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Speakers

28 March 2023 - Dinner Meeting

Location - Kirribilli Club

6 PM for 6:30 PM

Please RSVP to Allen Colburt

Guests are always welcome.

04 April 2023 - How to connect security and recovery within a "new deal" for Ukraine

Mikhail Prokopenko

Mikhail will briefly review a continuing pattern of Soviet/Russian invasions into neighbouring countries, and discuss approaches to post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, in the spirit of Roosevelt’s “New Deal” of 1930s and the Marshall Plan of 1947–1952. However, he will also need to acknowledge the unique features of the current situation and systemic challenges facing Ukraine.

Prof. Mikhail Prokopenko leads the Centre for Complex Systems at the University of Sydney. He holds PhD in Computer Science (Macquarie University, Australia, 2002), MA in Economics (University of Missouri–Columbia, USA, 1994), and MSc in Applied Mathematics (Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University, Baku, USSR, 1988).

Guests are always welcome.

11 April - Housing as we age

Denise Tomlinson

This “Housing as we Age” talk is all about how successful this generation has been and the differences between Retirement Living, Residential, and Aged Care. It will guide us through fun facts about aging happily and what is and what isn’t a Retirement village.

Denise will explain the new form of urban living designed for the over 55’s.

Denise’s job is helping Seniors move from their family home to the next stage.

She has been involved with seniors living for over 20 years, and times have changed. She grew up in the 60’s, went to work here in the 70’s, had her kids in the 80’s, and her grandchildren were born in the third millennium. Reaching this point in our lives should be acknowledged as a triumph! This ageing society has been a successful society, seeing through many major paradigm shifts. This generation has adopted more changes than any other in world history.

Guests are always welcome.

18 April - Topic TBA

Speaker - TBA

At our

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Guests are always welcome.

25 April - Anzac Day

No Meeting

Guests are always welcome.

02 May - Sydney to Hobart Experiences

John Taylor

JT (John Taylor) will talk about crewing aboard the 38ft timber boat "King Billy" in last year’s Sydney Hobart. Race preparation, smart navigation strategy, chaos at the start and high speed sailing in black night are all part of what makes the Sydney Hobart one of most challenging yacht races in the world.

He'll highlight the stark differences between the high-speed super maxis and the traditional Corinthian campaigns and what makes sailors come back year after year despite 4 days of enduring cold, wet and windy sailing.

JT lives, works, and sails from North Sydney. Educated in Adelaide and trained as a stockbroker in Brisbane JT worked in Hong Kong for 9 years during the 80's boom and bust era. On returning to Sydney with a young family he started a printing and mailing business while still finding time to go sailing. He now runs his own property management business. He joined Rotary in Hong Kong in 1987, His interest include sailing for the disable and improving indigenous education.

Guests are always welcome.

09 May - Therapy for kids

Kevin Rangi

Guests are always welcome.

16 May 2023 - Club Forum

At our Club Forum we will discuss our current program and causes we wish to support in the future. In doing so, we shall bear in mind our Club goals. Please bring along your ideas, suggestions and proposals – the more the better!

The agenda will include

Finances & Fundraising
Rotary Foundation
Public relations including Web site and Facebook
Community
Youth
Any other general business

Guests are always welcome.

23 May - Topic TBA

Speaker TBA

Guests are always welcome.

27 June 2023 - Club Forum

The agenda will include

Finances & Fundraising
Rotary Foundation
Public relations including Web site and Facebook
Community
Youth
Any other general business

Guests are always welcome.

04 July 2023 - Changeover Dinner Meeting

Location - TBA

At our

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Guests are always welcome.

Previous Speakers

14 March 2023 - The Rotary Foundation

Mark Anderson

Mark Anderson will explain how the Rotary Foundation functions. He will talk about The Rotary Foundation, The Community Assessment and its IMPACT on a Club.

Mark is the Senior Coordinator, Fund Development for The Rotary Foundation at the South Pacific and Philippines Office in Sydney. His role is donor acquisition and stewardship. He has been a Rotarian for over 35 years, being a member in Clubs in Victoria, New South Wales and South Africa.

Guests are always welcome.

07 March 2023 - Manufacturing Snacks in Australia

Kurt Preshaw

The cost of building in Australia remains high, and there are still many hidden costs such as infrastructure requirements for utilities, very strict environmental, health and safety standards & complex bureaucratic approval processes with many layers of stakeholders.

However, there are a number of factors that make Australian manufacturing more appealing again. The cost of freight (both environmental and monetary), the growing focus on environmental impact, the ever changing equation of technology cost (think robots) vs the high Australian labour cost and the surety of local supply chains which thanks to Covid have become more important than ever.

Furthermore, digital tools and simulations are reducing the risk and cost of investments, making it easier and more efficient for companies to invest in Australian manufacturing. Ultimately, despite the challenges, the benefits and opportunities presented by investing in Australian manufacturing make it a worthwhile consideration for food businesses looking to expand their operations.

Kurt Preshaw is currently the CEO and Chairman of Intersnack ANZ, which is Australia and New Zealand's second-largest snack company. The company sells some of the most popular brands of chips, muesli bars, and biscuits, generating over a billion dollars in revenue. Intersnack ANZ employs more than 1000 people who manufacture most of its products in Sydney, Auckland, or Nelson.

Kurt began his career as a truck driver selling potato chips and corn chips to milk bars, pubs, and petrol stations in the Northern beaches of Sydney. He then moved on to a successful career in PepsiCo, working primarily in Sales and Marketing. His impressive trajectory at PepsiCo included running the company's food business in Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos. Before that, he was the General Manager of the NZ snacks business and also led the Quaker foods business in Australia.

Guests are always welcome.

28 February - The History of Australia through its Maps

Ian Burnet

Ian Burnet will tell the history of Australia through its maps. Starting with maps of Terra Australia Incognita, the various Dutch maps of New Holland, James Cook’s map of New Holland and New South Wales, Louis Freycinet's Map of Australia 1811, and then Mathew Flinders's Map of Australia 1814 and 1829.

Ian Burnet Is the author of a number of books, including Spice Islands, which tells the History, Romance and Adventure of the spice trade from the Moluccas in Eastern Indonesia over a 2000 year period.

Guests are always welcome.

21 February - Crows Nest Community Center

Denise Ward

Denise Ward is the Executive Officer, Crows Nest Centre, a position she has held since 2011. Denise has previously worked in a wide variety of government and non-government roles in the ageing and disability sector. As one of Northern Sydney's original Home and Community Care Development Workers, she contributed to the development of many services that enable older people to remain in their own homes. Denise has also undertaken policy and strategy roles in State and Local government and taught up and coming community service workers at TAFE. The not for profit sector remains dear to her heart and she has enjoyed a return to direct service, alongside the opportunity to balance her work and family life. Denise is also a past RYLArian and the recipient of a Rotary management scholarship.

Denise will give us an update on the work of the Centre.

Guests are always welcome.

14 February - North Sydney Council Sustainability Program

Daniella MacDowell

Come & hear how North Sydney Council is assisting businesses in reducing their environmental impact and supporting them through their sustainability journey.

Through the Better Business Partnership program, small businesses in North Sydney get a full sustainability assessment with tailored advice from Council Sustainable Business Officer, where they develop a sustainability action plan. It is a one-stop shop for all programs, events, rebates and supports relating to sustainability. Whether it is saving businesses energy, water or reducing waste costs, increasing staff and community engagement or buying better through sustainable purchasing, there are lots of opportunities.

CitySwitch is a national program supported by Council where office-based businesses have access to free professional advice on how to reduce carbon emissions, go net zero and access to a wide network of other companies also taking steps to improve their sustainability. Encompassing businesses from different sectors and sizes, CitySwitch assists businesses to measure baseline carbon emissions and find practical solutions on how to improve energy efficiency and reduce its impact.

Daniella MacDowell (Council Sustainable Business Officer) will explain how these programs work. Daniella has more than 15 years’ experience working on various projects, in Australia and overseas, regarding sustainability, environmental and social positive impacts, sustainable and environmental education as well as corporate social responsibility. She also has a Specialization in Environmental Law and an Academic Master Degree in Environmental Health.

Guests are always welcome.

07 February - Scam Awareness

Dominic Trevor & Michael Alexander

In the month of December 2022, there were 23,744 scams reported and over $34 million lost. Michael and Dominic will provide an insight into the latest scams and what to do to avoid hem.

Senior Constable Michael Alexander has been in the Crime Prevention Unit as the Crime Prevention Officer since 2017. In this time, he has worked closely with the community. He has also had various opportunities to work at the Police Operations Centre (POC), including deployments to the Victorian border during Covid, and to Lismore during the floods.

Senior Constable Dominic Trevor moved into the Crime Prevention Unit as the second Crime Prevention Officer with S/CST Alexander In September 2022. He started in General Duties – responding to day to day jobs such as traffic accidents, domestic violence, stealing’s, break and enters, neighbour disputes etc He also did rotations through the North Shore Street Police Team (High Visibility Policing) and North Shore Proactive Crime Team (Plain Clothes).

Guests are always welcome.

31 January - Rotary Peace Scholar

Ana Prada

Ana Prada is a Colombian activist interested in Latin American local peacebuilding processes and sustainable agriculture. Ana has accompanied organic and agroecological production processes in Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Peru. She has also accompanied different organisations in the implementation of the Peace Agreement in the areas of comprehensive rural reform, economic reintegration and solutions to the drug problem. She is a Rotary peace fellow at the University of Queensland, a business administrator in sociology at the
Javeriana University of Bogotá. She is an alumna of the International Training in Dialogue and Mediation at Uppsala University and the international course on Food Systems and Sustainable and Healthy Diets at the University of Wageningen.

Ana will talk about how she seeks to contribute to the consolidation of peace economy models in Latin America, designed collaboratively by local communities as an alternative to extractive and drug trafficking economies.

Guests are always welcome.

17 January 2023 - 2022 Sydney to Hobart

Lindsay May

Lindsay May competed in his 48^th consecutive Sydney Hobart Yacht Race last December. A record for consecutive races. He navigated the classic 73 foot yawl Kialoa II (the line honours winner in 1971)

Lindsay will give an overview of the race illustrated by spectacular photographs from some of yachting’s best photographers.

Guests are always welcome.

13 December 2022 - Dinner meeting

Location - Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, Kirribilli

CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION
7.00pm for 7.30 pm

Price $85 pp for Entree, Main, Desert and Tea/Coffee

Cash Bar, No BYO

Dress: Neat and Casual

***Please RSVP Andrew Young* *aaya09@gmail.com***

PS - no breakfast meeting on this day

06 December 2022 - Nusa Tengarra Update

Stephanie Heighes

North Sydney Sunrise Rotary Club sponsored the Nusa Tenggara association (NTA). This presentation will cover

A brief overview of the NTA, focusing on NTAs achievements in FY 21-22
A short update on the current Covid-19 situation in Indonesia and how Covid-19 affected NTA’s operations
A report on the Music and Dance festival 2022, funded by Rotary North Sydney Sunrise
Rotary Donor trip 2022
A glimpse of the future

Stephanie is a social Anthropologist from Switzerland. She has been working for the Humanitarian Aid and Development Cooperation since 2004 and lived from 2007 to 2017 in Flores (NTT- Indonesia). She moved to Sydney in December 2017 with her Australian husband and their 2 children. She started working for NTA in June 2017.

Guests are always welcome.

29 November 2022 - Box Head Plastics

Bec Healy

Only 1.9% of Australian automotive plastic waste is recycled. Boxhead Plastics exists to support the auto industry divert more of its plastic waste from landfill.”

Only 11.5% of Australian plastic waste is recycled. Boxhead Plastics was founded in response to this plastic waste crisis.

Early experiments centred on recycling PET plastic from discarded bottles to produce filament used in 3D printers.

