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Below you will find some of the highlights of our Club's activities over the last six months or so. If you need additional details, please check the Club Bulletins.
Knitting and Crochet group: This small but close knit group meets monthly at the home of one of the members of the group. New members are welcome to join the group for a BYO lunch with the hostess provided tea and coffee. Between the members there is over 100 years of experience so if you have problem with a knitting or crochet article, they will almost certainly be able to help with a solution.
October meeting: The webmaster was on holidays for the September meeting so there is no report for that month.
There were only 64 at today's meeting - how many forgot to advance their clocks for daylight saving? At the meeting our latest inductee - Pam - was welcomed to the Club. Pam has many interests but to these she is adding Probus Burwood East. Welcome Pam.
Our outstanding speaker was Dr Greg Moore, past Director of what we all remember as the Burnley Agricultural College but now the School of Agriculture, Food and Ecoscience. Now retired from academia, but still very active, Dr Moore outlined the devestating effects of climate change due to global warming that are already being felt but which will be much greater unless urgent steps are taken to mitigate and reverse the effects of increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the oceans. The most effective and least expensive mitigant is the preservation and the extension of tree canopy cover.
Whilst many countries and councils have introduced the aim of achieving 30% canopy cover, few have been able to reach this once canopy has been removed. He also discussed a new urban planning benchmark - the 3:30:300 design. This means that for human health and welfare and to reduce the urban heat island effect, everyone should be able to see 3 trees from their home, live with 30% canopy cover and live within 300 metres of treed green space. An excellent presentation from an expert in the field.
Our latest member, Pam watching to see that our Membership manager, Bev, is reading the list of Pam's current interests correctly!
Dr Greg Moore spoke to the now widely recognised fact that climate change and global warming are indeed occurring and the important role that trees play in mitigating their effects.
Trips and Tours: The October trip saw a large party avail themselves of the $5.50 return ticket to Geelong visit the Geelong gallery where 'The best of the Archibald portraits' were on show. They portraits covered a wide range of styles with a significant number of self-portraits. The levels of technical skill demonstrated in some of the portraits was truly astounding.
Arriving at 10am, and leaving for lunch at midday, many of us had not completed the in-depth viewing that some would have preferred. And none of us picked the winner!
Those staying for lunch moved to Davidson restaurant, a training school for the hospitality industry attached to the Gordon Institute.
Another great outing Jim.
October Walking Group: It was a return visit to Jells Park for the walkers (13) and their dogs (3) - difficult to know who gets the greater pleasure.
Despite Jells Park being a regular walking area for us, our leader Kevin had found a brand new walk only opened by Parks Victoria in the last couple of months. The new trail has obviously had some significant money spent on it and the result is a very rewarding 90 minute loop starting from the rear of Caulfield Grammar School. Then of course, coffee at the restaurant finishing up with a picnic lunch. Indifferent weather but that does not deter enthusiastic walkers!
And dogs make three extra...they love a walk in Jells Park!
November meeting: A great get-together on Melbourne Cup eve. It is our good fortune to meet on the first Monday of the month so our meeting often coincides with the day before the Big Race Day and many members take the opportunity to dress appropriately. And of course there are prizes - Best Dressed Filly, Best Hat and Best Dressed Stallion. Many members were very inventive with their raiment!
Our speaker, Ian Marchment, had been warned what to expect when he entered the meeting.
Ian's presentation was a fascinating one - the played by the RAAF and the American airforce during WW2 and the base on Hook Island. Hook Island is just off Cape York and it was designated as a RAAF base to protect Port Moresby and to attack the Japanese on the north side of New Guinea and in particular, the large Japanese base at Lae. Being so close to the front line, the base was a frequent site of bombing by the enemy airforce. As Ian pointed out, Hook Island was the second most bombed site in Australia after Darwin.
Ian's presentation was based upon the recollections, photos and documentation in the possession of his late father who served with the RAAF on Hook Island.
Today, little remains to show what a vital base the site was during the war.
Ian Marchment and his presentation on the RAAF base on Hook Island during WW2.
Well you might think that Andrianna and Bev had won a prize...but not this year.
Best outfit won by Margot, here with President Sandy.
Best hat award to Kaye. To see the hat at its best, it was best viewed from behind.
Best dressed stallion to Jim for the second year in a row. And another excellent fascinator in the background too.
November Walkaway: Walkaway signals the end of the walking group activities for the year. This year the organisers - Kevin and Robert - excelled themselves and 22 members attended the three day event on the Mornington Peninsula. We stayed at the Rosebud motel and ventured out each day after a generous breakfast provided by Sue, Jeanette, Kevin and Robert at the motel's camp kitchen. After happy hour and a barbecue evening meal on Sunday night and a great get-together of the members it was late to bed despite an early start on Monday.
