Welcome to the Rotary Club of Camberwell

Are you a person who wants to make positive changes in your community, regional Australia and the world? Our club members are fun, dedicated people who share a passion for community service and friendship. Becoming a Rotarian connects you with a diverse group of friendly people who share your drive to give back.
Club News
Club Assembly March 2025
Club Assembly was held on 19 March 2025 and the Community Service, Youth and Vocation Committees presented an update on their recent activities. Their many achievements reflect the commitment of club members to support the needs of our local community.
Community Service
The Community Service Committee members focused their efforts on collaborating with existing organisations who are delivering positive outcomes assisting the disadvantaged. Funding was directed to support social housing, emergency food and other necessities due to financial hardships, Christmas toys for children, rehousing support as a result of domestic violence and other homelessness as well as mental health. 
These organisations include Servants Community Housing, St Vincent De Paul Camberwell, You Matter, Camcare, Salvation Army Camberwell, Boroondara Outreach Kew, RIMERN and Headspace. 
Hands on programs include FORaMeal, a meal packing program to support families in disaster areas and providing a weekend working bee at Camp Getaway, Axedale, a sanctuary for regional families caring for a family member with a disability.  
 
Youth and Vocation
The Youth and Vocation Committee members activities include youth educational scholarships and awards, a youth leadership program, awards for young adult graduating in trade courses and a school student welfare program.
Club members participated in a year 9 student Mock Job Interview Program.
Recipients of funding include Canterbury Girls Secondary College, Rotary Youth Leadership, Box Hill Institute and Camberwell High School.
 
We are grateful to all members who participated in the Community Service and Youth and Vocation Committees activities.
 
 
New Member Clement Fisk
 
Clement Fisk was inducted as a member of Rotary Camberwell on 19 March 2025. Clement holds a Bachelor of Science majoring in Pure and Applied Mathematics and Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Economics. Now semi-retired, he’s had an extensive career as an Economist for over 30 years both in Australia and New Zealand.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Congratulations Clement and welcome to Rotary Camberwell. We look forward to sharing your Rotary journey.
Mayor Cr Sophie Torney - new club member
Rotary Camberwell continued its tradition of inducting the current Mayor of Boroondara. Mayor Cr Sophie Torney was inducted as an Honorary Member of the Club on 5th February 2025.
 
Mayor Cr Torney has extensive community involvement serving in various leadership and volunteer roles, including President of the MLC Parents’ Association, managing junior football teams, and supporting numerous charities such as Boroondara Community Outreach, You Matter, and the Melbourne Indigenous Transition School. Additionally, she is passionate about environmental causes.
 
A warm welcome to our newest club member.
 
The School of St Jude - letter of thanks
An extract of a letter of thanks from scholarship recipient Denis Martin Myungi:
 
Dear George and everyone at the Rotary Club of Camberwell,
I hope you and everyone at the Rotary Club of Camberwell are doing well. My family and I are also well too. There are many things I’d love to share with you in this letter.
I began my journey at St. Jude in 2009 at the Sisia campus and completed my primary education in 2016. Fortunately, I earned a scholarship for secondary education and started Form One in 2017. I completed my ordinary level studies in 2020 and continued to advanced level education, which I finished in 2023.
After completing my A-level studies in 2023, I had the opportunity to participate in a community service year. I volunteered at Muriet Secondary School, a government institution near my home, where I taught commerce to Form One students. Teaching 180 students was a rewarding and enjoyable experience, and I truly appreciated the chance to give back to my community.
Currently, I am pursuing a degree in Procurement and Logistics Management at the Institute of Accountancy Arusha (IAA), located here in Arusha. The university provides an excellent learning environment—it is peaceful, well-organized, and equipped with great facilities, making my studies both enjoyable and beneficial for my future career.
My future aspirations include starting my own business using the knowledge I have gained and contributing to my community. I also hope to become a successful businessman. In my free time, I enjoy reading books and articles as well as watching movies.
I would love to learn more about you—about your family, and about the Rotary Club of Camberwell. Lastly, I want to express my sincere gratitude for your support and sponsorship. Your generosity has been invaluable to my education, and I truly appreciate it.
Wishing you and everyone at the Rotary Club of Camberwell a Happy New Year!
With gratitude,
Denis Martin Mvungi
 
Kampong Thom High School - Cambodia
The Rotary Club of Camberwell, in collaboration with the Running Water Project, has initiated the construction of twelve new menstrual health management (MHM) toilets at Kampong Thom High School in Cambodia. The project aims to address the issue of girls missing school due to inadequate menstruation facilities.
 
Key Highlights:
  • Kampong Thom High School, the largest in the province, has only 48 functioning toilets for 3,133 students and 136 teachers—far below WHO standards.
  • The project includes two blocks of 6 MHM toilets and two blocks of 10 urinals, increasing toilet capacity by 25%.
  • The additional toilets will improve hygiene, reduce the spread of communicable diseases, and enhance school attendance, particularly for girls.
  • Construction began in January 2025 and is expected to be completed by the end of February.
  • The initiative is part of a broader multi-phase WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) master plan for the school.
Funding and Impact:
  • The project is jointly funded by the Rotary Club of Camberwell, the Running Water Project, a District 9800 Grant and the Rotary Foundation, with a total cost of USD 20,000.
  • This marks the 11th collaboration between Rotary Camberwell and the Running Water Project, with over AUD 43,600 contributed to WASH improvements in Cambodian schools since 2019.
  • Since 2016, the Running Water Project has raised AUD 160,000, impacting 72 schools and more than 20,000 students.
Acknowledgments:
The initiative has been made possible through collaboration with local educational authorities, community volunteers, and dedicated individuals such as Mr. Ho Sivuthy and Mr. Vann Narith, who oversee construction efforts.
 