In 2017 we started experimenting with polypropylene car bumper bars, handcrafting boxes from this plastic material. This is where the name Boxhead Plastics comes from

In 2018, Boxhead Founder Bec Healy, enrolled at Lidcombe TAFE studying Polymer Technology.

By 2020, Boxhead Plastics had successfully forged a chain of relationships that turns locally recycled car bumper bars into a feedstock ready for injection moulding.

Guests are always welcome.

22 November 2022 - Alzheimer’s research

Prof Ralph Martins

Prof. Ralph Martins has dedicated the last 33 years to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research and is highly regarded as a world leader in the field. His insight into this devastating disease has led to a number of ground-breaking discoveries. Prof. Martins and his team have been at the forefront globally in developing non-invasive and cost-effective early diagnostics for pre-clinical AD.

In recognition of Prof. Martin's outstanding achievements in AD research, he was awarded the Western Australian of the Year in 2010, the Western Australia’s Citizen of the Year (Professions) in 2011 and Officer of the Order of Australia in 2013.

Guests are always welcome.

15 November 2022 - Phoenix House Breakfast

at Norths Leagues Club 7 AM

Phoenix House mission has three pillars, Care, Educate and Connect.

They care by providing Crisis and Transitional housing and Case Management and Counselling for young people.

They Educate by providing Flexible and Inclusive alternative education and training pathways.

And they Connect young people with those from intercultural and intergenerational cohorts within their community.

08 November 2022 - Savings Finder Program

Nerita Hammer

The Savings Finder Service is a NSW Government initiative bringing more than 70 rebates and savings together in one convenient location. NSW customers can view, access and apply for over 70 rebates and savings online at www.service.nsw.gov.au

Nenita Hammer, Support Service Specialist of Service NSW North Sydney, will be explain how you can save as the cost-of-living rises. Not many are aware that there are more than 70 discounts and rebates available through the Savings Finder program, with a range of them specifically designed to assist our seniors.

The Savings Finder tool via the Service NSW website makes it easy to see what help is available. You will be shown how to navigate the program online and make an appointment should you need more assistance with applying for these rebates.

Nenita from Service NSW North Sydney originally came from a travel background, having worked in the industry for over 20 years. The pandemic has changed all that, when travel was put on standstill. Service NSW gave her the opportunity to work in their Disaster Welfare Assistance Line, assisting Covid, Bushfires and Flood enquiries. She just recently completed a deployment to flood affected NSW Northern Rivers where she worked at several Disaster Recovery Centres in Northern NSW. She's now based in the Service NSW North Sydney office, where she conducts daily Savings Finder appointments.

Guests are always welcome.

25 October 2022 - To be or not to be relevant

Carla Moore

Shakespeare is probably the most famous playwright in the world, having written 37 plays and 154 sonnets. His work is still read, studied and loved 400 years later leaving an everlasting impact on English literature. The reach of the playwright is extensive, and people from all over the globe and all walks of life have read him, watched his plays, or have at least watched screen adaptations of his work.

The million-dollar question is: Why does the work of William Shakespeare continue to resonate with generation after generation and why he remains so popular in the 21st century?

Carla Moore is a teacher, director and playwright and has a Master in Applied Theatre, a Postgraduate Certificate in the Teaching of Shakespeare and is a NIDA Graduate in Playwriting. She has worked extensively in the field of Drama in Infants, Primary, High and tertiary institutions. Carla tutors at UTS and UNSW in Shakespeare in the English Classroom and has taught Performance Workshops for NSW Community Theatre Association, Drama NSW, the English Teachers’ Association, and Teacher Training Australia. . In 2007, she wrote the Teachers’ Notes for the Bell Shakespeare Company. Carla currently teaches HSC Drama at Bradfield Senior College

Guests are always welcome.

11 October 2022 - Stroke Safe

Caleb Ferguson

More than 27,000 strokes will be experienced by Australians this year – that is one stroke every 19 minutes. But the good news is that it doesn't need to be this way. Up to 80 percent of strokes are preventable.

Associate Professor Caleb Ferguson is a Sydney based StrokeSafe Speaker and cardiovascular disease researcher. So, while he will present common information about stroke and its prevention, he will also draw on his own experiences as a researcher which makes his talk different – and very powerful.

Caleb's talk will cover:

What stroke is – What happens when someone is having a stroke and the different types of stroke.
How to recognise the signs of stroke – Learn the vital FAST signs which will help you recognise when someone is having a stroke.
What to do if someone is having a stroke – If you or someone else experiences the signs of stroke, no matter how long they last, call 000 immediately.
How to prevent stroke – Steps that can be taken to better understand and reduce the risk of having a stroke.

Guests are always welcome.

18 October 2022 - World Poker Championship

Mark Staples

Mark Staples, secretary of Crows Nest Rotary, recently played in the World Championships of Poker in Las Vegas. He will have a very informal discussion on his experience amongst 9000 players fighting for 1^st prize of $10,000,000.

Taking on professional players where skill is more important than luck, and explaining why Poker is not gaming.

He will also provide an update on the changing rules & problems of international travel.

Guests are always welcome.

04 October 2022 - Juliette Tobias-Webb

How can we actually enable stronger action on climate change using behavioural insights?

With the rise in polarisation, it is important to reframe how we think about changing someone's mind. If you want to bridge the gap, it’s more productive to appeal to someone’s identity, motivations and social networks than to their logic. Dr Juliette will present evidence from psychological science to help us understand why we are polarised, how we can shift peoples beliefs and judgements, and how we can create sustainable behavioural change (without changing people's minds).

Dr Juliette Tobias-Webb is a Chief Behavioural Scientist, Senior MBA Lecturer and one of 60 women in Australia nominated as a Superstar of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths).

Dr Juliette has a PhD in Experimental Psychology from Cambridge University (focused on gambling behaviour) and has worked for a range of leading government and corporate organisations to design better products and services for human decision making and behaviour change. Dr Juliette has been a Senior Manager in Behavioural Science for Commonwealth Bank, the Behaviour Change Lead for Ogilvy Australia, and a Research Fellow for the Behavioural Insights Team. Dr Juliette has also run large scale behaviour change programs for clients such as Atlassian, Citibank and PWC.

Guests are always welcome.

20 September 2022 - Life at Greenway Kirribilli

Chris Ireland

What is the role of Social Housing in Kirribilli, and why should we care?

Internationally acclaimed photographer Christopher Ireland gives us an insight into the circumstances that lead people to Social Housing.

Exploring the stories of some of the Greenway Residents, Chris questions a widely held myth that people bring circumstances upon themselves, presenting a complex, intimate and personal account of life as told by his subjects.

Chris’ project aims to increase the connections between all members of this great community through his photography and storytelling.

President of the Greenway Tennants Group Bryce Gunn will be in attendance.

Chris is a Sydney based commercial photographer and artist. As well as shooting ad campaigns for Uber, Telstra, Canon, Samsung and The Australian Defence Force, Chris uses photographic exhibitions to raise our social awareness of emotionally sensitive issues.

Guests are always welcome.

30 August 2022 - An independent in Canberra

Kylea Tink

In September 2021, Kylea announced her candidacy to run for the seat of North Sydney at the 2022 election. The main focus of Tink's campaign was climate policy and equality in society.

Kylea was born in Coonabarabran. She was educated at Coonabarabran High School, and the Australian National University. She lives in Northbridge and is a mother of three.

Kylea is a former managing director of Edelman Australia. She worked pro bono as a PR consultant for the McGrath Foundation, after being invited to assist the growing organisation following the death of Jane McGrath. She became the CEO of the Foundation and helped bring about the Pink Test (a cricketing fundraiser that raises awareness and money for the Foundation).

Guests are always welcome.

23 August 2022 - The Aussie Camino

Luke Keighery

The Aussie Camino is a 200km pilgrimage route running from Portland in Victoria to Penola in South Australia, inspired by the life and journeys of Australia’s Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop and her mentor Fr Julian Tenison Woods. The walk is based on the traditions of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela: pilgrims receive a guidebook, passport, scallop shell and stay in the local towns along the way.

Luke is Waverton Hub President; he enjoys walking and is passionate about supporting worthy causes. In March this year Luke walked the Aussie Camino in a group of 8 pilgrims. It was an amazing adventure and Luke has many stories to tell. Through this walk Luke raised over $10,000 for Interplast Australia – a charity doing amazing work sending teams of volunteer plastic and reconstructive surgeons, anaesthetists and allied health professionals to provide life-changing surgery and medical training in 17 countries across the Asia-Pacific region.

Guests are always welcome.

16 August 2022 - Alfonso Calero

Shoot for the Stars

Do you want to capture beautiful images of the night sky?

Alfonso Calero has six great tips to help you shoot for the stars. He will explain

WHEN TO SHOOT
WHERE TO SHOOT
COMPOSITION
GEAR
TECHNIQUE
POST PRODUCTION

Come along with your questions.

Alfonso Calero used to be a Japanese and Spanish speaking tour-guide and taught English in Tokyo. For the last 20 years, he has been a Professional Photographer. He specialises in People and Places. As a travel photographer this has given him the experience and versatility to shoot in different genres such as Landscape, Street Portraits, Nature, Wildlife and Architecture.

Guests are always welcome.

09 August 2022 - Jailing is Failing

Robert Tickner AO

The Justice Reform Initiative is committed to reducing Australia's harmful and costly reliance on incarceration. The patrons include more than 100 eminent Australians, including two former Governors-General, former Members of Parliament from all sides of politics, academics, respected Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders, senior former judges, and many other community leaders.

There are multiple evidence based alternatives to incarceration that are known to make the community safer. These alternatives address the drivers of incarceration (including homelessness, unemployment, disconnection from culture, problematic drug and alcohol use, access to mental health and disability services). The Justice Reform Initiative is keen to work with all sides of politics to build an evidence-based approach to justice policy, and to ensure there is adequate resourcing and capacity for community led services and organisations that are able to break the cycle of incarceration.

Robert Tickner will present a large and compelling evidence base outlining how to build alternatives to incarceration and pathways out of the prison system. The campaign seeks to bring together organisations and people of goodwill from across the political spectrum and the broader public to build the conversation in Australia around how jailing is failing.

Robert Tickner AO has a Batchelor of Laws and Master of Laws (Hons), Bachelor of Economics from University of Sydney. He is Australia’s longest serving Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs 1990-96. He has been the CEO of Australian Red Cross, a Councillor on Sydney City Council including a brief period as Acting Lord Mayor. Also he was Acting Under Secretary General of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Federation

Guests are always welcome.

02 August 2022 - North Sydney Demographics

Eric Poulos

What is happening to the neighbourhood? Is it all jobs and growth in our CBD? North Sydney is seen as a great place to live, work, be educated, visit and shop. But really, do you know about the mix of people, housing and facilities and how it’s changed in the last five years?

Come & hear Eric Poulos describe changes in the demographics of the North Sydney Community. One of his current projects is to survey families and input into a new Community Services Strategy for North Sydney which he’ll also fill you in about.

Eric Poulos is North Sydney Council’s Community Worker and Social Planner and he’ll take you through census information and a range of data about the area. He’s worked in North Sydney for 7 years and has a wealth of experience in managing projects in the social and welfare field. He is strategic and creative, with particular interests in social planning, cultural diversity, community development, capacity building and community engagement. Over half his career has been in local government. One of his current projects is to deliver a new Family and Children’s Strategy for North Sydney which he’ll also fill you in about.

Guests are always welcome.

26 July 2022 - Living well with Glaucoma

Gem Chew

It is estimated that over 300,000 Australians have glaucoma, yet 50% are unaware they have it, thinking they have healthy eyes. Anyone may develop glaucoma, but the incidence increases with age. About 1 in 10,000 babies are born with glaucoma, by age 40 about 1 in 200 have glaucoma, rising to 1 in 8 at age 80.