Despite the dreary weather every-one was at the Quarantine station at the Point Nepean National Park on time. An unexpected pop-up coffee caravan served by Chrissy provided great coffee before we started the tour with our superb guide and raconteur, Clive. We heard all the history of the establishment of the quarantine station starting in the 1850s - how passengers were 'processed' and the measures undertaken to prevent contagion and to treat the sick coming off the sailing ships arriving with 1000s of passengers arriving in Melbourne, especially after the gold rushes began.
After lunch - in a brief sunny spell - it was off to the fort on Point Nepean, built to repel a Russian invasion during the Crimean campaign!
Tuesday was impacted by severe storms and hail so we all spent the morning in the Coppin restarant on Sorrento back beach. With finer weather in the afternoon we all ventured out to take the millionaires walk on the Sorrento clifftops overlooking Port Phillip Bay followed by the famour Sorrento vanilla slices. Dinner at the Rye RSL was a great success.
Wednesday morning was a very enjoyable walk along the Capel Sound shore enjoying fine sunny weather ... a fitting end to another excellent Walkaway.
The early arrivals at the quarantine station were the first to be served excellent coffee by Chrissy in the permanent pop-up coffee shop. The late comers were well-served too.
The famous 'Triconderoga' memorial stone. It commemorates the first ship to disembark passengers at the quarantine station in 1852. The final death toll from typhus was 178 from a passenger complement of 700.
The boiler room at the quarantine station. It provided steam to fumigate the clothes, possessions and mail of passengers passing into quarantine for their 40 day stay before they could progress to Melbourne.
Our excellent guide, Clive, discussing the fort at Point Nepean and the other forts established along the line of the South Channel to prevent invasion by a Russian fleet. These two naval guns have particular historical significance related to both WW1 and WW2.
November Trips and Tours: an excellent choice for the last event for 2025 - a pleasant drive to Mt Evelyn and the famous nursery dedicated exclusively to native Australian plants, Kurange Nursery. Most of us had not heard of this famous nursery but we know it now! With many 100s of native plants and very reasonable prices, this is the place for those hard to get indigenous plants and of course, the more common plants for your native garden.
Lunch was at the restaurant attached to the nursery - the Paperbark cafe. This provided excellent food and very good coffee.
All in all, an excellent selection by our Trips and Tours co-ordinator, Jim.
The photo shows about 10% of the nursery. In addition to the plants on sale, the area surrounding the sale area is a beautifully planted native garden with lots of ideas on how to utilize native plants - ground covers, shrubs and trees, if you have the space.
Just a few of our members selecting plants for purchase or perhaps pots for purchase.
November Dine Out: A big turn up, as always, for the lunch at the refurbished Box Hill RSL club. Mind you - refurbishment was scarcely required for this elegant venue. A excellent value Seniors menu and an even better a la carte menu plus a great selection of good wines. I enjoyed an excellent Italian prosecco. For the last dine out for the year, just another successful choice by our co-ordinators Dennis and Jill.
Just a few of the many who gathered at the Box Hill RSL club for lunch. Dennis is returning to his chair after thanking members for their strong support of the 2025 dining out program. Every-one is looking forward to next year!
Christmas Lunch: Over 70 of our members gathered at The Village Green Hotel, Mulgrave for this year's final event for 2025, our Christmas lunch.
This year we enjoyed a substantial festive buffet lunch of an excellent standard - roast meats, fish, roast vegetables and salads followed by traditional desserts.
Congratulations to our Vice President, Robert for all the organisation that made for problem-free planning and a great day. The format had the additional benefit in that is ensured more mingling and lots of chat!
Robert expressed his gratitude to the unfailingly helpful Village Green staff. This has set the standard for next year and the expectation is that we will return in 2026.
During lunch we made use of the big screen for a revolving slideshow of all our activities for 2025. A great way to see just how much we did and our thanks to all the convenors of the programs.
President's Picnic and Barbecue: Our first official activity for the year is the traditional picnic and barbecue. This year we made use of the excellent facilities at Valley Reserve, Mount Waverley. As usual the Walking group assembled at 11am for a short walk through Valley Reserve and Scotchmans Creek Reserve. It was a great get-together as everyone caught up with each other's activities over the Christmas/New Year break.
The early-bird walkers in Valley Reserve getting an appetite the President's picnic.
February Meeting: A great turn-out for the first meeting of 2026 and in our 27th year, soon to be celebrated at our birthday lunch at the April meeting.
We welcomed two new members - Judy and Wendy. We hope they will avail themselves of all that our Probus Club has to offer. Wendy said that she had been overwhelmed by the welcome she had received already and that was just as a visitor!
