Community Wellness Hub Thursday 16th July 2026

It was a beautiful sunny day which encouraged people to get out and about.
We had good numbers attending so there was much chatter and catching up with friends.
Matt and Evan Raey came along as the presenters from the City of Burnside.

 They spoke about the Commonwealth Home assist programme and Aged Care. They also spoke about the many activities and services available at the City of Burnside. Transport is available to go to Doctors’ appointments, however there are only three cars so that can be difficult, and the service starts at 0900.

There is a need to be assessed by Aged Care to access these services.
There are many activities and groups to get involved in.

• Boxing, Music and Art program, exercise puzzles, games, singing group, knitting, chess, and Bingo. There is really something for everyone. Evan engages in the Men’s shed that includes a lady’s day each Thursday. Items made are usually donated to different charities. They also make many Bird boxes. The Men’s breakfast is extremely popular and has been going on for 10 years. It was interesting hearing about all the activities and social groups available at the City of Burnside. Thank you to Evan and Matt.

There were photographers from the City of Burnside to help promote the Community Wellness Hub and get the word out. Thank you to Brooke for arranging.
As usual Leanne was there to take the Chair Exercise class.
Everyone enjoyed the lunch.
Thank you to all the volunteers, Des, Ken, JC, Susan, Lisa, Petra, and Trish.

Next month’s presenter is Elizabeth Olsson talking about the bombing of Darwin during World War 2. Elizabeth has presented at the Hub twice before and is always a fascinating speaker. Margie Maloney

Rotary Club of Burnside Changeover Sunday 12th July 2026

The Changeover lunch is a significant event for the Rotary Club of Burnside, as it is for all other Rotary Clubs. It is the handing over of the reins from the sitting President to the new President. For our Club, after two years in the chair, Andrew Bradley has passed the Chain of Office over to John Rockliff and now can sit back and enjoy his time in the Club. Andrew has worked very hard during his Presidency, promoting the Rotary Club of Burnside, and setting up the History committee, his vision being to record the past 50 years of the history of the club. With an enthusiastic and capable committee, with David Johnston as Chair, this is almost completed. Many hours were spent going through old minutes, Bulletins and speaking to past members. We all look forward to the completed task.
Bob Cooper PP, Past District Governor delivered the Toast to Rotary International and then Past District Governor Jeff Neal responded on behalf of Rotary. The Club was delighted to have many guests, members, partners, friends of Rotary, Past Presidents, past District Governors, and Special guests. The venue is always delightful with a wonderful atmosphere and delicious food. We have always been well looked after, (with special thanks to James).
Before Andrew passed on the baton to John it was his privilege to present awards to club members.
 A Certificate of Appreciation was awarded to the History Committee for all their research and to Kevin Williams for his expert computer skills.
A Certificate of Appreciation was awarded to Ana Kuusk for her enthusiastic uptake of the Youth Programmes where she has embraced her role and already made an impact.
Des Munro was awarded a Paul Harris Fellow with his 3 Sapphire for his tireless work both in front of house and behind the scenes. His passion for Rotary is always very evident, and he is truly the heart of the club.
Chris Gascoine was awarded a Paul Harris Fellow – First Sapphire for his dedication to the Bulletin, having taken over the editorship from David Dewar after David suffered a major stroke. John Rockliff was awarded a Paul Harris Fellow – First Sapphire for his role as Secretary (no easy task at any time), as well as his role in helping organise events as they are requested.
Margie Maloney was awarded Rotarian of the Year for her work with the Community Wellness Hub and the Club’s website, the latter with expert assistance and support from Kevin Williams. Andrew Bradley was awarded a Paul Harris Fellow by John Rockliff in John’s first action as President. This was to acknowledge Andrew’s energy and vision for the last two years, something not easy to do while also having a full time job.
Special thanks to Mayor Anne Monceaux for attending as Anne has been a great supporter of the Rotary Club of Burnside. We enjoying seeing Anne at many functions, particularly the annual Senior Citizens Lunch. Thanks also to Jack Batty MP and his wife Charlotte and little Archie. Jack has also been an amazing supporter of the Rotary Club of Burnside and we value his support. Other special guests were David Dewar, accompanied by his daughter Julienne, and Murray Rawinski’s daughter Amanda accompanied by her husband Todd. Murray was a much-loved club member, and his loss is still felt. It was a wonderful lunch where we all got to appreciate Andrew’s efforts over the last two years, and to hear what John Rockliff hopes to achieve in the next twelve months. We all look to a bright future for 2026-27 with continual Community involvement and Rotary fellowship.

