Our History

 

Rotary International is well known for the good the organisation does around the world, and local communities regularly support their local Rotary club when they run fund raising activities (sausage sizzles being the most well-known activity, but there many others).  However, the community often does not see the underlying reasons for being a Rotarian, nor the significant value that Rotary offers, both personally and across the broader community.  Having a local Rotary presence helps the community gain a better understanding, not just through community service and support, but also by spreading the fellowship, which is Rotary, and helping to connect the community. Being involved with Rotary provides the opportunity to do something for others and to experience the self-fulfilment that comes from the process. It is a richly rewarding activity. 

 

With this in mind, the need for a Rotary presence in the Greater Springfield area was conceived in early 2013.  Rotarians residing in the area and active in Rotary through other clubs nearby, saw the opportunity to have a more local Rotary presence. In particular formation of a Rotary Club in the Greater Springfield area was a long-time vision of Past District Governor Patrick McMonagle who was a member Goodna Rotary before becoming a Charter member of our club. Following an expression of interest meeting about Rotary (held in the Springfield Lakes Community Hall) in May 2013, with 18 people attending, the provisional club was sponsored by Goodna Rotary and officially Chartered as a full Rotary Club in April 2014, with 25 members (see below). Our initial meeting place was the Brookwater Golf and Country Club, kindly facilitated at no cost by Naren Sinnathamby, but a change in meeting night, to Thursdays, saw our meeting venue rotate through a number of local community venues, before returning to the Brookwater Golf Club from late 2013. We enjoyed this venue until early 2019 when we moved to our current meeting venue at AVEO in Springfield Central.

 

As the club found its feet during 2013, it kept busy with support for activities and programmes such as training workshops, A Little Ray of Giving initiative, ShelterBox Disaster Relief, and the Mens Shed.

 

The first project undertaken was the challenge to raise the A$1000 that would purchase a ShelterBox in support of international disaster relief. ShelterBox is Rotary’s International Partner for Disaster Relief. The fund raising was successful and as a result a ShelterBox was deployed to the Philippines in early 2014 following a significant earthquake.  The box provided an immediate home and basic living aids to a family whose home had been totally destroyed.

(More information on ShelterBox can be found at https://www.shelterboxaustralia.org.au/ )

 

Another early initiative in October 2013 saw members join with the Rotary Clubs of Brisbane Rocks Riverside and Brisbane Taylor Bridge to host a fund-raising Spring Ball which raised over $5000 in support of Australian Rotary Health.

(More information on Australian Rotary Health can be found at https://australianrotaryhealth.org.au/)

 

Also with the support of the Brookwater Golf and Country Club, we ran a Kids in Care Christmas Tree Appeal, donating all gifts collected to the Kids in Care Christmas Party at the Springfield Child Safety Service Springfield Tower headquarters in December 2013.

 

2014 saw the provisional Rotary meet the requirements of Rotary International to be chartered as a full Rotary Club, and the official chartering of the club by Rotary International took place on 12 April 2014 at the Brookwater Golf and Country Club.

 

Since our official charter in April 2014 we have continued to consolidate our presence in the community of Greater Springfield.  And we have been an active participant in many Rotary related activities of our Rotary District 9630, which geographical embraces Rotary clubs across the south side of Brisbane and South East Queensland, encompassing Kingaroy, Charleville, Hungerford, Durham Downs, Dirranbandi, Beenleigh, and everything in between.

 

At the age of 11, we are still young in comparison to many Rotary Clubs, however we have always been proud that we are frequently acknowledged for ‘punching above our weight’ as an active, vibrant and fun club that delivers valued community service, both locally and internationally.  And we acknowledge that we could not achieve this without the support of our community, both as individuals and through business partnerships.  Plus of course we are a small part of the global Rotary family with over 1.4 million members world-wide, who we can engage with, partner with, and learn from, as we ‘give a little back’.

 

(in alphabetical order)

 

Many stories relating to our activities over the past 11 years are available under our Media-News Release menu tab on our Home Page.

 

End.

your content here...