A brief overview of its long and proud history

Since its charter luncheon on 21 April 1921, the Rotary Club of Melbourne has not only had a rich history of service to the community, but also the advancement of Rotary in District 9800, and well beyond. In fact, in 1924, Rotary Melbourne chartered the Rotary Clubs of Adelaide, Hobart and Launceston with a further 24 clubs between 1925 and 1999, which have in turn, gone on to charter many more.   

The charter membership of Rotary Melbourne was based on the classification system and included an impressive group of Melbourne's leading business and professional men, such as General Sir John Monash, widely acknowledged as one of the great Australians for his outstanding military service during Word War I and as the first General Manager of the State Electricity Commission of Victoria, and serving as Vice-Chancellor of The University of Melbourne. Charter members also included Sir John Latham, Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia. Later, Sir Angus Mitchell joined the Club, becoming one of its most distinguished members and being elected as the first Australian President of Rotary International. A very close friend of Paul Harris, Sir Angus is credited with the re-establishment of Rotary in Japan after the end of World War II.

The day-to-day operation of an effective and vibrant Rotary club is multi-faceted. From governance, administration, procedures, meeting practices, planning, project management, membership recruitment, marketing and public relations to leadership and the general social and behavioural aspects that come with a group of people working together as volunteers. It can all seem pretty daunting.     

District 9800 has, however, a manual that is a practical guide to providing information on many, but not all, of the Rotary procedures arising in the course of a Rotary club’s operations. It is intended to assist the office bearers and board members with their approach to club administration. It is also a useful tool for all club members and in particular, those who may be considering taking on a club leadership or board role.

By Deb Sloggett, Foundation Chair, International Committee – Rotary Club of Keilor East

Being disabled in Cambodia is hard. It is thought that 60% of disabled people live under the country’s poverty line, and most live in rural areas where access to support is non-existent or cost-prohibitive. Children with disability don’t attend school, as there is no suitable infrastructure. Significantly, most families are unaware of any support that they could access.

However, there is an NGO reaching out to change this.

Safe Haven, a therapeutic and medical outreach centre (NGO), is located in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Its mission is to create lasting change in the lives of children with disabilities and medical issues. The staff members provide holistic and culturally appropriate support suitable for the individual child and family. This program is so good that word of mouth is one of the main referral arms.