A Brief History
Charter President Lloyd Worland
New Rotary Clubs are formed on the initiative of existing clubs and the need generally arises out of the growth of membership in an existing club or a growth of population in it area.
The population of the City of Frankston increased rapidly in the late 1960s and the early 1970s, and this was reflected in the growing number of members in the Rotary Club of Frankston and some adjacent areas. In 1972, the Rotary Club of Frankston recognised that the time had come for it to sponsor the creation of a new club, and to cede some of it’s club area to the new club.
The inaugural meeting (or interest meeting) of the new club was held on the 14 March, 1973 at the Sundowner Hotel, Seaford. It was attended by 27 people and was chaired by Past District Governor, John Emerton. Others present included District Governor George Allsop, President of the Rotary Club of Frankston Bruce Hall, the District Governor’s Special Representative Norm Arthur (Past President of the Rotary Club of Frankston) and a number of interested Rotarians from the Frankston Club.
The meeting unanimously resolved that a new club should be formed and that it should be known as the Rotary Club of Frankston North. In accordance with Rotary requirements, territorial limits were set, and these limits, as described in the ‘Intention to Cede’ papers proposed by the Rotary Club of Frankston, were accepted by the new club. The election of office bearers then took place and the following officers were appointed:
- Charter President: Lloyd Worland
- Charter Vice-President: Bob Dawson
- Charter Secretary: Lloyd Beard
- Charter Treasurer: Max Batey
The election of Directors was deferred for a few weeks to allow members time to get to know one another before making these decisions. It was decided that the weekly Club meetings would be held on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 pm.
The joining fees for the club would be $15 and the semi-annual membership dues would be $20. Perhaps also of interest are the minutes of this meeting that record that the meeting finished at 10 pm, and fitting manner continued ‘with excellent fellowship continuing on for some time after that’.
Full History Chronicle 1973– 2018
Peter Newman, Club Historian
The chronicle of the history of the Rotary Club of Frankston North has been obtained from various reports the club has published, including the President’s Annual Reports. This publication is not intended to be a comprehensive history of the club, I will leave that to others who in time may have the skill to research and collect all the information and data that is required for such an undertaking.
This chronicle highlights the commitment and achievements in five of the Avenues of Service enacted at the Council on Legislation in April 2010: Club, Vocational, Community, International and New Generations. The Council on Legislation 2013 changed the New Generations name back to Youth Services. It also includes The Rotary Foundation. Of course, when listing the achievements under the headings indicated, information has also been taken from Club Service, Fellowship, Membership, Fund Raising and Educational Trust reports. In 2007, a new ‘Leadership Plan’ was introduced into the Rotary Club of Frankston North and this is reflected in the reporting of activities from the Rotary year 2007/08. To include all the information presented in the yearly reports of the Club’s activities would have produced a document too large to read. From time to time it will be important to add further information, and some may wish to include additional activities to the various Rotary year entries.
An item that has been produced in a fair amount of detail is the club’s support for the three District Governors, Peter Newman (1994/95), David Louden (2004/05) and Tony Spring (2012/13), and the running of the District Conferences (refer to Annexes A, B and C). These are important years in the history of the club, and demonstrate the talent and, above all, commitment of the members and their partners to the tasks that were required. These District Conferences are highlights in the District calendar and were probably the best conferences run, judging from the accolades received and the regenerated spirits of Rotarians in the District. Following the first conference at Albury in 1995, other conferences have emulated the achievements of the Rotarians of Frankston North. This high standard was again achieved at Shepparton in 2005 and at Geelong in 2013. This, I believe, is a tribute to the dedication and talent of the members of Frankston North Rotary.
I can only hope that the information in the attached document demonstrates the commitment that this club and its members have made to the local and international community, showing ‘Service Above Self’ by helping others in the hope of lasting goodwill and peace in the interest of the world.
We have also been lucky enough to locate a copy of the archives for the Rotary Club of Frankston North from 1973 to 1980. These have been scanned and attached as a separate file.
PETER T. NEWMAN
President 1989/90
District Governor 1994/95
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