RCWW Bulletin - 15 April 2026 (Apr. 15, 2026)

Rotary Club of West Wollongong Inc.

(ABN 32 681 953 565)

District 9675

Chartered 23 March 1964

Club Bulletin 15 April 2026

April is Rotary's Environmental Month

Chris McRobert drawing his own raffle ticket at last week's meeting

President's Message

A really great attendance at last week’s meeting, considering how many are away on holidays, for our guest speaker Chris McRobert accompanied by his wife Jackie. Chris provided us all a terrific insight into the Life of a Magistrate; with colourful examples of the cases he presided over as well as the many challenges that face Magistrates when deciding on bail and sentencing. Judging, pardon the pun, by the number of questions from members, all in attendance enjoyed Chris’ presentation. Thank you Chris for keeping us all intrigued and taking the time to present to our club.

Thank you to all who volunteered for the Easter Monday BBQ at Bunnings Kembla Grange. It certainly was a busy day, producing a great fund-raising result. A special thank you to Janet, Tim, Rita and Eduardo who stayed on well after their shifts had ended. We couldn’t have done it without you! Our next BBQ is Monday 4 May and
registrations are open on Club Runner for volunteers or simply email Rose with your availability.

The first week of May will be a very busy week for our club with the Bunnings BBQ on Monday (4th), Citizenship Ceremony & Dinner on Wednesday (6th) and our first ever Information Stall at the Crown Street Markets on Friday (8th). I would encourage all members to throw their support behind all these events, especially our Citizenship Dinner, which is a partner’s event, and arguably the best event on the Club’s calendar.

As mentioned at last week’s meeting, District Assembly is being held on Saturday 16 May at Bankstown Sports Club from 9am to 3pm. I would encourage all incoming club officers to consider attending as it provides valuable insights and training for incoming officers and leaders as well as visibility for the year ahead under our new District Governor Shane Burette. Attendance is free, includes morning tea and lunch and requires registration. So please let me know if you are interested in attending.

This week’s meeting starts early with pre-meeting drinks and a good chat in the courtyard at 5:30pm, short meeting until around 7:00pm, followed by a Board meeting. Please let Kerrie know if there is any item you would like placed on the agenda for the board to consider.

I look forward to seeing you all there.

Cheers,

President Phil

Apr 22, 2026

Penny Hoswell - Wollongong City Council Green Team

Demystifying Recycling

May 13, 2026

Rod Von Clark CEO Flagstaff Group

Flagstaff Group Overview

View entire list

Meeting Minutes: Scribe – Ros Yeoman

Sergeant Jim Christensen opened the Meeting.

Reflection by Ros Yeoman:

A very good news story in the last few months was the exceptional bravery of Syrian born Ahmed Al Ahmed in overpowering one of the Bondi Massacre assailants. Ahmed Al Ahmed is recuperating from multiple gunshot wounds and has been awarded the keys to the city by the Waverley Mayor.

International Toast by Bob Armessen:

In these troubling times Bob looked for the positive - things that are innovative and benefit mankind. In April we celebrate the following events and inventions:
First fire escape - A straw basket on a chain with a pulley
National Zoo Lovers Day

Buddha’s birthday
Premiere of Wolfgang Amadeus Violin sonata in G Major
Patent for automatically rinsing baby bottle
1860 First Pony express in America
1857 Cobb and Co in Australia
Invention of Morse code

Toast: To Something Better
Patrick Roberts brought to our attention that 6th May is our 30th Citizenship night. It is a wonderful night to experience and Dr Kevin Wanambiro will do the welcome speech. We need as many members and friends there as possible as we host the 15 recipients.

Jim Christensen: we have one Pride Of Workmanship recipient at this stage - We need more please.

President Phil’s report:
New Rotary Community Leader - Linda Bunclark of Rotary Club of Corrimal - from 1st July.

