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Rotary Club of Newcastle |
 Newcastle City Hall District 9670 |
 Following
the formation of the Rotary Club of Sydney, in 1921, a group of Sydney
Rotarians visited Newcastle in May 1923 with the aim of sponsoring a
Rotary Club in the second city of the State of New South Wales. They
were successful in their effort and the inaugural meeting was held on
3rd September, at the George Hotel in Newcastle’s CBD. The Rotary Club
of Newcastle was chartered on 19th December 1923.The Charter President was General John Paton and there were a total of 20 charter members. A number of these served with distinction in the First World War, including the President, the foundation secretary, Dr. Idris Morgan and the foundation treasurer, Colonel Brent Rodd. Members of the club quickly commenced various forms of community service. Brent Rodd was involved in the Boy Scouts movement and became District Commissioner, a post that he held for many years. During the Great Depression, it was found that many Diggers would not be able to attend Anzac Day parades because they only had shabby clothes. A collection of clothes by Rotary members was distributed to those returned servicemen in need. In 1925, club members commenced an annual project of providing Christmas cheer for needy families and, in 1931, 138 families were helped in this way. In 1930 regular picnics were arranged for hearing impaired children and children from other institutions. These outings used members’ cars and continued till 1960. An inter-city conference, the first in the History in Australia, was held at the Toronto Hotel, near Newcastle, in 1926. Ninety Rotarians from Sydney, Parramatta and Newcastle took part and one of the proposals was to form a Rotary District, under a district governor, in Australia. The Rotary Bell (or “Gong”), used at Club meetings, was the gift of the Rotary Club of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK, and was presented to the Club in April, 1932. The Rotary Club of Newcastle set up an organisation to identify and help physically handicapped children. A public meeting was held in 1932 from which the Newcastle and District Association for Crippled Children was launched. Rotarians filled all offices in the Association for many years and they also contributed resources for the operation of the organisation. Four hundred children were always under the Association’s care. In 1949, a holiday home for crippled children was purchased on the shores of Lake Macquarie. The Club continues to support this facility today, with an annual Golf Day fundraiser.  In
1935, Paul Harris visited Newcastle and planted a tree in Civic Park,
opposite the City Hall, to commemorate the District Conference that he
attended. The District Governor at the time was Tom Armstrong, a past
president of the Rotary Club of Newcastle. In his book,
“Peregrinations”, written after his Pacific journey, Paul Harris
referred to his visit to Newcastle in glowing terms.Major activities from 1935 to 1938 included a movement to establish a Cultural Centre comprising library facilities, an art gallery and museum. After a period of negotiation for use of a suitable building the onset of the Second World War caused the project to be deferred. It was re-activated in 1946 in conjunction with a move to have a branch of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music established in Newcastle. The expanded project eventuated as the War Memorial Cultural Centre with a floor devoted to the Conservatorium. The Rotary Club of Newcastle takes pride in the clubs it has sponsored, as well as the many clubs that they in turn have sponsored. The first club to be sponsored was Maitland, in 1931, followed by Tamworth in 1932 and Armidale in 1933. Many others followed, including further inner city clubs; Newcastle West and Newcastle Sunrise. The bond with Maitland club has been fostered by an annual inter-club visit where the Rotary meeting is followed by a lawn bowls challenge between the clubs. In 1962, after a visit to Brisbane, PP Eric Armstrong suggested the adoption of the Rotary Youth Leadership Award (R.Y.L.A.) programme as a project for the club. The programme was developed from a fairly basic foundation established in Queensland and has been used by our Rotary District ever since. It became a model for adoption by other Rotary Districts in Australia. Newcastle Rotary Club continues to assist with running this programme. Newcastle Rotary Club has always been involved in youth service. An early example was at the height of the Great Depression, in 1931, when the plight of unemployed youth was of great concern to Newcastle Rotarians who set out to keep them occupied with recreational and instructional activities. This led to the establishment of the Young Citizens’ League (Newcastle), which provided for the educational, social and moral needs of unemployed youth. Another example of youth service was the construction in 1970-71, by members of the club, of a camp for Girl Guides in bush land near Clarencetown, in the Williams River Valley, north of Newcastle. The Club has also supported the Youth Exchange programme for many years. The needs of retired professional and business people was recognised by Rotary with formation of Probus Clubs and in 1984, the Newcastle Rotarians launched Newcastle Probus Club. The most recent Probus Club to be sponsored by Newcastle Rotary Club was the Merewether Probus Club in 1997. On December 28th, 1989, Newcastle suffered a major earthquake, the first in Australia to cause loss of life. Extensive damage was done to shops, business premises and private homes in the Central Business District and in the suburb of Hamilton. A special committee was set up to address the needs of people severely affected by the earthquake and $120,000 was raised, including donations from all over the world, which was distributed through the major community service groups.  A
significant international service event occurred in 1990 when the
President of the Rotary Club of Ube, Japan, and the President of the
Rotary Club of Newcastle signed a Sister Club Agreement to foster
inter-club relationships. During his speech to the meeting, the Ube
President spoke of his involvement with the preparations for the raid by
Japanese midget submarines on Sydney and Newcastle during the Second
World War. The visit by members of Ube Rotary Club and the signing of
the sister club agreement demonstrated the goodwill that now exists
between these two sister cities.Another example of international service is the club’s support of the Ranfurly Library, a scheme to collect second hand books for delivery to schools, libraries and welfare agencies in developing countries of the South West Pacific Region. The club’s vocational service activities have included the “Teachers in Business” programme, introduced in 1990, where club members arranged for the placement of school teachers in their business for a period of three weeks, to gain experience in a field of business which interests them and would assist them in their teaching profession. Currently, the Club supports the “Shell Livewire” mentoring programme for people establishing new small businesses. In 1987, the Club commenced the annual presentation of “Pride of Workmanship” awards to recognise excellence in vocational service by members of the community In 1997, a literacy programme was commenced at Carrington Public School. Newcastle Rotarians and friends visit the school once a week to assist young children to develop reading skills. The club is proud of its support for the Rotary Foundation and, between 1976 and 2002, there have been 48 Paul Harris Fellowships presented by the club. |
| This page was compiled and provided by PDG John Louttit |
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