Historical Society markets last week
Barraba Rotary Club Message to our Community
It is highly likely that the Rotary Club of Barraba will cease to exist during this year. On the 20 August 1955 our Club began, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Manilla. So, our Club has a history of service to you all for more than 65 years. Currently, we have 7 members, the youngest are in their 50s, and five of us are between 60 and 80. Some of these will be resigning between now and the end of June this year.
My purpose in writing this message is to give you an idea of the kinds of service we have given Barraba community over recent years, to thank those in the community who have given so generously to support our programs, and finally to make a special and urgent plea to the younger members of the community to become Rotarians and reignite the passion of this Club to continue to provide for Barraba the kinds of support that our community needs.
Blowing our own trumpet has not been high on our Club’s agenda – maybe it should have been. But this is a brief summary of what we have done to support Barraba’s people recently. During the drought we made a major effort to financially support Barraba businesses, and through some of them provide some assistance to our rural sector. In this effort, we were given donations from 3 Rotary Clubs (Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour and Five Dock in Sydney), and also from other community groups far from Barraba. In all, between $20,000 and $30,000 was donated, and our Club added its own contribution to support those who needed it.
Our Club has only 2 main ways of raising funds for these support projects – our annual Christmas Stocking, and The Rotary Burindi Campdraft, which we try to run twice each year.
The major areas of support on a regular basis are Barraba Central School, both Primary and Secondary, St Joseph’s Primary, and the Preschool, Westpac Helicopter and Ronald
MacDonald House. TRC requests our assistance on Barraba projects and events. And there is the Rotary BBQ Trailer which is regularly loaned to community groups and individuals.
Our project now is financially supporting the Preschool until its open-air learning space is completed.
Not all of this will be lost to Barraba with the loss of its Rotary Club. But what will certainly be lost is the connection to other Rotary Clubs which proved so vital during the drought.
To finish we are truly grateful to you, Barraba, for the support you’ve given us. Special thanks to Richard and Ruth Puddicombe who make it possible for us to run our Campdrafts. It’s very true that much of what we do couldn’t happen without your help. So, if any of you younger generation Barraba men and women want to know more about Rotary membership, contact me on 0428 856539 or leave a message and I’ll contact you.
Mike Simpson
President, Rotary Club of Barraba