Thank you to everyone who volunteered for Monday’s barbecue. It was a really big day. We had to restock sausages twice. A special thank you to Janet, Tim, Rita and Eduardo who all stayed way past the end of shift. An excellent result. Next barbecue is 4 May. Registrations open on Club Runner or let Rose know if you can attend.

District assembly is Saturday, 16 May at Bankstown sports club from 9 am to 3 pm. If you would like to go along let Phil know for registration purposes.

Thanks to Anne and Jim Christensen for organising our social evening last Wednesday. It was an excellent night. Next social night will be 3 June.

Noel Watt introduced the guest speaker.

Chris McRobert is a retired magistrate. Chris grew up in Sydney‘s northern beaches. After a period as a law clerk he was admitted as a solicitor and became a bush lawyer initially in Cootamundra then his own practise in Coonabarabran, then Port Macquarie. He moved to Sydney to try his hand at commercial law working for Meriton Apartments, Westfield and Hawker de Haviland. He was appointed as a magistrate in 1991 and appointed to Illawarra’s children’s court after 12 years and returned to local court in Wollongong in 1993. After five years he transferred to Campbelltown court. He retired from full-time work in 2010 but continued as an acting magistrate until finishing in 2024 after a total of 33 years. Chris lives in Wollongong with his wife Jacqui. He plays the double bass and is a member of the Lamplighters male choir. He has 4 daughters and 7 grandchildren.

Chris regaled us with many of his experiences as a magistrate.
His least favourite expression is “I was just…”. - as in I was just driving down to the shop to get milk and bread (even though my license has been revoked)
Chris made the observation that people’s attitude to the law has changed over time - where once they wore a suit to hearings - now they turn up in shorts and t-shirts.
One of the problem groups that Chris encountered are the Sovereign Citizens like Desi Freeman who believe that the law is ‘imposed’ upon them although they are still willing to accept Government support.

Campbelltown was a very rough court to work in due to the high number of serious crimes. He once sent 5 people to jail before morning tea. Chris found Bourke and Lismore courts quite ‘interesting’ but really enjoyed his time at Coonabarabran. He had some very challenging cases with mothers and children with drug addictions.
Another interesting case was a Wollongong paedophile facing extradition to NZ. This was complicated by the fact that person in question had dementia - but the decision was made to extradite.

Chris’s talk was extremely interesting and elicited many questions. Noel Watt thanked Chris and presented him with a thank you gift.

The Wine Raffle winners were Jim Christensen and Jacqui McRobert.

Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal Saturday 30th May

Our club's annual Red Shield Appeal collecting is on again. We will be collecting on Saturday 30th May, at the netball courts, Fred Finch Park, Berkeley from 8AM to 4PM. If you can offer an hour or two to carry a collecting bucket around the courts, please contact Di North on 0429 774 363 or email dianne_north@bigpond.com

Last year we raised over $1800, so let's see if we can beat it this year!

RCWW Club Meeting 39 - Guest Speaker

Apr 22, 2026
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Joker Draw - Team 1

Apr 23, 2026
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm

RCWW Club Meeting 40 - Club Assembly

Apr 29, 2026
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

PCYC Fit for Life - Team 3

Apr 30, 2026
7:00 am – 8:30 am

Joker Draw - Team 2

Apr 30, 2026
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Bunnings BBQ

May 04, 2026
7:00 am – 4:30 pm

RCWW Citizenship Ceremony (41)

May 06, 2026
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Joker Draw - Team 3

May 07, 2026
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm

View entire list

Member Birthdays

Bob Armessen

April 4

Dianne North OAM

April 6

Janet Crakanthorp

April 26

Arthur Booth

April 28

Spouse/Partner Birthdays

Louise Campbell

April 4

Yvonne Roberts

April 22

Sam Armessen

April 24

The Charles Hotel

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.

Kate Thomas
(If you have any comments or questions, please contact the editor)

Rotary Club of West Wollongong Bulletin