GENERAL MEETINGS
We meet for two hours from 10.00am on the second Tuesday of each month at theWhitehorse Civic Centre, in the Willis Room.
This comprises a brief general meeting, outlining important club matters and a summary of the most recent Management Committee meeting.
Morning tea and socialising is followed by a guest speaker.
All are invited to a post meeting lunch at The Coach in Ringwood.
2026 SPEAKERS
FEBRUARY SPEAKER
Chelsea Australian Garden at Olinda
Courtesy: https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/places-to-see/parks/dandenong-ranges-botanic-garden/attractions/chelsea-australian-garden-at-olinda
Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden
In 2013, Phillip Johnson, Wes Fleming and the Trailfinders team's ‘Australian Garden’ display became the first ever Australian entry to win at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show. The display was toured by the Queen and Prince Harry and was unanimously voted ‘Best in Show’ by the judges. Now visitors can experience this stunning design through a re-creation of the display at 20 times the size of the original.
Located within the Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden, the Chelsea Australian Garden at Olinda is a permanent display, featuring an enormous Waratah sculpture, waterfall and billabong. Over 15,000 plants have been used in the design, with over 400 different Australian species.
Built on an unused grassed area of the former Olinda Golf Course, this feature enhances the environment by introducing additional rare and endangered plant species and providing more native habitat for plants and animals. The garden also provides a fantastic opportunity for locals and tourists to connect with Australian nature and learn about native plants and sustainable landscape design.
Wander around the sealed paths and discover an amazing variety of building materials, plant shapes and beautiful vistas. Sit and listen to the frogs and birds. Discover the interpretive signs and read more about this enormous project. If you have time bring a picnic and enjoy the spacious lawn next to the stunning Boab trees. Remember to keep wildlife wild by not feeding them. All plants, animals and other natural features and cultural sites are protected and must not be disturbed or removed.
Photo Courtesy Philip’s presentation.
JANUARY 2026 - Kieran Smith - The Archibald Prize
Kieron is President of Boronia Probus Club, a teacher and a keen art lover.
He spoke briefly about each Archibald Prize painting and winner from its beginning in 1921 to 2025. Two years, there was no winner.
There were clearly different styles of painting. The artist could produce his/her painting from a photo, although one was showing his face in a mirror.
Photos and text courtesy: https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/prizes/archibald/
William Dobell’s painting of fellow Archibald artist Joshua Smith was awarded the prize, leading to the biggest controversy in its history.
The unusual style of the painting, described by some as a ‘caricature’, drew record crowds to the Gallery, with opening hours and the exhibition period both extended to meet visitor demand.
William Dargie won the prize for his portrait of a soldier,
Jim Gordon. The work was painted when Dargie was an official war artist in Syria. A fellow entrant challenged Dargie’s eligibility on grounds of residency, because he’d been serving overseas for up to six months during the previous 12 months, but the Gallery ruled that this did not contravene the conditions of entry.
With his extraordinary voice and hauntingly beautiful album Gurrumul, Indigenous singer Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu has become something of a cultural phenomenon over the last year.
Born blind, the gifted musician leads a traditional lifestyle on Elcho Island in Arnhem Land and sings in his native Yolngu language, but his fame is spreading the world. He recently won two coveted ARIAAwards among others and was named NT Australian of the Year for 2008.
Guy Maestri saw Gurrumul live on New Year’s Eve last year and says it was ‘truly, an unforgettable experience. Word had been going around all day and the rumours were true – people really were moved to tears.’
This Archibald Prize-winning portrait by Clifton Pugh of politician Edward Gough Whitlam (1916-2014) is now in the Historic Memorials Collection, Parliament House, Canberra, with the title The Hon Edward Gough Whitlam AC QC.
Whitlam was opposition leader when he sat for the portrait; he became prime minister when the Labor Party won the 2 December 1972 federal election, shortly before the Archibald exhibition.
