We are a vibrant friendly club making a difference. Our projects inspire and empower our local young people and our support of community projects makes a difference locally and globally.
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The Club usually meets on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month at Narooma Golf Club at 6.00 for 6:30pm. It meets with the local business community on the third Thursday of the month for a Business Networking Breakfast at Narooma Surf Club at 7am.
Please contact the secretary if you wish to come to a meeting (click the enquiries button for contact details).
Rotary’s Ducks lined up last Sunday for the annual count before the big race in January, only to find 6 of their team were missing, hopefully not headed for New Zealand…
Lynn, Gero and I had fun counting our 1,000 ducks in readiness for our annual Duck Race, this time on the Australia Day holiday Monday 27 January (we have the markets on the 26th and we can’t be cloned, unfortunately!). The results are in; 6 have gone AWOL!!! (It was 8 last year) so we are heading the right way! The numbers of the missing ducks will be cancelled on the ticket stubs and tickets removed. We are still searching for appropriately sized replacement ducks. Thank you both for giving up your Saturday afternoon.
This week at our Club Dinner we hope to have Pina along to give us a rundown on the life of Pina!
District Governor Elect Robert Shore (RC Batemans Bay) will conduct a day talking about community groups in Rotary on Sunday 20 October, 9.30am-3.30pm at the Eurobodalla Botanical Gardens in Batemans Bay. Lynn and I are going; if anyone else would like to go, I will be happy to take them.
Thursday 30 October is the fifth Thursday in the month so there is no scheduled meeting. Instead the Board has opted for a social night for anyone who would like to come along, maybe even bring a friend. Once I have secured a venue I will let you know.
The Board has decided to resurrect our Club’s Vocational Excellence Awards and we have a recipient in mind. That award will be given to them at a meeting soon.
THIS THURSDAY 10 October
6 for 6.30pm – Club Dinner at Narooma Golf Club. Hopefully Pina Prosperi, one of our newest members, will give us some insight into her life. Please let Gero know by noon on Tuesday at the latest if you will be attending (ordering from the Bistro) and if you will be bringing any guests. Gero will then inform the Club of numbers and that determines which room we have.
The Week that Was
Well done Narooma Rotary
Our Club received a letter plus certificate from DG Rob Uhl congratulating us for achieving being an Annual Donor to the Rotary Foundation of US$100 per member – Level 1.
On our Vocational Excellence Awards
Our Club has only occasionally presented a Vocational Excellence Award. Sadly the last one was in 2015 to Narooma architect the late Phil Rose. Phil was recognised for his vision for the pathways along our foreshore reserves and for the boardwalk, and his efforts in ensuring that vision became a reality. His work enriched our community by increasing Narooma’s livability and the health and wellbeing of our residents, as well as creating a valued tourist attraction.
One from our archives – then President Bob Antill presented Phil Rose with the Club’s Vocational Excellence Award in 2015
More information to come on our current nominee. Rotary Vocational Excellence Awards aim to:
1. recognise vocational excellence
2. honour the outstanding contribution by individuals or small teams of individuals for significant advancement in their vocational field.
3. inspire further enthusiasm and give added reward to the exceptional achievers.
Out and About
More on Community Group meeting
Community Group 7 Leader DGE Robert Shore
The initial meeting of our Community Group 7 – Coast and Highlands Region (under the new regionalisation plans) is at Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Gardens, just south of Batemans Bay, on Sunday 20 October (9.30-3.30). Lunch, morning and afternoon tea will be provided.
Our Group Leader DGE Robert Shore says the day is an opportunity to get to know other clubs in our Community Group and see if there are opportunities to support each other. There will also be opportunities to ask questions about Regionalisation and the Pilot. He says this is not about giving Clubs extra tasks but more about what Rotary, our District and Clubs in our area can do to support each Club.
It’s wonderful that Julie Hartley and Lynn Hastings will represent our Club. Robert asks attendees to think beforehand about the strengths of their club (what they’re doing well), challenges, current projects and major fundraisers.
Bega Book Fair success
Bega Rotary held a successful book fair recently in the temporary venue of Bega Public School hall. The venue proved well suited to the reduced size of the book fair and favourable weather helped make it a success raising just over $5,000. The book fairs are Bega Rotary’s major fundraiser. The Club hopes to hold a similar book fair in January and organisers hope they can get more involvement from members.
NEXT THURSDAY 17 October
7am: Narooma Rotary Business Networking Breakfast
Our next Rotary Business Networking Breakfast is on Thursday 17 October at 7am at Narooma Surf Club (upstairs – finishes at 8). Our guest speaker Fiona Kotvojs will talk about their Gulaga Gold business and its growing success, including on the export market. Fiona and Alan Kotvojs established their truffière some years ago in the Dignams Creek Valley in the foothills of Gulaga. Their website says…
“The mountain, with its deep rainforest gullies, provides the pristine water which sees our oak and hazel trees thrive. Hidden among the roots grow the mystery which is the Perigord Truffle, our Gulaga Gold. From here begins our truffles’ annual journey to the tables of lovers of good eating.”
