Probus Club of Kenmore Gardens – The Beginnings and beyond ...

Mid 2001 the Kenmore Rotary Club initiated the formation of the Kenmore Gardens Probus Club. Probus Clubs were flavour of the month at that time, springing up everywhere and there were 5 formed in Kenmore at around this time. Apart from ourselves I can only recollect Kenmore Millenium and Kenmore Village as still in existence. The choice of "Gardens" to distinguish us from other Kenmore Clubs was to do with our first meeting venue, the Lakeside Restaurant at Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens, which had plenty of gardens around it.

A committee was formed towards the end of 2001 and the club received accreditation in March 2002. 

At a meeting on 1^st October 2001, a decision was taken to go ahead with the proposed name change to Probus Club of Kenmore Gardens. At this and the second meeting on 5 November, the club’s first committee was formed. By the first committee meeting on 5^th December, all vacant offices had been filled.

By February 2002, the club's applications for accreditation as a member of the national Probus movement and for membership of the Probus Association of Queensland had been accepted. One of the most important administrative decisions — the application for Incorporation — was undertaken over the next few months and on its being granted in March 2002; the club reformed as the Probus Club of Kenmore Gardens Inc. By the end of 2002, the club had a membership of 58.

Significantly, 2003 was the year in which the Probus Association Queensland (PAQ) began a move to further unite Queensland Probus clubs by starting up the PAQ network. with a grant from the Brisbane City Council. This resulted in a web-site of information about Probus, interesting speakers amd Outings as well as an email facility to keep clubs more easily and quickly informed of Probus events. Kenmore Gardens joined 60 other clubs as members of the network.

2004, the third year of the club, saw the election of the club’s first female president, Glen Caitlin. A number of new initiatives were begun during this year including the introduction of lunch time gatherings in the Botanic gardens after meetings. This allowed for more socialising and an opportunity to get to know the Mt Coot-tha gardens. Another initiative was the expansion of the number of special interest groups — a BBQ group, a book club, a dining group and a theatre group each coordinated by one of the female members of the club. In addition, a number of other female members took on other organisational work for the club. Also introduced was a lucky door prize to be given out at each meeting. Speakers continued to be a drawcard. Club outings continued to be popular and well-attended. 2004 was the year of visits to places historical such as the Workshops Rail Museum at Ipswich, the Naval Stores, Newstead House and Coochin Coochin Homestead. Christmas in July was spent eating a sumptuous repast in medieval style at a ‘medieval castle’ in Bli Bli and the year finished with a trip, subsidised by a grant from the Brisbane City Council, Bribie’s spectacular Medieval Abbey and ‘modern’ places on the program included Kooroomba Vineyard and Lavender Farm, and Moreton TAFE. A milestone was experienced this year when Probus — South Pacific invited clubs to have a say on proposed changes to the Probus constitution. Strategies were put in place to try and increase membership, with members encouraged to bring along friends who would be potential new members, and articles were written and placed in local publications to raise awareness of the club. The 60:40 ratio, formalised in a by-law put to the club, was almost achieved this year, and by year’s end, membership had risen to 64. The annual Christmas party was at a new venue, the Mt Ommaney Hotel Apartments, and there was almost 100% attendance for the first time. Qizzes, dancing, socialising, a carol sing-a-long and games were the order of the day and a delicious silver service two-course meal of roast turkey and pork crackling was enjoyed by all.

2005 saw further change in the line-up of committee members with some stepping down in accordance with the Probus cunstitution. This was the year in which the club acquired a banner. It was also the year in which a more formalised induction was introduced for new members. Outings got off to a flying start with a day-long visit to Brisbane's dams - Somerset and Wivenhoe — and historic Bellevue Homestead at Coominya. Other outings included a visit to local attractions around the Kenmore area (the Koala Hospital, the CSIRO); Amberley Airforce Base; the Golden Circle Cannery; as well as a morning tea at Government House and a brief talk from Governor Quentin Bryce. Another momentous outing was a day spent at Stradbroke Island which included members of the local indigenous community speeking about their culture and history. Later in the year, a group undertook a three day trip to the beautiful Bellingen Valley. An interesting range of speakers again kept club members enthralled during the year. They included local weatherman, John Schluter, who spoke about environmental matters as well as rain and the weather; Dr David Whiteman from QIMR; a researcher on melanomas; oral pachologist Dr Bill Young; Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens Curator, Ross McKinnon; and wildlife officer, Nick Nattrass. Membership reached 77.

In 2007, Trips and outings for the year included: the Darling Downs and Toowoomba; Macarthur’s Museum; Australia Zoo; an overnight trip to Gympie (which included a ride on the interestingly named “Rattler” train); Tangalooma; and Norfolk Island.

Members were treated to an interesting line-up of speakers, being whisked off to Turkey by Colin Kennard (St Lucia Probus); given the inside gem on polio pioneer nurse Sister Kenny and On Our Selection writer Steele Rudd by playwright Paul Sherman: aged by the talk on the “Aged Care Maze” by Rachel Lane (Austock) & Geoff Sharp(Whittaker Mcnaught); sobered by Pastor Charlie Greer’s talk on the Pressures of working in a prison; and frightened out of their socks by Qld Detective Rod Sheldon by details of just how easy it is to be the Victim of credit card and internet fraud.

Subjects discussed by the club included the relative importance if intellectual and cultural interests, and how to sustain momentum of interest in club activities and outings. Another issue raised was that of donations to registered charities, including to major disaster appeals. On a specifically club-based level, issues raised included age and gender profiles of members, and co-opting and involving members in committee and interest group organisation. The issue of inactive club members also arose as five members had not participated in meetings or outings for a significant period. How to reserve places for such members within the 100 membership cap came up for discussion, it being decided that within the 100 membership cap, up to 10 could be inactive members.

The special interest groups continued to be a popular part of club life with the number of established groups expanded by the starting of a writers group in June.

The finances of the club became so healthy, the treasurer was charged with the task of looking into the best available term deposit for some of the club’s finances. As a result, the club began dabbling its feet in a stock market linked investment at 6.15%.

More effective use of the facilities provided at the Lakeside Restaurant (where the club meets) which were stressed by the numbers to be accommodated, and the dissatisfaction with the commercial biscuits provided for morning tea at general meetings took up some time. Of course, cost remained a much discussed issue in the decision-making on these issues.

An additional hospitality officer position was created this year to ensure there was someone to welcome guests, and identify members requiring assistance of some type or moral support. Christmas was celebrated at the Jindalee Hotel with a barbershop quartet providing entertainment.

2008

In 2008, the club started with a membership of 93. The presidency was taken on by Vivienne Nash with Alex  Wilkins continuing his scribing role and Geoff Brierly again being entrusted with the club’s finances. This year, projected and actual budgets were presented in glorious colour, the result being the committee was told they were looking down the barrel of a projected loss of over $1,000 this year

The year started with a very successful trip to Warwick which included an overnight stop at the historic Abbey of the Roses. Members also went to the former convict island of St Helena; the controversial Tugun desalination plant; the Picasso and Sidney Nolan exhibitions at the Art Gallery and Gallery of Modem Art (GOMA); the silent film cinema and restaurant at Pomona; the Samford Valley and Museum; and Fort Lytton. Because of ongoing losses on trips, a cancellation policy for last minute cancellations was developed.

However, in mid-year, the issue of declining participation in events had become an issue and a paper was presented to the committee to discuss a number of issues. The sudden death of Sel Bosel had left the club with no one willing to take over the role of organising events, so the role was undertaken by a sub-committee of four from September. A survey was undertaken to determine members’ interests, preferred forms of travel and types of trips. This also resulted extensive list of events being identified and a new policy on refunds and booking fees being proposed.