This was the third time that Pugh had won the Archibald and the second time he had won with a portrait of a political figure (his painting of John McEwen took the honours the previous year).
The portrait of Whitlam had proven elusive. Pugh tried 12 times to capture him on canvas and gave up. Then, watching a pre-election television broadcast, he was inspired to give it one last try. 'Gough was very difficult,’ said Pugh. 'Each time I tried he was different. He had different things on his mind and they changed him.’ What finally emerged was very different to his largely black-and-white portrait of McEwen. Pugh quipped that, if his Whitlam portrait ever made it to Parliament, 'it’s going to look very bright among all that Mulligatawny soup’.
The painting was Whitlam’s choice for his official portrait at Parliament House. The politician wrote to the artist: ‘My place in the history of art and yours in the history of politics are now secure’.
This portrait by William Dargie of Western Arrernte artist Albert Namatjira (1902-1959) is probably the most recognisable and universally respected of all Archibald winners. By the 1950s, reproductions of Namatjira’s watercolours of his Country adorned the walls of Australian middle-class homes.
Born at Ntaria (Hermannsburg) on Western Arrernte Country – and briefly tutored by artist Rex Battarbee – Namatjira laid the foundations for the Hermannsburg painting movement. Dargie admired his defiance of bureaucracy and exploitation. In 1957, Namatjira became the first Aboriginal person granted Australian citizenship. In 2020, his great-grandson, Vincent Namatjira, became the first Aboriginal artist to win the Archibald Prize.
This portrait by Dargie was painted in Sydney during a visit by Namatjira to the city. Despite his artistic success, Namatjira died broken-spirited, aged 57 years. His anguish and resilience perceptible in this portrait, which is now in the collection of Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art with the title Portrait of Albert Namatjira. It is one of two portraits of Namatjira in the Archibald Prize of 1956. The other is by Edna Garran-Brown.
This is the second of two portraits Ivor Hele painted of Robert Gordon Menzies, the longest-serving prime minister of Australia. It is now in the collection of the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House. The first and larger portrait is now in the collection of Parliament House, Canberra.
The winning portrait had been commissioned by Federal Cabinet and presented to Menzies the previous April.
David Gulpilil is one of Australia’s leading Aboriginal actors. Born in Arnhem Land in 1953, he grew up as a member of the Mandalpingu tribe in the area his ancestors have inhabited for thousands of years. When he was 16 he was cast in the landmark Australian film Walkabout. Gulpilil has since achieved international fame in movies such as The last wave, Storm boy, Crocodile Dundee, Rabbit proof fence and The tracker. Between films he returns to Arnhem Land and his traditional lifestyle. His solo show Gulpilil, about his extraordinary life, premiered at the 2004 Adelaide Festival to rave reviews and will come to Belvoir Street Theatre in Sydney in October.
The Australian Open.
NOVEMBER 2025 - Chris (Photos: Chris Summers)
Paul Perrottot
Paul's presentation was excellent and stacked with facts and figures.
First played 1904.
Moved to Melbourne Park 1988
Home of the AO until 2046.
Three roofed courts.
Rod Laver seats 14,820
John Cain seats 10,500
Margaret Court seats 7,500.
Kia Arena seats 5,000.
Has a permanent tennis HQ onsite
Players facilities
National Tennis Centre
It is Australia's largest sporting event run over 3 weeks.
1,102,303 visitors in 2025. 1,218,831 over the 3 weeks. 97,132 on one day (Friday)
Media - 16 tv stations, 2 Australia, 3 US and 3 China plus other countries.
.Singles champ won $3.5 million.
More than 14,000 people work at the AO.
400 drivers of Kia vehicles, 6 airport staff, 5 hotel based transport attendants.
Drivers operate from 6.30am until up to 3 hours after play stops.
In 2025 more than 50,000 people were transported.
27,000 trips booked through the transport app.
We saw a pair of Rafa's shoes. Only slightly worn. Her always carries more than one pair in case something goes amiss.
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