Bookings are essential with Laurelle by Monday 14th at the latest. Breakfast costs $10 (please say if you do not require breakfast).
Rachel McInnes gave members and guests a wonderful insight into the challenges, heartbreaks, and rewards of being a WIRES carer.
What a lovely night last Thursday with our guest speaker Rachel McInnes and her very informative presentation on the trials, pitfalls and absolute delights of being a WIRES carer. Rachel really is a credit to WIRES and, as we found out, it’s not always a feel good job.
Our Exchange student Hilma also gave us a run down on her week of work experience at Moruya hospital, including watching a baby born by caesarean section… that would have been very special!
THIS WEEK
Wednesday 2 October 6.30pm: PROSTATE CANCER SUPPORT GROUP
Thursday 3 October: No Dinner Meeting. 5.15pm: BOARD MEETING
The Week that Was
More on last Thursday
Hilma and her Counsellor Susanna Chung at last week’s meeting
Both Hilma and Ellie Penglase were thrilled with their work experience (through Narooma High) at Moruya Hospital that week. Hilma said it was so special for them both. They did different rotations; Hilma’s included rehabilitation, emergency and maternity including watching a caesarian.
Then we were treated to a great presentation on WIRES by Rachel McInnes. She joined WIRES in 2016 partly because of where they live at Potato Point, the carnage of native animals on Potato Point Road, and because her target shooting experience (never at live animals!) could be of some use to WIRES.
Rachel’s passion and dedication to her WIRES’ work touched us all
Rachel explained that WIRES is all about Rescue, Rehabilitation and Release, and only of native animals including snakes. A wombat may take 18 months to rehabilitate. Rachel spoke warmly of the wonderful moment when an animal is released back into the wild. Those that are not able to be rehabilitated with a view to release are euthanased.
WIRES volunteers are on call every day of the year. Their 28 branches in NSW work closely with other rescue organisations. Our local WIRES branch extends from Lake Conjola to Wallaga Lake. In 2023 they had 3,187 callouts; 50% were birds, 30% kangaroos and wallabies (road hits). Their busiest day that year was Sunday 7th May with 24 callouts to mostly road kills when “it seemed to be raining joeys”.
Rehabilitating joeys : A pracitical solution to feeding a number of joeys at the same time; requiring multiple feeds a day. Carers often have a separate fridge just for made-up bottles. (Taken from Rachel’s presentation)
We were introduced to the concept of “chicknapping”, that’s when a chick falls out of the nest and people don’t wait to see if parents are around; the parents will usually will look after such chicks. There are sometimes false alarms like a report of an echidna in the middle if the road that turned out to be a toy.
Rachel suggested several ways we could help our wildlife. When driving, she urged us to be particularly aware at dawn and dusk of possible animals by the roadside, and encouraged us to put one of the little pouches she had provided into our cars to increase the survival chances of baby animals once in the hand of carers.
We all gained an insight into the challenges, heartbreaks, and rewards in being a WIRES carer, as well as admiration for their passion and devotion. Rachel proved to be a special WIRES ambassador. She made special mention of David’s considerable support for her work.
Out and About
From Moruya Rotary on cemetery restoration
Moruya Rotary and National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) collaborated in a project to restore graves and fencing at the historic Toragy Point Cemetery at South Head Moruya, part of Eurobodalla National Park. The project is now completed and is written up in this week’s Moruya Mail. Chris Manahan initiated the project in his year as Moruya President (2021-2022) and has helped drive the project since. Chris said they hadn’t realised the paper work that would be necessary before any work could commence. NPWS took the lead in completing the Environmental Assessment, Project Plan and Heritage Impact documents.
Physical work started early this year. Rotary assisted NPWS with relocating headstones to their correct plinths on top of their actual grave sites and assisted with re-erecting some internal timber fencing and railing and replacing some. More recently, Service Staff (NPWS) replaced the perimeter fence which was upgraded to a new ironbark post and rail fence surrounding the graveyard.
From Batemans Bay Rotary
Batemans Bay Rotarians inducted two new members into their Club last week, including past Eurobodalla Mayor Mat Hatcher who most probably will again be mayor.
On increasing and maintaining membership
A Rotary Club in Ohio made several adjustments to attract new members. One was switching from a lunch to a breakfast club which was more convenient for people who worked further way. Another was making a highlight of meetings the monthly “get to know a Rotarian” presentation where members take the floor to talk about themselves.
The Club also increased the number of service opportunities to more than 20 fundraisers and projects each year. To quickly bring new members into the fold, the club surveys them about which committees, projects, and fundraisers they’d like to be involved with and they become involved from the start. All club members receive the same survey annually
NEXT WEEK
Thursday 10 October: 6 for 6.30pm – Club Dinner at Narooma Golf Club.
Lisa Benfell of Regional Development Australia, left, Narooma Rocks Sarah Chenhall and Cath Peachey, Estia Health’s Michaela Tyrrell, and Laurelle Pacey of Narooma Rotary at Thursday’s Business Breakfast.