Speakers continued to be informative and enlightening and included Peter Hollingsworth on the city’s new north- west tunnel; Lawrence Smith on landscaping; Rick Milne (known as the “guru of garbage”) on antiques and their value; renowned landscape architect Lawrie Smith on the development of the Roma Street Parklands; Sgt Richard Symes on community policing aims and strategies; and Noel Hoole on his round-the-world sailing trip.

The special interest groups continued to be well-attended and included dining, book club, writer, bridge and BBQ groups.

Risk Management rose as an issue this year, with meetings held in private homes presenting a specific challenge. There were also a number of changes to the Probus constitution.

A grant was sought from the Qld State Government through the Gambling Community Benefit Fund for the acquisition of a data projector package to also include a laptop computer, screen and stand. In November a grant of almost $3,000 finally came through

Despite the beginning of the year concerns about losses on trips, the club’s financial position continued to be sufficiently strong to allow the term deposit to be rolled over in June and the club to be a modest $200 over budget by July.

July was also the month the club reached its maximum membership of 100 comprising 62 women and 38 males with one member on a leave of absence. But this highlighted the fact that there were a number of members who were not coming to the number of meetings required each year by club’s constitution.

The annual Melbourne Cup sweep was organized by the club’s horse guru and Christmas subsidized by the club with Irish singers providing some rousing entertainment.

2009

The year opened on a rather sad note, with the death of one of our former presidents, namely Terry Sherman. Also our inaugural president, George Allen resigned from the club. At the AGM in March, Malcolm Lewis who was a relatively new member very bravely took on the role of president, whilst Malcolm’s wife, Gill, volunteered to handle the onerous responsibilities of events organizer. Joan Matheson, another newcomer, was elected to handle the dual functions of secretary and vice-president. Thanks went to Vivian Nash, our retiring president, and Alex Wilkins for their excellent work whilst on the committee. Vivian had co-opted Malcolm Lewis into undertaking the lengthy procedure of organizing a grant from the Community Gambling Benefit Fund for $2959 for the purpose of computer and data projector; whilst Alex had been heavily involved in ensuring that members were adequately insured whilst involved in Probus activities. The financial position on 31 December 2008 showed an excess of income over expenditure of $2394.59 and total assets of $5074.41. Particular items to note were a grant of $450 from Brisbane City Council towards our Xmas lunch and a reduction in our Suncorp investment of $1000. The annual membership fee was increased from $20 to $25 per member. This year we introduced a small medical card which could be folded to put in your wallet. Its purpose was to record any medical conditions or medication that you are on which could be vital in the case of an emergency

The year started with 99 members with 62 females and 37 males. The previous year we had dropped to as low as 89 members due to the resignations and illnesses. The club instituted a membership waiting list. During the course of the year we lost the following members, Brian and Jocelyn Catchpole, Ann Foster, Carmel and Pam Drysdale, Frank and Valerie Taylor, Bob and Lorraine Graham. On the positive side new members were Gwen & David Smith, Alan and Gwen McFarlane, Kevin and Catherine Hesse, Peter Hallett, Alex, McKenzie, Margaret and Peter Hollingsworth and Jan McCabe.

The premier trip of the year was the three day visit to the Granite Belt and this was complemented by a range of other day visits which are detailed below. In keeping with increasing trends in litigation, members signed a special participation declaration at the commencement of each trip.

Our speaker season started with a talk from Keith Schafferius who was a private investigator who had been involved in some rather interesting situations. This was followed by Marjorie Greene, whose topic was “Beyond Maturity Blues”. Spencer Howsen from ABC 612 extolled the virtues of digital radio to us in June. Following a further visit from Keith Schafferius in August, Jim Hammond spoke on his subject, entitled “Angel Flight”, which concerned the care and transport of people from remote areas to where there were medical facilities. A talk by Rosaline Delau on Feng Shui which means wind and water was interesting and there were some searching questions. Next on the agenda was Professor Ian Godwin who spoke about molecular plant improvement and molecular genetics and finally our last speaker of the year was Di Ellis whose subject was genealogy.

Our sub groups consisting of Terrific Tennis Players, Relaxing BBQers, Book Worms, Writers Ink, Beginners Bridge and Movie Goers continued to attract participants. Most pleasing was that a young man who from a distance, saw the friendly atmosphere and enjoyment our barbecue group was having in each in each other’s company, enquired as to who we were. He left and a short time afterwards came back with a box of chocolates for the group. It was very gratifying that our fellowship of friendship was approved was apparent to someone from outside. 

From the 19^th to the 21^st of May a large contingent of our members enjoyed a three day trip to the Granite Belt, centred on Stanthorpe. On arrival in the area we had morning tea which was followed by a visit to an apple orchard where we picked our own apples. The days were extremely busy and although it rained all the time it didn’t dampen our spirits. From liquors to wines to cheeses and jams at the Bramble Patch it was all go. Two of the highlights were the visit to the Tourism and Hospitality College where their wine making skills were demonstrated and had lunch which was served to us by the students and the visit to the vegetable farm. This was agriculture on a large scale with their own trucks to deliver vegetables to Rocklea Markets. An old bus took us around and we saw the automated planting of seedlings and the large fields of produce. They relied heavily on backpackers during the picking season. With purchases at most of the foregoing venues plus cheese, olives and lavender our luggage on the way home was
very heavy.

Our accommodation during our stay was at the High Street Motor Inn in Stanthorpe. This was very hospitable with a roaring fire in the lounge/dining room in the evening. We thought perhaps the hospitality had gone too far when one of our single lady members found a pair of men’s shoes outside her room door one morning.

Unfortunately when we returned to Cubberla Creek in Brisbane the heavy continuous heavy rain had flooded the area and two of our members cars had been under water and were write-offs.

Visits during the year were varied, with visits to St. Johns and St. Stephens Cathedrals, the visit to Shafston College with lunch afterwards at L’Academie,  cruise on the Brisbane River, “Springtime on the Mountain” at Mount Tamborine. The Crucible Theatre in Ipswich, the Queensland Art Gallery for the American Impressionists and Realists exhibition and a tour around Old Government House.

Xmas Lunch was held on the 7^th December at the Jindalee Hotel which was a repeat venue. Arthur Walters came up trumps and borrowed a keyboard which Norm Pugh played for us. After a long session of drinks, snacks and socializing we sat down to an excellent lunch. Economy dictated that we find entertainers from amongst our members. Whilst Con McCormack acted as M.C., Arthur with monologues and Geoff Brierley with a song kept the party going. The committee who had organized the event then led everyone in the singing of carols.

2010

The year started at a new venue. This was the McLeod Country Golf Club in Mt Ommaney and our first meeting took place in February. The change of location was after canvassing of possible alternative meeting places and following a vote by the members.

The move from the Lakeside Gardens was precipitated by more onerous conditions than were previously applied. As usual at the AGM there were changes to the committee. Joan Matheson took over as President from Malcolm Lewis. Whilst other changes saw Geoff Brierley move from Treasurer to Vice-President, David Smith came onto the committee as treasurer. Con McCormack came on a secretary. Arthur Walters came on as Publicity Officer. Daryl Rosenberg took on Programme Officer i.e. organizing the speakers for our monthly meetings, and Juliana Pinheiro Member Support Officer which primarily involves following up on the welfare of those members who are sick. This meant that Barbara Parker, Maureen Ashbury and Yvonne Baker were no longer on the committee after excellent service in their respective positions, Still continuing in their previous roles were Ann Burton as Membership Officer and Gill Lewis, who continued her excellent work in organizing our outings and trips.

