HISTORY OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF MADDINGTON
In 1981 District Governor Ron Sloan together with the Rotary Club of Gosnells saw fit to establish a Rotary Club in the developing suburb of Maddington. Ron appointed PP Mick Swingler of the Gosnells Club his Special Representative. Mick assisted by Colin Gorey and George Gay was to tackle obtaining sufficient new members to charter a new club. Approximately twenty business people attended interest meetings with seventeen being inducted on Club Charter night, held on Monday the 21st June 1982 at the Thornlie Hotel at a cost of $20 per person.
Brian Butler was the Charter President but resigned due to business reasons during the first Rotary year. Vice President Lionel Penketh took over for the remainder of the year.
Lunch time meetings were initially held at the Thornlie Hotel. Members found it difficult to get away from their business in the middle of the day. Club meetings were then transferred to evenings at the Bistro in Maddington Plaza. The Bistro was subsequently demolished to make way for the new food hall in the extended and renamed Maddington Metro. The Club then transferred its meetings to the Maddington Football Club in Kelvin Road, where it stayed until the Attfield Tavern opened in 1988. The Tavern has been the Club’s home for the past 14 years.
In the early years the club received support from Ron Sloan, Bill Mahoney (Kelmscott) and Bob Rutherford (Gosnells). PP Ted Bunce had been seconded from Gosnells Club to keep us on the right track, but history tells us he never went back to Gosnells. Ted had been President at Gosnells went on to serve as Maddington President in 1987-88.
Ted in later years after retiring would go on extended holidays and when he eventually returned for a meeting, members would refer to him as “Ted Who”.
Over the 20 years club membership numbers have fluctuated between twelve and twenty-six. In this time there have been no less than sixty-five members belonging to the club including eight female members.
The person with the longest surname in the history of the club was Les Titherington closely followed by Richard Swanborough.
John Gray is the only Rotarian with a hundred percent attendance record.
The first female member inducted was Janet Davis in 1991 and the first female President of the Club is our twentieth President Julie Brown JP.
The Club became a non-smoking Club for the duration of the meetings in 1992.
Meals at Rotary have always been a matter of contention. The debate over soup versus dessert is still alive and healthy. The majority of members don’t like curries and roast dinners covered in creamy sauces is unpopular. The best meal was at the Maddington Football Club when the contract caterer was not available. The club had to provide its own food. We purchased prawns from the local seafood wholesaler and ate about two kilos each. The worst meal according to DG Ian Wight was when he visited as a member of the District GSE committee and the menu was Ox tongue.
In 1994 President Les Titherington in his Annual Report stated the clubs singing had improved.
The clubs first major project was called the “Dream Factory”. The aim was to raise money to grant terminally ill children the wish of their dreams. With the assistance of front-page coverage in the former Daily News newspaper the Club was able to send Marishana Robson and her mother to Disneyland and Carolyn Boyd to Singapore.
The next year in 1983-84 fund raising totaled $2611 and President Vic Sforcina became the first Club member to attend a Rotary International Convention, held in Birmingham England.
In 1983 the Club commenced participating in the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. Jessica Todd arrived from Apple Valley, California, USA and Jon Clarke went to Argentina. When Jon arrived in Argentina the host Club was not ready for him, so they gave him a buss pass to travel around South America. We never heard from him for three months. Most clubs find it is difficult to find host families and our club was no exception, however we managed to host ten inward students and send nine away on exchange. In addition to RYE the club has been involved in Group Study Exchange Teams through home hosting and organising vocational and cultural days. Teams inward were from:-
1987 Michigan USA
1988 Chang Mai Thailand
1990 Sweden
1991 Wisconsin USA
1992 Madras India
1993 Germany
199? Rome Italy
1998 Switzerland
2000 Toronto Canada
The club has always supported the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International contributing more than US$22,000 recognising twenty-two individuals as Paul Harris Fellows including eight non-members of the club.