Known as the 'silent thief of sight' glaucoma develops slowly and often without any symptoms, leaving people undetected until the disease reaches an advanced stage. Left untreated, glaucoma can cause vision loss and may even lead to blindness. But if detected early, glaucoma can be managed and vision loss prevented.

Gem Chew (a Glaucoma Australia clinical volunteer) will provide an overview of glaucoma, the importance of early detection as well as tips on living with and managing this condition.

Gem is a fifth year medical student at UNSW and is currently on clinical rotations with an ophthalmology clinic in Green Square where she is working as an Ophthalmic Assistant.

Guests are always welcome.

19 July 2022 - Kakoda Veteran

Reg Chard

The Kokoda Trail campaign was part of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign consisted of a series of battles fought between July and November 1942.

Reg Chard is a genuine digger – and a great Australian. He will talk about his own experiences during World War 2 including the Kokoda Trail.

Visitors are always welcome

21 June 2022 - Club Health Check Discussion

Allen Colburt

All members have been asked to complete a survey about our club. A discussion of the responses from members will be led by Allen Colburt. This will also include a discussion of ideas (new or old) for activities our club could / should participate in.

Guests are always welcome.

14 June 2022 - Northsider

Anna Gordon

Northsider Magazine is the insider guide to all the best bits of Sydney's lower north shore created for locals, by locals in North Sydney. It is published quarterly and is an insider’s guide that celebrates our vibrant and iconic neighbourhoods on the Lower North Shore of Sydney.

Anna Gordon, Editorial Director: From reporting on secret schools for girls in Afghanistan to discussing Ironman with Turia Pitt, Anna has delivered exclusive content for some of the world’s biggest publications. She has held a number of senior editorial roles on national newspapers and magazines, both in the UK and Australia. A Kirribilli resident for eight years, she now lives in Neutral Bay and works in North Sydney.

Guests are always welcome.

31 May 2022 - North Sydney Community Strategic Plan

Jenny Gleeson

Under the Local Government Act 1993, following the commencement of each term of council all NSW councils must prepare an integrated suite of plans to guide its planning and reporting - this is known as Integrated Planning & Reporting (IP&R). The IP&R suite includes the following components listed in order of hierarchy:

Community Strategic Plan
Resourcing Strategy - includes three inter-related sections - long term financial planning, asset management planning and workforce planning
Delivery Program - includes 4 year financial estimates
Operational Plan & Budget - annual; includes the Statement of Revenue Policy
Annual Report - includes Audited Financial Statements

The Community Strategic Plan is a plan to shape the North Sydney LGA’s future. It is both an aspirational vision and a practical plan. The plan seeks to address four key questions:

Where are we now?
Where do we want to be in 10-20 years’ time?
How will we get there?
How will we know we have arrived?

North Sydney Council is in the final stage of reviewing the North Sydney Community Strategic Plan - feedback closes 8 June.

Jenny will give an overview of the draft North Sydney Community Strategic Plan.

Jenny Gleeson, Manager Corporate Planning & Engagement has worked at North Sydney Council for 18 years and during this time has been responsible for several portfolios. Prior, Jenny worked for Campbelltown City Council in several different roles.

Guests are always welcome.

24 May 2022 - New home for Sydney Heritage Fleet

Alan Edenborough

Sydney Heritage Fleet has long sought a permanent home in Sydney Harbour. Promises and near-misses make for an interesting tale. But the SHF is counting on the search nearing its end.

Berrys Bay is a perfect combination of location and heritage infrastructure able to be adaptively redeveloped to provide a cultural tourism hub for the heritage of Sydney Harbour. A new home for the Sydney Heritage Fleet and the creation of a new cultural tourism attraction, The Museum of Sydney Harbour, capitalises on our city’s greatest natural asset - the spectacular beauty of Sydney Harbour.

The relocation of Sydney Heritage Fleet to Berrys Bay, integrated with the new Museum of Sydney Harbour, provides a once in a lifetime opportunity to provide Sydney with a sustainable cultural tourist attraction and a permanent home for the Fleet’s living maritime heritage and contribution to social capital.

Alan Edenborough has more than fifty years involvement with the Sydney Maritime Museum, home of Sydney Heritage Fleet, which was founded in 1965. Alan has served on the Board of the Museum and is still an active Fleet volunteer. He is currently steering the Fleet towards a permanent home on the shores of Sydney Harbour.

Alan discovered and led the salvage of the now fully restored 1874 barque, James Craig, from remote southern Tasmania. He has also been involved with the restoration of other historic vessels in the Sydney Heritage Fleet.

He is a member of the Council and Steering Committee of the Australian Register of Historic Vessels (ARHV), and President of the Australian Maritime Museums Council (AMMC). Internationally, Alan is a member of the Executive Council of the International Congress of Maritime Museums (ICMM), and founder of ICMM’s Ships Committee.

Guests are always welcome.

17 May 2022 - Edgeworth David

Jenny Horsfield

T.W Edgeworth David came to Australia from Wales as a young mining engineer in 1882. On the ship coming out he met and fell in love with Cara Mallett, an orphan from a working class background in rural England. This was the beginning of a lifelong marriage and a remarkable partnership that saw Cara establish the first college in NSW to train women teachers. Her husband became Professor of Geology at Sydney University. The couple raised a family in Sydney while actively engaged with many aspects of the city’s cultural and political life.

David is remembered for his heroic expedition with Douglas to find the South Magnetic Pole in 1908, and later, for leading the Mining Battalion the ‘Tunnellers’ in their dangerous work on the Western Front.

Cara’s life, though less well-known, was equally adventurous, including trips to a coral island in the Pacific and to geology camps in the Snowy Mountains. During the war she ran a convalescent home for soldiers in the Blue Mountains and was later instrumental in the founding of the Girl Guides. Her two daughters also led remarkable and inspirational lives.

Jenny Horsfield will talk about this remarkable family.

Jenny Horsfield is a Canberra writer and historian. Her book, ‘Rainbow: the story of Rania MacPhillamy’ won the award for Non-Fiction Book of the Year in the 2008 ACT Writers and Publishers awards.

Guests are always welcome.

09 May 2022 - Nusa Tenggara Dinner

Note - no breakfast meeting 10 May 2022

When - Monday 9th May 2022 - 6:30 pm

Where - Lane Cove Golf Club, 180 River Road, Northwood NSW 2066

What – a Traditional Indonesian 3 course meal with a full bar service available

Nusa Tenggara Association - Australia (NTA).

NTA has been successfully delivering support to poor farming communities for more than 30 years. The focus is on food security, improved livelihoods, water, sanitation and education. They also have helped the community respond to emergency situations such as the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020 and the Cyclone Seroja in 2021.

Indonesia has 1800 islands including Flores, West Timor, Sumba which are just North of Australia (800km). The province of Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) - literally East-Southeast Islands. Conditions are dry for geographical and geological reasons and the population of 6 million has an annual income of about 1/3 of the Indonesian average. Child mortality is high and less than 40% of children attend school. 80 children are reported to die of malaria each year.

03 May 2022 - Francis Greenway

Don Napper

The Sad Life of Francis Greenway, our First Government Architect.

Francis Greenway’s death sentence for forgery in England was commuted to transportation to NSW for 14 years. Governor Macquarie appointed Greenway as our first Government Architect in which role he designed some 80 buildings. Less than one-quarter of these remain today. After Macquarie left the colony, Greenway fell upon hard times. He died completely unsung and the location of his pauper’s grave in the East Maitland Cemetery remains unknown.

Don Napper will talk about Francis Greenway’s life.

Emeritus Professor Don Napper was educated at Sydney and Cambridge Universities in molecular chemistry. He retired from Sydney University in 2003 as the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Sciences & Technology), where he is now Professor Emeritus.

Guests are always welcome.

19 April 2022 - North Sydney Council's new Mayor

Zoe Baker

North Sydney Council has a new Mayor, Zoë Baker. She was first elected to Council, representing Wollstonecraft Ward, in 2008 and brings energy, intelligence and integrity to her role. She has a passion for urban design and planning and a strong commitment to sustainability and innovation in all aspects of Council decision making. Zoë has championed precinct planning, in particular in the St Leonards/Crows Nest Planning Studies, the Educational Precinct Planning Study and the ESD Best Practice project.

She believes that there are many pressing issues which need to be addressed, including

over-development pressures,
the impacts of various state government infrastructure projects and
the need for community facilities.

Her personal passion is working with the community to address, what she calls, the ‘terrible decline’ of the urban tree canopy.

She will talk about how she wants to engage the community in the preparation of Council’s upcoming community strategic plan and how the plan will set the agenda for the next four years.

Zoë is married with a daughter who attends a local primary school. She has an Honours degree in Government from the University of Sydney and holds a Certificate of Excellence in Local Government.

Guests are always welcome.

12 April 2022 - Aboriginal Heritage

Speaker - Karen Smith

The Aboriginal Heritage Office (AHO) is a joint initiative between 6 local Councils, to protect local Aboriginal heritage sites. The creation of an Education Program was part of the vision of the original Memorandum of Understanding that was signed in 1999 when the partnership of Councils was entered into. Today those Councils are Ku-ring-gai, Lane Cove, North Sydney, Northern Beaches, Strathfield and Willoughby Councils.

Education has always been valued by the AHO as important for the protection of heritage sites. The main objective of the Education Program is to develop and implement community education activities and events aimed at increasing the collective knowledge of Aboriginal cultural heritage. By increasing the community’s knowledge of Aboriginal cultural heritage, the participating Councils and the AHO believe Aboriginal heritage will be more highly valued and the school children and community will take a more active role in site protection and preservation.

These heritage sites are now in the hands of all Australians. Aboriginal people represent the oldest culture in the world, the first custodians of Australia and form the fabric of our unique identity as a nation.

Karen has been the AHO’s Education Officer since 2011. She will share her knowledge and experience of the local area and Aboriginal history and culture.

Karen is from the Buruberongal clan of the Hawkesbury (Derrubin) area. Her family has been living in the Manly area for many years.

Guests are always welcome.

05 April - Fascinating Bhutan

Speaker - Eileen Hayse

Eileen will give a brief outline of the history of the country (Bhutan) and then talk about the culture, beauty, and customs of the Bhutanese as she found them during her journey there. She will have a PowerPoint presentation which will give colour and flavour to the talk.

In her 45-year career as a Travel Advisor, she has planned journeys far and wide for a diverse clientele. With a base in Double Bay, she arranged everything from backpacker trips for University students to luxury travel for the rich and famous.

During this time, she witnessed the evolution of the travel industry as we know it today. Starting by telephoning airlines, to the first airline booking system. Writing letters to book hotels, followed by telex then email. She has travelled to many far flung and exotic places – including Libya, Cuba, Uzbekistan, West Coast Africa, Antartica and most of South East Asia. She strives to be a traveller, not a tourist.

Guests are always welcome.

15 March 2022 - Finding the AE1

Speaker - Noel Phelan

AE1 was Australia’s first submarine. Commissioned in England on 28th February 1914 and arriving in Sydney on 24th May 1914 to a tumultuous welcome. When war was declared AE1 and AE2 with most of the RAN ships including HMAS AUSTRALIA were tasked to seize the German facilities in New Guinea and the surrounding islands. AE1 and HMAS PARRAMATTA were on patrol on 14th September 1914 near the Duke of York islands. AE1 was last seen on the afternoon of 14th September. When it did not return extensive searches were conducted after which AE1 was declared lost. There was no debris, oil slick, no distress message, nothing.

