35 of the Best Highlights of 35 years of Service by the Rotary Club of CanberraWoden Inc. 1969 to 2004 1 Acknowledgements: • Photo inside of front cover courtesy National Capital Authority. • Photo inside of back cover courtesy Noel Hart • We acknowledge the contributions selected from several family photo collections, and photos taken by club members. This “35 of the Best” Anniversary Supplement to the Raven was compiled by the Clubs History Committee comprising PP Keith Avent, Murray Crowe, PP IanExcell, Ken Goard, PP John Gray, and PP Des Pain. The Committee would appreciate photos of activities not shown in this booklet but which could be used in future publications. 2 Table of Contents A View of Woden Valley - 1974 Inside front cover Reflections and Challenges - Rotary President Rex Hunt 5 Background to the Rotary Club of Canberra-Woden Inc. 6 35 Years of Service 7 Yearly Reports - 1969 to 2004 9-42 Charter Presentation Meeting and Charter Members, May1969 43 2003/2004 Board and Club Members 44 Honorary Members 1972-2004 45 Paul Harris Fellows, 1978-2004 47 A View of Woden Valley - 2004 Inside back cover Rotary International Theme 2003-2004 3 Rotary International Theme 2004-2005 4 Reflections and Challenges Every Rotary year is an important year, but this one is special, as we celebrate our 35 th anniversary. Our grateful thanks go to the Rotary Club of Canberra East for sponsoring us back in 1969. When I realised that this milestone would be achieved, I was determined that we celebrate it. Because celebrating such events gives us a chance to reflect on the past as well as to be challenged for the future. To reflect on what has been and to determine whether what we have been able to achieve has any lasting and real value. To imagine the future and to initiate steps nownow, taking all the preparations we can, so whatever the future brings , there is a creative and flexible foundation on which it can build. So welcome to this special occasion. My thanks to all those who have worked so well to make this celebration possible , especially the History Committee who accepted the task of preparing this printed glimpse at the past 35 years. And a special welcome to those former members, presidents and spouses, who have travelled, some over long distances, to be with us for this event. Your presence enriches this celebration. Being a Rotarian now is different to what it was 35 years ago. I know it is different from 1972 when I was first inducted as a member of the Rotary Club of Wendouree (Vic.). There are now many new and challenging demands placed on us that were not so back then. And the local communities of which we continue to be a part, are in the main, now well established rather than new and developing. But as past Rotarians shaped their Rotary life accordingly, so must we. We need to listen to our communities with new ears so we may hear the current vibrations and respond to them in life affirming ways. There is still much we need to do as a Rotary club as we seek to ‘lend a hand ’ in and with our communities. Thank you all for giving me the privilege of being president of this club - the Rotary Club of Canberra-Woden Inc. - this anniversary year. Rex Hunt President 2003/2004 5 The Background Of The Rotary Club of Canberra-Woden Inc. The Mission Statement of the Club, adopted in 1993, is as follows: Canberra-Woden Rotary Club is a group associated in fellowship to achieve the maximum development of the service ethic. The practical manifestation of this will be in assistance to: i. A carefully selected range of projects involving youth and community services targeted primarily to the Woden Valley, and ii. World Understanding and Peace through other selected Rotary projects. • We acknowledge the Ngunnawal people and their stewardship of the land on which we meet as a Rotary Club. • The Club takes its name from the Woden Valley suburban development which commenced in 1963. The area was originally purchased in 1837 for rural pur- poses by Dr James Murray. Besides being a medico, he was a classical scholar and it is thought he named his property after the Scandinavian god “Woden”. • The Club’s original territory had been ceded by Canberra Rotary Club, and covered the Woden Valley and Weston Creek. Sponsored by Canberra East Ro- tary Club, our Club received its charter from RI in 1969. We are a member club of District 9710 of Rotary International. Our Web site address is: http:\\www. rotarnet.com.au/users/9/97109/ We are an incorporated body under the ACT As- sociations Incorporation Act 1991 • In 1974 we sponsored the Canberra South Rotary Club , and ceded the south- ern part of our Club territory to it. Later another Club, Canberra Weston Creek, was also