In 1985 the Foundation commenced Polio 2005 now named Polio Plus to eradicate Polio and five other preventable diseases fro the earth. The clubs initial donation was $400. The club was successful in nominating an Ambassadorial Scholarship. Coincidently his name was Paul Harris the same as the founder of Rotary. Paul accompanied by his family went to the University of Wisconsin, Madison USA in August 1990 to study Remote Sensing and obtain his Masters Degree. Paul has gone on to become a successful businessman in Perth.
There is hardly a Rotary meeting that goes by where there is not some discussion on our beloved “Pie Van”. You may ask what is a Pie Van? Well having conducted research through the club archives it is also known as Food Van, Food Caravan, Pie Cart, Pie Kart spelt with a “K”.
The Pie Van is the clubs major fund raising activity. In late 1989 PP Les Cooper decided we should be selling drinks at the Rotary Club of Thornlie Bring n Buy held on Sunday mornings in the Maddington Metro Shopping Centre car park. Council approval needed to be obtained and on the 23rd July 1990 a Coca Cola Caravan stocked with cool drinks, tea, coffee and packets of potato crisps went to the Bring n Buy. Staff included the future team leaders for orientation on how to sit on eskys, make cups of tea and coffee with a borrowed gas burner and kettle. A trading profit of $22.52 was made on that infamous day.
After a short period we progressed to using a Peters Van and selling hot Peters Pies. It was then decided there was more money to be made if we could expand the range of food into hot chips, hamburgers etc. The club would require its own Food Van and one was located at a cost of $5000. We were able to purchase it with club member loans of between $100 and $500 totaling $3300 plus a loan of $2000 from the Rotary Club of Thornlie.
The extra $300 raised was used to purchase stock. The first two years operation were the most profitable netting approximately $21,000 pa. The old van as it is now called was hot and small, the tall workers had to stoop and the chip fryer could not keep up with demand.
In 1996 a new van was purchased from Burswood Golf Course at a cost of $13,000 modifications cost $3567. The old van was sold for $3750 retired to Broome. No member loans this time, cash all the way. A vehicle was required to tow the van, so we are probably the only Rotary Club to own a Landrover.
Over the years the van has been stored at Simpson’s Egg Farm, Roy Jeavon’s house in Armadale (who can ever forget reversing up Roy’s 50 metre driveway with Roy yelling instructions) then at Keith Palmer’s and now at the Salvation Army’s Harry Hunter Centre.
The community has been involved working rosters on the van with groups from Scouts, Rotaract and Little Athletics assisting.
PP Les Cooper in 1989 probably never dreamed that his fundraiser would go on to net approximately $180,000 over the next twelve years.
These funds formed the basis needed to undertake the many projects in the clubs twenty year history. Projects have been numerous and varied. Some involved large cash outlays; others were small hands on projects. They were undertaken locally, nationally and internationally. Along the way they have touched the lives of many contributing to make the world a better place to live.
Borrowing a few words, I will finish by saying.
“Never has so much been achieved by so few”.
Please charge your glasses and we will drink a toast to Rotary International and The Rotary Club of Maddington.
THE NEXT FIVE YEARS 2002-2007
The first twenty years of Club History was presented at our Twentieth Anniversary celebration held at the Old Austria Club in Maddington on 08 June 2002.
2002-2003
Tony Italiano is inducted as the Clubs President. The year was highlighted with plenty of fellowship gatherings and five new members being inducted into the Club. They were Trevor & Cheryl Gay, David Fleming, Gary Worthington and Phil Craddon who is possibly the only person to be inducted in the kitchen at Tony’s fellowship BBQ held at his house. Notable events that occurred:
16 Nov 02 - Pouring concrete pad of the storage shed at Harry Hunter Centre
12 Jan 03 - Barry and Win Tillman’s 40th Wedding Anniversary
28 Feb 03 - World President visit to Perth
07 April 03 - John Simpson clocks up 20 years service
15 June 03 -Tree Planting on the Kwinana Freeway
Sadly DG Ron Sloan’s Special Representative Mick Swingler, who assisted in the club charter died not long after our 20th Anniversary celebration.
