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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See “Read more…” for more details




 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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