Playground to be re-homed

This week our Club took part in a playground “harvest” i.e. disassembling a playground for reuse in a community of need, via Rotary Australia Repurposing Equipment (RARE). John Caddy, Des Munro and John Rockcliff joined together with Peter, Matthew and Greg (from Lower Light?) all under the organising hand of Past Dist. Governor Meg Lees, to disassemble a junior school playground at St Peter’s Boys College.

To prepare, equipment was carefully marked so they could be reassembled in another community at a future stage. All the bolted joints were also sprayed with penetrating oil to ease later disassembly.

Then the team set about, to unbolt and remove all the elements. About 3 hours of solid effort saw everything loaded for dispatch to the RARE depot. 

Later this year there will be a working bee at the RARE depot to load repurposed equipment into containers for shipment to recipients – keep an eye out for announcements in the District “Rotary Classifieds”.

We’re also expecting a Burnside Council playground to be offered for repurposing sometime later this year. When that happens, do consider volunteering – it’s not a highly technical task, the skills are easily picked-up, with tools provided, and it’s a fun day working with friends for a worthwhile cause.
Contributor John Rockliff.

Community Wellness Hub Thursday 18th June 2026

There were concerns that the weather would keep people away. It was a nice surprise to have such lovely weather instead.
There was a good crowd of about 16-18 with new people attending. There were 3 from Kensington Probus that Andrew had encouraged to come, thank you Andrew.
We had two wonderful presenters, Charmmy and Pei Ying talking about Diabetic health and diet. They presented so well and it made the topic seem relatable and easy to understand. I think we all gain valuable information on diets not just for Type two Diabetics but for everyone.

We have been informed that next month the Engagement Team from the City of Burnside will attend to take photos and interview both volunteers and guests.
Thank you to Leanne for taking the Chair exercises.
Thank you, all the volunteers who make the day possible, K. Cross, D. Munro, JC, Susan Girke, Trish and Susan’s friend Liza.
Next month’s guest speaker is Robyn Stewart from the Country Women’s Association.
Contributor:Margie Maloney

Vocational Tour Wednesday 17th June 2026

This would have to be one of the most interesting Tours we have had. It was truly fascinating. Out guide James Bateman was a wealth of knowledge on all the different wars. He provided extra information on various topics, and I think we could have spent more time listening to James.
The displays are so well setup providing an insight to the living conditions in the trenches and models of the soldiers and nurses in combat.
The Cheer Up Club that provided music and friendships in Adelaide was very valuable to servicemen and women and the local populations. On display was the original piano with many signatures of guest artists. A remarkable piece of history.
After the tour we had a delicious meal at the Goodwood hotel Bistro. A great way to finish of an interesting tour. Special thanks to Brian Higgins who organised it all but left for the UK the day before.

Margie Maloney

On Wed 20th May, seven members headed off to historic Fort Glanville to explore a SA historical site.
Volunteer guide Kim showed us through the museum in the visitor centre, then on to the fort proper. On the way he explained about the rare historic canons they have, including a mountain gun, one of only two of its model left in the world, which can be disassembled to horse- or donkey-load sized pieces for hauling over mountain passes; a couple of rather unique over-bank siege cannons (surplus to British Army requirements so packed off to the colonies as a stop-gap) and a pair of original fort guns, one complete with original carriage mechanism (the other lost all its gun carriage to scrap dealers in the 1930s, but scrap merchants failed to cut the actual cannon up). The main guns had special shell and charge feed gantries to minimise the manhandling of the heavy weights. Special precautions were required throughout the magazines to prevent striking sparks which could have set off any stray gunpowder.

