Beacon 15th October 2015

short note by bob ant

This week we are off on an adventure to Moruya on Wednesday evening. I will send out a bus time table for everyone tonight when numbers are known, let Anthony know today please (Monday 12th Oct).
Last week our guest speaker was author Peter Smith. This night could not have been possible without the enthusiasm of Laurelle to organise, publicise and find such an interesting speaker. Thank you Laurelle.

Yesterday I was able to get Radar out onto the water to look at oyster farming in the inlet. My thanks to Charles for explaining the process to Radar.

Our thoughts are with Michael and Donna as they take their last visit to Michael’s sister in WA.

On the 12th of November we are meeting at the Kinema for End Polio fundraiser and the premiere of the new James Bond Movie, a great movie and should be a great night, thank you to Chris for organising it and for John and Janette for their support.

Have a great week

Bob

 

The Clarke Gang – Murderous Thugs or Larrikins?

Peter Smith on the Clarke Gang

The Clarke gang was arguably one of the most troublesome of all the bush ranging gangs, yet most people haven’t heard of them.

Why? Author Peter Smith has dealt expertly with this and many other interesting issues in his new book, The Clarke Gang – Outlawed, Outcast and Forgotten.

Peter Smith holding a gun owned by a member of the Clarke Gang
Peter Smith holding a gun owned by a member of the Clarke Gang

Peter summarised some of the key points at last Thursday night’s meeting.

With roots in the unrest caused by the colonial system, the bushrangers initially had a lot of community support as they were seen to be active against the system.  Plus, the “bad guys” were better horsemen and better at bush survival, and often embarrassed the authorities who were trying to catch them, all of which went down well with the locals.

In addition, the police force didn’t exist as such – instead there were disparate systems, eg the town constables were under the control of the magistrates. Eventually the police force as we know it today was created – the NSW police force, with a mandate to wage war against the villains.

One of the worst acts by the bushrangers against the police was near Braidwood when four policemen were murdered.  This, together with other changes saw the bushrangers lose some of their community support.  In 1855 the Felons Act came into being, at which point bushrangers lost all rights, they could be shot on sight, giving them the same status as mad dogs.  Rewards were posted; four and five thousand pounds – a significant amount of money in those times.

So they became outcasts.

The Clark Gang, when they were finally caught, had a one day trial, and were then hanged.

“You young men have now received the last sentence of the law.

“You will pass from the world as felons, convicts, bushrangers and I very much fear, murderers.”.

Someone organised a petition protesting against their execution but it only raised eighty-five signatures, and so ended the lives of the members of the Clarke Gang

A highlight of the talk was when Peter reached into his bag and produced a revolver, number 170, owned by Pat O’Connell, a member of the gang.  He waved it about much to the consternation of those sitting close!

An interesting speaker, Peter kept the large audience of Rotarians and visitors hanging on his every word.

News from the North

Ted Bladwell sends his regards. These days Ted lives where the weather is a bit warmer, but offered the opinion that he regrets leaving. Ted has a stack of old newsletters – please send them, Ted! If any other members or ex-members have copies, please send them to Frank so he can plug the gaps.

News from Overseas

via John Rungen

Rotary and “ONE”, an international advocacy organization, joined other partners in downtown Chicago on 24 September to demonstrate a commitment to ending extreme poverty and inequality and to promoting action on climate change on the eve of the United Nations launch of its Sustainable Development Goals.

Their ambitious goals constitute a road map for finding solutions to the world’s most pressing problems, and dovetail with Rotary members’ work to create positive change in their communities and around the world. As dusk fell over Chicago, participants in the Under One Sky event held up blue lights transforming the plaza where they were gathered into a field of fireflies to #LightTheWay to a more just world.

“This is a great opportunity for people to network and join an event where we are all focused on creating a better world” said Cheryl McIntyre, president of the Rotary Club of Chicago.

 

Beacon 8th October 2015

2015-10-04 - Radar playing Erhu
The Erhu, played for us by Radar

The Erhu  is a two-stringed bowed instrument , sometimes known in the West as the “Chinese violin” or a “Chinese two-stringed fiddle”.  Radar, our Rotary exchange student gave us a masterful rendition.One could easily imagine the Mongolian horses galloping across the Steppes.

Peter has returned from his travels abroad, but unfortunately his camera failed to return with him.  It is still languishing in the lost property section of DB at the Hamburg Bahnhof.  I will not attempt to retell the Pythonesque series of events involving dodgy international transactions, delivery of dangerous goods and a helpful native called Helga, you need to hear these things first hand, so if you did not attend the meeting last Thursday – make sure you interrogate Peter next time you see him.

Michael is in training to walk across the planet.  He has a madcap scheme to walk from Perth to the South Pole next year to raise money for his school building project in Africa – more info on that in due course.

 

 

A short note note by bob ant.

Well we survived the last great Southern Blues Festival.  Thank you one and all for your contribution to making this a great boost to our fundraising efforts. We made over $5,000 gross and I feel it should be more than $3,000 net.

This will boost our fundraising and help toward a good local cause. This is why we are in Rotary, service to the community and hopefully having some fun on the way.

Again thank you all for your efforts, see you on Thursday night …. bring ten friends !!