The Club’s assets as at 31 December 2009 were $2024.56. During the year the Club had purchased a computer, data projector and screen. This was facilitated by a grant from the Gambling Benefit Fund. The charges for
morning tea were raised from $5.00 to $6.00. A health card for members was introduced whereby details of any medical problems or medications could be noted This was for reference should a member be involved in an
accident or medical emergency and should be useful for medical personnel involved

Membership at the beginning of the year stood at 89, with 34 males and 55 females. Unfortunately, during the year two of our members passed away, namely Ed Westerway, and Edward Thistlethwaite. During the year we had resignations for a number of members. These included Elizabeth Bock, Joyce Evans, and Peter and Lynn Horn. These members had left the area and therefore found it difficult to attend. Peter was responsible for initiating the Writers Ink sub group, which has proved very successful. Other resignations were Tony Burton, Alex McKenzie, Peter Hallett, Rhonda Merritt and Una Dwyer. On the positive side in April, David and Janice, Grieves and Ursula and David Abercrombie join the club whilst later in the year Evelyn Hamilton and Lon Brum Brum came on board.

The trips highlight of the year was a 3 day visit to Kingaroy and the Bunya Mountains. Amongst the other activities was a visit in March to Redcliffe where a visit to the historic Picture Palace cinema and the showing of films on the history of Redcliffe during the war years and another on the well known mailman, Tom Kruse, and his epic trips around Birdsville in the 1850’s. A walk on the pier and a visit to Morgan’s fish shop at Scarborough concluded the day. Other events included in April, tour around historic Newstead House followed by lunch at the Breakfast Creek Hotel. In June in a bus trip to Suncorp Stadium followed by lunch at the LA Hotel in Caxton Street, in September Parliament House was elected for a visit with lunch at Gilhooley’s Tavern, the Government Archives in November and QIMR (The Queensland Institute of Medical Research) in February concluded our shorter trips of the year. A cruise on the Brisbane river in May started at Southbank and was courtesy of Brisbane Star Cruises. This took us to Mandalay passing the Regatta Hotel, Queensland University, the Pat Rafter tennis centre, Indooroopilly Golf Course and finally turning around at Seventeen Mile Rocks which are just before the Jindalee Bridge. Visit to the Tramway Museum at Ferny Grove in July brought back many memories for long time residents of Brisbane. Short rides on several vintage trams was like “All our Yesterdays”. Lunch was at the Ferny Grove Tavern. A full day at Boonah was enjoyed by all in August and started with morning tea at the Boonah Information Centre. A talk and lunch at the Rathlogan Grove Olive Farm was next on the agenda and finally before returning to Brisbane, we spent time at the Templin Historical Village where rusty old farm machinery, and ancient household goods took us back many years.

Our usual Christmas lunch was held this year at the Jindalee Golf Club. Again ‘home grown’ acts were the entertainment. Arthur Walters did a monologue and also sang a duet (The Gendarmes) with Geoff Brierley. Rob Jeffrey played a selection of tunes on the piano whilst a number of members formed a choir and sang carols under the direction of Norman Pugh.

At the AGM, we did not have a speaker but members of our Writer’s Ink group presented some of their writing efforts. At our monthly meetings, we had speakers in chronological order as follows:- Road Safety Council, Alana Creswell from the PA hospital about Queensland Donate, Clem 7 Tunnel, Mercy Ships - these travel the world providing healthcare to various countries, Ray Crompton from Wesley Hospital, Bill Waterfield, who is involved in supplying educational and health goods to Papua New Guinea and talked about the Kokoda Track in World War 2, Deborah Bishop talked about the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Yvette Nash who works for the Federal Minister of Home affairs (Brendan O’Connor) and is a qualified criminal lawyer, and finally Andrew Macy who gave an illustrated talk about a trip to Antarctica.

Our sub groups continued as per the previous year, but with the addition of a Girls Morning Tea Party. This started in June and met on Tuesday morning at Garden Way with Joanie Cameron as convener.

33 of our members undertook a multiday tour of Kingaroy and the Bunya Mountains from 10^th to the 14^th October. On the way we saw the release of water from Wivenhoe Dam - not enough as it turned out later. Morning tea was at Taabinga Homestead and lunch was at the Kingaroy RSL on the first day. After lunch we were given a guided tour of Kingaroy and a look around the information centre. Accommodation for the 2 nights was at the Burke and Wills Motel. Wednesday saw us visit “Bethany" where John Bjelke-Peterson gave us a tour of the property followed by morning tea including the famous pumpkin scones which are now made by John’s wife, Karen. However Flo was on hand to sell and sign copies of her cook book. It was then on to the Bunya Mountains and lunch at the Bunya Forest Gallery. A walk through the rain forest or a visit to the local museum which is run by John and Sandy Learmont was next on the agenda. On the way back to Kingaroy we stopped off at "Belvedere” which is a peanut farm run by Malcolm Schmocker. The next day we commenced with a visit to Endeavour where disabled people make biscuits, pickles, chutneys and Christmas cakes. Following on this we went to the old butter factory and tasted their cheeses, fudge and wine. More wine and lunch at the Captain’s Paddock was next prior to heading home via the Timber Museum at Wondai.

2011

Again McLeod Country Golf Club was the venue for our meetings. The morning teas were popular and more than adequate in that sale of left over scones did a roaring trade at $1.50 each

The AGM in March saw Geon Brierley become president whilst Helen Kerr took on outings, Sandra Pritchard assumed responsibilities for membership, and Gill Lewis moved to vice president. Joan Matheson and Ann Burton relinquished their positions on the committee after excellent work. The club started the year with 90 members and average attendance at meetings of 66 the previous year was disappointing. Available funds at the end of the Financial year December 31^st 2010 were $2872.66. McLeod had increased their charges This meant that a proposition was put and carried at the AGM that the annual membership fee be increased to $30.00 and morning tea and meeting fee be raised to $7.00.

Our sub-groups continued as usual but with the addition in April of a walking group on Friday afternoons and Wendy Bailey became convenor.

The significance of the year was that it was our 10" anniversary and celebrations were held in August when a lunch was organised at the Mount Ommaney Lodge. Past members and representatives from PAQ were invited. Bob Rogers and his wife Nancy, Alan Kohler and his wife Fran and Bill Bushmann were attendees. Bob and Alan were the 2 Rotarians who were instrumental in starting the Kenmore Gardens Probus club. And Alan was the instigator of 5 of the 8 Kenmore Probus Clubs at the time. Bill, Boab and Alan together with club president, Geoff Brierley, made short presentations. Also we were pleased to welcome past members who were able to join us for the occasion. These were Lynn and Peter Horn and Carmel Drysdale. Rene Brierley and David and Ursula Abercrombie had arranged lots of memorabilia in the form of photographs, newsletters and minutes of meetings. Darryl Rossberg was the M.C. Barbara Parker on keyboard and Joan O’Hara singing provided entertainment with a song entitled Ten Year Celebration that they had written. President Geoff Brierley assisted by wife Rene cut the anniversary cake. The club received a grant from the Lord Mayor’s Suburban Initiative Fund of $763.64 which helped defray the costs.

A number of members participated in the Probus Friendship Day at Samford in July. Entertainment included the Samford State School Senior Band, the Get Rhythm Dance Team (The Clogging Experience), the Queensland Police Pipes and Drums and last but not least the Probus Choir. The importance of Probus to the tourist industry was exemplified by the host of travel agencies touting their trips. There were also presentations by some of the agents.

Our club was also represented at the Probus Ecumenical Service at St. Stephen’s Cathedral.