The project is a significant step towards ensuring better educational conditions, especially for female students, by providing essential sanitation facilities.
Read more...
Anita Bejerano - Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM)
Rotary Camberwell is proud to announce its member Anita Bejerano received a Medal of Order of Australia in January 2025. Anita has been a member since 1994 and currently serves on the Fellowship Committee. Our warmest congratulations Anita. Below are the official details:
 
President's Message

George de Souza

member photo

Welcome to the Rotary Club of Camberwell.

The Camberwell Rotary Club has been proudly serving the community since 1956.
Our members are all volunteers who willingly give their time and effort to serve our locality, municipality and internationally with a range of programs. Members enjoy strong friendships whilst in the pursuit of these activities.
 
Our signature fund-raising events are the Camberwell Art Show, Hawthorn Makers Market, Camberwell Sunday Market and Bunnings Sausage Sizzles. The funding received enables our members to actively engage in identifying community needs and to respond to these needs with financial, in-kind and hands on support.
 
That’s what being a Rotarian is all about.  It is at the core of our Club’s purpose which is to be of service to others, to take action to create positive change and to promote understanding, goodwill and peace in our community.
 
Camberwell Rotary values diversity, equity and inclusion and has a supportive environment for people of all backgrounds. If you are looking to make a positive difference in the community, the Camberwell Rotary Club welcomes your enquiry – simply click the Contact Us button.
 
George de Souza, President 2024-2025
Member since 2016
Meeting Information
Welcome to Camberwell Rotary
We meet In Person
Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m.
Canterbury Centre, Conochie Hall
2 Rochester Road
Canterbury, VIC 3126
Australia
We hold our weekly Dinner Meetings at Conochie Centre from 6 pm to 8 pm. We also meet at other interesting locations, please check Upcoming Events list. Visitors and guests are most welcome and are invited to register by the Tuesday beforehand.
Venue Map
The Hawthorn Makers Market (HMM) is a community event of the Rotary Camberwell Club since 1979. It is one of Melbourne’s best known makers markets. HMM is managed by Rotary Camberwell in partnership with the City of Boroondara. https://hawthornmakersmarket.org.au/
The Hawthorn Makers Market is committed to supporting local, independent artists and designers curating the best of Australian handcraft in one central marketplace. Stalls are set up both indoors and outdoors. All proceeds from HMM goes to Rotary Camberwell’s charitable work in the local and wider community.
The HMM monthly market is held at the beautifully restored Hawthorn Arts Centre, 360 Burwood Road, Hawthorn. It operates each Sunday of the month, March to December inclusive, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. HMM is proud to be family-friendly event.
Links
Upcoming Events
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Speakers
Margaret Chipperfield & Chris
Apr 23, 2025 6:00 PM
"No Buts"
"No Buts"

No Buts is a book authored by Marget Chipperfield sharing 12 inspiring stories from men who changed their violet or abusive behaviour.

Margaret Chipperfield grew up in North Balwyn and obtained a teaching certificate from Burwood Teacher's College (1964). She spent 6 years as a primary school teachers before attending Monash University obtaining a social work qualification.

She spent the next 25 years as a social worker, including 3 years working in child protection and a range of different programs such as Foster Care, Family Councelling,, Mens Violence, Drug & Alcohol Counselling, Family Support, Residential Care and Financial Counselling.

In 2005, Margaret was the recipient of the Robin Clark Memorial Award for Inspirational Leadership in the Field.

Following her retirement in 2007, Margaret became a marriage celebrant and a volunteer reading tutor in a remote Northern Territory community.

Eleven years ago, Margaret became a co-facilitator of Men's Groups at Anglicare Victoria. The "No Buts" is based on these experiences.

Margaret currently lives in Croydon and loves the company of her 6 grandchildren and one great grandchild.

Felicity Sinfield
Apr 30, 2025 6:00 PM
Leaders Mentoring Program
Mr. Ho Sivuthy (Thy) & Mr. Vann Narith (Narit)
May 14, 2025 6:00 PM
Update on Kampong Thom Project
Jackie Gatt
May 21, 2025 6:00 PM
Hawthorn Arts Centre Community & Cultural Programming
View entire list...
Camberwell Sunday Market - Volunteer Roster
Click here to see the Roster for April 2025: CSM Signup List
The Camberwell Rotarian
 
The annual Camberwell Art Show (CAS) is a signature project of Rotary. This year we celebrate its 60th year since its inception in 1966 https://camberwellartshow.org.au/ Since then, CAS has raised over $3M to support local, national and international humanitarian projects.
The show is set up by the members of the Rotary Camberwell and volunteers including Swinburne students and others, spouses, family and friends. Beyond the artists’ prize money, all funds raised (as with all Rotary fundraising) goes to the club’s charities.
CAS relies on the generous support of sponsors including Swinburne University for providing a magnificent glass façade venue at its Technologies Centre with the benefit of Burwood Road frontage. Other long standing major sponsors are Bendigo Community Bank of Canterbury, Ashburton, Surrey Hills and Balwyn and City of Boroondara. Other sponsors are from many local businesses. Without their support, CAS would not be the success that it has been over many years.