News

The next phase of the Club’s Environment project is in full swing! John, John, Ian, Nicky, and President Andrew are hard at work assembling bird boxes. We have a variety of materials on hand, including numerous sheets of plywood—some purchased and donated by Australian Timber, as well as recycled sheets from Woodhouse. These will be turned into nesting boxes for the Scouts at Woodhouse. Each box is specifically designed for a particular species, and we’re creating different styles and sizes to cater to them all.

As of March 17, 2025, we’ve already produced:

• 4 Barn Owl boxes
• 6 Kookaburra boxes
• 5 Black Cockatoo boxes
• 5 Pardalote boxes

We’re making great progress, but there’s still a lot of wood to cut, drill, and flatpack before we’re finished. We’d love to have more hands to help before JC heads off. If you’re interested in joining us in the workshop, we welcome any newcomers! We hope to see you at one or more of our upcoming sessions.”

COMMUNITY WELLNESS HUB THURSDAY 20^TH MARCH 2025:

Despite the rain we had an excellent number of guests. We continue to have people attending regularly which is always encouraging.

Our Guest Speaker was Rick Sarre, Emeritus professor of Law and Criminal Justice at the University of South Australia and an Adjunct with UniSA: Justice and Society. He was formerly Dean of Law at the UniSA law School 2019-2020. His topic ‘What we know and what we need to know’ Crime Prevention.

Rick Sarre believes strongly that we need to treat youth crime in a more helping manner. Locking up youth only provides an environment to become harden criminals in adulthood. He stated that it costs $1320213,00 per prisoner per year. The number of First Nations People 2021 Census – 812,000 or 3.2% of Australia’s population.

• 32% of all prisoners
• 24% youth suicides
• 13% homicides.

Possible 5 Strategies to help prevent youth being imprisoned:

5. Encourage public and private security partnerships.

Champion diversionary and restorative practices.

4. Champion diversionary and restorative practices.

3.Instill protective factors in young people’s lives.

Heavily funded programs that enhance the social and mental health of all young people and raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14.

 2. Protect victims of domestic and family violence.

Provide more women’s shelters and fund every program that has been shown to be effective in reducing the levels of abuse to women and children.

 1. Address social and economic disadvantage.

Address mental health, community housing, broad educational pathways, mentoring, employment and empower groups that are found on the margins, First Nation communities especially. Ric Sarre’s presentation gave us all food for thought on how youth crime is presently dealt with. By addressing the problems of domestic abuse for a start. We were all very grateful to hear Rick’s insights.

Leanne again conducted chair exercises for the group, which was very well received, thank you Leanne.

Finishing of the day with a light lunch.

Special thank you to the volunteers helping to make the event so successful. Des, JC, Ian, Trish, Steph, and Maria.
Thank you also to the City of Burnside for their continual support.

Next month’s speaker is Beth Walton and her topic – ‘Our climate – What is happening.’ Beth previously worked at the Bureau of Meteorology and has vast experience and knowledge of the state of our weather. I highly recommend Beth’s presentation.

Next Community Wellness Hub – Thursday 17^th April 2025 11- 1 pm.
Margie Maloney

Baptist Care / Westcare BBQ lunch, 13 March 2025 On Wednesday, in place of other Vocational Meeting alternatives, John Caddy and his Merry band of men and woman being John Rockliff, Brian Higgins, Des Munro and Margie Maloney, descended on the Westcare premises at Miller Court in the City.

Once there, said Band of Merry Men and woman prepared a meal fit for a King; sausages, rissoles, potato salad, coleslaw salad, onions cooked to perfection, bread, selection of sauces, served on plates with bamboo knives, forks, and serviettes to about 110 to 120 Clients and Staff. In the site briefing we were warned of altercations between some of the clients but everyone we served were most polite and thankful and appreciative of the meal we provided.

Our customers came from all walks of life, a very diverse range of nationalities, so a very interesting group of people. Our meal gave the kitchen staff a break from normal duties, but they did help us keep cooked food hot and afterwards helped us clean up all our BBQ utensils.

 A really satisfying day for all who participated, to be able to help a lot of people far less fortunate than ourselves, but the whole Club should feel proud, as we contributed all of the costs associated with the lunch, so it was a gift from our Club.

Dedicated to Preserving Military History, Committed to Sharing Stories

Ron is more than just a speaker—he is a passionate storyteller who brings history to life. With years of experience as a keynote speaker and military historian Ron specializes in uncovering untold stories from the Great War, the Second World War and beyond, inspiring audiences to reflect, learn, and connect with the past.

Leut. Ron Read spoke about the bombings on Darwin 19th February 1942. It was amazing to hear how much Darwin was bombed and the number of casualties. Not much was published about this major event at the time, as the government did not wish to cause panic. Ron’s slides really captured the devastation and damage during these bombing raids.

The club members found Ron’s presentation insightful and very informative. Ron has a strong passion for military history and he has covered many major battles and events during various wars.

We look forward to more presentations in the future.

It was the first session for 2025. A brilliant day weather wise which encouraged guests to come along. We had twenty-five guests which was a wonderful way to start the year.