And the Invited Speaker program also got off to a great start with an excellent and enthusiatic speaker from 'Cottage by the Sea' - Donna Campesi. The organisation has been in existence for over a centuary having been founded as an off-shoot of the same organisation in the UK. Whilst the 'parent' ceased to function several decades ago, its 'offspring' in Queenscliff is thriving. They provide social and psychological support for children and young teenagers via short stays at the Cottage. The staff provide children with opportunities to build positive relationships with peers and with adult role models, helping them to learn and grow when they return to their schools and communities. Cottages by the Sea receive no government funding but are entirely dependant upon charitable donations.
Donna delivered an inspiring talk on the role of this important organisation that supports thousands of children every year. Donna said her speaker's honorarium will go straight to the organisation. Many members made donations at the end of her presentation.
Our new members, Wendy (left) and Judy (right) with our membership manager, Bev.
Our dynamic speaker and the ambassador for Cottage by the Sea, Donna Campesi (right) with President Sandy.
Walking Group: An excellent day for our February walk after the preceeding week of 30 degree days. A balmy 23 degrees and a soft cool breeze from the south may for an joyous walk, and along a new route (For us) from the Jells Park carpark off Ferntree Gully Rd, and onto the Dandenong Valley trail. Walking south, we passed under Ferntree Gully Rd and found ourselves skirting the Mulgrave wetlands and the Dandenong wetlands. Despite the long period of high temperatures, there was still water in the wetlands and some waterfowl. The walking was so pleasant that 80 minutes passed before we even thought of turning back for lunch at Jells Park.
It happened to be Darryl's birthday so there was a reason for a small celebration. Unforunately several of our number, plus one dog, had to leave immediately we turned...they missed out on the cake.
Morning Coffee: The monthly morning coffee group has moved to an excellent coffee shop on the second floor of Forest Hill Chase shopping centre The Moon and Spoon.
We are also meeting a little later than previously, at 10.30. This makes it easier to get the morning chores done and the dog walked so you feel you actually deserve a good coffee and a sticky bun. Please join us for a catch-up on the third Tuesday of the month.
February Gardening Group: Our first gathering for 2026 at Bunnings Box Hill South. Our Gardening Gure was in great form after the drenching rain of the previous few days. As Peter said "Watering keeps plants alive but rain makes them thrive." Peter emphasised the vital importance of heavy mulching to reduce the evaporative effects of long dry spells such as we have recently experienced. He is particularly enthusiastic about sugar cane mulch. Additionally, there are optimal times for watering - early morning and late in the afternoon but being careful not to overwater.
Peter and Joan had a good year with tomatoes in pots this summer. To defeat the birds and rodents, pick them when they have just a little colour and ripen them on the window sill. Harvest them with a short length of the stem attached. To a question on blossom end rot - this is due to a calcium deficiency and can be corrected with an appropriate tomato fertilizer.
Peter had lots of valuable hints with the arrival of autumn and we hope, continuing rain. That said, Peter is keen on succulents given the drying of our climate. These will do well either in the garden or in pots and they provide a colourful display. Frangipani are another option for a drying climate. These can be grown in pots using an orchid mix.
Lemons in large pots - these are too heavy to lift so refresh the potting mix by removing the top 8-10cm and top up with a good quality potting mix. This needs to be repeated every two years. For patios, dwarf lemons are a good alternative to the Meyer lemon.
And these are our winners from the raffle - Helen, Campbell and Michael. The plants are grown by Peter and Joan who also prepares the presentation boxes with four plants in each box. As always - beautiful presentations Joan.
March Meeting: March is our Annual General Meeting when all the members of the committee of management step down from their positions and the election of the new committee takes place. This year we thanked Anne who stepped down after a great job as the Welfare Officer and Jim who relinquished the role of Trips and Tours co-ordinator, each of whom were in the roles for several years. We welcomed back Vivienne in the welfare role. As usual, the Past President stepped down from his ex officio role and we welcomed Rob as our new President and Kaye as our new Vice President.
As is usual with the AGM, the invited speakers were two members of our Club who spoke about their life's experience, and fascinating insights they provided.
Our new committee: left to right: Kaye (Vice President), Rob (President), Campbell (behind, Invited Speakers), Sandy (Past President), Murray (Treasurer), Michael (in front, Bulletin editor), Nellie (Club Services), Bev (Membership), Jan (Secretary). Missing: Vivienne (Members Welfare)
Walking Group: It was a perfect day to enjoy the outdoors. Unfortunately four of our regulars were unable to attend so we missed out on their company and the company of two dogs as well! Tiffy was very upset not to have her usual play companions.
Sunny with a refreshing breeze, we took the Dandenong Creek walk north from Sheepherds Bush as far as the Bushy Park wetlands. Surrounded by green underfoot and overhead, under blue sky it was a delight just to enjoy the open air. Unfortunately being a public holiday we had the step off the trail regularly due to the cry of "Bike!"
The walkers plus one behind the camera.
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