PROLOGUE This History of Our Rotary District 9570 from Its Inception In
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
PROLOGUE This history of our Rotary District 9570 from its inception in 1979 has finally been born after several miscarriages and a couple of still-born infants. Even this child has had a long gestation period. The former District Historian, Bob Nunn, had conceived the idea of publishing a booklet on each District Governor. He actually published two of them on PDG Ron Downs and PDG Bob Grant. This proved too time-consuming, too ambitious, and too expensive, especially as sales of the booklets to recoup some of the expenditure to the District were very disappointing. Bob has collected a lot of material, which he has categorised and handed on to me. Some of this is quite detailed. However, the responses from a few of the Past District Governors are disappointing. If some parts of this history are sparse, lack of material on a particular year is the reason. To make sure this history was completed as soon as possible some drastic decisions had to be made. A small chapter in the same format has been devoted to each Rotary Year. The number of photographs, accompanying the text of each chapter, has been limited. The history will not be printed as a book, but “burned’ on to a compact disc, a copy of which will be given to each club. If anyone then wants a printed copy of parts of the history, they can download the parts of interest to them. This new District 957, to begin operating from the 1979-80 Rotary Year, was created while Clem Renouf was President of Rotary International. Formerly most of the clubs in this District were either in District 255, later renamed District 955, which took in all of Queensland north of Gladstone and the Northern Territory, or in a District 260, later renamed 960, based on Brisbane. The new District 957 was formed by taking territory from both these districts to form a new district, occupying about a third of Queensland from Maryborough in the south to Mackay in the north. All the Districts of the world were changed to four figure numbers in 1991 by adding a zero, so from that time we were known as District 9570. If there any errors in the text that have upset anyone, I apologise. Most of these would not be my mistakes, but were contained in the original material from which I worked. PDG Len Roles District Historian. List of Governors 1979-80 Reg Brown 1980-81 Brian Brosnan 1981-82 Frank Hoeter 1982-83 Monty Martin 1983-84 Roy Schuh 1984-85 Bob Grant 1985-86 Dudley Wood 1986-87 Kevin Newitt 1987-88 Bill Walker 1988-89 Kevin Harris 1989-90 Ron Downs 1990-91 Roy See 1991-92 Mick O’Riordan 1992-93 Len Sutherland 1993-94 Len Roles 1994-95 Bruce Hiskens 1995-96 Sandy MacGregor 1996-97 George Golding 1997-98 Kevin Wirth 1998-99 John McKay 1999-2000 David Fordyce 2000-2001 Rod Cunningham 2001-2002 Alan McTaggart THE 1979-80 ROTARY YEAR Theme: “Let Service Light the Way” [Clem Renouf, from the Rotary Club of Nambour, and the second Australian to be President of R.I., was R.I.President in the preceding year, and it was he who made the decision to form our new District. This was also Rotary International’s 75th Year] R.I. President: James L. Bomar Jr. A native of rural Bedford County, Tennessee, he attended the Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee, where he gained his B.A. and Doctor of Jurisprudence degrees. He also later received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Samford University. He was a member of the Tennessee, American and Federal Energy Bar Associations as well as the International Society of Barristers. He was active in Tennessee politics, as he served for 18 years as a member of the Tennessee Legislature. In addition he served as Speaker of the House, Lieutenant Governor, and as Chairman of the Tennessee Legislative Council for 18 years. His other interests included the Tennessee Livestock Association, the American Angus Society, and the Tennessee Farm Bureau. He was an Elder of the First Presbyterian Church, Shelbyville. He was also an aviator and an amateur actor. A Rotarian since 1924, Jim was a Member and Past President of the Rotary Club of Shelbyville. He had served Rotary International as District Governor, Director and Vice-President. District Governor: Reg Brown Reg was the first District Governor of this new district. He joined the Gladstone Rotary Club in 1953, and was its President in 1975-76. Reg spent most of his childhood on a diary farm, “Riverview”, near the Calliope River. In 1942 he leased his own diary farm and began a milk delivery business. By 1947 he was running two diary farms as well as delivering milk. His Auckland Creek diary farm is where the Auckland Creek Caravan Park is now. The other farm was in the Boyne Valley. He was a Patron of the