As usual there were numerous trips and outings during the year These included, Ormiston House, Wolston House, Abbey Museum, City Hall excavations, the Art Gallery (Ethel Garrick and Philip Fox) and bowls at St Lucia (instruction by two club members in Eric Baker and Kevin Hesse.). Particularly enjoyable were two of our all day outings. The first was a river cruise on the Tweed River to Tumbulgum, then by coach to Tyalgum for lunch at Flutterbuys Café and then on to Stocker’s Siding pottery before returning to Cubberla Creek. The other trip was to the Lockyer Valley. After morning tea at Apex Park, Gatton a visit was made to Bauer’s Organic Farm followed by lunch at Lockyer Cultural Centre, a look through the art gallery and library and then home via Pohlman’s Nursery.

Speakers at monthly meetings were many and varied. We started in April with a talk by Noel Davies (grandson of Walter Taylor) on the Walter Taylor Bridge, Cathie Lammie - estate agent, Graham Curnow - Men’s Shed, Jack McLaughton - cricketing experiences of earlier years, Rhyl Hinwood – sculptor, Dr. Jack Rynne - tsunamis and earthquakes, Rev Peter Devenish-Meares from Missions Australia - homelessness and chaplaincy issues and in November Professor Justin Marshall from Queensland University, with an interestingly titled topic – “Colour Sex and Violence - day in the life of the Great Barrier Reef”. Ron Cross of MERV (Marine Emergency Response Vessel) spoke to us in February about multipurpose work boats which are involved in cleaning up oil spills, emergency rescue etc.

Our usual Christmas Lunch was held this year on the 28" of November at the McLeod Country Golf club which, although our usual monthly meeting venue, was our first Christmas Lunch there. Entertainment was by "Viva La Musica" and “home grown" entertainers in Barbara Parker (poem - Goodbye Grandad). Arthur Walters (Tongue Twisters) and Ewan McLeod played the bagpipes. Helen Kerr organized the quiz and Barbara Parker played the keyboard for members to join in Christmas songs.

2012

The first event of the year 2012, Barbecue at Rafting Gound Reserve, was a little different in that in January we had a morning barbecue. This escaped the heat of the day and possible crowds around lunchtime as it was still school holidays.

The club’s meetings were again held at McLeod Golf Club. However charges for morning tea were again raised from $7 to $8. The AGM in March saw the baton for president passed from Geoff Brierley to Gill Lewis. Other committee changes were that Rene Brierley took over membership assisted by Joan O’Hara, and Neville Brandon came onto the committee as vice-president. All other positions remained as in the previous year. Congratulations were accorded to David Smith as the Club’s finances at the end of the financial year, December 31^st 2011, showed a healthy balance of $4250.31. It was acknowledged that we had received a generous donation to funds from the Lord Mayor’s Suburban Initiative Fund. The attendance at the previous years’ meetings averaged 73 and we started this year with a total of 96 members of which 58 were female and 38 male.

With no speaker for our AGM our first event for the following month was short talks by 4 of our members – Russell Wilson, Neville Brandon, Barbara Parker and John Lees. This was entitled “Snap shots”. During the first part of the year we had Michael Beattie from the RSPCA. Dennis Hundscheidt was scheduled to talk on his Oasis Garden but was taken ill, So at short notice Darryl Rossberg filled in and gave us a display and description of her extensive tea pot collection as well as information on her favourite movies and travels. In July, members of the Writers Ink group filled in. August saw Police Sgt Steve Cook talk on Disaster Victim Identification, he had a colleague with him and their  inter play was amusing. September was Vickie Broadstock from Classic FM on ‘Silver Melodies. Our own Con McCormack provided details of ‘His Remarkable Air Flight at 21’. Finally the butcher, Stan Cornish, appeared in November and regaled us with stories of butchering from years ago. In February 2013 we split from tradition and did have an outside speaker – this was Margaret Willsford who gave an excellent illustrated talk about her ‘Coast to Coast’ trek from St. Bees on the West coast to Robin Hood Bay on the East coast of England. Known as the Wainwright Way it crosses the Northern Penine Chain and a number of National Parks.

A number of members attended the Ecumenical Service in April at the Salvation Army City Temple. Also Gill and Malcolm Lewis represented the club at the Probus Information Day and Seminar. The Probus Friendship Day Picnic was held at the Rocklea showgrounds at he end of July and 15 of our members attended including Norman Pugh who was in the Probus Choir. Kathy Summers who is the daughter of our club member, Joan Andrews, was part of the entertainment and sang a series of songs and finished by getting everyone on their feet doing the Hokey Pokey.

The outings for the year commenced in March with a coach trip to Maynes Cottages which is in the Logan area and hen on to the old Kingston butter factory. May saw us visit ‘Parrots in Paradise’ on the Sunshine Coast followed by lunch at the Glasshouse Mountains Tavern and then on to Australian Teamsters Hall of Fame (Cobb and Co) for a talk and to view the Canungra Defence Intelligence Museum at Kokoda Barracks. Our next trip was Christmas in July in historic Auchenflower House at O’Reilly’s Canungra Valley vineyard. Interspersed with the coach trips Helen Kerr had arranged local visits – these included visits to the Art Collection of Brisbane City Council at the Museum of Brisbane; Queensland Art Gallery to see “Modern Woman: Daughters and Lovers” and later to see Masterpieces of the Prado Exhibition at the same venue. Other visits included a tour of RSPCA Headquarters at Wacol and a tour of the Carnival of Flowers at Toowoomba. The final event of the year was of course the Xmas Lunch. This was again held at the McLeod Golf Club. For entertainment ‘In-house’ talent was again utilized. Betty Thompson played the keyboard and entertained us with a medley of songs whilst Arthur Walters gave his usual monologue this time entitled “The Batchelor’s Dinner Party”. Hazel Irving accompanied Geoff Brierley who sang “Stars” from Les Miserables and she also played while we all sang carols. We unearthed a great new talent in Joan Andrews who recited a poem that she had written about Christmas. The quiz was organized by Graham Nash and we also had a pass the parcel game – and no, the winning man did not have to kiss all the girls or vice versa.

All our sub-groups seemed to be still attracting members. The BBQers, Beginners Bridge, Writers Ink and Book Worms appeared to be particularly popular.

We lost a number of members during the year including Russell and Mary Wilson who left the area. Russell was a past president and together with Mary had organized our barbecue mornings for a number of years. Ariene Walker also moved away from the Brisbane area. Due to ill health we lost Peter and Isobel Robertson, Rob Jeffrey, Peter and Mary Hollingsworth, Rosemary Witham and Sandra and Bill Boucher. Sandra had been the Membership Officer ably supported by Bill. Maureen and Alex Wilkins also resigned as Alex went back to work. Alex as a past secretary.

On the positive side new members joining were Rae Pocock, Ingrid and Tony Pritchard and Hazel Irving.

2013

As per the previous 3 years our monthly meetings were held at McLeod Golf Club. Again we had to raise our charges so although morning teas remained at $8.00 our annual membership was increased by $5.00 to $35.00. There was the usual changing of the guard on the committee. After excellent service as Events Officer and then President Gill Lewis left the committee. Also after doing yeoman service Con McCormack (secretary), David Smith (Treasurer), Helen Kerr (Events) and Juliana Pinheiro (Hospitality) all finished their terms in office. The new president was Neville Brandon and Darryl Rossberg moved to vice-president from programmes officer whilst Arthur Walters continued as his excellent work as publicity officer. Coming onto the committee for the first time were Catherine Hesse (secretary), Eril McNamara (events), Ewan McLeod (programmes) and Gwen Smith (hospitality). The position of treasurer received no nominations but was later filled by Margaret McLeod.

At the end of the financial year on the 31^st December 2012 the Club’s finances were very healthy with the audited accounts showing a balance of $5371.43. Our membership total at the end of February was 85 and consisted of 33 males and 52 females.

