Oh lord and giver of all good, we praise thee for our daily food.
May Rotary Friends and Rotary ways help us to serve thee all our days.
No Meetings due to COVID-19 restrictions,
PLEASE REMEMBER TO ADVISE MARIE ROTHE OF APOLOGIES (MEMBERS) AND ATTENDANCES (FRIENDS/PARTNERS) EACH WEEK (Mob: 0411 524 156)
Presidents Message
There have been several happenings over the last week.
The Annual Report is ready to be distributed, I will send out an electronic copy soon and then a hard copy will be available after Barossa Rental Specialists (Lisa) print them on their laser printer. I will also put a copy in the Documents section of the Web pages.
We had a board meeting on Tuesday to discuss how we can get back to normal meetings and at what cost. As a result of that meeting, Sue will be negotiating with the Clubhouse to develop a plan to get us back together again. I am waiting on Sues’ negotiation outcome before we bring the next step options to the members.
The cost of being a Rotarian was also considered by the Board and some possibilities in cost-saving have been proposed, but once again, depending on the negotiation outcomes, the options that will be available will be put to the members.
I have prepared a Members Directory which shows phone numbers and email addresses in a handy little booklet. I print it on my inkjet printer, on Double-Sided print, assemble the 3 pages, staple them and then cut the sheets in half to produce 2 booklets. This makes the booklet a quarter of the size of an A4 sheet. I can send the file to you with instructions and if you have a printer that can print double-sided then it is easy to produce the booklet, Note: Inkjet printers are not waterproof. The ink will run if it gets wet. If you leave a booklet in your shirt pocket and it goes in the wash you will have multi-coloured clothes and an irate Laundry Officer.
On August 13th we will be having the official visit from DG David Jones and AG Craig Dowling. If we are back at the Clubhouse it will be face to face, otherwise, it will be via Zoom. David would like to meet the Board at 5:00 and attend our meeting at 7:00 PM. Please make a note in your diary, and Team Leaders please prepare a brief report of your plans for 2020-21.
Letter from Peter to the Troglodytes of New Silesia during the “isolation” …..
Fancy an adventure to an ancient land … and not need to travel out of your comfort zone of South Australia ? Then head north a couple of hundred kilometres to the start of our Flinders Ranges. Our recent trip included an over-night in Peterborough with enough history of rail, gold discovery and early German settlement to keep you there for a couple of days (not this time for us as we’re old visitors to the town). Through Orroroo (good butcher shop and, if you ring ahead, have a cuppa and scones with Darryl and Leonora), then onwards to Hawker via Carrieton and Craddock. Hasn’t rained much up here since September last; dry then, too. Our Station Stay is on the Gill’s Mern Merna, some 40 Km north of Hawker at their Johnson Cottage just another hop up the road at base of the western side of Wilpena Pound as the crow flies. Private space, views forever, wonderous skies, our haven for the next few days. Oh yes, and a queen-sized bed.
Ahhh! The sunrise predicts a great day on offer. North to Parachilna … pub still closed but enough to peruse at the tourist bay; lots of info about fossils of which I’m very familiar. Not having a go, mind. The area is the location of the discovery of Ediacara …. first multicellular lifeform. SA is famous for it; Worth a google Onwards and eastwards through Flinders-typical landscapes of gorges, dry creeks and escarpments; about an hour to Blinman. Interesting town. Its history contains much of the successes in opening of SA’s fledgling colony together with the hardships and failures as encountered in many outback areas. Touring the Wheal Mine (1862-1907) and its history will give you some insight to the deprivations encountered in the area. The nearby Nucaleena Mine commenced in 1859. Mining for copper was an invaluable boon here and elsewhere and in fact saved the Colony from certain demise.
Our ol’ Barossa mate, Johann Menge scratched around in the general area as he had been made Mines and Quarry Agent for the SA Company. He also had input into the Kapunda and Burra copper mines. Time for a quick Pub lunch, a bit of yarning (at a distance) then back to our digs via Glass Gorge and the most photographed piece of winding road in the area’s tourist brochures. Around the 2 metre firepit, a glass or two of the do-ings and watch the stars come into focus as the sun finally dips its last pink hue. Just as well the brother and sister-in-law are with us …. too much space and quiet (not to mention the red wine), for just two. Tomorrow it’s a 4-hour hike through the ranges of MT Aleck (at the back door). Breathtaking views from up here at the turn-around-point. Out to the west the flatness of Lake Torrens. South-east, the Elder Range. North, the general area of St.Mary’s Peak. Back to base via a meandering creek cut through deep silt, coloured clays and ancient riverbed. I’ve been told not to fossick as is my want, but old habits take over and the would-be geologist collects another wonder. Something akin to an emu’s egg in size, but black as hades and heavy as lead. Meteorite ? I wish … could be Leverite … “leave ‘er right there” more like it !
Sputnik orbited over these skies in 1957. Tonight, there are countless satellites criss-crossing the sky. Many shooting stars, an extraordinary burst of incandescence as a piece of space junk burns-up on its way to the horizon. Brachina Gorge tomorrow with a loop home via Hookina. The last night will be the realization that it’ll be hard to leave this place. The hosts have put much effort into ambience and comfort. Nice people to boot But the next few days in Wilmington look promising. The rain overnight has been welcomed by all around ; only 5 ml but the freshness of the darker ground and rinsed vegetation speaks of the country’s gratitude. Coffee and supplies via Quorn; next stop Stoney Creek Bush Camp. Nice open-plan caravan sites amongst eucalypts and native pine; Stoney Creek running alongside. We’re in a donga with ensuite. Brother-in-law has the caravan next to a firepit. Another night, another wine, more grey nomads with whom to spruik and brag about experiences both new-found and “done-that”. Between Wilmington and Melrose, some 30+ km away, there are many adventures or relaxing times to be had. Walk Alligator Gorge, climb Mount Maria and the Land Rover & Toy Museum will keep you out of the pub for a couple of days. Again, the history of the area is prominent in the new Colony’s establishment. Another of Barossa’s sons in John Howard Angus (son of George Fife), was the first landholder around newly opened lands near Mount Remarkable. He also acquired Wirrealpa (near Leigh creek) and further property around Clare, Roseworthy and Lake Alexandrina. He too, progressed further south with land-holdings ; below the Goyder line at Willochra Creek. You’ve much to enjoy on your way home from here…. Towns like Laura, Gladstone, Clare, Auburn, Nuriootpa……. Oh, back already. Go North for a golden adventure.
The Rotary International Foundation supports education through scholarships, donations, and service projects around the world
More than 775 million people over the age of 15 are illiterate. That’s 17 percent of the world’s adult population.
Our goal is to strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and increase adult literacy. We support education for all children and literacy for children and adults.
Rotary members make amazing things happen, like:
Opening schools: In Afghanistan, Rotary members opened a girls’ school to break the cycle of poverty and social imbalance.
Teaching adults to read: Rotary members in the United States partnered with Pro Literacy Detroit to recruit and train tutors after a study showed that more than half of the local adult population was functionally illiterate.
New teaching methods: The SOUNS program in South Africa, Puerto Rico and the United States teaches educators how to improve literacy by teaching children to recognize letters by sounds instead of names.
Making schools healthy: Rotarians are providing clean, fresh water to every public school in Lebanon so students can be healthier and get a better education.
When you teach somebody how to read, they have that for a lifetime. It ripples through the community, one by one.
HOW ROTARY MAKES HELP HAPPEN
We take action to empower educators to inspire learning at all ages.
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