During the following years 12 unsuccessful searches were conducted. In December 2017 AE1 was found using the survey vessel FUGRO EQUATOR using an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). The AUV was also used to photograph the wreck. In April 2018 a second expedition explored the wreck. This time it was the research vessel RV PETREL from the Paul Allen foundation using a remote operated vehicle (ROV) that took enough detailed photos that the probable cause of the sinking could be determined. A 3D model of AE1 was possible from all the photos showing the extensive damage.

Come along and hear Noel explain how the AE1 was found using the very latest technology and see photos of the wreck from the ROV of RV PETREL. Learn the conclusions on what happened. Also learn why the locations of wrecks are not released.

Guests are always welcome.

22 March 2022 - Cape Don Light House

Speaker - Paul Pokorney

Paul’s talk will explain what the Sea Heritage Foundation is and what is the MV Cape Don (a museum ship) including:

The history of the MV Cape Don
Plans for the future
MV Cape Don - a living, working museum
Training & employment pathways
Work completed over the past 12 months
Outcome of Thales Naval Dockyard Inspections

Paul Pokorny has been associated with the MV Cape Don Society Inc. as a volunteer Electrician/Electrical Engineer since 2012. Paul is Director and Engineering Manager of the NATA-accredited electrical testing laboratory company, Power System Support Pty Ltd. He established this, having spent 15 years with the CSIRO/National Measurement Institute’s High Voltage Laboratory.

Paul has a Bachelor of Science (Maths & Physics) from Macquarie University and a licenced amateur radio operator, callsign VK2ZBI.

Guests are always welcome.

08 March 2022 - Federal Election Facts & Foibles

Ian Brightwell

This talk will give a quick overview of the Australian federal election in terms of size and processes. This information will provide a basis for a closer examination of the processes which are under strain and those which are undergoing change. The talk will particularly look at the increased use of computers in counting of senate votes and the difficulties this poses to traditional partisan scrutiny processes.

Ian Brightwell is a consultant and experienced CIO. He has also held an adjunct academic position at the University of NSW in cyber security and also developed and presented a post graduate course in IT Governance for Charles Stuart University. He was the CIO for the NSW Electoral Commission (NSWEC) in Australia from 2005 to April 2016 and responsible for developing all its technology and cyber security during that period. Prior to that position he was a consultant performing a variety of consulting assignments, within state and federal government agencies and the private sector.

In his role as at NSWEC he was responsible for the development and operation of the iVote system which in 2015 was credited as taking the largest number of remote internet votes for a parliamentary election in the world.

Guests are always welcome.

01 March 2022 - International Travel (in the COVID world)

Speaker - Mark Staples

Mark Staples, a Kiwi (dual citizen) living in Sydney since 1980. IT manager for 20 years in Westpac, then 15 years in IBM. Last role in IBM was an IT Critical Situation Manager, including training of people in “Incident Management”. He joined Crows Nest Rotary in 2015 after retiring, where in 2016 he moved into, and still is, the Secretary. He had a 1-year break, when he was president for 2019-20 year. Mark also volunteers at the Crows Nest community Centre. And is a very serious Poker player.

Mark will talk on his experience travelling to NZ last November/December getting through Quarantine & Self isolation. Coping with isolation is one aspect, but the additional planning required needs to be understood. Most importantly Mark will lead us through the planning considerations for his next trip – America in June.

Guests are always welcome.

15 February 2022 - How Vaccine-derived Polioviruses are slowing "End Polio Now"

Don Napper

The wild poliovirus appears to be nearing eradication as there were perhaps as few as 5 cases in 2021. However, the occurrence of polioviruses derived from the use of the Sabin oral vaccine has become many times greater (51 cases) than that of the wild virus, even though (or perhaps because) the oral vaccine powered the eradication of the wild virus from almost all continents. These vaccine-derived polioviruses can behave like wild viruses and cause paralysis, so they too must be eradicated to end polio once-and-for-all.

Guests are always welcome.

08 February 2022 - USS Indianapolis

Noel Phelan

USS INDIANAPOLIS departed San Francisco on the 16^th July 1945 for a high speed run to Hawaii and then onto Tinian Island. The ship was commanded by Captain Charles McVay III. On board were key components for the atomic bomb. These components were delivered to Tinian Island on 26^th July. They were then loaded onto the super fortress ENOLA GAY for the flight to Hiroshima.

The return voyage was to be by Guam to Leyte. The ship was sunk by torpedoes from the Japanese submarine I-58 halfway between Guam and Leyte. The ship lost all power, turned over and sank in 12 minutes. There were 900 survivors out of the 1,200 crew. However, the Navy lost the ship from its plotting boards, so no rescue was mounted. On the 4^th day in the water the survivors were spotted by planes. After the 4 days in the water there were only 316 survivors out of the 900. Many had been taken by sharks.

Captain McVay was court martialled for the loss of his ship. The captain of I-58 was brought to the USA by the prosecution to testify against McVay. The submarine captain testified that he was in such a good position to attack that zigzagging would have not have made any difference.

Finally in 2000 McVay was exonerated by Congress and signed by Bill Clinton. This would be little comfort to McVay who received lots of hate mail and committed suicide in 1968.

Come along to hear this amazing story of a travesty of justice to protect the reputations of some very important Navy people.

Noel Phelan's first career was as a science and mathematics teacher. He then moved into IT with IBM where he spent 25 years in various technical and management positions. He has been a volunteer guide at the Maritime Museum for several years and enjoys showing visitors over HMAS Vampire, HMAS Advance, HMAS Onslow and First Lady. Noel is also the team leader for the museum speakers.

Guests are always welcome.

01 February 2022 - North Sydney Scouts

Speaker Stuart Warren

1^st North Sydney Scouts (formally 1^st Lavender Bay) operates out of the Scout Hall at 1 Munro Street in McMahons Point. While the hall may seem dormant, we are one of the biggest and most active Scout Groups on the Lower North Shore. We have 125 kids (co-ed) aged 5-18 who attend a weekly programme of activities plus 2-3 weekend activities per term, run by 16 volunteer leaders. Over the last 5 years we have been able to invest heavily in new equipment and leader training that lets us run an exciting programme of overnight hiking, canyoning, white water kayaking, abseiling and rock climbing.

1st North Sydney has been established for 12 years now. Over that time we have built increasingly stronger links to the community, including running a fruit & veg co-op, making weekly fresh food donations to LGA residents in financial difficulty and assisting senior residents move large items for council clean up (to mention a few).

Talk Outline - This talk will introduce 1^st North Sydney Scout Group, focussing on the programme that is run for the kids, our work in the community and our plans for growth over the next 5 years.

Guests are always welcome.

25 January 2022 - Phoenix House

Paul Gabrielides

Many young people need support to stay at school, or to find suitable education or training that meets their needs and aspirations. Early intervention for young people who are struggling in education is critical. If core skills, knowledge, attitudes and behaviours are not developed across childhood and adolescence, they become increasingly difficult and expensive to address later in life.

Phoenix House provides early intervention and support services to the most challenged young people living in Sydney and delivers life-changing outcomes.

Paul Gabrielides is the CEO of Phoenix House and will explain

the history of the organisation
the fully integrated, wrap around service model
how it provides flexible education programs for young people with very specific and challenging needs
how they catch young people before they fully disengage with formal education and aim to inspire a life-long love of learning

Paul has over twenty years in the corporate world of Information Technology in Sales and Management. Though success was always measured in dollars, he believes real long-term success is measured in a different currency, one of integrity and relationships.

His passion to be helpful to people and make his corner of the world a better place burns brightly, so bringing his skills into the NFP sector was a natural step.

Guests are always welcome.

18 January 2022 - 2021 Sydney to Hobart

Lindsay May

Lindsay May competed in his 48^th consecutive Sydney Hobart Yacht Race last December. A record for consecutive races. He navigated the classic 73 foot yawl Kialoa II (the line honours winner in 1971)

Lindsay will give an overview of the race illustrated by spectacular photographs from some of yachting’s best photographers.

Guests are always welcome.

11 January 2022 AI & Robotics

Surinder Jain

Artificial Intelligence and Digital Machine controls are two disruptive technologies that are merging into AI Robotics. The talk covers the growth of Robotics and the implications of an artificial intelligent agent in a mobile machine, its impact on the industry, its impact on jobs and its impact on humanity.

AI enabled Robots can be a boon as well as the biggest existential challenge for the survival of humanity. What safeguards are needed to keep AI Robots on a leash, implications of its ownership and laws needed to co-exist with AI are discussed. Finally the talk explores if it is too late to control AI Robotics and can humans escape being extinct.

Surinder studied MBA and M Phil in Computer Science from University of Sydney publishing a paper on software quality. He worked as a software developer in various roles in Sydney and New York before starting an Internet Service Provider business during the early stage of Internet revolution. He sold his business and took an early retirement to volunteer his services to the not for profit industry. He is on the board of many charities. Surinder has a keen interest in emerging disruptive technologies

Guests are always welcome.

14 December 2021 - Club AGM

The agenda will include

Finances
Rotary Foundation
Club service including the Speaker program
Fundraising
Public relations including Web site and Facebook
Community
Youth
Any other general business

Guests are always welcome.

07 December - Nuclear Powered Submarines for Australia

Peter Bullard

The announcement on 16 September of the historic AUKUS Alliance a trilateral security partnership, caught us all by surprise. In hindsight however, its origin can be traced to recent political events and the rapidly changing strategic military environment. The first major initiative of the Alliance is to assist Australia to acquire at least eight nuclear powered submarines with the US and UK helping with technology transfer. Exactly how that will be done is not yet clear as Vice Admiral Johnathan Mead AO has been appointed as the Chief of Nuclear-Powered Submarine Task Force to conduct an 18-month study to “define the optimal path to acquire the submarines.” It will be a challenging project as the intention is to build all the submarines in South Australia in time to take over from the current Collins Class submarines as they retire from service.

Peter will cover a broad sweep from the origin of the Alliance and the regional reactions to it with an overview of the two options available, the US Virginia Class and the UK Astute Class, outlining their roles and capabilities followed by a short excursion into the support facilities, also covering nuclear safety.

Presenter - John Peter Bullard

Peter spent 35 years as an engineer officer in the Royal Navy. He qualified as a conventional submariner and as the RN nuclear submarine program expanded undertook an advanced marine engineering course studying nuclear submarine reactor design. His sea time in nuclear submarines finished with a nine-month unsupported deployment to the Far East. He followed by lecturing to engineer officers undergoing nuclear propulsion training before moving to the nuclear operational safety section. His design time was spent as the head of the future submarine nuclear propulsion plant section working on the as then unnamed, Astute Cass machinery design. In London in the Naval Staff Operational Requirements Directorate he managed the concept studies for the Astute class. He became an Australian citizen in 2009.

Guests are always welcome.

30 November - NTA Update

Stephanie Heighes

North Sydney Sunrise Rotary Club sponsored the Nusa Tenggara association (NTA). This presentation will cover

A short overview of the NTA, including NTAs achievements in FY 20-21
The current Covid-19 situation in Indonesia (focus on eastern Indonesia) and how Covid-19 affected NTA’s operations (opportunities and challenges)
A completion report on how the donation of $ 2500 by the Rotary Club of North Sydney Sunrise has been spent (including picture documentation, comments from supported schools etc.)
A glimpse of the future (including for example new pilot projects - teacher in a box, teacher training in Sikka, etc.)

Guests are always welcome.

16 November - Captain Cook Graving Dock

Noel Phelan

The construction of the dock was the second largest engineering project in Australia – larger than the Harbour Bridge. The Snowy Scheme was the largest. Ships were growing in size and the Sutherland dock at Cockatoo Island could not accommodate them. In 1938 the nearest large dock was the Royal Naval Base at Singapore – two weeks sailing away.

