We gather together on the lands of the traditional custodians, the Wurundjeri and Woi Wurrung people. We pay our respects to all of Melbourne’s First Peoples, to their ancestors and Elders, and to our shared future together.
******
ANZAC day is a day of remembrance of those Australian and New Zealand Army Corps soldiers who have fought and died for their country. It is marked annually on the anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign of the First World War on 25 April. As part of the commemoration of this significant day, last week’s guest speaker John Dean, recounted the story of his cousin Flight Lieutenant Lesley Knight, DSO RAAF who was a Camberwell resident who enlisted with the Royal Australian Air Force in 1941.
Lieutenant Knight was born in 1921in Bowen Street, Camberwell. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in 1943 for his role in Operation Chastise while flying with No. 617 Squadron RAF and successfully hit and breached the Eder Dam, Germany, a key enemy asset for military equipment manufacturing. Later the same year, Lieutenant Knight took part in Operation Garlic to destroy another dam. His Lancaster engines were damaged, clipping a tree while flying at low level. He manoeuvred his aircraft such as to allow his entire crew to bail out. Due to the extensive engine damage, Lieutenant Knight was unable to land without crashing. The people of Denham, the Netherlands, claim he changed course at the last moment to avoid their town, crash landed and hit a bank in a nearby meadow and exploded. Lieutenant Knight died on 16 September 1943. He was 22 years old.
The village of Den Ham has not forgotten the courage of Lieutenant Knight’s final act. His grave is well maintained and a remembrance ceremony was held on the 75th anniversary of his death in 2018. Similarly in October 2022, (belated due to COVID lock down) the committee of Bomber Command Commemorative Association of Victoria and the City of Boroondara held a Commemorative Service at Bowen Gardens, Bowen Street, Camberwell to remember the ultimate sacrifice of Lieutenant Gordon Knight, DSO RAAF. Geoff McCormick and I attended the unveiling of a plaque at his birthplace. A wreath was laid on behalf of the members of the Rotary Club of Camberwell.
Two further highlights of last week’s meeting are the induction of new member, Susan Breen Clarke. Susan has an extensive list of credentials in music. She is an experienced soloist and has worked as a musical director for Opera Melbourne and at the Adelaide Festival specialising in Mozart repertoire, French Art song, Lieder and songs from the Russian genre. Susan is already involved in a fundraising youth opera project who will perform in the lead up to Christmas this year. The club is richer to gain a new member with such distinguished accolades.
The second highlight was the acknowledgement of Yvonne Wills with a Royce Abbey Award. Yvonne is a worthy candidate for her contribution and ongoing willingness to assist with many club activities. Roger Leask and Peter Baker from the Royce Abbey Committee attended the meeting to outline the origin and meaning of the award. Congratulations to Yvonne.
A reminder to book for the Rotary International Convention Club dinner on Monday 29th May 2023. The Rotary clubs of Glenferrie, Hawthorn and Camberwell will welcome Rotarians from all over the world at the club dinner. Allocated numbers for each club is limited. Please book before it is sold out.
Thank you to members Murray Anderson, Maria Wiechers, Nadia Hamilton and Steve Clarke who were rostered at the Camberwell Sunday Market on 23 April.
The next club meeting will on Wednesday 27 April at Barrel & Roast which specialises in combining classic Italian and Argentinian flavours. The restaurant is at 8/10 Railway Parade, Camberwell. Our guest speaker will be long standing Rotarian, weekly ABC radio presenter and lawyer David Whiting. It promises to be a fun and entertaining night. A delightful part of the night will be to induct another new member.
Congratulations to Justine Paragreen for being appointed as a judge of the Victoria Excellence Awards in her professional capacity as an Engineer. This appointment is on behalf of the Engineers Australia Honours and Awards Committee. Justine will be part of a panel comprising distinguished engineers. The role is for a period of two years. We look forward to hear of Justine’s influence in the selection of future winners of this prestigious award.
Our ROMP partners in regional Victoria at the Rotary Club of Warrnambool are organising a charity lunch with a racing theme on Monday 1st May.
Net proceeds go to Myeloma Australia.
You will need to travel down on the day before - the Sunday, by either car or train, stay the night in a motel & attend the lunch at $90 a head.
Last year our participants returned Monday afternoon from Warrnambool, after the lunch finished.
As there will be over 10,000 people heading into Warrnambool that week for the race meeting it is best to book accommodation early to avoid disappointment.
Anyone interested in attending please contact Adrian Campbell on 0431 146 530
Lend Lease Living will hopefully be a Bronze Art Show Sponsor this year. As part of that sponsorship I have agreed that we would support and attend a "Community Connect Day" at each of two properties.
These Community Connect Days are a way for LLL to showcase their properties, and as an extra "thank you", if we can get a minimum of 10 attending each event, they will give us 2 x $500 on top of the sponsorship.
So please make note of the following dates and times, or better still click the links and register your attendance:
Please come and support one or both of these events, bring your partner, spouse or friend. It will be fun and you will be supporting one of our Art Show Sponsors.
The Rotary Club of Canterbury will be conducting a FORaMEAL
packing event with the aim of packing 100,000 meals in a day on Saturday 27 May 2023 at Federation Square.
They require people to assist as bump in and bump out volunteers and supervisors for this auspicious event.
For those who willing to be part of the bump in and out teams you must register and indicate your preference and availability.
They require all who are willing to undertake the supervisor’s role to attend a Train the Trainer session.
These Train the Trainer sessions will be held at different sites so that attendees have a choice of location and date that would suite them best to attend.
Join us for a celebration of Victorian environmental sustainability initiatives. Learn more from an assembled expert panel about how your own organisation can benefit and get involved over a sustainable lunch designed with a low carbon footprint from sustainable sources.
The Rotary clubs of Glenferrie, Hawthorn and Camberwell will welcome Rotarians from all over the world, in Melbourne to attend the Rotary International Convention 2023. Featuring as guest speaker a notable past Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club Champion, and a program celebrating Marvellous Melbourne, this will be a night to savour, and to Imagine Rotary.