Blue Nursing Service in Gladstone and made a significant contribution to the hostel, dedicating a room to his wife who had died a few years before he became District Governor. He too passed away in 1988 at the relatively young age of 69. International Convention: Chicago, USA First Combined District Assembly and District Conference: Rockhampton The combined Assembly and Conference was held over three days, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. The District Governor’s Dinner was held on Sunday night at the Leichhardt Hotel with Sir James Foots, Chairman of Mount Isa Mines and a Past District Governor of 1963-64 as the Guest Speaker. The other sessions were held at the Municipal Theatre and Scotia Place. Home Hospitality was arranged for the Saturday Night. The R.I. President’s Special Representative was PDG Bob Yarnton, a clothing retailer from Auckland, New Zealand. Other Keynote Speakers were PDG Glen Kinross, later to become the International President, Mr. Jagdish Ajmani, the High Commissioner of India, and PDG Neville McPhee The Clem Renouf Trophy for the Best All Round Club was awarded to the Moura Rotary Club. Reg Brown was installed as District Governor of the new District 957 by the former Governors of the two Districts from which it was formed – PDG Reg Pain of District 960 an PDG Graham Cossins of District 955 Year’s Highlights: The first District Rotaract Conference was organised by the Rotary Club of Bundaberg West. It was a resounding success with 84 Rotaractors attending. The fourth Agro Trend was organised by the Bundaberg Rotary Club. Blackwater Rotarians and Rotaryannes spent a week-end as guests of the Rockhampton South Rotary Club. One of the highlights of the week-end was a trip up the Fitzroy River. Reg had suggested that this should be the month of combined meetings. Maryborough North and Mackay also responded by going to Childers and Sarina respectively. DGN Brian Brosnan became our District’s Delegate to the Council on Legislation held in 1980, because the original nominee, PDG Bruce Johnston, had moved from the district. The Rotary Club of Rockhampton West started building a walk-in aviary at the Botanical Gardens as their Rotary’s 75th Anniversary Project. Its construction, a geodesic dome, was a new concept in building. Bundaberg Club celebrated its Fiftieth Anniversary. Two new Interact Clubs were formed. Aldridge State High School Interact Club was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Maryborough North, while Rockhampton North Club sponsored Glenmore State High School’s Interact Club. Brad Lorraway, the Charter President of Glenmore Club, is now a General Practitioner in Rockhampton. Rockhampton Rotary Club sponsored a successful Art Competition. The District supported the Study Girl International Quest to raise funds for International House at the University of Queensland. Dg Reg Brown presents the charter of the Glenmore State High School Interact Club to its founding President Brad Lorraway PDG Bruce Johnston of Biloela was presented with a Citation of Meritorious Service to the Rotary Foundation by PDG Graham Cossins of Cairns PDG Reg Brown, the Foundation President of the Gladstone Probus Club, installs their second President, Jim Mills THE 1980-81 ROTARY YEAR Theme: “Take Time to Serve” R.I. President: Rolf Klarich Before retiring in 1973 Rolf was owner and managing director of Oy Merijal Ltd., a confectionary manufacturing firm in Oulu, Finland. He then became a consultant to the food manufacturing industry. Born in Oulu, Finland, he was a graduate of the Swedish Economic University in Helsingfors and the City of London College. He served as the British Consul for the Oulu District and in several civic and industrial organisations. His principal hobby was photography. A Rotarian since 1953, Rolf was a member of the Rotary Club of Helsinki-Helsingfors, Finland, and had served Rotary International as District Governor, Director and Vice-President. District Governor: Brian Brosnan (Joyce) Brian was born on Brisbane in 1928. After attending a Christian Brothers College in Brisbane, he then worked at Cossey Motors. He came to Rockhampton in 1948, where he started in the business of road construction as owner- director of Brosnan Road Services. He joined the Rotary Club of North Rockhampton in 1960 and served as its President, Secretary, Treasurer and on most committees. At District level he served as the District Governor’s Zone Representative, and the District Governor’s Special Representative for the formation of the Rotary Club of Rockhampton East. In 1985 he also became the first President of the first Probus Club in Rockhampton sponsored by the Rotary Club of Rockhampton North. He has been this District’s Representative at two Councils on Legislation – Chicago in 1980 and Anaheim in 1992.