After investigating 16 sites around Australia, Garden Island was selected. The construction required the reclamation of 30 acres of land which resulted in Garden Island being joined to the mainland at Pott’s Point. The dock is 358 m long and can de divided into two sections. An enormous amount of infrastructure was needed to support the operation of the dock and work on the ships. A bomb proof standby Power Station and Pumping Plant were built as well as large cranes including the large 250 ton hammerhead crane. The labour force peaked at 4,125 in 1943. The dock was completed in 1945 just in time to repair the battle damaged Pacific fleets.

Come along and learn how a dock operates and how the dock was built during the war where equipment was very limited.

Guests are always welcome.

09 November - Mentoring Men

Ian Westmoreland

Mentoring Men is a registered Australian charity providing free long-term one-to-one life mentoring programs for men Australia wide. They focus on a proactive approach, engaging with Australian men who need help before they spiral into crisis. They welcome all men to engage with their mentoring programs and strive to be as diverse as the communities they serve and work within. Currently the Mentors collectively speak over 57 languages.

Ian worked for 40 years in the Australian and New Zealand utilities industries in various IT roles, mostly as an IT development and support manager. On 10 September 2013, he experienced a life-changing moment that ultimately led to his decision to retire from paid work in May 2014 and commence a volunteer mentoring career with the Raise Foundation, Kidshope and COACH mentoring programs. Following a personal challenge in 2018 Ian developed the Mentoring Men program which was officially launched in November 2018.

This talk will answer

What is Mentoring Men
How Does it Work
What does the future hold

Guests are always welcome.

02 November - Why Does Carbon Dioxide Cause Global Warming

Don Napper

As the UN Climate Change Conference is being held in Glasgow as we meet, have you ever wondered why mere trace amounts of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide can capture solar energy and cause long-term climate change whereas the much more prevalent atmospheric molecules, nitrogen and oxygen that we breathe, cannot.

We are all familiar with molecules capturing energy from radiation waves in a microwave oven, but greenhouse gases operate in an entirely different manner and Don will be discuss this.

Emeritus Professor Don Napper was educated at Sydney and Cambridge Universities in molecular chemistry. He retired from Sydney University in 2003 as the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Sciences & Technology), where he is now Professor Emeritus.

Guests are always welcome.

19 October 2021 - Joseph Conrad's Eastern Voyages

Ian Burnet

Ian Burnet has spent thirty years, living, working and travelling in Indonesia and is fascinated by the diverse history and culture of the archipelago. This is reflected in his books Spice Islands, followed by East Indies, then Archipelago - A Journey Across Indonesia, then Where Australia Collides with Asia, then The Tasman Map and now his latest book Joseph Conrad’s Eastern Voyages.

The life of Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski reads like an adventure story, an adventure story that could be written by somebody like Joseph Conrad. The young Conrad dreamed of a life at sea, he eventually became a British merchant seaman and he spent fifteen years sailing on the classic three-masted, square-rigged sailing ships before they were ultimately replaced by steamships. During this period, he worked his way up from apprentice to third mate, to second mate, to first mate and finally the captain of one of these beautiful ships.

Conrad loved the ‘mysterious East’ and his first books – Almayers Folly, An Outcast of the Islands, Lord Jim and The Rescue were all set in Borneo and based on the people and places he encountered in his own voyages as first mate on a trading vessel based out of Singapore. In this new book, Ian has taken the liberty to place the parts of these first novels into their proper narrative sequence and focus on the back-story of his characters, which will make it easier to discover Conrad’s genius.

Ian will first talk about Conrad's voyages to Australia and then his voyages from Singapore to Borneo and his first books.

12 October - The Case for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) in Australia

Tony Irwin

All Australia’s coal-fired power stations will be shutdown before 2050 and SMRs would be ideal to repower these sites, using existing infrastructure and the staff can be retrained saving jobs and the local economy. Tony will give examples of suitable SMRs and answer the questions “are they safe” and “what about the waste”.

Tony Irwin is a Chartered Engineer, Chair of Engineers Australia Sydney Division Nuclear Engineering Panel and Technical Director of SMR Nuclear Technology Pty Ltd. Tony worked for British Energy (formerly the Central Electricity Generating Board) in the UK for more than thirty years commissioning and operating 8 nuclear power reactors.

In 1999 he moved permanently to Australia and joined the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) where he managed fuel strategies and provided advice on nuclear issues. He was subsequently appointed as Reactor Manager for the commissioning and operation of ANSTO’s new OPAL research reactor. Tony is now a Consultant.

Tony is the principal lecturer for the ANU Master of Nuclear Science Course Reactor and Fuel Cycle modules and visiting lecturer at USYD.

Guests are always welcome.

05 October - Regaining Your Health after Lockdown

Taylor Harrison

This talk will give practical tips and information on ways to get your bodies moving, prevent injuries and regain fitness following four months of lockdown. In particular, the talk will focus on strengthening and improving balance. The exercises and tips will be simple and easy to perform and won't require any special equipment.

Taylor Harrison is the founder and director of Active Seniors Health Centre which he started in 2006. These centres have helped thousands of Seniors remain active. Taylor has written 4 books on the topic as well as producing online videos which have been watched over 1 million times.

Guests are always welcome.

28 September - Royal Far West - Tara Tan

Tara will provide

a brief overview of what Royal Far West does
A brief history of Royal Far West
An overview of Royal Far West programs
an update on what they are doing around bushfire recovery and other projects.

Tara first got a taste for fundraising over 10 years ago after side-stepping from an unfulfilling corporate job into a marketing role with Pareto Fundraising. Since then, she has developed and delivered fundraising and marketing programs for Habitat for Humanity Australia, Heart Research Australia and Royal Far West. Tara’s skills, experience and passion for fundraising translates into a deep understanding of what’s required to achieve sustainable growth and create meaningful impact for causes, their beneficiaries and donors.

Guests are always welcome.

21 September - Ethics

Graeme Robinson

As you know, Rotary has its Four Way Test:

Is it the Truth
Is it FAIR to all concerned
Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS
Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned

Graeme Robinson will present on “Ethics”, a topic of much relevance in the current environment.

Graeme will examine

Ethics beginnings as a concept, and
how the many definitions of ethics have been influenced by
- different religions,
- constitutions of countries, and
- ethical theorists
whether the Rotary test addresses the challenges of life in 2021.
- Is the Four Way Test still relevant? Does there need to be a Fifth Test or do any of the existing Four Tests need to be changed?

Graeme is a consulting engineer, dispute resolver, arbitrator, mediator, and adjudicator. He has 40 years’ experience in designing and developing major infrastructure and mineral resource projects. He develops projects and determines disputes in Australia, Asia, central and West Africa, the Middle East, and the Pacific rim.

Guests are always welcome.

07 September - Lets Talk about Suicide

Jennifer Gripton-Corbet & Ceiny Maybury

Jen & Ceiny will discuss

Suicide has a devastating impact on families, friends and whole communities.
Behind every suicide statistic there is a human life.
Statistics and data
Suicide is complex - emotional and physical reactions, how to maintain well-being, when and where to seek help.

Jennifer Gripton-Corbett is a counsellor with a Master's in Counselling & Psychotherapy and has a Bachelor of Science (RN). She is the Clinical Services Coordinator and a counsellor at Lifeline Harbour to Hawkesbury(H2H) and also works in in private practice with individuals, couples and families who may be struggling with mental health issues.

Ceiny Maybury is a therapist and educator. She has fulfilled the roles of Lifeline Centre Supervisor, Training Coordinator, Suicide Bereavement Support Group Facilitator and Crisis Support Workplace Trainer. Ceiny is a passionate advocate for members of the public experiencing mental health issues, domestic violence and suicidal ideation. She holds a Bachelor of Counselling, Master of Counselling TAE and Dip Ed.

31 August - Australian Music Industry - 1960s', 1970s', 1980s' & beyond

Jim Towers & Mario Millo

Mario Millo - guitarist, singer, song writer, movie and television composer.

Jim Towers - band booking agent, venue entertainment agent and promoter.

They will be speaking to us about the 'Australian Music Industry - 1960s', 70s', 80s' and beyond'

Guests are always welcome.

24 August - Street Side Medics

Daniel Nour

Dr. Daniel Nour has a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from James Cook University. Early in his career, he realised his passion to address the needs of underprivileged and vulnerable members of the community. This led to his ambition to start a mobile medical clinic which uniquely addresses the multiple health disparities experienced by the homeless and alleviates the many burdens present in accessing healthcare. With the support of mentors, colleagues, and countless others who assisted, Street Side Medics was created.

The service operates from mobile medical vans which ensures that it is able to reach the homeless community across multiple locations. Each doctor in the van is an RACGP accredited GP and the vans are fitted with the necessary equipment to provide primary healthcare services, to the standard of a normal general practice.

Daniel will describe the journey to create “Street Side Medics” and how the service operates.

Guests are always welcome.

17 August - Parkinson's & Shake It Up

Clyde Campbell

Clyde Campbell is the founder of Shake It Up Australia Foundation and has an entrepreneurial spirit and a vision for the future. Clyde decided not to sit back and wait for the rest of the world to find a cure for Parkinson’s but to join the action. In 2011 he launched Shake It Up Australia Foundation with one mission – to increase awareness and funding in Australia targeted at finding better treatments and ultimately a cure for Parkinson’s.

Clyde also wanted to ensure that 100% of all donations received went to Parkinson’s research. This commitment is made possible by Clyde and his brother Greg funding all the administration and overhead costs of the foundation. Since 2011 the foundation has co-funded over $15 Million into Parkinson’s Research in Australia and are now the leading non-government funder of Parkinson’s research across multiple institutes.

On 26 January 2021, Clyde was appointed as a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia (General Division) in the Australia Day Honours List, in recognition of his significant service to community health, particularly to people living with Parkinson’s disease.

He will talk about his diagnosis and how he came to start the foundation and establish a partnership with The Michael J. Fox Foundation and our research agenda and progress.

Guests are always welcome.

10 August 2021 - Joseph Banks

Ian Burnet

This talk about Joseph Banks follows his voyage on the Endeavour. This was the defining point in his life. But what happened to his vast collection of botanical specimens after his return to England?

03 August 2021 - Teddy Sheean

Noel Phelan

During a confrontation with thirteen Japanese aircraft on 1 December 1942, HMAS Armidale was struck by two torpedoes and a bomb, and began to sink; the order to abandon ship was given. After helping to free a life-raft, Sheean was wounded by two bullets. He made his way to the aft Oerlikon 20 mm cannon and began to fire on the Japanese aircraft to protect those in the water. Sheean managed to shoot down one of the Japanese bombers, but he was killed when Armidale sank. Many of the survivors credited their lives to Sheean, and he was posthumously mentioned in despatches.

In 2020, Sheean was awarded a Victoria Cross. This was the first VC awarded to a Royal Australian Navy crew member.

Come along and hear this story of courage.

Guests are always welcome.

20 July 2021 - District Governor Visit

Lindsay May

At this meeting our Club will present our current program and causes that we plan to support in 2021/22.

The agenda will include

Finances including fundraising
Rotary Foundation
Club service including the Speaker program
Public relations including Web site and Facebook
Community
Youth

Lindsay will present the district's plans for the year.

Guests are always welcome.

13 July - 1942 Japanese Submarine Attack

Ray Rees

On 29 May 1942, five Japanese submarines gathered outside Sydney Harbour. The war was about to come to Sydney. Three midget submarines were launched but only one managed to fire its weapons, one of which sunk the ferry HMAS Kuttabul, an accommodation vessel moored at Garden Island. Twenty-one sailors lost their lives.

This talk will explain what happened, how it happened and will briefly consider the aftermath.

The talk will be given by Commander Ray Rees, RAN Retired. After spending over thirty years in the navy, joining as an apprentice, Ray retired as a Commander Engineer and has continued his interest in marine matters by volunteering with the Sydney Heritage Fleet restoring and crewing in a range of heritage vessels.