We love to see all the regulars attending and we appreciate the support.

We started with our Guest Speaker Sergeant Bridgette Barendregt from SAPOL. Her topic was ‘Cybersecurity and Scams.’

Her presentation was both informative and frightening. The way scammers are operating is very sophisticated and alarming. They are becoming more brazen with their ability to contact so many people, hoping to catch out as many as possible. Bridgette identified the many different scams and what to do. The bottom line was to always be suspicious of emails, especially those with links attached.

The group found the presentation very helpful and there were many questions.

We had a new Chair Exercise instructor, Leeanne, whose exercises were well received.

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We look forward to Leeanne’s next class

Lunch was also appreciated.

Overall, it was a great way to start 2025.

Special Thank you to Marissa Payne for helping with the setup and the lunch. The support we receive from the City of Burnside is valued.

Thank you to all the volunteers on the day, Des and Maria Munro, Trish, Margie Ferguson, and David Dewar.

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Vocational Tour – Coopers Brewery -Wednesday 19th February 2025

We were graciously met at the Visitors centre by our Tour Guide, Toby.

Once we had been given our High Vis vests, we were on our way. Toby briefed us on the long history of the Coopers Brewery. It started in 1862 by Thomas Cooper. He handed the reins to four of his sons, and now the Brewery has been in the family for six generations.
What a truly memorable tour at the Coopers Brewery. We were all amazed at the size of the facility. On the tour we saw many artifacts reflecting the history of the Brewery. From an old delivery truck to a cart used with a horse for delivering the stock. The facilities were truly spotlessly clean which we were told is essential for the brewing of beer. We saw many aspects of the brewing and bottling. It is a paradise for engineers. There are robots for loading which reduces the need for labor and helps with the efficiency of the complex. We were in awe seeing firsthand the different parts of the brewing process. Toby kept us well informed as we progressed through the different areas. Once the extremely interesting tour was completed, Toby directed us to the Tasting Room. We were honoured to have Dr. Tim Cooper talk to us about the different beers/ales we were tasting. Dr. Tim was a wonderful host, and we felt very fortunate to have his expertise. We could have stayed with Dr. Tim for longer as his presentation was so interesting and insightful.

Even for us non beer drinkers it was a fascinating and brilliant tour. Special thank you to Gerald Barker for arranging Dr. Tim to join us for the tasting.
Thank you also to Brian Higgins for organising the Tour. It was a truly memorable experience that we will not forget in a hurry. Margie Maloney OAM

Council handed out a number of awards including…

• Young Citizen of the Year
• Active Citizenship Award
• Community Event of the year

The Rotary Club of Burnside were invited to attend the City of Burnside Australia Day Awards Ceremony at the Regal Theatre. The Club had been nominated to receive the Community Event of the Year.

The club was delighted to be named the winner of this award for the Annual Senior Citizens Christmas Lunch.

This Seniors Christmas lunch is the highlight of the Club’s year. This event has been going for many years and is always a wonderful day. We invite up to 150 people who can come along and enjoy a delicious Christmas lunch, with wine and entertainment, all at no cost. Guests requiring transport are catered for with a roster of members and 2 City of Burnside buses to collect them and return them home.

Guests are all delighted to be part of the lunch and look forward to attending.

Thank you to all the members, partners and friends of Rotary for making the Senior Christmas lunch such a success.

Thank you to the City of Burnside for their support, greatly appreciated.

Thank you to all the members and partners who attended. The Council were thankful for our support. Mayor Anne did a magnificent job with her speeches.

Will’s presentation concerning financial scams presentation was both enlightening and very frightening.

In Will’s words “My journey of cyber understanding has sadly left me with the cynicism that everything in the internet should be assumed to be dodgy until proven otherwise. The rise of A.I. is only going to exacerbate the imperative of protecting ourselves and our own data”.

Common types of scams are: Phishing, Malware, Hacking, identity theft, investment and Banking to name just a few.

What you can do to shield your risk:

1. Do not trust anything. Find your inner sceptic
2. Take action to check for the truth.
3. Arm yourself with phrases/experience to recall.
4. Multi-factor authentication and Password Management.

While we were delighted to have Will present at the meeting, many left feeling very insecure about our data and financial concerns. But awareness is the start and taking the appropriate course of action.

Thank you Will for such an interesting presentation and making us all prepared for what lies ahead unless we take the necessary precautions.

The Community Wellness Hub will commence on the 20th February 2025 at 11 am until 1 pm.

The City of Burnside continues to be a great supporter of this amazing event. It was encouraging to see the number of participants increase over 2024. The final event in November 2024 attracted 41 participants.

Guest Speakers have been booked for the first few months with more to follow as the year progresses.

Thank you to all the volunteers who come along each month to provide the lunch and chat to the guests. It is a very rewarding morning and many people have said how much they enjoy coming.

Thank you to the Instructors for the Chair exercises, which is always a highlight.

If you know anyone interested in attending, there is no need to book at this stage.

Please contact Margie Maloney 0412 383 827 if you have any questions about the event.

We look forward to seeing our loyal supporters, many who have been attending all year, Thank You.