HISTORY SNAPSHOT OF
THE ROTARY CLUB OF PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
The founding of Rotary on 23rd February 1905 in
Chicago, was followed by the movement becoming International in the Rotary
year of 1911/12 with the founding of a Club in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
The first Australian Clubs were the Melbourne Club (on 21st
April 1921) and the Sydney Club (on 7th May 1921).
It was not until 1926 that Perth was visited by the Special
Commissioner for Australia, Professor W. T. Osborne of Melbourne. Twenty
five leading citizens of Perth were invited to be inaugural members and the
first luncheon was held on 1st September 1926. The founding
President was Sir William Lathlain, a major Retailer in Perth and Mayor of
Perth from 1919 – 1923.
At a meeting on 22nd April 1927 the Club President
Sir William Lathlain, presented a cable from Chicago dated 20th
April 1927, which read as follows:
“Perth Club elected member Interotary April Fifteenth Number
Twenty Five Thirty Nine Congratulations.”
By 1928 all seventeen Clubs in Australia had become District
65 with Fred Birks of the Rotary Club of Sydney as the first District
Governor.
The second President of the Rotary Club of Perth, Sinclair
McGibbon, became District Governor of the 65th District in 1932 –
33.
Thus began the work of Service above Self in Western
Australia, with over 1200 members passing through the ranks of the Rotary
Club of Perth to the present membership level of 120 business women and men.
Since then the State of Western Australia has Clubs from
Derby to Kununurra in the North to Albany in the South and the State has
seen the formation of three Districts 9450 (Perth Club is in this District),
9460 and 9470.
District 9450 has 41 Clubs with a total membership of 1241 as
at February 2001. The District Governor is as member of Port Hedland Club
which is approx 1700 road kms from Perth.
THE
ROTARY CLUB OF PERTH , WESTERN AUSTRALIA
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Peter Pan Statue & Wishing
Wells
Perth Medical School |
A Gala Dinner was held in April 2002 to
celebrate the 75th Birthday of the Perth Rotary Club, with
the Governor of Western Australia and Rotary Dignitaries in attendance.
The celebration of 75 years of Rotary in
Western Australia recalled the many Club initiatives, with pride of
place being Rotary’s involvement in 1954/55 with the establishment of
the Perth Medical School. Previously all medical training was conducted
interstate or overseas.
On the International
scene, since 1978 the Club has been involved in the hosting of 36
overseas students and the sending of 37 Australian students overseas.
As another International initiative the
Rotary Club of Perth organised a project in Bangladesh to introduce a
Cyclone Early Warning System in an endeavor to save lives from the
effects of cyclones.
The project involved funds raised by the
Club and matching Grants from the Rotary Foundation and the Australian
Government. Management of the project was undertaken by the Rotary Club
of Dhaka.
In recent years the Club has established
(in partnership with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul) a centre in
Perth supporting youth from the streets. This house is named Bendat
House and was officially opened by Rotary International World President
James Lacey in 1999.
The Rotary Club of Perth has a sister
relationship with the Rotary Club of Singapore. |
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Cyclone Early Warning System |
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Passages Project – Bendat
House |
ROTARY RETURNS TO CHINA
(Main article appears in The Rotarian
and Rotary Down Under April 2002)
"When Rotarian Hermann G. Heid, then Vice President of RC
Hong Kong, visited our club in 1996, he lobbied - as he had done many
times with other Rotary Clubs - then President David Reed for support in
his efforts to re-establish Rotary in China. Specifically, Hermann
wanted to establish the Rotary Club of Beijing.
While carefully trying to avoid collision with existing
written and unwritten Chinese Laws and Regulations on the one hand and
not to break any Rotary Rules, Heid knew that he needed to rally support
from as many Rotary corners as he could find. One of his strategies was
to have Rotarians and Rotary clubs from around the world lobby at RI
Headquarters for approval of a chartered Rotary Club. |
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THE ROTARY CLUB OF PERTH , WESTERN
AUSTRALIA
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Hermann Heid, on behalf of RC Perth, presents
PP Percy Chu the PHF needle and medal.
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David Reed immediately appointed then
International Director Maurice Rousset to liaise with Hermann Heid. In
1997 Hermann's fledging "Beijing Fellowship Group of Rotarians", as it
was called then, honored the oldest living Rotarian, Past President
Percy Chu of Rotary Club Shanghai (1934/35) at his 100th birthday. Percy
had been introduced to Hermann by David Reed. The Rotary Clubs Perth and
Hong Kong both awarded PP Percy Paul Harris Fellowships at the birthday
event.
RC Perth also arranged for Hermann to
find a link to ROTARY DOWN UNDER which published several
articles and information about the China efforts in its magazine. And
through the introduction of RC Perth Hermann was introduced to the newly
elected RI Director Dr. Ken Collins who ultimately became a vital
supporter in Evanston of the Beijing Fellowship Group
When Hermann Heid left Beijing in 1999
he became a member of the Rotary Club Perth. Even though physically
removed from China he continued his vigorous efforts to see that the
Beijing efforts remained on the agenda of Rotary International. In the
process he met and pleaded with many leading RI Directors and
Presidents. The break-through for recognition of the China groups within
Rotary came when Bhichai Rattakul was nominated to become RI President
(2002-2003). Hermann had built a solid relationship with Bhichai when he
was Chairman of Rotary's Asia Extension Committee.
In November 2000 a high ranking RI
delegation, consisting of three RI Presidents - Frank Devlyn, Rick King
and Bhichai Rattakul - accompanied by several RI Directors, including
Ken Collins of Perth, and the General Secretary of Rotary International,
Ed Futa, visited China and met with Chinese leaders. It was then that
Hermann Heid knew that the return of Rotary to China was imminent.
Upon return to Rotary Headquarters and
intensive deliberations the RI board unanimously extended "provisional"
status to the Rotary groups in Beijing and Shanghai. In June 2001 both
Chinese cities once again have Rotary Clubs (Provisional). Full
chartering is expected once the Chinese government has passed laws
governing non-governmental organisations.
For his work for the return of Rotary to
China Hermann was made a lifetime honorary member of the RC Beijing and
he received a PHF from RC Hong Kong."
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RI Presidents Rick King &
Frank Devlyn listen to Hermann Heid in Beijing in November 2000
RI
President Frank Devlyn addresses the Beijing Fellowship Group during his
visit to
Beijing in November 2000. From left: Jens Dreier, President 2001/02,
Hermann Heid, President 1996/1999, Russ Miller, President 2000/01 |
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Official Rotary Dinner with
Chinese government. L>R: Hermann & Connie Heid, Rick King, PDG (D3450)
Dom Vessigault, Danish Ambassador Rtn Christopher Bramsen |
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