Guests are always welcome.

06 July 2021

Changeover meeting via zoom

7:15 AM

Location - your home

29 June 2021 - Dementia Cafe

Denise Ward

One of the Crows Nest Centre’s latest projects is the establishment of Your Rotary D-Caf, a dementia café for people living with dementia and their carers. This is a partnership project with the Rotary Clubs of Crows Nest, North Sydney, North Sydney Sunrise and Northbridge. Denise Ward, Executive Officer of the Crows Nest Centre, will talk to us about normal ageing versus symptoms of dementia, the incidence of dementia in Australia and overseas, behind the scenes planning with Rotary for the Dementia Café and the importance of this initiative for our local community.

15 June 2021 - Member Talk

Andrew Harvey

As a relatively new member of our club, he will give us insight into his journey through life.

01 June 2021 - Paediatric Medical Traumatic Stress

Alexandra de Young

What is Paediatric Medical Traumatic Stress (PMTS) and what we can do about it? PMTS is a consequence of contact with health care by children and their families. The traumatic stress emerges from the events surrounding the reasons for admission as well as the experiences of the child and their family during the admission. This can include procedures that are painful for the child and distressing for the parent. In this talk, Alex will describe the nature of medical traumatic stress including the prevalence, course and risk factors. She will also describe the work that her team has been undertaking over the past 10 years to identify, prevent and reduce the impact of medical traumatic stress for very young injured/ill children (aged 1-5 years) and their families.

Dr Alexandra De Young is a clinical psychologist and research fellow at the University of Queensland and the Queensland Centre for Perinatal and Infant Mental Health. She is internationally recognised as a leading expert in the diagnosis, assessment, prevention and early intervention for PTSD following medical trauma during early childhood. De Young has also been involved in the development of resources for the award winning Birdie’s Tree resources that support the mental health and wellbeing of young children and families affected by disruptive events (i.e., natural disasters, COVID- 19). She is currently leading the COVID-19 Unmasked global collaboration with 9 countries to understand the mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on young children and families.

25 May 2021 Urbanist and Futurist

William Chan

From designing Olympic stadiums, metro transit systems to entire city masterplans, HY William Chan is an urbanist and futurist innovating for social inclusion and climate resilience in our urban communities. A dual Convocation and University Medallist (University of Sydney), William is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper and headline TEDx speaker.

William's innovative practice showcases the future of cities: co-living housing to solve homelessness in Sydney, smart infrastructure to address food security in Milan, and the circular economy in refugee camps to upcycle plastic waste into 3D-printed construction elements in Athens. In 2019, he was the only architect recognised by Forbes magazine on their '30 Under 30' list globally.

William is named in the top 20 on the Qantas Centenary '100 Inspiring Australians' list, top 25 most influential people in the social sector by Pro Bono Australia, and GreenBiz top 30 young global sustainability leaders by the World Business Council for Sustainable Business. An avid volunteer surf lifesaver, recent UNICEF Ambassador and Rotary Foundation Global Scholar, William was inducted into the Australian of the Year Awards Honour Roll in 2020.

William will talk about his Rotary Foundation Global Grant experience in Europe (2015-17) and how that has led to civic leadership opportunities in Sydney.

18 May 2021

Your Eyes & what happens after 50

Chris Hodge

Dr Chris Hodge will talk to us about ‘our eyes over 50 years of age’ - what challenges to expect and their treatments. Over 90% of all eye conditions that can lead to mild to moderate eye impairment, are treatable due to the increase in technology and improved health care. Almost 75% of all eye diseases occur after 50 years of age, so it is important for us to get regular eye checks. Chris will talk about Presbyopia, Diabetes, Glaucoma, Cataracts, and Macular degeneration.

Chris has had a particularly distinguished career as an orthoptist. He excelled as a clinician, being part of the team that introduced laser vision correction to Sydney and has continued that journey to the very elegant procedure it is today. In his current role as the research coordinator at Vision Eye Institute, he is responsible for running clinical trials and developing research projects. Many of these projects have resulted in innovations that helped to shape modern ophthalmology. He gained his PhD at the University of Sydney. He is also a lecturer at the University of Sydney, School of Medicine and the University of Technology."

11 May 2021

Sydney Wildlife Rescue

Bev Young

Sydney Wildlife Rescue is operated only by dedicated volunteers - about 400 of them. Discover how you can help and maybe even join us. Our core 'business' is rescuing and caring for wildlife, but we welcome help from the public in many support areas - transport, food supplies, rescue line call centre, preparation of online training courses, graphic designers for our education and publicity material - even serving up sausages at Bunnings BBQs for fundraising! This talk will discuss the material in the recently published little 'glovebox booklet' which gives you all the information and contacts you'll need for helping injured wildlife here in Sydney or out on the road in country NSW.

Bev has been a wildlife rescuer and carer for 23 years, and a member of Sydney Wildlife since its inception in 1997. Most of this time she has been retired, following a 40year career as a speech pathologist with people with disabilities – but always an animal lover too. She has also researched for, and presented papers at four national wildlife rehabilitation conferences. Currently and for the past 3 years, she is also the first responder for Sydney Wildlife on their webmail – a job that through the recent fire emergency has meant an average of 5 hours a day communicating with media and people, many overseas, who want to help in a practical sense. She was honoured to receive the Order of Australia medal in 2007 for her pioneering work in early intervention (disabled children) and for her work in wildlife care.

04 May 2021 - How are Vaccines made & how do they work

Don Napper

There are currently some seven or eight vaccines of various types being used worldwide for mass vaccinations and many more being developed. This talk will provide a focus on the different ways in which the vaccines are prepared and how, for example, the virus-vector AstraZeneca vaccine differs from the mRNA Pfizer vaccine. It will also discuss how the different vaccines work.

27 April 2021 - The Age of Discovery

Ray Walsh

Join us on a Voyage of Discovery through the age of discovery. Learn how Europe discovered the wider world and the wider world discovered the Europeans.

Our voyage begins with a look at the Spice Islands. Where are they? What spices were grown there? Why did the Europeans value spices?

What motivated the 15th Century Portuguese to discover a way to visit India and, most importantly, the ability to safely return home? How did they learn to sail thousands of kilometers over open ocean on successful multi-year voyages? What were their advances in ship construction, navigation, cartography, and food storage? How did they pay for their exploration?

Who were the famous explorers? What were they looking for? What did they find?

Ray Walsh discovered computers whilst studying for an English degree in 1980. He then spent 35+ years in the IT industry involved in all facets of the technology including software engineering, networking, and data centres. Since retirement in 2017, Ray has volunteered on the Maritime Museum’s floating fleet and recently taken up boating. His research interests include: Maritime Explorers, the Silk Road, and Ancient China.

13 April 2021 - Duyfken

Ian Burnet

In 1606, a small ship called the Duyfken sailed into history when, during a journey of exploration, it became the first European ship to make a recorded landing on Australian shores.

The Duyfken replica vessel has now joined the permanent exhibition of ships at the National Maritime Museum. Ian Burnet will talk about the history of the original Duyfken, the construction of the replica ship, and the various voyages of re-enactment that it has undertaken.

06 April 2021 - COVID Update

Trent Zimmerman MP

Trent will review the present situation regarding the Covid-19 pandemic and what we may expect over the next 12 months.

His talk will cover

Border openings and closures
International Tourism
Education (with international students being severely reduced in numbers)
The number of incoming passengers and quarantining
Job Seeker usage in the North Sydney electorate
the release of Covid-19 vaccines
- 50 million doses are planned
- most Australians being vaccinated by October
- Vaccination will be issued free-of-charge

Trent Zimmerman is the Member for North Sydney in the Australian Parliament. Trent is the Chair of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport. He is also the member of the House Standing Committee on the Environment and Energy, the Joint Standing Committee on Public Accounts and the House Privileges Committee. He is Convenor of the Coalition Friends of Tourism, Co-Convenor of several bi-partisan Parliamentary Friendship Groups including Amnesty International, the SBS, Rare Diseases and the Australian Catholic University.

30 March 2021 - The Albert Hotel

Kate Branch

Originally built in 1886 as a stately home named Telopea, The Albert has been reborn as a luxurious boutique hotel. It is situated (behind the Crystal Carwash) next to Boronia House which was owned by the same extended family that owned Telopea. Over the years the Telopea building had fallen into disrepair and was last used as a radiology and medical centre. Many of the original features of the house have been restored and a modern wing has been added.

Kate Branch, Public Relations Manager for the hotel will talk about

the history of the building and its redevelopment.
the challenges of opening a new hotel during the COVID-19 pandemic.
and show some interesting old photos of the original building and its occupants.

Kate is a life-long photographer, public relations manager and travel lover who currently resides in Sydney with her husband and two children. She holds two University degrees, a Bachelor (BFA) of Fine Art, for which she majored in Photography, and a Master (MA) of Art Therapy (Fine Art and Psychodynamics). Alongside her academic background, Kate credits travel for being her ultimate teacher in aiding her appreciation and understanding of art, photography, and life.

23 March 2021 - Vaccines

Prof Tony Basten

With the roll out of vaccines at the end of February 2021, Professor Basten who is from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, will talk about the pandemic, and vaccines, their purpose and outcome as known at this time.

Tony is a clinician/scientist with a career spanning over 40 years, initially at Sydney University and RPA hospital and now at the Garvan Institute. During this time, he has made a substantial contribution to our understanding of how the immune system is regulated in health and disease.

In 1980 he was the inaugural winner of the Glaxo Smith Kline medal for research excellence, while between 1987 and 1989 he served as the Commonwealth’s chief advisor on the medical aspects of HIV/AIDS.

He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and has recently co-edited its Q&A on Immunisation for the public. He has been a Rotarian for 29 years as a member of the Rotary Club of Chatswood (now ChatswoodRoseville) where he has served in a number of roles including the Presidency.

09 March 2021 - A Bookshop in Wartime

Jenny Horsfield

Verity Hewitt’s fabled bookshop was the only such shop in Canberra during the Second World War. Governor General Lord Gowrie called it ‘the nicest little bookshop in Australia’. It became a meeting place for diplomats, service men and women, artists and writers, public servants and the Canberra community, which was changing from a country town to a capital city under the pressures of war.

Jenny Horsfield will talk about this renowned bookshop.

23 February 2021 - RYDA (Road Safety Youth Driver Awareness)

John Elliot

Road Safety Education Limited (RSE) is a not for profit organisation committed to providing evidence-based road safety education that supports the development of a road safety culture across the generations.

At the heart of the programs lies RYDA (Rotary Youth Driver Awareness) – a school partnership which supports teachers on the journey as they provide their students with the tools and understanding they need to see themselves as active, responsible road citizens. RYDA features a highly engaging and memorable one-day workshop which front-loads students’ understanding of road safety and gives them the tools, habits and motivation to take action and stay safe on our roads a both drivers and passengers throughout their lives.

John Elliott joined the small RSE head office team in September 2020 as the National Program Manager. This followed a long career teaching, marketing and management in higher education and tourism sectors. In this role he is responsible for the roll-out of the RYDA program with schools throughout Australia.

He will talk about RYDA

Its history
The content of the program and who it is targeted at
The current status including adoption in the Norths Sydney LGA
Opportunities for involvement

16 February 2021 - Special Children’s Services Centre

John Zhang

Special Children Services Centre Inc. (SCSC) is an incorporated association chartered in 2008 for provision of support services to intellectually disabled children from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds and their families. Intellectually disabled children from CALD backgrounds typically received less support from mainstream services mostly because their carers spoke little or no English and are unsure of where they can go for support. Many of their cultures tend to fear the stigma associated with having an intellectually disabled child. This often results in their families not wanting to ask for assistance.