At the AGM we maintained the Probus emphasis by having Yvonne Sadler give a short talk to us on her portfolio as publicity officer for the Probian. This was followed in April by Carmel Audsley who is a retired journalist speaking to us about her book which is entitled “Ours, Yours and Mines” which is about family life in 19^th Century Scotland. May saw Rod Hyatt, who is the Development Manager for Habit For Humanity Brisbane, extol his passion for war on poverty in the world and where everyone has a decent home in which to live in peace. Judith Nissen who is a freelance historian talked to us in June whilst July saw Patrick Pickett CSM the newly appointed Director/Conductor of the Queensland Pops Orchestra amuse us in extolling the benefits of becoming “Friends of the Pops". Jim Butler spoke to us about bird life in the Western Suburbs of Brisbane and then in September Sarah and cohorts explained the work on Legacy Way and also the interchange work at the junction of Moggill Road and the Western Freeway. The adventures of Annette Henderson and her partner Win in crossing the Sahara in a VW Kombi and living and working in remote rainforest in Africa were described to us in October. And the year’s programme finished in November with our own Ewan McLeod explaining internet security and how to protect yourself on line. Our new calendar year commenced in February 2014 with Don and Julia Cornford, Barry Luck and David Vine talking about the “first Fleet” and their ancestors connections with it.

The year of outings commenced with a visit to the McArthur Museum at the junction of Queen and Edward streets in the City. This was followed in March by a coach trip to the Sunshine coast and a 90 minute cruise of Pumicestone Passage from Caloundra and then on to Mary Caimncross Park for lunch and a Rainforest walk. Back into Brisbane in April with a tour of QPAC where we were shown features of the excellent theatre complex
that we have available to us. Laidley Pioneer Village was next on the agenda with a guided tour of many artifacts from yesteryear including the old school, butcher shop. shire office, P.O. store, lock-up i.e. ‘clink’ or jail,
workshops and farm machinery. After lunch at the Queensland National Hotel in the main street we visited Das Neumann House which was formerly the residence of one of the leading pioneers of the district. June saw us
back in Brisbane and a visit to the Maritime Museum and lunch at the Ship Inn. This repeated a visit of a few years ago. We were on our travels again In July and morning tea at Cedar Creek Falls was followed by a tour
round the glow worm caves, wine tasting and a Christmas in July lunch which were all at the Cedar Creek Winery. The trip back to Brisbane was slowed somewhat as our bus in order to avoid an errant vehicle on a steep
downhill bend hit a rock outcrop at the side of the road. A replacement bus had us back home none too late. The Queensland Art Gallery was the location of our August visit and was of more interest to the ladies as it was Quilts and Stitchery Exhibition. The following month saw us have morning tea at Noela’s Gorgeous Gardens before continuing to the Air Museum at Caloundra where we had a picnic in a hangar and a guided tour of the 50 aircraft housed here and this included an F111. The new ABC Studios at Southbank were the venue for our next outing and we were shown the recording studios and the many offices of staff compiling news and other programmes. Queensland University was our last trip of the year. Here we were shown around the Queensland
Brain Institute where a number of staff explained the work being done particularly in relation to Alzheimer’s
research. After morning tea at the coffee shop on the Great Court we split into two groups and visited the
Geology Museum or the Art Gallery. For the Christmas Lunch this year we had a change of venue We held the
event at Sherwood District AFL Club at Chelmer. The entertainment was imported this year and we had Anita
Reed who is a Bush Poet and the Dixieland Band. Both these acts had performed at the Probus Friendship Day.
As usual we had the usual quiz which again was organised by Graham Nash and we also had Lucky Door Prizes. The event was organised by Darryl, Rene and Arthur.

In April a number of our members attended the 20". Ecumenical Service at the Baptist Chapel on Wickham Terrace whilst in July the Stafford Club hosted the annual Friendship Day which 6 of our members attended at the Samford Showgrounds. A new venture this year was a Local Friendship Day which 6 of our members attended at the Sherwood AFL Club in February. Aileen Cummings and David Kerr even won prizes. During the year at the instigation of Probus Centre-South Pacific a lot of work was done by President Nev Brndon ably assisted by Kevin Hesse on re-writing the Constitution. New By-Laws and Resolutions were finally put to the members and adopted in August.

All our sub groups continued to function satisfactorily although Barbecues adopted a grandiose title of Luncheon in the Park. This latter group had a particularly significant event when in August we celebrated Jack and Aileen Cumming’s 60^th wedding anniversary at the Bellbowrie Tavern. Bridge took to holding some of their meetings at the Kenmore Library.

As usual there were a number of membership changes in the course of the year. Jan McCabe passed away Glen Caitlin, a past president, was advised that she was no longer a member as she had not attended any meetings for a considerable time. Jim Lawson also resigned. New members welcomed to the club were Denise O’Sullivan, Barbara Upfield, Merle Grundy and Pat Ryan.

2014

Situation normal as far as our monthly meetings went for we again convened at the McLeod Golf club. At the AGM on 3^rd March 2014 a proposal to increase the annual membership fee from $35.00 to $40.00 generated a prolonged discussion As a result a decision was postponed until the April general meeting. At this subsequent meeting the increase to $40.00 was approved. The Auditor’s report showed that at the 31^st December 2013 the Club had a positive balance of $5627.07.

There were the usual committee member changes at the end of the year with Darryl Rossberg taking over from Neville Brandon as president whilst Geoff Isaacs became vice-president. Arthur Walters after 5 years yeoman service as publicity officer relinquished his post and Barbara Parker stepped into his shoes. We had a difficult year with regards to committee personnel. Very sadly Catherine Hesse, the secretary, had to resign her position at the beginning of the year after becoming seriously ill. Unfortunately Catherine passed away in October. Con McCormack became acting secretary but he succumbed to illness and in September was replaced by David Smith. Margaret McLeod resigned as treasurer and was replaced by Clive Machin at the July general meeting. Also during the year Kay Wright was co-opted as assistant to Eril McNamara in managing events.

In February we gained new lady members in Barbara Upfield, Merle Grundy and Pat Ryan. Membership in March was 84 consisting of 30 males and 54 females. During the year we added new members in David and Lynn Woodall and later on Michael Wilson. Losses in the year were Alan and Mavis McFarlane who left the area, Deidre Cahill, David Kerr and Bob Craswell. We had news during the year that former members Bill Boucher and Arlene Walker had passed away. All in all it was a year of sickness and absenteeism.

The speakers for the year commenced in April with Geoff Crane talking about the weather and the factors that influence our weather in Australia. The following month we had Susannah Friis who told us about Destiny Rescue. This organisation is committed to freeing girls who have become trapped in the sex slave industry. The estimate of 27 million slaves in the world is a staggering number. There was jewelry for sale to raise funds. In June we had a departure from our usual format in that there was no speaker but we had a State Of Origin quiz where we were allocated tables according to our place of birth. Each table had to answer the same set of general questions. NSW won the competition. We returned to the usual arrangements in July when Heather Rhead spoke to us about the organization Blue Nurses, its history and responsibilities with regard to providing care and support for the elderly and those with disabilities. August saw Jankees van de Have talk to us about how plants synthesize aromatic compounds which stimulate our senses of taste and smell. After the talk we were all invited to have a ‘sniff’ at various compounds. Of particular interest to the ladies was the presentation by Susan Tobin in September on Wedgewood pottery particularly its history and financial background. A talk on the Margaret Olley Centre and the work of Margaret Olley was given in October by Bud Brannigan who is in fact an architect. This was particularly appropriate due to our impending visit to the Centre.