Sunday was another beautiful day for our markets. Thankyou to everyone in the team involved, especially our ‘Vice’ Market Manager David McInnes. Also great to see two new faces helping at the barbecue and in the van – John and Dianna Coll; look forward to seeing more of you John and Dianna. Sunday’s Market takings were Gate $795.00, Gross van sales $1,123.95. The loss of Riverside Pizzas from the markets was probably a contributing factor to the higher than normal van sales.
This week I’m looking forward to hearing from our good friend Rachel McInnes on her role in the volunteer organisation WIRES, including the high and lows.
Our Rotary Business Breakfast last week was well attended with 30 mainly business people coming along to hear guest speaker Cath Peachey of Narooma Rocks talk about the 2024 Narooma Oyster Festival and beyond. (See Report below)
The Week that Was
Our Business Networking Breakfast
It was great to see several new business faces at last Thursday’s Business Networking Breakfast, attracted by our excellent guest speaker Narooma Rocks (NR) Chair Cath Peachey. NR organises the multi-award winning Narooma Oyster Festival (NOF).
Cath reported on the analysis of the extraordinary amount of data on the NOF that can now be accessed, thanks to technology. This year’s NOF, Australia’s premier oyster festival and Southern NSW’s largest food and drink event, injected over $4m into the local economy, attracted 86% of visitors from outside the Eurobodalla, increased average stay, created a real buzz around the region, and continued to showcase local and regional produce. It’s also home of Australia’s Oyster Shucking Championship and Australia’s Biggest Oyster Competition. Narooma Rocks is a not-for-profit company that seeks to be a catalyst for tourism to the NSW South Coast and surrounding region and contributes to marketing the South Coast, particularly Narooma, as a year-round tourism destination. It couldn’t happen without the efforts of 150 volunteers.
Cath also outlined Narooma Rocks Strategy for the next four years. Its goals are:
1. To elevate the Rock Oyster as the hero product anchoring authentic NSW destination experiences
2. Establishing a Rock Oyster Visitor Experience and Tasting Room
3. Make Narooma Oyster Festival financially sustainable.
Our Rotary Business Breakfasts are now firmly established and have enhanced Narooma Rotary’s profile and credibility in the local business community.
THIS THURSDAY 26th
Dinner Speaker Rachel McInnes on ‘Being a Wildlife Rescuer and Carer’. Rachel has been a wildlife rescuer and carer with WIRES, Australia’s largest wildlife rescue organisation, since 2016. She will give us some insight into what wildlife rescuers and carers do and how they make a difference for our precious wildlife. (For those who love acronyms… WIRES stands for Wildlife information, rescue and education service.)
6 for 6.30pm at Narooma Golf Club. Please make sure you book with Gero including any guests by noon Tuesday so she can notify the Club of numbers.
Out and About
From Bega Rotary Club
Bega Rotary’s next Rotary Bookfair, its major fundraiser, is on 4-5 October at Bega Primary School. Usually it’s at the Showground but current ongoing works there necessitated a change of venue.
Rotary clubs across Australia organise a Hat Day dinner with guest speakers each year to highlight the magnitude of mental health problems across our country and raise funds for Australia Rotary Health (ARH). ARH is one of the largest independent funders of mental health research in Australia. It’s a fun night but with a serious message. Everyone wears a hat- any hat/cap will do (can be crazy too) and is encouraged to give $5 towards ARH.
Why Deadly Runners Exists: Speaker Georgia Weir – Deadly Runners is a 100% Aboriginal owned and operated impactful initiative aimed at fostering physical health, mental wellbeing and community cohesion among indigenous Australians through running and cultural engagement programs.
Mens Long Table: Speaker Laurence Babington. The Mens table is a safe place to share and be heard in a confidential and non-judgemental environment, creating a greater sense of belonging, camaraderie and connection. It’s a healthy way to show emotion and share feelings, and not just talk footy and stuff. Our local Men’s table is held once a month in Narooma.
Introducing Headspace Narooma: Speaker Sophie Scobie will tell us what it means for Narooma’s young people to have a healthy headspace and the supports that are available. Headspace Narooma is part of the National Youth Mental Health Foundation, providing early intervention mental health services to 12-25 year olds. Headspace Narooma can help young people with mental health, physical health (including sexual health), alcohol and other drug services and work and study support.
(The offcial National Hat Day is 10 October which is World Mental Health Day. It is Australian Rotary Health’s longest-running mental health research fundraising event, held on the 10th of October every . It’s a day to wear an exciting hat and spread awareness of the 1 in 5 Australians suffering a mental health disorder every year. It began as a fun and easy way for Rotary Clubs around Australia to get together to raise money for mental health research through Australian Rotary Health. Hat Day events are not just about wearing an exciting hat. Rotary Clubs have hosted Hat Day themed raffle nights, murder mystery role playing dinners and even fashion show extravaganzas! 100% of Hat Day proceeds go into mental health research. Starting from 2023, Australian Rotary Health will be narrowing its research to the mental health of 0-12 year olds. You can see more information on their website.)
