Bill is an engineer [almost retired] and has spent most of his working life in mining projects in regional and remote Australia, including north west Western Australia. About 7 years ago, Bill was introduced to a remarkable aboriginal woman, June Oscar AO, and her friends Pat Davies [country singer] and Emily Carter. They have become Bill's great friends and his trips to the Fitzroy Valley area have become longer and more frequent. This year Bill spent 2 months in Fitzroy Crossing mapping out this walking trail and undertaking a pro-bono building project.

 

The walking trail project is being carried out to create a sustainable enterprise for a local aboriginal native title holder group-the Bunuba People.

 

The walk covers two 400 million year old gorge systems and part of the biggest river in eth Kimberley [in Australia when flowing]-the Fitzroy River. The walk covers some rugged and remarkably beautiful country and includes some amazing rock art, amazing bird life and bush. It will be guided by the Bunuba Rangers Group and will be vehicle assisted to suit patrons' walking ability. Ultimately it will be part of an eco-tourism venture based in Fitzroy Crossing and employing mainly aboriginal people.

There are many challenges ahead including government approvals, station owner approvals, clan group issues, finance and training. This is an exciting venture and has great support from all who have been involved to date. It is still a big challenge to convert this idea into reality. [Refer to Promotion Brochure below]

 

 

Wind up of VPLMP for 2014/15

The meeting commenced with a toast to Rotary International given by DG Murray Verso.

President Roy Garrett took the stage and welcomed the numerous guests including senior police members, district governors from two other Victorian Districts, Rotary Mentors from other clubs in Victoria, Victoria Police Mentees and club members.

He had several announcements:
•    Michelle Heard our Ambassadorial Scholar has announced her engagement
•    The farmers Market in the City will have its debut in August and further details will be provided early in the New Year.
•    The 2nd IFTAR dinner will be held on 2/7/15 and bookings are now open.

These announcements were then followed by breakfast.

DG Murray Verso commenced the formal proceedings by giving an overview of the program on behalf of Districts 9780, 9790, 9800 and 9810.

• The program has given him great enjoyment over the 8 years that it has been running
• This year there were Rotarians from 4 out of the 5 districts in Victoria participating
• There have been 140 participants who have gone through the program since its inception in 2007.
•  The program changed this year with Business mentors mentoring the senior ranks on strategy and Rotary members providing their mentees with an opportunity to develop skills in community engagement.
• Some great results have been observed with a number of important community engagement programs being instigated
• The program has benefits to both organisations – Rotarians gain a greater understanding of the policing and Rotary has had the benefit of 2 GSE participants form Vic Pol and 4 Peace scholars have been drawn from the ranks of VicPol.

DG Murray’s talk was then followed by Assistant Commissioner Kevin Casey who gave an overview of the program on behalf of Victoria Police.

• Kevin also talked about the new direction that the program had taken this year, which was instigated by former commissioner Ken Lay, who was keen to see VicPol engage in community partnerships and instill community confidence in the police force.
• The program provides great value to senior leaders through the opportunity to participate in various programs.
• He also listed a number of other benefits to participants including the ability to forge stronger community networks, improved capability and creating lasting relationships with Rotarians.
• He concluded by thanking the steering committee and in particular those who were leaving the committee. He also chose to thank Superintendent Neville Taylor from our club for his great leadership whilst being a syndicate leader over a number of years.

Kevin was followed by Garry Thompson from the Rotary club of Sandringham who provided an overview of the program on behalf of a Rotary Mentor.

• Gary talked about a project that he had been involved in with his mentee James. The project involved establishing a program to teach disadvantaged youth to drive. It was completed on time and on budget and also raised money to purchase a Mazda 2 which is parked at the Sandringham Police station through the help of sponsors and fundraising activities.

•  Mark spoke about his move to a rural area and his initial lack of experience in dealing with a rural community. He also noted the differences between a farming community and an urban one.
• He identified the need to build resilience within the community, particularly in emergency situations like bushfires. There was also a need to be aware of vulnerable people in the community who did not necessarily have access to phones or the internet.
• The help of his Rotary mentor was invaluable in assisting him to understand community involvement and he praised his local rotary club for the time that it devoted to helping him.
• He also observed that Rotarians are always available to help and after seeing Rotary in action he has the attitude that people cannot say that we do not have time to do good in the community because Rotarians always find time to help.
• It was an honour for him to be selected to participate in the program and it had a great influence on him and it tested his thinking.

Certificates of appreciation were then handed over to all participants that were present by AC Tim Cartwright and DG Murray Verso.

The raffle, which raised $850 towards Police Legacy and Community Village, was then drawn by DG Murray Verso. He managed to embarrass himself by drawing out his own ticket but generously put it back into the draw.
Thanks to Peter Duras, Roger Thornton and David Jones for the donation of the raffle prizes.

 

(extract from report in Steamboat by Geoff Tighe RC Echuca Moama)

The Rotary Club of Echuca-Moama conducted the 52nd annual Steam Rally at Rotary Park over the Queen’s Birthday weekend.

The purpose of the event is primarily to make money that we put to good use within our local community and toward the needy and unfortunate in other parts of the world.

Blessed again with fine weather – cold but dry conditions – we attracted good numbers on Saturday and even better numbers on the Sabbath. Musical entertainment was provided by the local Federal Band and the Clan MacLeod Highland Pipe Band from Bendigo.

Animal Farm attracted many young visitors on both days. Rotarians Allie and Elaine managed the site and kept all the boys and girls happy and safe as they patted bunnies, stroked chicks, chased puppies and stared in amazement at the goats and sheep

For the first time in the 52-year history of the event, we had a Rotary stall with a static display of informative material. The attendant in charge of the stall reported he signed up a new member.

Once again the volunteers in the Camp Kitchen and the Country Cooking captured the interest of visitors and did a roaring trade making stew and damper and pumpkin soup and scones and jam and Devonshire tea.

A big vote of thanks is due to Eleanor (8 months pregnant) and Reece for their professional management of these two sites and the army of helpers who put so much care and attention into these arduous tasks.

Behind-the-scenes people are a major factor in presentation of a successful project. This is certainly the case with the Steam Rally project.

Have you ever wondered how the chopped wood gets delivered to the steamers? Who bought the peeled onions? Who marked out the exhibitors’ sites? Who counted and banked the dough? Who was the bloke with the dulcet tones behind the mike?

This Rally, like no other Rally before, was flooded with VIP Rotarians. They came from everywhere, each one desperate to be seen and pictured. In order of prominence, we had District 9800 Governor Murray Verso from Williamstown followed by District Governor Elect Julie Mason, from Sanctuary Lakes to the west of Melbourne. We had Mark Schirmer from RC Laverton-Point Cook, outgoing Secretary for District 9800. He was there before 9am Saturday. That is commitment to the cause.

Then we had President Noel Lucas, Past President Heather Watson and President Elect Bryan Griffiths from RC Rochester and we had PP Herb Greenwood and Leonie and Peter Duras and Sue from Central Melbourne -Sunrise. Herb and Leonie have been regular helpers for a few years, it was Peter and Sue’s first experience.