Sergeant Ken Potter opened the meeting on time and mentioned that our President for the July-September period, Bob Armessen, was unable to attend this evening’s meeting (family emergency); however, our next President for the October 2026 to January 2027 period, Barry Stevens, capably stepped in for Bob and welcomed everyone with special mention to our guest speaker, Gerry O’Leary, and Friend of the club, Di Reid.
Following dinner, Sgt. Ken called on Michael Crowley for this week’s reflection. With the plethora of bad news making the headlines in all forms of media, Michael opted to relay a couple of ‘good news’ stories. Behind each of the stories there was a consistent theme emerging; namely, the power of positivity, inspiration and hope, which formed the basis of tonight’s reflection & toast.
Hot on the heels of the reflection, Treasurer Ros Yoeman, decided that our international toast this evening should be aligned with the country on which our guest speaker was about to present… i.e. Papua New Guinea (PNG). Ros gave a brief history of the occupation and subsequent independence of PNG along with various cultural, language, constitutional and geographical issues. With three known Rotary clubs in PNG (i.e. Port Moresby, Lae and Boroko), Ros elected to outline the range of programs and activities of the Rotary Club of Lae prior to formally proposing her international toast.
Sgt. Ken asked for directors/members to make their report/s ahead of hearing from our guest speaker.
A reminder from Sgt. Ken to our volunteers that the next RYDA (Rotary Youth Driver Awareness) program will be held on 14 and 15 October;
John Erickson announced details of next week’s social evening at Corrimal Hotelstarting at 6pm and requested members/friends to notify him of numbers ASAP so that a booking can be made well ahead of 7 October; and
Dennis Simpson mentioned that revenue from the Charles Hotel Joker Drawwas being maintained and, with the prize now at $3,400, it’s hoped that patronage will continue to increase thereby creating greater revenue for our Club!
Janet Crakanthorp’s introduction of guest speaker, Gerry O’Leary, highlighted (amongst other interesting aspects of his life) his extensive career in the Australian Army. He served some 41 years with the Australian Defence force (including a stint in Vietnam) and, prior to discharge, achieved the rank of Warrant Officer Class One/Regimental Sergeant Major. Gerry maintains a very active life, not only through his trekking adventures, but also through long-distance kayaking. His presentation this evening entitled ‘Tacking the Kokoda Trail’ focused on his three treks (2002, 2005 & 2011) of the single-file 96km footpath that winds through the rugged Owen Stanley Range in PNG.
The trek starts in PNG with a flight from Port Moresby to Popondetta, then the fun starts. The 90km transfer by truck to the start of the Kokoda track can take roughly four hours. The hard work then commences. A typical day on the track includes packing up and eating breakfast before first light, starting the walk at ~7.30am, stopping for lunch around midday, setting off shortly thereafter before setting up camp at the next stop at ~3.00pm… travelling on average about 10kms per day. It may sound easy… but the Kokoda Track ranges in altitude from 300m at its lowest points to a peak of 2,490M around Mt Bellamy with lots of ups and downs in between the start at Kokoda and the end at Owers’ Corner.
Gerry displayed many slides and spoke of his personal experiences with other trekkers as well as the warm reception from villagers along the way.
Reference was made of a Japanese WWII veteran, Kokichi Nishimura (AKA the Bone Man of Kokoda), who fought on the Kokoda track in 1942 and was the only man in his platoon of 56 men to survive the brutal campaign. He made a vow before leaving PNG to return one day and locate/retrieve (where possible) his dead comrades. In 1979 he returned at age 60 armed with a shovel, mattock and a metal detector and lived rough in the jungle for 25 years retrieving some 300 or more bodies in the process. A remarkable story that Gerry recommended our members (if interested) read Kokichi Nishimura’s biography, ‘The Bone Collector’ by Charles Happell.
After answering numerous questions, Janet extended to Gerry a special vote of thanks for his wonderful and insightful presentation.
This week’s lucky wine raffle winnerswere Kevin Wanambiro and Albert Cachia.
Prior to concluding the meeting and collecting a few donations in lieu of fines, Sgt. Ken eloquently recited Henry Lawson’s poem “Sweeney”, which describes the chance meeting on a rainy evening between a young, ambitious journalist seeking material and Sweeney, a battered, bruised, destitute and drunken former jackeroo outside a pub on a rainy night in a Darling River town called “Come-and-have-a-drink”.
Acting & soon-to-be full-time President Barry Stevens, thanked members for their attendance with special mention and thanks to our guest speaker, Gerry O’Leary, and Friend of the Club, Di Reid. Meeting concluded at ~7.45pm.
The generous support of The Charles Hotel and it's Amazing Patrons enable us to fund-raise, via our Thursday Night Jag the Joker and Friday Night Meat Raffles, in support of various local, national and international charitable organisations much in need of funding for their various community programs.
The IMB Bank Community Foundation
Monetary Grants from the IMB Bank Community Foundation allow us to conduct the Rotary Youth Driver Awareness (RYDA) program throughout the year at Kembla Grange Racecourse.
Aimed at students in years 10-12, students attend 6 sessions focusing on the various areas of Road Safety.
The IMB Bank Community Foundation helps build better, brighter communities.
Bunnings Warehouse - Kembla Grange
The generous support of the Bunnings Warehouse - Kembla Grange BBQ Program allows us to fund-raise in support of various local, national and international charitable organisations much in need of funding for their various community programs.
In addition, Bunnings donate equipment and vouchers in support of our other fund-raising initiatives.