Cheers – Bob

Archived newsletters

Bob has been rummaging in the dark recesses of his computer and found some old copies of the Beacon, which have now been organised and uploaded to the website.  To find them, click on News, scroll to the bottom, click on Older Posts and again scroll to the bottom.

Why is it useful to have all the old newsletters available?

Well lets assume you remember that Mr Armstrong paid a visit, but would like to know when that was. You could enter this into the Google search box:

Armstrong  site:naroomarotary.org.au

and find that he paid a visit on 3rd July 2014.   The “site” bit just tells Google to restrict results to just those for our website. Too easy!

BUT there are significant gaps – prior to 2009 and between 2011-07-07 and 2014-06-06.   If anyone has copies of the newsletter from this period, please send them to me, or put them on a USB stick.  If you only have paper copies,  I will scan them.

Cheers – Frank

Shelterbox Update for Beacon

Latest update from Shelterbox 18th September 2015
Overview: An earthquake measuring 7.8 in magnitude occurred between the cities of Kathmandu and Pokhara in Nepal on Saturday 25 April. Since then, several aftershocks have taken place, ranging from 5 to 6.7 in magnitude.
On Tuesday 12 May, a second major earthquake hit Nepal near Mount Everest. It measured 7.3 in magnitude and has caused further damage, bringing down many buildings that were damaged by the first quake.
Nepal help ongoing
It is currently monsoon season, which heightens the threat of flash flooding and landslides, as well as slowing the rebuilding efforts.
The team is working with the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED) to distribute further aid.
14,500 tarpaulins have been transported into the country and are being distributed along with materials from ACTED, such as corrugated iron, so that people can create temporary shelters and make repairs on damaged buildings too. Read more here: http://www.shelterbox.org/news.php?id=1633
Syria update
ShelterBox has ensured distribution of aid through implementing partners including Hand in Hand for Syria (HIHS). Shelter kits, more tents, mosquito nets, water filters, water carriers, blankets, groundsheets, SchoolBoxes and solar lamps have all been sent to assist families in the region.
HIHS are continuing to distribute aid throughout the country including to areas in the Aleppo governorate and the Syrian/Turkish border.
350 UN tents and tarpaulins have been transported to Syria, where they are being distributed by aid agency the Violet Organization to replace tents that are starting to wear out due to long-term use in refugee camps near the Turkish border. Distributions are due to finish soon.
200 UN specification tents have been pre-positioned with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) at their storage facility in Turkey. These tents are now in the process of being distributed, mostly to families whose tents have worn out due to use, and will soon finish.

 

Beacon 1st October 2015

Thursday night was a club fellowship and board meeting night. We were joined by Gordon and Di Bennet from Dubbo and Pres Bob gave the three minute talk. Our meeting next Thursday night will be final preps for the Blues Festival. The board was pleased to allocate funding for three students to Conoco Phillips science, also agreed to order the Defibrillator for the IGA Narooma making three in total.
This Sunday was our regular market and my thanks to all who helped out. As our major fundraising activity it is important to support as much as you can. Thank you to Chris who is on the case of the Polio movie night.

News about Jack

Jack is still in Moruya Hospital and is up for visitors but only short visits and not too many people at a time. Jack is still reviewing his emails and is happy to receive them and will answer as time and energy permits.

Jack’s family are staying at his house and as a club we have offered any assistance that they need.

Bits and Pieces

Charmaine bought a boat and it has arrived, a laser ! – but she cant sail in it because she is off to warmer climes, to work closely with the tooth fairy,  pull teeth, and work with the Carmelite nuns to improve dental health in East Timor.  We expect a few stories on her return.

Radar was introduced to veggiemite in Cooma.  He is wondering whether it can be used to deter aphids from Rose bushes 🙂

Gordon reported that his son Chris has landed a job as a doctor in Byron Bay.  Mike is off to Broom to sweep out the cobwebs, and Michael’s son has gone off on a Contiki tour, and has sent home a photo of a Big Antenna (the Eiffel tower) while Chris is expecting a grandson

Ang and Lynn are back from beauteous Bali.

Bob did 1300 km to Wagga to pick up his kitchen bits and pieces.

Website / Newsletter

All of the unfinished pages have been hidden while we wait for a volunteer to come forward to write up some words about what the club does.  If you would like to help out, there are 4 pages that have been hidden – note that we are not talking about anything other than writing words and maybe some pictures – its not a hard task nor is it a technical task.  All we need is someone who has been around for a while who knows the history of the club!

I have made it super easy for everyone to create new events – just go to the Events page, and click on Create Event.  Fill in the details, then email me at bulletin@naroomarotary.org.au and I will “approve it” for publishment.  Chris pointed out that the biggest drawcard for a potential member is what we are about to do next – a great speaker with an interesting subject needs a good writeup.

Lunch any one!

The Bowral Long Lunch is being held on Sunday October 18. This fabulous event is in its third year and has been attended by many Rotarians who have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We encourage you to consider booking for a fabulous lunch with wonderful food and wines served right down the main street of Bowral. An event not to be missed.

Hah Hah

Someone was overheard remark, while looking at the Carbon emissions arising from the BBQ at the markets on Sunday:
“where there’s smoke there’s Michael”