SCSC was founded to bridge this gap by creating a safe haven for the families, offering support to them, organising therapy classes and helping them to get mainstream assistance including from the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

The organisation is run by volunteers, and the management committee consists entirely of volunteers, who come from many different professions. John Zhang joined SCSC first as a volunteer and was later elected to the management committee and has been the president since 2018.

This talk will be about the journey of the SCSC, what is it like for the children and their families from CALD backgrounds, and insights into the kinds of support that SCSC provide to these families.

09 February 2021 - Brigitte Cox

Food Safety

Brigitte Cox is a Director, Scientific Committee Chair of the Food Safety Information Council and an Honorary Fellow in Agriculture and Food at CSIRO. For 14 years she was a Food Technology Liaison Officer at the North Ryde Laboratory of the food division of CSIRO and before that an academic at UNSW and TAFE.

The Scientific Committee of the Food Safety Information Council contains members from academia, CSIRO, and State and Federal departments involved in food safety. Our role is to vet the material produced by the Council and ensure that the information is scientifically valid and up to date. The major activity of the Council is to organise events and materials for National Food Safety Awareness Week.

Brigitte will speak about how to keep your food safe and avoid food poisoning from bacteria and viruses. She will also touch on the effect of COVID and food. Finally, she will introduce the audience to the Food Safety Information Council where they can find a lot more information on food safety.

For latest information on food safely access the Food Safety Information Council website

02 February 2021 - Sister Mary Leah

Seafarers & the Pandemic

It is estimated that around 100,000 seafarers finish their contracts and fly home every month in normal times. This is not currently happening, and they are stuck on the ships for who knows how long.

Known as the “angel of Sydney’s waterfront” Sister Mary Leahy has spent the past 20 years helping those who earn a living on the seas. She said she has never seen conditions so desperate. She is working around the clock to help the thousands of exhausted sea farers caught up in the centre of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Day-and-night, the softly spoken sister with a cheeky sense of humour is known to appear with everything from clean clothes, practical advice, spiritual guidance or just a listening ear for somebody doing it tough.

Sister Mary will talk about her experiences supporting seafarers, with a special focus on the pandemic of 2020.

19 January 2021 - The 2017 Fastnet Race

Speaker - Lindsay May

Lindsay May's 48th trip to Hobart was thwarted by Covid 19.

He was due to navigate the famous Kialoa II that took line honours back in 1971.

Lindsay’s first race on K2 was in August 2017 in the famed Fastnet Race from Cowes on the Isle of Wight, out to Fastnet Rock off the tip of Ireland and back to Plymouth in the UK. Kialoa II was bought by brothers Paddy & Keith Broughton in Portugal in 2016 and barely made the voyage back to Hamble UK to be fully refurbished. The mainly Australian crew spent the week prior to the race finishing the rebuild and set out on Lindsay's second Fastnet, his first was 1983 as part of the Australian Admiral's Cup team.

15 December 2020 - Crows Nest Centre Update

Speaker - Denise Ward

The Crows Nest Centre is recognised as a premier provider of quality community services and as a place at the heart of a vibrant connected community. The Crows Nest Centre exists to provide & facilitate quality community programs & services that connect the community, to sustain community wellbeing and reduce social isolation.

The centre provides inclusive, responsive and accessible programs and services which contribute to and sustain community wellbeing, reduce social isolation and enhance the quality of life for people in the local community, focused primarily on the North Sydney Area.

Denise Ward (Executive officer of the Crows Nest Centre) will give us an update on the work of the Centre, which we have supported and helped fund over recent years.

24 November 2020 - North Shore Trams

Speaker - Ron Besdansky

There was a time when trams were a common sight on the north shore.

Remember when you could travel anywhere on the tram network for just one shilling?

How did the network operate? How did the trams intertwine with the trains? And what led to the demise of this much loved form of public transport?

17 November 2020 - Fake News

Speaker - Uma Patel

People often blame disinformation and fake news on the companies that allow it to be shared and the governments that refuse to outlaw it. However, as Uma has seen in her work, if everyday people give their eyeballs, clicks and money to trustworthy sources then the power of fake news would evaporate.

Uma Patel is a management consultant who works for FT Strategies (which is part of the financial times). She specialises in news companies. She previously worked as an ABC federal political reporter and Sky News New Zealand correspondent.

Uma will speak about the role everyday people can play in stopping fake news.

10 November 2020 - Women Sailors

Noel Phelan

Many women have now completed successful circumnavigations of the world, competed and won in the classic yacht races and won gold at the Olympics and Para Olympics. Kay Cottee was the first woman to sail around the world, nonstop and single handed in 1987/88. Jessica Watson repeated the voyage in 2009/10.

These women faced many challenges including being rolled over, pitch poled, dismasted, knocked down, washed overboard and the loss of the keel or rudder. Both Kay and Jessica were knocked down several times with the mast and sails on the water surface; Kay was also washed overboard.

Age has not been a barrier. Jeanne Socrates completed two world circumnavigations at age 70 and 77. Laura Dekker at age 14 attempted the same only to be stopped by the Dutch authorities, but went on to do the voyage at 16.

Come along and hear the stories of many women sailors both Australian and other countries. Several have been inducted into the Australian Sailing Hall of Fame.

3 November 2020 - A Vision for North Sydney

Jeremy Dawkins

Back in 2000, Jeremy Bingham offered a frank assessment of the North Sydney city centre: ‘It has no heart. It has no central point. It has no civic spaces. It has no style. It’s a mish-mash.’

Eighteen years later, the newly formed Committee for North Sydney described the city centre as little more than ‘an office park with through traffic’.

Never give up! The Committee for North Sydney is upbeat about the future of the North Sydney city centre. It recently released its strategic vision for North Sydney, called Five Big Ideas for the Future City Centre.

The Convenor of the Committee for North Sydney, Jeremy Dawkins, will speak about the role of the Committee, the imaginative ideas in the strategy, and how the Committee’s vision could be implemented.

The 24 members of the Committee for North Sydney — eminent academics and professional practitioners in the fields of architecture, urban design and urban planning, and local experts and community leaders, all North Sydney residents — set out to facilitate public and expert contributions to the progressive improvement of North Sydney, through policy debate, public conversations and urban planning and design. The Committee is supported by an independent, member-governed incorporated Association that anyone can join.

Jeremy Dawkins is a leading Australian urban planner who has combined hands-on planning practice with policy making, university teaching and research. He managed the revival of Fremantle at the time of the America’s Cup, and set up the NSW Government’s strategic management of Sydney Harbour at the time of the Sydney Olympic Games. He established and directed the Master of Planning program at UTS, and was executive Chairman of the Western Australian Planning Commission. He is Vice President of the International Society of City and Regional Planners.

see https://committeefornorthsydney.org.au/ for more info

20 October 2020 - Club Forum

The agenda will include

Finances
Rotary Foundation
Club service including the Speaker program
Fundraising
Public relations including Web site and Facebook
Community
Youth
Any other general business

Guests are always welcome.

27 October 2020 - North Sydney Council Insights

Ian Mutton

Ian was elected to North Sydney Council in 2017 and he will provide insight into his experiences starting from the election campaign.

Once elected, he realised that popularism is a powerful decision driver – he will comment on how this played out when dealing with

Revenue falling short of the cost of the services being demanded.
The divisiveness that comes from 4 years of community consultations in the context of deciding the future for the Olympic Pool.
Ever increasing pressure from the State Government to increase population density and the pushback from the community.
Pressure to repurpose public open space.
The limited utility of a property portfolio accumulated over the years.

Ian Mutton is a North Sydney councillor. He has been heavily engaged with the protection of community assets. He is a driver behind:

The Sydney Harbour Highline project
Making Wendy’s Secret Garden permanent
Protecting Luna Park and securing its future

Ian is also the practice director of a Sydney based law firm specialising in contract related matters and competition and product liability laws.

13 October 2020 - Healing Your Life

Marshall Dunn

Marshall Dunn is a Spiritual Healer & Guide, Meditation Teacher and Author of the book Letters to Mitch: The Healing Power of Grief, Love & Truth and host of Marshall Dunn’s Soul Hour Podcast. After the suicide of his elder brother in 2002, Marshall underwent a spiritual awakening, which opened a door for his Greater Destiny to reveal itself. Now with over 15 years of meditation & healing experience and a Master's Degree in Psychology, Spirituality & Mind-Body Practice from Columbia University, Marshall has delivered his grounded, healing wisdom to the likes of Universal Music Group (UMG), Barclays, Acast, Slyp, WeWork, L&A Social, along with reputable private schools in Sydney such as Loreto Kirribilli and Chevalier College.

Accessing The Intelligence, Wisdom & Peace Of The Heart

In this talk, Marshall Dunn invites people to drop into the essence of what it means to be a Human Being, through a connection with one's heart. Drawing upon science, spirituality and direct experience, Marshall will explore why now more than ever, the most powerful way to peace in our world, starts deep within us.

Learn:

Why the Heart "knows" and how to access it's intelligence to handle challenge with more grace and ease.
The power of coherence when the head and heart are working in alignment.
Why your Heart has the ability to heal and release core wounds, limitations, entanglements and attachments - and how you can start healing your life now.

06 October 2020 - Children's books

Speaker - Karen Hendriks

Karen Hendriks is a children’s author who lives on the South Coast of New South Wales. Her debut picture books “Go Away, Foxy Foxy” and “Feathers” were released this year. Karen is a Books in Homes ambassador and a trained literacy specialist with a teaching background. She is also a moderator for Creative Kids Tales, an online site for children’s writers and illustrators.

Karen will talk about her life journey:

Starting with university where she was unable to get into the Children’s Writing elective but in Language Learning was required to write a short story. She will also talk about The Book Gangmangang that she was involved with.
Teaching and picture books and becoming a Reading Recovery Teacher and what she learnt about children and reading - also about socio economically disadvantaged students.
Her illness which was the call to action to finally pursue her dream and start writing. Overcoming fear and self doubt and pushing through to pursue writing.
Her writing journey and the stories behind “Go Away, Foxy Foxy” and “Feathers”. These are very different and have different inspirations.

29 September 2020 - Finders Distillery

Speaker - Kyle Ford

Kyle will go through the story of how he & Georgia came to start a distillery in St Leonards and run through how they make their spirits. He will show the distillation equipment and run through its operation.

Kyle and Georgia have both enjoyed successful careers in their fields. Kyle learnt his trade in engineering with the Australian Airforce and went on to spend 10 years working on military aircraft. Georgia started her career as a buyer in women’s fashion and later moved into the alcohol industry. In 2016 Kyle and Georgia resigned from their jobs, sold almost everything they owned and set off on a two year, around the world trip. Whilst travelling there seemed to be a common occurrence; visiting distilleries and trying local produce. The idea for Finders Distillery was born.

This little distillery is housed in an industrial unit in St Leonards, on Sydney's North Shore. It is at this location that every bottle of Finders Distillery product is produced.

They use a 300L copper pot still and create each batch individually. They run all of their ingredients in a single distillation, using an exact quantity of each ingredient to produce the perfect taste. They dilute the spirit to drinking strength using water that has been through a multi-stage filtration system. They then bottle, seal, label and package all products by hand, under the same roof.

22 Sept 2020 - Water Management in NSW

Speaker - Clay Preshaw

In 1998, Sydney faced an unprecedented water crisis due to a suspected contamination by cryptosporidium and giardia. This led to the formation of the Sydney Catchment Authority, which took over Sydney’s catchment and dams from Sydney Water.

The Sydney Catchment Authority is now part of WaterNSW, which manages and operates 42 water dams across NSW. WaterNSW is responsible for supplying water to two-thirds of the NSW population and continues to face a variety of significant challenges, including drought, climate change and population growth.