Outings for the year started in February with a tour of the Pat Rafter Tennis Centre which included the broadcasting facilities, the Board Rooms and the ladies rooms. We even had our photographs taken on the centre court. Buzz’s restaurant was the venue for lunch afterwards. St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated with a visit to Killarney Heritage Centre with morning tea being provided by some of our lady members - much appreciated. After viewing the Queen Mary Falls we wont to 84 year old Ralph Affleck’s working sawmill at Legume. April saw us make a trip to the Chung Tian Buddhist Temple at Priestdale followed by Chinese lunch at a nearby restaurant The menu was vegetarian but had pseudo meat dishes. After had lunch at the nearby Coffee Club our May outing had us go on a tour of the Brisbane Supreme Court. Two young law students conducted us around the Sir Harry Gibbs Legal Heritage Centre where photographs of legal luminaries included one of our own, Royce Miller. After visiting other parts of the court complex some of our members took the opportunity to St in on one or other of the court cases that were in session. Your scribe here has to report that in the case I sat in on the young male accused insisting on calling the judge ‘mate’. This did not go down well and received a severe reprimand.

Due to lack of support the proposed visit to St. Helena National Park had to be cancelled. This was a repeat trip of some years earlier and hence a number of members had ‘been there done that’. A party of 30 members made the journey to Maleny to the King Ludwig Restaurant to enjoy a Bavarian style Christmas in July lunch. Our members were inveigled into partaking in games and playing musical instruments. All in all a very enjoyable day except for the drive back home as the coach was held up in a traffic jam because of an accident. So it took 4 hours including lots of detours. A very impressive tour of the Brisbane Busways was our fare for August finishing up with morning tea at the Captain Burke Park which is just under the Storey Bridge. The extent and complexity of the BCC routes was surprising. The infrastructure, expansion plans and general operation of Brisbane Airports, both Domestic and International, were the subject of the September tour. Even the Plane Spotters area was on the agenda. Lunch was at the DFO’s Transit Tavern. After the talk earlier in the year about the Margaret Olley Art Centre we made the trip there in October. After morning tea in Murwillumbah we enjoyed a guided tour. Apart from the re-creation of her studio and displays of her and other artists work the views from the gallery were superb. The restored City Hall was the subject of our November outing together with a visit to the Museum of Brisbane. Afterwards lunch was at the Town Hall Shingle Inn. November being Melbourne cup time we had the usual sweep at our meeting that month and in addition some of our members took advantage of an invitation from Kenmore Village Probus to join them in a Melbourne Cup day lunch at the Riverglen Restaurant. On the first of December we were at the Riverglen Restaurant again for our own event which was the Christmas Lunch. Our MC was Eril McNamara and as usual a good time was had by all and the day was rounded of by the singing of carols. PAQ events during the year which members participated in were the Ecumenical Service and the Fellowship Day.

The sub-groups were as previous years namely:- Terrific Tennis Players, Girls’ Morning Tea, Lunch in the Park, Book Worms, Writers Ink, Learners Bridge, Walking Group and Elegant Diners. The latter is an addition to the schedule and is a revival of a diners group of previous years.

2015

The year saw us holding our monthly meetings at the same venue as previous years, namely McLeod Golf and Country club. At the Annual General Meeting in March there was the usual moving of chairs in so far as Geoff Isaacs took over as President with Robin Edwards as Vice-President, Kevin Hesse became Secretary but since he was away initially Helen Kerr stood in for him. Similarly David Woodall became Treasurer but was initially unavailable so Margaret McLeod deputized. Gill Lewis with Malcolm as assistant replaced Rene Brierley and her assistant Maureen O’Hara in the Membership role. Kay Wright took over from Eril McNamara as the Events organiser. Gwen Smith, Barbara Parker and Ewan McLeod continued in their existing positions whilst David Abercrombie continued with the responsibilities of providing and displaying photographs of our activities. It was very disappointing that Geoff had health problems during the year and Robin had an early baptism in presidential duties.

On the financial front we ended the year with total funds available of $5201.55. Annual membership was unchanged at $40.00 whilst the cost of morning teas was raised from $8.00 to $8.50. The charges by McLeod were $100.00 for room hire and $8.50 for morning teas. Anyone requiring the Active Retirees magazine would in future have to contribute $10.00.

We started the year with 80 members and finished with 77 - 27 males and 50 female. The resignations were Betty and Ross Thomson, Nev and Margaret Brandon. Pat and Royce Miller whilst at the end of the year Eril McNamara and Tony Kidston also resigned. New members that we welcomed were Jocely and Jeff Davies, Audrey and Warren McLeod and Don Fletcher, whilst returning members from a few years ago, Peter and Lyn Horn, we were pleased to see back in the fold.

Sterling work was done by Geoff Isaacs, Kevin Hesse and David Woodall on updating the Constitution and this was finally presented and passed at the August meeting.

There was the usual eclectic set of speakers starting with our own Ewan McLeod who told of his adventures in the middle of Australia in the company of friends in their 3 4-wheel drives. May saw Rod Hawkins talking on motivation and his work with the Brisbane Lions and this was followed the next month with Madonna King talking about her experiences in writing biographies on Professor Ian Frazer and the then current Federal Treasurer, Joe Hockey. Colin Dodd a retired police constable from the U.K. entertained us with tales about policing in his day. He even brought along a few tools of the trade including handcuffs and a truncheon. ‘Talk about all our yesterdays’. Margaret Tidey spoke to us in August on the research work done at the QIMR Berghofer which dealt with improved health through medical research. Again in-house experiences provided our October speaker when Vivien Nash told of her father’s life during the Second World War. November saw Allan Worthington speak to us about the activities of the RSL Following the Christmas break we had Father Morgan Batt an ex-army chaplain speak to us in February. His current role is working with young men who are considering entering the priesthood and also attempting to climb the highest mountain in every country in the world.

Kay structured outings during the year so that we had alternate ‘home’ and ‘away’ trips and the first time for a few years we had a 3-day away trip. Starting in February we went to Boggo Road jail purely as visitors. A cruise on the Brisbane River in March was followed by a tour round the robotic dairy at Beenleigh. This is a very interesting concept of ‘automated cows’ which seemed to work well. The revamped Botanic Gardens at Mount Cootha were our port of call in June. Our Xmas in July this year saw us visit Cleveland and in particular the Grandview Hotel. On the way down we stopped for morning tea in a park and then or shopping and a look around in the Cleveland Mall. The Grandview Hotel is a very old building and we were given a talk on its history. There were lots of old photographs around the walls as well as other artefacts and Tony Kidston found a photograph of a relative who, years ago, was a local dignitary. At the lunch our own Writers Ink group entertained s by singing carols and Josephine Isaacs told us of Xmas in Holland. On the way back to Brisbane we had a tour around the up-market suburb of Raby Bay.

A visit to the Regal Twin at Graceville to see "Last Cab to Darwin” was our August outing. A visit to the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers was the September treat and a number of gardens were visited before journeying to Spring Bluff where again the flower display was impressive.

For the first time for a number of years we had a 3-day away trip. The last such excursion was to Kingaroy in 2010. This time we went by coach to Ballina and the Northern Rivers A total of 21 members participated. On the way down our first stop was at Point Danger on the Gold Coast for morning tea. Then on to Ballina where we visited The House Without Steps. Here we had lunch and a trip around the grounds in a tractor driven vehicle. This was to view all the fruit orchards. Finally the day concluded with our arrival at our accommodation which was the All Seasons Comfort Inn. The obligatory pre dinner drinks were followed by a hearty meal in the motel’s restaurant. The next day we were taken to Byron Bay and Cape Byron via Lennox Heads. The more adventurous had a walk around the headland whilst others took the sun sitting outside the lighthouse. We did manage to see whales out to sea. Then it was back to Byron Bay and a river cruise. However there was a delay before we could embark as a crew member had not turned up for work. When we eventually got underway the extent and width of the Richmond River was impressive. Lunch was served on board and Kay became a galley slave and helped serve the meals. This was the result of the absent crew member. Having found our land legs again we wandered around the local museum which obviously had a nautical flavor. Finally it was back to the motel, sundowners and dinner. The following morning it was a sumptuous breakfast as usual and then off to the Plantation Tea Tree Centre where there were lots of tea tree oil products to sample and to buy. Here we also had morning tea which after the breakfast not long previous was a bit hard to swallow. Our final stop on the way home was at the Mullumbimbi Crystal Palace.

