General Meeting and AGM held at 16 Inwood Place Murdoch 4 August 2018
Points of Interest from the General Meeting:
The last meeting of the year was very short as it was the Show and Tell event that most were interested in. After the success of the event last year all were looking forward to the new revelations. Members were again on song with many exhibits being shown and the stories attached to them most interesting.
Read all about it in the Rations shortly
NEXT MEETING - General Meeting, February 2nd 2019 at 2.00pm - 16 Inwood Place Murdoch
Annual General Meeting held at 16 Inwood Place Murdoch 4th August 2018
Notes from the AGM:
1. Election of Officers:
President - Alex Aitken
Vice President - Bill Cutler
Secretary - Toni Mahony
Treasurer - Lynton Symington
Committee - Margaret Barlow, Marian Roeling, Judy Bercene, Lionel Lovell
1. Election of Officers:
President - Alex Aitken
Vice President - Bill Cutler
Secretary - Toni Mahony
Treasurer - Lynton Symington
Committee - Margaret Barlow, Marian Roeling, Judy Bercene, Lionel Lovell
Presidents Report Swan River Chapter FFF
Presidents Report 2017/18
Another year rolls by and we have survived and continued to thrive as an organisation. This is due in no small part to the enthusiasm of all of you to attend meetings and activities as well as provide support to each other in many ways.
It is a privilege to be your President and I thank you for your support and tolerance of my sometimes-wayward attempts at guidance.
The year has been a rather busy one for all (or I am just getting slower). It has been enjoyable to be a part of it all with such a great bunch of people.
Shortly after the AGM things got under way with a proposed visit to Pinjarra and the old Blythewood homestead. Unfortunately, the event was somewhat of a non-event owing to a lack of communication but at least one member made the journey and, from reports, enjoyed the experience.
The education component of our activities has been maintained with Bill again doing presentations to schools and joining the growing group of SRC members at the now annual St Hilda’s Day activities.
The FF day at St Hilda’s was again a great success with a great group of helpers and a new cohort of teachers on the job. The highlight from my point of view was the construction of the wattle and daub wall with Mud Master Roger Elmitt ably assisted by the husbands of the teaching staff. A super construction job, Roger, as well as being the unofficial photographer for the day as usual.
The ladies were engaged in many activities with the girls and a group of staff and mothers. It was a learning experience for not only the girls but parents as well, as many commented at the end of the day. A huge thanks to all who participated.
Araluen was another event with a very informal gathering of members at this fantastic garden setting. It was the first time I had been there since participating in the construction of the walls during a camp with the YAL in the early1960s and what a peaceful place. People came and went at leisure and the weather was magnificent so another great success.
The December meeting Show and Tell saw everyone dive into the “Memory Chest” to dust off some of the memorabilia that was hiding there in order to provide great entertainment to the group. What a wonderful treasure trove there is within the group with items from hand made WW1 cards to published books on the history of early established Perth Streets. Well done everyone.
Our premier event as usual was Australia Day at Burswood. A great turnout with family and friends involved and the quiz and early morning proclamation of the site by Bill. All that was left was for the flags to be raised. The position was perfect, and the food preparation was well taken care of by the Chefs with many helpers chipping in. The quiz by Bill had it all from rock and roll, politics and of course FFF matters. Trish had the raffle under way with the young ticket sellers being very persuasive. There was a call for the Stewards when the winners were announced and found to have won last year as well…. The protest was dismissed. Well done everyone.
New members joined during the year and were welcomed with open arms. Amongst them is Lorraine Clarke who is not only a First Fleeter but also a WA First Fleeter and professional genealogist and history fanatic. Lorraine was prevailed upon to give a presentation on the use of Ancestry and Family Tree Maker at one of our meetings and along with her partner in Swan Genealogy, Cheri Strickland, took us on a tour of the East Perth Cemeteries - a wonderful journey through the early days of WA.
In the past few weeks we enjoyed an interesting visit to the State Records Office and the National Archives.
The SRC entered the records at the NAA offices being the last official Group Tour of the facility which will be moving to a new home later in the year. The presentation and tour were most interesting with some mind blowing revelations. We saw a number of collections with regard to immigration and the actual passports of many “aliens” who had entered WA and never left. Our thanks to Marjorie and her staff for a great tour.
Well that is the year’s activities in a nut shell but there was more success in the field of FFF with a great submission to Head Office based on the survey of Chapters which showed some major issues with some Chapters.
The submission prepared by Bill, I believe, has created some interest from other Chapters. It would appear, from some of the newsletters we receive, that at least one Chapter has embraced our practice of meeting at members’ homes and having social outings.
We will continue to support FFF and ask the hard questions when required. It appeared that the Management is struggling with a lack of people prepared to take office but they also need to embrace some new ideas and look to the use of technology to become more inclusive.
From a corporate governance point of view, it would appear the HO is falling short of the regulatory requirements and we need to try and assist them in the maintenance of these requirements.
I would like to thank you all for your support during the year. To Toni for putting up with my intermittent communication at times. To Roger for being there with his camera on all occasions, to the committee for their input and guidance and Lynton for his tight fisted approach to the books, my sincere thanks.
