Brief histories of the "australiaclubs.org" Clubs

Rotary Club of Adelaide

Rotary International District 9500

The Rotary Club of Adelaide was formed at a meeting chaired by the Extension Officer (Southern Australia), Professor Osborne, Charter President of the Rotary Club of Melbourne, on the 24th August 1923. There were eleven present and four apologies. Action followed rapidly with the first luncheon held in the South Australian Hotel one week later on Friday 31st August 1923. The Club’s Charter was not signed by the RI President until 4th February 1924, making it the fifth Rotary Club to be chartered in Australia. There were 23 Charter members, with George McEwin, a solicitor, the first President and Rupert P Haynes, Secretary. Emphasis in the early years of the Club was upon membership and fellowship with 80 proposal cards issued in the first 19 months. As can be seen from the following, the Club grew rapidly. 1923 – 23 members; 1929 – 99; 1955 –132; 1976 – 194; 1985 – 227; 1994 – 215; 2000 – 222 and 2002 – 212.. Alongside this growth, the Club sponsored 14 other Clubs. There have been just over 1,250 members of the Club to date, with an average of about 20-25 inducted each year, just to maintain our membership level. Despite its isolation from other Rotary Clubs, the new RC of Adelaide developed the Rotary Spirit in a thorough and well-organised manner, which it still maintains. It was at an ‘unofficial’ Conference held in Adelaide in 1927 that the recommendation to RI was made to form a District in Australia. This followed in September when one Australian District, 65, was formed. From that time the RC of Adelaide has, in turn, been part of Districts 64, 33, 250, 950 and currently 9500. Eight members of the Club have been District Governors. Since the early 1930s every State Governor has been an Honorary Member of the Club. During the early years much support was given to issues concerning the education and training of boys, while donations were given to the many Institutional Homes for Children. The Club was instrumental in getting the Crippled Children’s Association formed during the latter part of the 1930s, following the Infantile Paralysis epidemics of that era. For the next 40 years it strongly supported the Crippled Children’s Home through many donations and projects. Similarly it was the catalyst for the beginning of Senior Citizen activities in South Australia.

For the Golden Anniversary of RI in 1955 it raised money to build a wing for the Home for Incurables, while the Golden Anniversary of the Club in 1973 saw Rotary House built at the Helping Hand Centre for the elderly. During the Second World War an Advisory Service was organized for Defence personnel and their families, with over 5,000 queries processed. A Food Parcel programme for the UK was operated during the Post War period to the early 1950s. In more recent years the Club has created an impressive list of service to the Community and RI:- - Over $200,000 donated to the ARHRF (No 1 Club donor in Australia) - Over $2,000,000 distributed to a wide range of local community organizations - $41,000 raised for the RI Polio Plus programme - Sponsored 3 Interact Clubs - Hosts Exchange Students regularly - Young people sponsored for RYLA, RYPEN, Science Seminars and MUNA assemblies - 156 Paul Harris Fellows named by the Club or its members - Established a Rotary Companion Animal Centre at Wingfield in 1986 - Commenced Business-in-the-Community and Bridging the Gap in SA - Initiated ROMAC in SA and raised $33,000 towards medical treatment under this programme. - Provided thousands of hours of service to community groups through member participation. - Strong participation by members on District Committees. - Provided a weekly forum for over 3,000 speakers The Rotary Club of Adelaide is a proud Club, with a strong heritage and an enviable record of Rotary Service. The history of the Club is kept at the Rotary Club's Office, 1st Floor, 260 Currie St, Adelaide SA 5000, and also at the Mortlock Library (a part of the South Australian Library)