History

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

2010-current

From July 2010 to June 2015, our Club of just 13 people, has already raised and donated $95,430 to local community and International projects.  That’s making things happen!
A highlight for the Club in 2015 was organising a Big Band Jazz night at the Aspley State School which raised $10,000 for Hummingbird House: a children’s hospice being built at Wheller Gardens, Chermside which will provide respite and end-of-life care for children with life-limiting conditions, and their families.

Among other things, the first half of this decade has seen an increase in the use electronic communication and social media by the Club. Most communication is now coming in via email, and we now have a Facebook up and running. Facebook is kept alive by weekly posts, and we are moving to a new ClubRunner website in 2016: We have also been getting ourselves in the local “Loving Nundah” to raise our profile in the local community, and have re-vamped our marketing brochure.
In 2013 the Club hosted a Combined Services Dinner with guest speaker Graham Blackman which raised $1,500 for Angel Flight.
In February 2012 we celebrated a huge achievement – Lloyd Mackay’s 50^th anniversary in Rotary. We’re just sorry you didn’t keep count of the number of sausages that you had cooked!! Well done Lloyd – you are inspiration!
This decade also saw the Club move from assisting with Australia Day Ceremonies at the Kedron-Wavell Services Clubs to singularly hosting Australia Day Citizenship Ceremonies at the Nundah Activity Centre in 2013. Each year continues to see between 29 and 32 candidates being nationalised at each ceremony.
As per past decades, sausage sizzles continue to be the main source of income for the Club. These have been held in places such as “Green Up”, Movies in the Park, Nundah Village Festival, Bunnings Stafford, Carols in the Park, Jack Purcell’s meats, Christmas in the Village, Greenheart Fair, Family Fun Day, opening of the Banyo Memorial Park and Stand and more. This work enables the club to support worthy causes, for example, in just one financial year (2010-11) our small club donated $20,099 to various community and Rotary International projects.

The beginning of this decade saw a staggering number of natural disasters in Queensland, Australia and overseas and the Club stepped up providing both donations and Shelter Boxes.

2000’s

In this decade funds raised through sausage sizzles were donated to many worthy causes such as New Generations, RYPEN, RYLA, Interact, NYSF, Science Summer Schools, RYDA, GSE, C4L, Citizenship Ceremonies, Disabled Youth to Scout Camp, UNYA National Youth Conference, Kits for Kids, and South Africa/Australia Alive, Fred Hollows’ Foundation, Downs’ Swimming, Honiara Medical Supplies, Lifeline, Red Cross, Royal Children’s hospital, Learn*Grow, Street Swags, Zilmere Community Centre, Give a Child a Chance, Victory Centre, Nundah Festival, Foodbank, the Golden Years… and many more!! Wow!
Past President Gregg Reynolds was also honoured for his worthy service to the Club with a prestigious Paul Harris Fellow award in 2008-09.
2007 saw the Club’s fundraising regular sausage sizzle move from Food for Less to Jack Purcell’s meats in Virginia.
In 2006-07 the Club received a grant from the Queensland government to purchase a suitable trailer for sausage sizzles… which is still being used today!
The Club regularly sponsored students to attend events such as the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, Siemens Science Experience, the National Youth Science Forum, exchange students and students going overseas. For example, in 2004 the Club sponsored 5 students.
In 2003, on our 50^th anniversary, the Club was awarded a Lilley Australia Day Award for Community Service. The Ted Tremayne Memorial Award for Community Service is awarded each year on Australia Day as a special award ceremony held at Kedron Wavell Services Club and hosted by the Federal Member for Lilley the Hon Wayne Swan MP.
The Club also made large regular financial contributions to the eradication of Polio programme that Rotary International has been running in conjunction with the World Health Organization.

1990’s

In 1999, the Club established a not for profit project called Computers 4 Kids (now known as Computers 4 Learning or C4L). Its original mission was to supply refurbished computers to disadvantaged children but in 2014 the mission broadened to include persons of all ages who are disadvantaged by not having access to a computer (hence the adoption of the new, all-encompassing working name Computers 4 Learning).
In the 90’s, the Endeavour Centre at Northgate also received support from Rotary. Club members helped to clear and develop the area to provide shelter space and recreational facilities. This was a big project and the Club was involved for a period of 3 years.
The Club was also involved with the Noonga Reconciliation Group and assisted by funding indigenous children on Bush Camps, helping at the Bush Tucker Garden at Taigum and locating and donating army tents that could be used at the Bush Camp site.

1980’s

A significant celebration in this decade was the 1988 Bicentenary Year. During this year the Club provided $10,000 worth of playground equipment for the Cec Emanuel Memorial Playground and took part in the extension of the Municipal Library to provide an archives and resource centre for research and study. This included supervision of the project and landscaping around the completed building.
Each year the club also provided drivers to help deliver the parcels for the Smith Family and member participated each year in the Red Shield Appeal and Clean Up Australia Campaign.

1970’s

By 1970 the need for a centre where older men and women could come and meet for fellowship and recreation was identified. With the support of many local organizations including Lions, Apex, Quota and Rotaract a committee was form and in 1976 the Golden Years Centre for Seniors was opened (now called the Nundah Activity Centre). The Rotary Club of Nundah still supports the centre with regular financial support and several of the Club members are members of the Management Board. A Meals on Wheels Service was set up at the centre and many Rotarians and their partners became drivers. This is another project that is still supported by our Club.
The Club has also made financial contribution to the Zion building project and later supplied equipment as required. Many members continued to support the home by improving the amenities.

1960’s

During this decade the Club helped establish 2 kindergartens in the area and for 10 years supported the annual appeal for cerebral palsy with Door knocks, cash donations and entering a candidate in the Miss Australia Quest.
As a memorial to the founding president Cec Emanuel the Club resolved to establish a children’s playground on an unused reserve in Goss Road, Virginia which the club was already developing as a recreation area. This involved felling trees, clearing and top dressing the surface. A concrete cricket pitch was laid, goal post erected and toilet and shelter facilities were provided. A 56-ton long distance steam type C17 locomotive tender was obtained and was moved on to a prepared site and remained a popular feature of the playground for many years. Maintenance of the play equipment and it surroundings became a regular task for working parties from the Club.

1950’s

In 1959, the Centenary year of Queensland, the Rotary Club took the imitative and organised a street procession and carnival. The club also had a float depicting some of its community work and organised for a party of aboriginal people to take part in the procession.
During the fifties the Club provided transport for two severely disabled children so that they received an education. This required Rotarians and their partners to organise the transport each day and quite an expenditure of club funds to support the project.
The Rotary Club of Nundah was established in 1953. In these formative years the Club supported both Tufnell Homes operated by the Anglican Church and St Vincent’s Orphanage operated by the Catholic Church by providing transport to the children to the Show, the seaside and entertainment. The Club provided money for playground equipment, classrooms and sporting amenities.