVIN JONES FELLOWS; PDG Ern Basford BEM Ern Coldrey Neil Baudinette Val Cranwell Stewart Edgar Ken Gilbertson Eric Hattam Stan MorrisonOAM Fred Peverill Murray Wilson Lindsay Woods Alan McLean

WILLIAM R. TRESISE Jack Grantham FELLOWSHIP AWARD George Cranwell

JAMES D. RICHARDSON 12 Lindsay Woods 13 Eric Hattam AWARD 27 Stewart Edgar 28 John Dallwitz 45 Stewart Edgar 120 Robin Mitchell 121 Fred Peverill 236 George Cranwell 237 Jack Grantham 240 Jack McCraith 424 Neil Baudinette 425 Jim Richards 612 Graham Swann 783 Alan McLean 1044 John Forbes 1901 Peter Gilbertson 1902 Jack Gilbertson 1903 Alex Downey 1904 Don Daniell 2164 Ron McFarlane 2165 Ken Taylor

IAN M. STOCKDALE Don Daniell FELLOWSHIP AWARD

MEMBERS GIVEN LIFE MEMBERSHIP BY THE CLUB

Ern Basford BEM Stan Morrison OAM