2003-2004
Thelma Redman becomes the Clubs second female President. Janet Kenyon & Zaneta Onasz become new members while Wally Calway and Warren Brook transfer from other Clubs. Member’s daughters Clairly Simpson and Liana Cooper address the Club meeting on 02 February 2002 following their selection to attend the Sieman’s Summer Science Camp. Members David Fleming, Cheryl Gay, Tony & Freda Italiano and Zaneta Onasz visit the Rotary Club of Nusa Dua in Bali to assess a Cleft Palate and Lip project. The first fund raising event for that project, a Quiz Night at Guildford Landing was held on 10 May 2004.
2004-2005
President Phil Craddon ensured that fund raising for the Bali Cleft Palate and Lip project was a high priority.
A total of $30,000.00 was raised and with a matching grant from the Rotary Foundation would enable 300 children to receive operations. The club invests $12,000.00 in the Rotary Club of Perth’s proposed “Perth City Markets”.
Past President Tony Italiano opens his new Real Estate Office in Thornlie at 5-15pm on Friday 12 November 2004. The infamous non event sausage sizzle didn’t occur on Saturday 20 November 2004.
2005-2006
President Cheryl Gay was frequently absent during her year due to business travel commitments and a penchant to holiday in Bali. Cheryl instigated the collection of Teddy Bears by Clubs in the District to present to the cuddly District Governor Phil Cordery who donated them to Princess Margaret Hospital. The year saw the commencement of obtaining police clearances for members, attendance at Gozzy Rock and Carols by Candlelight.
It was pleasing when the Rotary Club of Nusa Dua advised that the funds for the Bali Cleft Palate and Lip project had arrived and the children’s operations had commenced. All club members are presented Paul Harris Fellow recognition to acknowledge their work in fundraising for the Bali project. The club retires the old Land Rover and purchases a Nissan Patrol to tow the Food Caravan.
2006-2007
President Warren brook follows his predecessor and is away on a couple of extended holidays. Membership gets off to a good start with Dawn Gregson joining on 24 July 2006 and Gary Worthington rejoining in August 2006 after a period of absence. A successful Christmas in July meeting was held on 31 July 2006. A number of members heard World President Elect Wilfred Wilkinson give the Ken Collins address at Burswood on 27 November 2006. President Warren & Phyllis travel to India to participate in Polio Plus vaccination of children and visit several projects of the Rotary Club of V. The proposed merger with the Rotary Club of Thornlie was narrowly defeated at a secret ballot.
THE NEXT FIVE YEARS 2007-2012
2007–2008
Maddington Lawyer President David Fleming challenges the club to raise $32,000 to support a raft of International, State and Local projects which was proudly achieved. Social events were popular and contributed towards club membership increasing by net 4 to 17. The club launched its new website www.maddingtonrotaryclub.org.au which along with the Rotary Wheel and slogan “Future Rotarians” was printed on new tee shirts presented to all players in the 7 teams of the Kenwick Tee Ball club. The club supports Rotarian Dawn Gregson’s car No 6 in the children’s charity Variety Bash. Another local sporting team Yule Brook College Football Academy received new football boots. Following Warren Brooks trip to India last year; John Simpson visits the school project in India and presents a cheque towards the purchase of new computers.
Members of our club together with Rotarians from Ascot and Mandurah Districts clubs visit Bali to follow up on projects and inspect potential new ones.
2008-2009
This year saw Clive McCabe undertake a second term as President, his previous one being when he was a member of Canning Vale club. Clive’s wish was to follow world President D.K. Lee’s directive to improve the lot of children world wide and to do as much as possible to help those who needed it most. Opportunity’s abounded with assistance being requested from Disability Services, supporting the Victorian Bush Fire appeal and for the first time providing a Shelter Box, replenishing stock after they were used for homeless in the wake of Victoria’s bush fires. Another first time grant was made to the “Make a Wish Foundation”. Rotarians from our club in conjunction with members from Ascot and Mandurah Districts clubs again visit projects in Bali taking with them school books and milk bottles with special feeding teats for use by children recovering from cleft lip and palate operations. Word has spread about the nutritious food served from our Food Caravan hence the Yule Brook Football Academy requested we undertake the catering at their Harmony Fields football carnival.
