Last year’s Rotary theme was “Unite For Good” and one way of interpreting this was to work with our cluster club partners with social activities and projects. We have an association with the Rotary Club of Kew, and we have continued that this year with them supporting our trivia night, and therefore us supporting theirs and also collaborating with the film night. On 20 September we will have a combined ceremony at Victoria Park to celebrate International Day of Peace at the site of our peace poles and then continue to the Harp Hotel for lunch.
Another collaboration is with the Rotary Club of Balwyn and the Camberwell Market, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary., Balwyn Rotary will be having a celebratory dinner on 22 September and there is a flyer in our bulletin. Please support Balwyn and the market by booking a table.
This week we also collaborated with the Maling Road Traders Association at the Auto Classico event and this proved to be extremely successful. There were thousands of people admiring the amazing cars, we handed out maps and people recognised the Rotary brand and donated to our club. Hopefully we will be able to be involved next year and hopefully we will involve more members. It was a fun day.
The big event of course coming up very soon is the generational debate at Auburn Bowls Club on 14 September, and this will be proceeded by a barbecue at Keiser in Malvern two days earlier. All of these events are fundraising which allows us to donate to the projects of our choice. Please book for the debate, and don’t leave it until the last minute
In other Rotary news, the proposal for redistricting has passed.
There is a lot happening in our club and hopefully you are finding this interesting and stimulating. We are always up for ideas as to how to make your involvement in the club a better one.
David Bastian conducts courses in health and well-being for sporting clubs and other institutions. From his mini version of this, his goal has been to learn how to look after yourself, friends and colleagues, as well as members of your family.
He began with the Mental Health Continuum Model, which begins with most positive to experiencing mental illness. He outlined the symptoms, which included insomnia. David also added that there is a link between thoughts, feelings and emotions. Put simply, positive thoughts propel us forward.
The people surrounding a person experiencing mental decline should note changes, looking for patterns or trends is extremely important. They respond differently to the different changing circumstances. Supporting people in need is significant.
One tip which David gave us, which is the beginning step to a mental wellness plan is to book a long session with the GP, respond to the questions asked, and then to attend sessions with a trained health professional- up to eight sessions. This presentation showed us David's skills in enabling doors to open up for better mental health.
Murray Verso was the End Polio Now Coordinator for Zone 8 (Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific countries) from 2022 until June 2025. He has been, and still is, a Member of the Polio Eradication Advocacy Task Force for Australia since 2022.
Murray was the lead facilitator to train End Polio Coordinators from around the world at the Global Philanthropy Seminar held at Rotary headquarters in Evanston, USA, in April 2025.
He joined the Rotary Club of Williamstown, Victoria in 1981 and has served the club in many capacities, including two terms as club president (1986-1987 and 2008-2009).
He is a Past Governor of District 9800 (2014-2015) in Melbourne and Central Victoria, and he is a past chair of the District 9800 Rotary Foundation Committee (2019-2022). He is also the District’s Council on Legislation Representative (2020-2026) and represented the district at the COLs held in Chicago in 2022 and in April 2025.
Murray has served as an Assistant Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator (2015-2018) and as an RI President’s Representative at district conferences in New Zealand and Western Australia. He was a member of the Host Organising Committee for the RI Convention held in Melbourne in May 2023.
Murray is a Major Donor to the Rotary Foundation and is a member of the Foundation’s Bequest Society and District 9800’s Paul Harris and PolioPlus Societies. He is a recipient of the Rotary Foundation’s Citation for Meritorious Service.
Below is one of the raffle prizes for the Debate Night - A VOLKL Primo Duffle Bag. We are looking for donations of small sports items to help fill the bag: Tennis balls, toy soccer balls, mini footballs, mini basketballs and similar. If you can help, please contact Ross Merolli.
Tuesday 8 September – St. Leonard’s College 163 South Road, BRIGHTON EAST
Setup at 11.15pm in Gym Hall – RC members from Hampton & Brighton North X 4 will assist.
Event 1 – 2.30pm then pack up
Thursday 17 September – Scotch College - 1 Morrison Street, HAWTHORN
60 students – 3 hours
Setup 9.15am in student cafeteria – students will assist.
Event 10 – 11.45 and 12.45– 2.15 pm then pack up
Still awaiting confirmation of venue for ROTARACT CLUB AT MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY being supported by RC Melbourne - 60 students Setup at 4.15 pm event 5.30 – 7 pm on Tuesday 29 September 2026
The Canterbury Rotary Club lunch group usually meets bi-weekly at 12.30 for a meal and some fun.
David Zrna looks after the reservations for the lunch group. Please contact David at david.zrna@canterburyrotary.org or on 0467033092 to advise that you will be coming to a lunch.
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