History

The club was inaugurated on April 15th, 2021 and we are grateful to those who volunteered to form the first committee so that the club could get going.

We remember fondly our very first president, Jens, who was unable to continue in the position because of ill health. Mike Fogarty stepped in and he and the first committee did a sterling job.

Thanks to Bettine Chapman OAM, our Publicity Officer, we  had some excellent speakers: Who could forget our very First Speaker, Jens Balkau, a geologist, transporting us to the culture and diversity of the back provinces of China by sharing his experience of many visits?

Other notable speakers have included: Don Briggs ‘Pioneers of the WA Timber Industry’; Antoine Bloeman, Magistrate for the Kimberley region of WA; Stephen Scourfield, award winning travel editor of the West Australian; Barry Nunn AC, an engineer in management and Major General in the Army speaking about the Catalinas; and the delightful Elizabeth Chester, who spoke about the Telethon Kids Institute’s fund raising, media work and research.

Our own members have shared their experiences. Bettine  shared her experiences volunteering at Parliament House and meeting the Queen. Brian spoke about Wheelchairs for Kids and Peter  told us about his famous father, Ray Ewers, sculptor and WWII war artist.

We have enjoyed post-meeting lunches together, sundowners in the park and bus trips. We’ve sung along with the Harmony Delights Quartet at Christmas time, marveled at the yummy delights of Gavin and Elizabeth at morning tea and generally enjoyed a lot of Fun, Friendship and Fellowship.