established in the area. Since that time, Club territorial arrangements have been altered, and Rotary Clubs in the Canberra area are now free to recruit members from anywhere in the capital . • Our Club emblem reflects the ancient Scandinavian God Woden or Odin, the supreme God and Alfadur (All-Father). He drew wisdom from the well of the Giant Mimir. He had two ravens called Hugin and Munin (Thought and Memory) who flew forth every day and returned at night to tell him what they had seen, so contributing to his wisdom. The name of our weekly bulletin, the Raven, refers to this story. • The Canberra-Woden Inner Wheel Club was formed shortly after the Rotary Club, on the initiative of Shirley Cleverly. The first Inner Wheel Club 6 in the region, it met first in February 1970 and was chartered in May. It is in District A56 of the world organisation of over 100,000 members, whose motto is “Service through friendship”. Intended as a social organisation for Rotarians’ spouses (then called Rotaryannes) and close female relatives, it was an important force in bringing together wives who rarely met outside Rotary functions and so forging an active and progressive group. Inner Wheelers have also long been involved with the community in such fields as the delivery of Meals on Wheels, the Child Foster Plan and Rotary Adventure in Citizenship. Rotary and Inner Wheel have enjoyed many social occasions together. Joint community activities have included social visits to groups such as geriatric patients and people at Dr Barnardo’s Homes. From the Rotarians’ viewpoint, a specially appreciated activity since 1987 has been the provision of sandwiches and help in staffing the gates and parking at the annual Canberra Show. 35 Years of Service When the Rotary Club of Canberra – Woden was founded in 1969, Canberra was experiencing a period of exceptional growth. The development of Inner Canberra was well advanced, with most housing construction completed and Lake Burley Griffin filled. The previously rural Woden Valley was experiencing large scale suburban construction, and the development of a town centre, schools and a public hospital for Woden residents was well under way. As the yearly reports which follow demonstrate, the Club has adjusted well to the changes which have impacted on it over the past 35 years in Canberra, the Woden Valley, and the world generally. Who would have thought in 1969 that the Woden Valley Hospital, to which we have given support in various ways, would evolve into Canberra’s main hospital? Similarly our founders would not have envisaged that the Club would become a major contributor of funds for the elimination of polio in the third world, or that it would be involved in a Rotary Adventure of Citizenship which brings year 11 students annually from across Australia to the National Capital. The Club has also changed as new members, including many women, have joined, eager to keep alive the vision of our founding members. Fund-raising has been a constant challenge. 7 Fellowship has been at the heart of the Club’s success. A high standard of meeting has been a feature throughout, with outstanding humorous sergeants and speaker program organisers. The latter have been following the lead set by Bill Greene in the Club’s first 9 years when many leading Australians, including Ken Rosewell, Sir John Gorton and Bob Hawke, were our guest speakers. Sergeant Adrian Pilton proved that he had the largest collection of Irish jokes in Canberra, while the late Don Murray acquired the distinction of being the only sergeant who lost the two-up coins in the light fittings above, when he tossed them up! Members have enjoyed a special fellowship experience each February at the gates of the Canberra Show, or in the car parks, and many significant Canberra citizens have joined us in fellowship as Honorary Members. The Club has helped out in the community. Some of that help has been in the form of grants of money. Brindabella Gardens Hostel , Open Family , and Project Saul were given major support in their formative years. Rotarians got their hands dirty on many occasions, including with the painting of house numbers on kerbs, and the erection of a barbecue at Clarrie Hermes Park in Hughes. Young Canberrans have been sponsored to many events, including the National Science Forum and the RYPEN/RYLA seminars. The Arthur Holder and Stuart Garnsey Awards have recognised the achievements of high school/college students, while many people working quietly in the community have been recognised with the Bruce Drake Community Service Award. An award celebrating our founding President, George Paulus, recognises those who have made important contributions to the community through their vocations.