Clay Preshaw works as the Head of Catchment Protection at WaterNSW, and leads a group that is responsible for protecting the source of Sydney’s water supply. He will explore a broad range of water management issues in NSW, including the 1998 Sydney Water Crisis, the ‘multi-barrier approach’ to water supply, the recent drought response, and future water infrastructure projects.

Clay is a town planner and lawyer and has previously worked in various environmental planning roles within NSW and overseas.

15 September 2020 - The Digital Evolution & Seniors

Speaker Julian Wee

In a world where a human generation is now averaging over 30 years, and at the same time, the digital world generation is shortening to 4 years, what are some of the implications, especially in relation to the senior population? Julian Wee from Seniors.Rocks will share his findings, and propose a model to address some of the potential and incumbent challenges.”

Julian is the founder and managing partner of Seniors.Rocks, a social enterprise focused on the digital (online) well-being of the seniors population. Previously, Julian held a number of leadership roles in Australia and global regions. His last industry role was as Group CIO for IBM’s Growth Market Unit. After more than 3 decades in the IT industry and facing a choice of where to call home, the time was ripe to redirect his energy onto his passion for better social outcomes. In particular his experiences with the seniors population. Julian has also served on a number of industry boards in Australia and abroad. Including Deakin University (VIC), and The Smith Family.

08 September 2020 - Human & Hope

Sally Hetherington

Sally Hetherington lived in Cambodia from 2011 - 2017. Seeing the unintended consequences of voluntourism, she teamed up with Human and Hope Association (HHA), a nightly English school at the time, to develop it into a reputable community centre. Working as Operations Manager, Sally was responsible for implementing new programs addressing social issues, fundraising, logistics, mentoring and training the staff and ensuring the organisation's long-term future. Sally overcame countless obstacles, but the biggest lesson she learnt was that for sustainable change to happen, locals needed to be leading organisations.

As a result of Sally's empowering approach to development, she successfully made herself redundant, leaving HHA to be entirely run by local staff. Sally is the CEO of Human and Hope Association Inc, a registered charity in Australia that raises funds for Human and Hope Association to continue their poverty-alleviating programs. Her manifesto, 'It's Not About Me' was published by Elephant House Press in 2019. Sally received an Order of Australia Medal at age 33.

Sally will talk about sustainable development, her journey as a young female building up a not-for-profit organisation, innovation and taking risk, and the unintended consequences of voluntourism.

To support her charity.

Click on Support a Family with Food Production ($128) - tax deductible
Click on Purchase our handmade products (from $5.99)
Click on Purchase my book ($27.99)

01 September 2020 - Real Estate in COVID world

David Gallin & Ben Markos

David & Ben will talk about

The current market including sales and how these compare to previous years. Is it a buyers’ market or sellers’ market and why?
COVID19 and the effects it has had on residential and commercial property
What lies ahead in the lead up to 2021

Living locally, Ben has insight into the Lower North Shore lifestyle and has made lifelong connections during his time at SCECGS Redlands. Ben is highly motivated and thrives in an ever-changing environment. He is focused on providing clients with a comprehensive and successful real estate experience.

David is a director of the company and focuses on Kirribilli, Lavender Bay and McMahons Point with over 15 years of experience in the industry. With a thorough knowledge of the many burrows that constitute the lower north shore.

11 August 2020 - History of Pilot Boats

Noel Phelan

In the early 1800's pilots were rowed out from Watsons Bay to ships in a whaleboat with a crew of 4. Not only was this difficult and dangerous it was fiercely competitive. The signal station on South Head let the pilots know when a ship was approaching. In 1833 pilotage became compulsory for ships over 25 tons. The wreck of the SS Dunbar where there was only one survivor out of the 122 people on board and the following enquiry led to changes.

Three Captain Cook pilot boats served for over 60 years. These were large vessels of 500 tons and a length of 160 feet. They carried whaleboats that were rowed to the ships. The pilots boarded the ships by rope ladders.

Later versions of pilot boats were much smaller and came alongside ships to transfer pilots. The pilot boats today are purpose built and made in the UK - the St Brendan's class. They are capable of 26 knots and 55 feet in length with two 600 BHP engines. They are equipped with the latest in safety gear and navigational aids to operate in difficult conditions.

28 July 2020 - Allergies & anaphylaxix in Australia

Trent Zimmerman

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport has completed an inquiry into allergies and anaphylaxis in Australia. The Chair of the Committee, Trent Zimmerman MP, said that allergies were seeing a rapid rise in Australia affecting more than four million Australians.

Some people experience a life-threatening allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis. Over the last 20 years, hospital admissions for anaphylaxis has increased five-fold and has a major impact for so many families, schools, and childcare centres.

While the cause of the increase in allergies remains uncertain, what is clear is that this is a phenomenon found primarily in wealthier western nations like Australia.

Severe allergies can be life threatening and this will be an important opportunity for the Parliament to shine a light on how we can better support those at risk.

Trent will talk about

Why allergies are rising.
Whats the current advice to help minimise allergies
What state and federal governments can do better to help allergy sufferers.

1 July 2020 - JP's in NSW

Garry Wood

Since retiring from a long sales and management career with IBM Australia, Garry Wood has been working with several not for profit organisations and keeping busy with property renovations. Garry was appointed a NSW Justice of the Peace in 2015 and is the President, Sydney Branch of the NSW Justices Association responsible for the 10 JP service desks across the City of Sydney state electorate. The NSW Justices Association represents over 3500 volunteer JP’s across NSW and maintains over 130 service locations. In addition, Garry is an active member of Marine Rescue NSW based at Middle Harbour.

Garry will talk about

the history of JP’s in Australia
the role of JP’s in NSW
what is required to be a JP
how they are appointed and
where to find a JP in your area

30 June 2020 - Sydney Metro

Neil Dix

Sydney Metro is Australia’s biggest public transport project. Much has happened in the last year, with services started in May 2019 in the city’s North West, and the completion of tunnelling for the new metro railway between Chatswood and Marrickville.

This talk will provide an update on the Sydney Metro progress showing the latest highlights in the North Sydney area, including

work at the Victoria Cross Station sites and
Blues Point, and
giving a wider overview of the whole project.

Neil Dix –Communications Manager, Tunnel and Station Excavation, Sydney Metro Neil has managed communications and community activities on a range of infrastructure projects including the Northern Beaches B-Line, Kempsey Bypass and National Broadband Network rollout.

28 April 2020 - Dysphagia

Speaker - Dijana Dragicevich

What is Dysphagia? Dysphagia is derived from the Greek words phagia (to eat) and dys (with difficulty). It is difficulty getting food from mouth to stomach. Like breathing, swallowing is essential to everyday life. Humans swallow at between 500-700 times a day, around three times an hour during sleep, once per minute while awake and even more during meals. Around one million Australians have a swallowing difficulty. Swallowing problems can occur at any stage of life. However, the knowledge of dysphagia and its implications remain largely unknown for most Australians.

Dijana’s talk will answer the following questions:

What is Dsyphagia
What causes of Dysphagia
What is the anatomy of swallowing
What is a Normal Swallow
What is an Abnormal Swallow
What can go wrong?
What are the Consequences of Dysphagia
What is her research

14 April 2020 - Nusa Tenggaar (Timor) update

Speaker - Stephanie Heighes

North Sydney Sunrise Rotary Club sponsored the Nusa Tenggara Music and Dance Festival in West Timor. The presentation will cover

a Brief history of the NTA (Nusa Tenggara Association)
an update on the music festival
an update on what NTA is doing in response to covid19 in Flores and West Timor - educational awareness raising campaigns have been run with the local government and the ministry of health to educate people on covid19 in communities and schools. In schools the plan is to start a specific hygiene component with handwash-stations and general awareness raising
Questions and Answers

04 February 2020 - NBN Rollout

Speaker - Geeth Geeganage

NBN Co was established in 2009 to design, build and operate Australia’s wholesale broadband access network. Underpinned by a purpose to connect Australia and bridge the digital divide, nbn’s key objective is to ensure all Australians have access to fast broadband as soon as possible, at affordable prices, and at least cost.

To achieve this objective, nbn has been structured as a wholesale-only, open-access broadband network. nbn provides services on its local access network on equivalent terms to retail phone and internet providers, to provision for end-user needs. This is intended to level the playing field in Australian telecommunications, creating real and vibrant competition within the industry and providing choice for consumers.

This presentation will include:

What is the nbn™?
How does it impact your fixed line phone and internet connections?
What do you need to do to get connected?
How to avoid scam calls related to nbn

Geeth Geeganage currently represents nbn as a community ambassador. In his role, he is responsible for having conversations with a wide variety of community groups so as to help them better understand the nuances of nbn roll out.

15 January 2019 - 2018 Sydney to Hobart

Speaker - Lyndsay May

Lindsay May competed in his 46^th consecutive Sydney Hobart Yacht Race last December. A record for consecutive races. He navigated the classic 73 foot yawl Kialoa II (the line honours winner in 1971)

The 2018 edition was a straight forward Hobart with nor easterly breezes down the NSW and Tassie coast but at the bottom of Tasmania some of the yachts including Kialoa were battered with 60 knot gusts.

Lindsay will give an overview of the race illustrated by spectacular photographs from some of yachting’s best photographers.

Get Involved

Speakers

28 March 2023 - Dinner Meeting

Location - Kirribilli Club

04 April 2023 - How to connect security and recovery within a "new deal" for Ukraine

Mikhail Prokopenko

11 April - Housing as we age

Denise Tomlinson

18 April - Topic TBA

Speaker - TBA

25 April - Anzac Day

No Meeting

02 May - Sydney to Hobart Experiences

John Taylor

09 May - Therapy for kids

Kevin Rangi

16 May 2023 - Club Forum

23 May - Topic TBA

Speaker TBA

27 June 2023 - Club Forum

04 July 2023 - Changeover Dinner Meeting

Location - TBA

Previous Speakers

14 March 2023 - The Rotary Foundation

Mark Anderson

07 March 2023 - Manufacturing Snacks in Australia

Kurt Preshaw

28 February - The History of Australia through its Maps

Ian Burnet

21 February - Crows Nest Community Center

Denise Ward

14 February - North Sydney Council Sustainability Program

Daniella MacDowell

07 February - Scam Awareness

Dominic Trevor & Michael Alexander

31 January - Rotary Peace Scholar

Ana Prada

17 January 2023 - 2022 Sydney to Hobart

Lindsay May

13 December 2022 - Dinner meeting

Location - Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, Kirribilli

Please RSVP Andrew Young aaya09@gmail.com

06 December 2022 - Nusa Tengarra Update

Stephanie Heighes

29 November 2022 - Box Head Plastics

Bec Healy

22 November 2022 - Alzheimer’s research

Prof Ralph Martins

15 November 2022 - Phoenix House Breakfast

at Norths Leagues Club 7 AM

08 November 2022 - Savings Finder Program

Nerita Hammer

25 October 2022 - To be or not to be relevant

Carla Moore

11 October 2022 - Stroke Safe

Caleb Ferguson

18 October 2022 - World Poker Championship

Mark Staples

04 October 2022 - Juliette Tobias-Webb

20 September 2022 - Life at Greenway Kirribilli

Chris Ireland

30 August 2022 - An independent in Canberra

Kylea Tink

23 August 2022 - The Aussie Camino

Luke Keighery

16 August 2022 - Alfonso Calero

Shoot for the Stars

09 August 2022 - Jailing is Failing

Robert Tickner AO

02 August 2022 - North Sydney Demographics

Eric Poulos

26 July 2022 - Living well with Glaucoma

Gem Chew

19 July 2022 - Kakoda Veteran

Reg Chard

21 June 2022 - Club Health Check Discussion

Allen Colburt

14 June 2022 - Northsider

Anna Gordon

31 May 2022 - North Sydney Community Strategic Plan

***Please RSVP Andrew Young* *aaya09@gmail.com***