To the Rations’ editors and artists, a great job that created interest around the country from all chapters.
For the future I would like to see us engage with the Department of Education to let all educators know of the willingness of the Chapter to assist them in the presentation of the required First Fleet content of the year 4 and 9 curriculum. We have money donated and ear marked for this purpose and I would like to see the Chapter undertake the development of an “Education Kit” with the goal being a draft as a work in progress by the AGM 2019.
Again, thank you for allowing me, a new Australian, to be part for this great group and if you would allow me the privilege, I am happy to continue as President for another year.
ALEX AITKEN – PRESIDENT
Presidents Report 2017/18
Another year rolls by and we have survived and continued to thrive as an organisation. This is due in no small part to the enthusiasm of all of you to attend meetings and activities as well as provide support to each other in many ways.
It is a privilege to be your President and I thank you for your support and tolerance of my sometimes-wayward attempts at guidance.
The year has been a rather busy one for all (or I am just getting slower). It has been enjoyable to be a part of it all with such a great bunch of people.
Shortly after the AGM things got under way with a proposed visit to Pinjarra and the old Blythewood homestead. Unfortunately, the event was somewhat of a non-event owing to a lack of communication but at least one member made the journey and, from reports, enjoyed the experience.
The education component of our activities has been maintained with Bill again doing presentations to schools and joining the growing group of SRC members at the now annual St Hilda’s Day activities.
The FF day at St Hilda’s was again a great success with a great group of helpers and a new cohort of teachers on the job. The highlight from my point of view was the construction of the wattle and daub wall with Mud Master Roger Elmitt ably assisted by the husbands of the teaching staff. A super construction job, Roger, as well as being the unofficial photographer for the day as usual.
The ladies were engaged in many activities with the girls and a group of staff and mothers. It was a learning experience for not only the girls but parents as well, as many commented at the end of the day. A huge thanks to all who participated.
Araluen was another event with a very informal gathering of members at this fantastic garden setting. It was the first time I had been there since participating in the construction of the walls during a camp with the YAL in the early1960s and what a peaceful place. People came and went at leisure and the weather was magnificent so another great success.
The December meeting Show and Tell saw everyone dive into the “Memory Chest” to dust off some of the memorabilia that was hiding there in order to provide great entertainment to the group. What a wonderful treasure trove there is within the group with items from hand made WW1 cards to published books on the history of early established Perth Streets. Well done everyone.
Our premier event as usual was Australia Day at Burswood. A great turnout with family and friends involved and the quiz and early morning proclamation of the site by Bill. All that was left was for the flags to be raised. The position was perfect, and the food preparation was well taken care of by the Chefs with many helpers chipping in. The quiz by Bill had it all from rock and roll, politics and of course FFF matters. Trish had the raffle under way with the young ticket sellers being very persuasive. There was a call for the Stewards when the winners were announced and found to have won last year as well…. The protest was dismissed. Well done everyone.
New members joined during the year and were welcomed with open arms. Amongst them is Lorraine Clarke who is not only a First Fleeter but also a WA First Fleeter and professional genealogist and history fanatic. Lorraine was prevailed upon to give a presentation on the use of Ancestry and Family Tree Maker at one of our meetings and along with her partner in Swan Genealogy, Cheri Strickland, took us on a tour of the East Perth Cemeteries - a wonderful journey through the early days of WA.
In the past few weeks we enjoyed an interesting visit to the State Records Office and the National Archives.
The SRC entered the records at the NAA offices being the last official Group Tour of the facility which will be moving to a new home later in the year. The presentation and tour were most interesting with some mind blowing revelations. We saw a number of collections with regard to immigration and the actual passports of many “aliens” who had entered WA and never left. Our thanks to Marjorie and her staff for a great tour.
Well that is the year’s activities in a nut shell but there was more success in the field of FFF with a great submission to Head Office based on the survey of Chapters which showed some major issues with some Chapters.
The submission prepared by Bill, I believe, has created some interest from other Chapters. It would appear, from some of the newsletters we receive, that at least one Chapter has embraced our practice of meeting at members’ homes and having social outings.
We will continue to support FFF and ask the hard questions when required. It appeared that the Management is struggling with a lack of people prepared to take office but they also need to embrace some new ideas and look to the use of technology to become more inclusive.
From a corporate governance point of view, it would appear the HO is falling short of the regulatory requirements and we need to try and assist them in the maintenance of these requirements.
I would like to thank you all for your support during the year. To Toni for putting up with my intermittent communication at times. To Roger for being there with his camera on all occasions, to the committee for their input and guidance and Lynton for his tight fisted approach to the books, my sincere thanks.
To the Rations’ editors and artists, a great job that created interest around the country from all chapters.
For the future I would like to see us engage with the Department of Education to let all educators know of the willingness of the Chapter to assist them in the presentation of the required First Fleet content of the year 4 and 9 curriculum. We have money donated and ear marked for this purpose and I would like to see the Chapter undertake the development of an “Education Kit” with the goal being a draft as a work in progress by the AGM 2019.
Again, thank you for allowing me, a new Australian, to be part for this great group and if you would allow me the privilege, I am happy to continue as President for another year.
ALEX AITKEN – PRESIDENT