November was a touch of nostalgia when we went to the City Hall and sounds of The Andrew Sisters. The Christmas Lunch this year was at The Women’s College of the University of Queensland. A highly successful event with entertainment by a Barber’s Shop Quartet being shall we say ‘the icing on the cake’.

2016

Nothing changes or at least very little and this year we again had our monthly meetings at the McLeod Golf and Country Club. As usual there were a few place adjustments on the committee. Those stalwarts continuing from the previous year were Kevin Hesse as Secretary, David Woodall as Treasurer. Gill assisted by Malcolm as Membership, Kay Wright as Events organizer and Barbara Parker as Publicity guru. Robin Edward due to Geoff Isaacs health problems had already shouldered a lot of the president’s responsibilities but now took over in her own right. Newcomers to committee were David Abercrombie who took over the role of organising the speakers and Wendy Bailey who took over welfare.

Financially the year ended with a small loss of $103.21 from total revenue of $29,851.06. The present cash balance for the beginning of the year is $3,737.65 together with a term deposit of $2,025.07. Morning tea charges at McLeod remained at $8.00 and room hire charge at $100. Annual subscription fees for members were raised to $45.00 and morning tea charges remained at $8.50.

Membership started the year with 77 members who were comprised of 50 females and 27 males and there were 2 additional members on leave of absence. We finished the year with 74 members of whom 48 were females and 26 males. The losses were Eryl McNamara, Tony Kidson, Peter and Lynn Horn, Maureen Asbury, Keith and Anne Jobbins, Elizabeth Skerman and Dawn and Peter Ulrich. The latter couple had previously listed as being on leave of absence. We were pleased to welcome new members during the year and these were:- Trish Andrews, Shirley McLeod, John Copley and Ian and Kathy Douglas. Doing the sums and 4 fewer men against which we gained 3 females and 2 men.

David Abercrombie in his new role as Speaker’s Organiser’ started us off in April with David Terry from RACQ who spoke about ‘Road Change Rules‘. Maybe just one or two of us were not quite up to speed. May saw the return of an old favourite in Spencer Howson from 612 ABC whose topic was radio ‘Then, Now and Into the Future’.  After 26 years in radio he seems well qualified on this topic. June was the turn of Roly Sussex to pay us another visit and this time his heme was ‘Australian English: What is It and whore is it going?' His broadcasts and writings in the Courier Mail are well known. Inspector Cory Allen was speaker in July. He is a very experienced police officer and is currently the manager of Field Training at the QLD Police Academy. His topic was Fighting Crime with Empathy. Our August speaker was well known to some of our members. He was Stephen Janz who runs the Centre for Health and Acupuncture in Kenmore and is particularly well versed in Chinese Medicine. Matthew Ames in August impressed everybody. His resilience and that of his wife and family was outstanding in view of the fact that he was a quadruple amputee as a result of contracting streptococcal and suffering toxic shock.  Malcolm Chandler gave us advice in  October of how to be prepared for storms. He was from the state Emergency Service and his talk was entitled More Frequent and Severe Be Prepared”. "Make a Difference” was the  David Ham OAM talked to about volunteer organisations in Queensland. For the February meeting members of our own Writer’s ink Group presented some of their work. The particular members of the group involved wore Kevin Hesse, Joan O’Hara, Arthur Walters, Helen Kerr and Joan Andrews.

The year’s visits commenced in February with a visit to Oxley Creek Common where lan Bardwell’s erudite discourse on plants and trees was appreciated. The Gold Coast Light Rail was next on the agenda in March. We travelled the total length of the route from the University Hospital to Broadbeach South. BBQ Brekkie and Brainteasers in the Botanical Gardens was the venue for our April outing. A coach trip to Redcliffe and details of the area provided by a local guide were the fare for May. An exhibition entitled "Spirit of Anzac Centenary Experience” at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre occupied us in June.

A Christmas in July 3-day trip was made to the Granite Belt. We were pleased to welcome as part of our group members of the Sherwood Probus Club. Everyone went well prepared for really cold weather but it was warmer than expected and sweaters and anoraks were not required. It was déjà vu or some members as we stayed in the same hotel as on a similar trip some years ago. The first stop for morning tea was at Thunderbolt Farm. Here some intrepid members tried their hand at whip cracking and boomerang throwing. There were visits to the obligatory wineries which included Rumbalara and Granite Belt Brewery. Cheese tasting was on the agenda and we also visited Girraween National Park and Storm Dam. A crash on Cunningham’s Gap meant a diversion via Gatton on the way home.

Our September outing was a coach trip to Tamborine Mountain. Our first stop as for morning tea and a tour of the Tamborine Botanical Gardens. These were very impressive and a credit to the volunteers who maintain them A viewing/shopping spree through Tamborine or a visit to nurseries was next on the agenda. On offer at the shops as anything from dresses to cuckoo clocks. Lunch was at the Tamborine Bowls Club.

A visit to Old Government House in October and a tour of Mt. Mee, Petrie and Woodford in November concluded our years outings. Kay Wright had provided an interesting and full year of events. Of course the year is not complete without the Christmas Lunch which again this year was at the Women’s College at UQ. Entertainment was by a ladies choir from Bellbowrie. Once again the College proved to be an excellent venue with top marks for food and service.

As in previous years we had special interest groups in full swing. These were Book Worms, Girls Morning Tea, Picnic in the Park (was originally Barbecue), Writer’s Ink and Learners Bridge. Unfortunately Elegant Diners fell by the wayside due to falling support.

2021

Meetings were held at the McLeod Country Golf Club. We had a membership of 70. The membership fees stood at $45 per member with a monthly meeting fee of $10. New member welcomed during the year was Vince Wass. The committee held an Interest Group survey mid-year to gauge the interest of members to form new interest groups.

Our own member Tricia Hatherley gave a talk at the April meeting on “Human milk … why is I so important?”. Barry Collis spoke about the workings of Angels Flight in May. Our guest speaker for the June meeting was Ted Duhs, Author of “Crucial Errors in Murder Investigations” and “I Know Who Killed Betty Shanks” who spoke on “People Who Have Been Wrongly Jailed for Crimes they didn't commit”. Ted covered many historic world-wide cases dating back to the 1800’s and then talked about some more recent Australian solved cases such as Lindy Chamberlain. He finished off talking about some current running investigations such as the Max Sica and the Singh children murders. Our guest speaker for the July meeting was Nicky Niemandt, on the Topic “My Experiences of Living in Kazakhstan”. We will remember Nicky as the speaker wearing many hats. Our August meeting was cancelled oowing to Covid restrictions. Our September speaker was Dr Kailas Roberts and his topic titled ‘Mind Your Brain’ was on dementia. The main takeaway was: dementia is not curable, but it may be delayed if people do simple things like socialize, eat well, exercise and try to get enough sleep. Diane Carter spoke at our November meeting on ’Events That Happened To Me In Africa, including an attack by a hyena’. Diane uses many of her life’s stories in her talks. Audiences love to hear what comes from the heart and from personal experience. In her own passionate way, Diane weaves her strong message about the power of positive Mindset Energy in between these real-life stories, with a generous sprinkling of humour to keep her audiences enthralled with laughter and totally spellbound. Her presentations are entertaining and inspirational. Diane engages and entertains her audiences to show them how to use Mindset Energy – the Diane uses many of her life’s stories in her talks. Audiences love to hear what comes from the heart and from personal experience. in her own passionate way, Diane weaves her strong Message about the power of positive Mindset Energy in between these real-life stories, with a generous sprinkling of humour to keep her audiences enthralled with laughter and totally spellbound. Her presentations are entertaining and inspirational. Diane engages and entertains her audiences to show them how to use Mindset Energy – the attitude to propel their life and their business forward.