The Glanville Fort was one of several planned along the coast: Forts Glanville and Largs were completed, Fort Glenelg was planned but never built and Fort Malta, a temporary earth embankment gun placement was set up for WW1. Fort Malta has long since disappeared; Fort Largs has been modified over the years, to the detriment of its historical character; but Fort Largs is still very original. 
This was a very enjoyable visit, the weather was kind, and we followed up with a pleasant meal at the Semaphore Palais.  Many thanks to Brian for organising and to the Desi drivers for accommodating the rest of us tourists. Post submitted by John Rockliff.

On Wednesday 27th May 2026 we had the pleasure of Sgt. Bridgette Barendregt present at a Club meeting. Bridgette’s topic was Cyber Security and scams. It was a very important topic one that can affect us all. Her tips on how to secure yourself better, are vitally important -particularly the use of Multi-Factor Authentication.
As more of our lives become integrated online- from banking and shopping to communication and personal records-the importance of cyber security is continuing to grow.
Today, fraudsters can target thousands of people from anywhere in the world.
By sharing knowledge, looking out for one another, and remaining vigilant, we can help protect ourselves and those around us.
Many thanks to Bridgette for her presentation. While alarming on how clever scammers are, we need to be suspicious and cautious when receiving emails with links. Also, there are many scammers preying on the vulnerable who do not have the ability to detect a scam.
It was a fun meeting as we were in the newly renovated atrium. The renovations at the Kensington Hotel are coming along and the finished product will be worth the wait. It is anticipated the renovations will be finally completed in July.
Congratulations to Ruth for winning the club raffle. Always good to see Ian and Ruth at a meeting.

Community Wellness Hub Thursday 21st May 2026

We had the honour of Elizabeth Olssen speak on the Bangka Island, Radji Beach massacre. It was a very confronting presentation but one that needed to be spoken about.
Nurses and Soldiers were evacuated from Singapore 12^th February 1942 during the Japanese invasion only to have some of the ships bombed and people trying to survive in the sea. Many were washed away but many also made it to Radji beach. Unfortunately, the Japanese arrived and many were shot. A group of nurses were marched into the sea and gunned down. Only one survived and that was Vivian Bullwinkle. Trying to survive in the jungle was impossible and along with a soldier they both surrendered to the Japanese.
Vivan spent 3 1/2 years in an Internment Camp under horrific conditions. Lack of food and medicines resulted in many deaths. Eventually liberation arrived and the surviving nurses sent home.
On her return Vivan took up the position of Director of Nursing at the Fairfield Infectious Diseases hospital. In 1947 Vivian gave evidence of the massacre at a war crimes trial in Tokyo. She devoted herself to the nursing profession and to honouring those killed on Bangka Island, raising funds for a Nurses’ memorial. In later years she became president of the Australian College of Nursing.
Vivian Bullwinkle is an inspiration to all nurses and her story truly remarkable. Elizabeth presented with passion and emphasized the sacrifices and courage the nurses demonstrated under such horrific conditions.
It was an inspiring presentation, and the group were humbled by the actions of Vivian Bullwinkle and the Army nurses.
Many thanks to all the volunteers on the day, D. Munro, K. Cross, S. Girke, P. Higgins, T. Maloney and a new volunteer P. Boyce.

Youth Sailing Challenge on the tall ship One and All

Club meeting Wednesday 13^th May was a full house. We were delighted to be joined by members of the Rotary Club of Eastwood.
We also had the pleasure of hearing from our youth candidates together with their families who attended in support, as each shared reflections on their experience participating in the One and All Sailing Challenge: a five-day voyage alongside young people from all walks of life across South Australia.
As noted by RC Eastwood’s Don Will, attendees included youth refugees and participants from a broad range of socio-economic backgrounds. It was inspiring to listen to the candidates describe their experiences. What stood out most was how, beyond overcoming the inevitable seasickness, they came to understand that everyone aboard the ship had a role to play — and that reliability and contributing to the team were essential. These are the kinds of lessons that quietly plant the seeds for future success. I commend the efforts of the One and All organisers and volunteers.
To our youth candidates, Director for Youth Ana Kuusk, and the subcommittee: thank you and well done. I would also like to extend a special thanks to Ian Vayne. A former musician and opera singer, we were privileged to receive a heartfelt recital of a poem dedicated to the One and All.