THE Rotary Club of Taree celebrated its 75th anniversary with style and distinction at Club Taree last Friday night.
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The evening was enhanced by the presence of a visiting 11 person delegation from its sister club in Okayama, Japan.
Taree Rotary Club president, David Fisher said the visit by Japanese Rotarians was a great honour for the club, and members greatly enjoyed taking them on a tour of the Manning Valley during their short stay.
“We took our special guests on a tour of our local area. We toured Wingham, Krambach, Tinonee, Hallidays Point, Forster and Harrington. We also took them to see the koala park on their way to the Port Macquarie airport on Sunday,” David said.
More than 140 people attended the dinner on Friday night, including Rotarians from Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Lismore and other surrounding clubs. Special guests included mayor Paul Hogan, several past district governors and the former leader of the National Party, Ian Sinclair.
Speeches reflected on the club’s proud history in the Taree community over the past 75 years and its contribution to the local community both in monetary terms of millions of dollars and in terms of tens of thousands of hours of community service.
“Paul and Ian spoke very highly of the work Rotary does for youth in Australia,” David said.
“They have both been a long time supporters of Rotary activities. Ian was our keynote speaker and he was very inspiring. He spoke very highly of the work Rotary does for youth within our community.”
Rotary International was formed in Chicago in 1905 and was established in Australia in 1921. Taree Rotary was formed in 1937.
In keeping with Rotary tradition, each new club is sponsored by an existing club, in Taree’s case this was the Rotary Club of Newcastle.
“It was great to have several guests from the Rotary Club of Newcastle to mark our club’s milestone. Along with Newcastle and Armidale, Taree Rotary is one of the oldest clubs in Australia.”
The need for ongoing renewal and commitment to the rotary ideal of ‘Service above Self’ was restated with enthusiasm by all present.
“We are proud of our achievements and we are proud that after 75 years our membership continues to increase,” David said.
The Rotary Club of Taree looks forward to serving the Manning community with humility and distinction for another 75 years.