Our March outing was a St Patrick’s Day train trip to Nambour which included a Pub lunch. A few of the members partook of an ale or two at the Stalwart Alehouse Brewing Company. Eight of us participated in Putt-Putt on the 17th May at The St Lucia Golf Club. We had two teams of 4 players and successfully completed the expert level for each of the 12 holes (no lost balls, but a few ended in the rough and lots of laughter). After a very competitive game, we declared we were all winners and then enjoyed coffee, a light lunch and some banter. The Goma European Masterpieces Exhibition was attended by about 25 members on the 21st June. Highlights of the exhibition included Fra Angelico’s finely painted altarpiece The Crucifixion of ca. 1420–23; Titian’s poetic Venus and Adonis of the 1550s; the immediacy and drama of Caravaggio’s The Musicians 1597; Rembrandt’s painterly Flora of c.1654; Vermeer’s beautifully observed Allegory of the Catholic Faith c.1670-72, and van Gogh’s idyllic The Flowering Orchard 1888. Some members met for a light lunch afterwards at the GOMA outdoor café. All members reported a very worthwhile exhibition and an excellent day.

A visit to the Commissariat Store Museum, was held on the 14^th July. The Commissariat Store is Queensland’s oldest habitable building and most significant heritage building. It was built in 1824 during the convict days. Fourteen of our Club members turned up for the tour. We met up in Queen Gardens around 10am and began the tour at 10.30am. It began on the lower level where we were told its history. It was built in 1829 by convicts during Captain Logan’s time and had only two levels at first but another level was added later. It is the oldest occupied building in Queensland. The stone came from Kangaroo Point Cliffs and the grouting is of ash from the eruption of Mt Tambourine 200 million years ago and shell from the aboriginal midden heaps. The great wooden beams were all cut from local timber using adze and cross cut saws. The only beast of burden was Logan’s horse for convicts had to move everything using man power including carts etc. In all it is a very impressive building. After a talk on the lower we were split into two groups for a tour of the rest of the building which proved very educational.

We had planned a day visiting the finest dams in South East Queensland in August; however, this was cancelled owing to Covid restrictions.

The Adult Learners’ Week symposium on the 1^st September was hosted by the Probus Club of Kenmore Village in the Kenmore Library meeting room. It was well attended by about 20 participants from various clubs including several from our club. The program included an opening address by the Chair, Professor Jack Greenwood. Peter Kearns AM addressed “The Growing Importance of Adult Learning in the Emerging Longevity Society”. This was followed by Councillor Greg Adermann whose subject was “Growing Older and Living Bolder”, he also talked about the Brisbane City Council’s GOLD initiative – Growing Old, Living Dangerously. Tanya, from the Kenmore Library, talked about the work of the Kenmore Library in providing adult learning materials and services. Dr Denise Kearns completed the talks with her presentation on “How Kenmore Village Probus looks at the wider benefits of continuing to learn”. All the speakers then mingled with the participants to answer questions and Peter Kearns had a fascinating display of literature on adult learning for us to peruse.

The Roma St Parklands Gardens guided tour on the 13^th September was attended by 11 members. We were split into two groups and each group had a volunteer guide. We enjoyed an hour and a half guide of the gardens full of colour with excellent commentary and many photographic opportunities. We followed this with chatter over an enjoyable lunch at the Gardens Room cafe. Their signature dish is a Caesar salad with several of our members partaking of this dish.

Members had a memorable morning at the Walkabout Creek Discovery Centre on the 17th November. It started off with a talk from Jocie, our assigned guide, who spoke about the Centre and then introduced us to a number of interesting residents. This was followed by a self-guided walk around the various animal/fish displays, a walk around the site and then lunch at their newly developed café.

Our Annual Christmas Luncheon was held as planned at the Jindalee Tavern on the 6^th December with another great roll-up of members. The day started with a welcome by our President who gave a summary of our activities during the last year and extended a warm welcome to all present. Concluding with some appropriate quotes for the Season he introduced two new activities for the day. This included a Trivia Quiz, a “Pass the Parcel” event and a rolling series of lucky door prizes beautifully arranged and then Charades. The noise levels increased immediately after President’s opening with discussion about the questions for Trivia. In which TV series was the phrase “Allo Allo”, a by-word? It seemed everyone had a contribution to make and memories were razor sharp.

Lunch was well prepared and plentiful and absolutely appropriate for the event. Staff were also very attentive and helpful. Pass the Parcel was a great success with a novel theme of “passes” tied in with the words of a narrative. Differently, parcels were passed under and over tables as well as to the right and left. This interlude was very well received. After the judging of the Trivial Pursuit and the conclusion of the Lucky Door Prizes, our President took to the stage to thank those in attendance, the Event Organizing Committee and the venue and staff for a wonderful day’s festive activities. It seemed that the change of venue had been a great success.

The Lord Mayor’s Seniors Christmas Party was held at the City Hall on the 9^th December and was attended by 7 of our members; unfortunately several members had to cancel at the last minute owing to health issues.

We met at 9am and were seated by 9:15 at tables of 10 in the Auditorium. There were also many guests also seated in the Balcony areas. In total, roughly 1000 people attended and the organization behind the scenes was very professional and everything went without a hitch. Morning tea was the first on the agenda, each guest received a plate of refreshments and bottomless cups of tea & coffee. All agreed that the refreshments were plentiful, delicious and that the staff did an excellent job of distributing the refreshments and keeping our coffee topped up. After the morning tea, the entertainment began capably led by Rachael Tiernan as the MC, with a speech from the Lord Mayor with his family, and a range of entertainers including Billy Bourchier, Adam Lopez, Renae Suttie, Judith Molnar, the Rako Pasefika Singers, Adam Robbins, Bridie Heron, Mia Fennessy, The Christmas Party Singers and the Seren8 Quartet.

The special interest groups continued to be well-attended and included dinner/movie night, bookworms, writers ink, Picnic in the Park and the Photography groups.

We celebrated our 20^th Anniversary on the 11^th October with a luncheon at the Westlake Room, McLeod Country Golf Club. A total of 64 members and guests, including Colin Melvin from Rotary Club of Kenmore, which sponsored our club on 1 October, 2001 and Lindy Morrison, Probus Regional Officer, Metro West (North), attended the luncheon. Our in-house entertainer, comedian and song writer, Con, talked about his experience with the shingles on-board the maiden voyage of a ship. And then sang his rendition of “shingle bells, shingle bells …”. Our MC, Darryl, then presented gold medals to long time Activity Group convenors, to acknowledge their support for these groups over the years. After a very delicious lunch was enjoyed by all, our capable MC, Darryl, entertained us by conducting two competitions, “guess who” and “who would you like to invite to dinner – guess the celebrity”. These competitions were in the form of PowerPoint presentations. The “guess who” competition was compiled from member photos of themselves as a late teen or as an early adult. Each table of eight members, jointly, had to guess who it was and to write their guess on a pre-prepared quiz sheet. This produced much fun and hilarity. Another PowerPoint presentation then displayed the member photos again with the member name attached.

Probus Club of Kenmore Gardens website went live on 26/10/2021. Our thanks to Chris for his efforts in his initiative and long hours in establishing the website. 

 

... to be continued