Report of the meeting held on January 27th 2015
The meeting was held in an alternative room at the LC Country Club. A little smaller but possibly the closer environment encouraged even more fellowship than ever among the 23 Rotarians and Betty Chapman who came to hear PP Dick Dawes present his life story.
President Tom welcomed everyone, in particular Betty Chapman. He reminded the Club about the Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel film at the Chatswood Mandarin theatres on Sunday 1st March, sponsored by the RC of Chatswood. There will be another showing of the same film at Roseville theatres on Monday evening, 2nd March sponsored by the RC of Ku-Ring-Gai. Lindsay enlarged on this by referring everyone to his email which detailed the online booking process.
Directors Reports
President Tom reported on the Australia Day citizenship ceremony attended by several Rotarians. Because of rain it was held in the library and the barbecue was cancelled. At the ceremony the local Member, Anthony Roberts, on hearing about the Walk Around the World program, offered to apply for a federal government community grant for next year. Rtn Jenny May indicated that such community grants had to be for capital equipment and that the applications were to be submitted in September.
PP Martin reminded everyone of the key dates for the WATW program. The official launch will occur on Saturday 14th February with Rob Palmer, the Mayor and President Tom all giving short addresses. A live band will perform from 10.30am and the morning should be a fun-filled event. In addition, Members were encouraged to support the pre-registration of WATW participants as well as promoting Rotary by attending the Plaza at 10-12.30 on each Saturday (January 31, February 7,14, 21 and 28) before the start of the WATW on March 1st.
PP Ann announced that the 2015 Rotary Lane Cove Community Fair will take place on Sunday 11th October. She also advised that Rotary's theme for 2015-2016 is to “Be a gift to the world”. 
PP John Donald offered members the opportunity to come and claim any equipment which has been in storage and is to be taken to the tip. He also reminded everyone that the Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal will take place on 24th May.
 
Sergeants Session
After these announcements there was a rowdy introduction to trainee sergeant, Rtn Adriennne. An entirely new “menu” of fines then extorted $67 out of the members. PP Chris was fined for having greeted the Sergeant with a kiss (obviously sexist), President Tom for attending the Australia Day ceremony in jeans, PDG Tom Tait for chatting up the girls from his scooter, PP John for wearing his now oversize coat, PP Phil for not shaving, Rtn John Cronly for his tie, PP Lindsay and Rtn Tania for sticking to their diet tonight, and PP Bob and PP Frank for their birthdays. PP John boasted that his son's partner is having twins and recounted his experience of being on the wrong side of the road in his 4 wheel drive in the city during the recent road closures. A very remorseful Rtn John Cronly confessed that he pranged his car on the weekend. The sergeant was then applauded for the success of her first fines session with a total of$67.00.
Guest Speaker
President Tom then briefly introduced PP Dick Dawes (who needed no introduction) as tonight’s speaker.
Dick started by saying this was not going to be his life story but that he would just recount a collection of personal anecdotes. He started by describing his visit as a child to Archerfield airfield in Brisbane when a gypsy moth airplane was ‘hijacked’ by a stunt pilot. His next anecdote took us to the War years as he described how the US erected a huge building almost overnight to assemble planes which were shipped in boxes on Liberty ships. Each box contained a complete aircraft (Lightnings and Buffalos). Dick joined the navy as a teenager and remembered being taught how to fire an Oerlikon anti-aircraft gun. This convinced him that there was more to being in the navy than walking down Collins Street with a couple of girls on each arm! He described how he witnessed Japanese prisoners of war in Rabaul being loaded onto ships and returned to Japan. Another experience was being a helmsman of a destroyer. After being demobilized in Brisbane, he joined Qantas which had acquired an old Liberator. Dick’s major contribution was to sit in the back to help keep the tail down. Subsequently Dick trained as a sugar chemist and joined CSR. He recounted a DC6 flight to Nadi flying first class, having to pinch himself and wondering when he would wake up. He described the unfortunate experience of a vastly overweight lady who, on the plane’s approach to Nadi, was stuck to the toilet bowl by negative pressure and that the plane had to go up to 10,000 feet to get her off! He remembered meeting Rtn Dick White in the sugar company mess in Fiji and then recounted an almost fairy-tale like existence, being woken up every day with a cup of tea, a life of rounds of golf, tennis and servants. He met his wife-to-be, Margaret, in Suva where she worked for a bank and lived in inaccessible quarters known as ‘the virgins’ perch’. The Company provided married quarters and clearly life was very comfortable, filled with social activities and very different from life in Fiji today.  He recounted seeing U2 aircraft coming in to Nadi, meeting the US pilots who dropped an atomic bomb in one of the atomic tests in the Pacific, meeting staff from the Royal Yacht,  Britannia, and hearing how the Queen Mother joined the men in a hand of poker. Dick then reminisced further about the unreal life being waited on hand and foot on one of the other islands in Fiji where he was the senior person and how eventually they had to leave this ‘paradise-like’ existence.  In Sydney, Dick was responsible for mill safety and staff. Other vignettes included interacting with staff who were cat or rabbit lovers or haters, and advertising campaigns with exploding film sets. He finished with a series of brief anecdotes about the early days of the Rotary Club of Lane Cove, with dances and dress up parties at conferences, as well as the FAIM trip to New Ireland where PP David Chapman and PP Phil Dudgeon managed to get a diesel generator going to great cheers.
Dick concluded by quoting his mentor, the ancient Persian philosopher Omar Khayyam: “For yesterday is but a dream and tomorrow is only a vision, but today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well, therefore, to this day! Such is the salutation of the dawn”
PP John Palmer thanked Dick most sincerely for having told the Club of his life story through his anecdotes, and presented him with a Rotary pen.
The raffle was won (after a redraw) by PP Chris Curtis who presented the bottle of wine to Dick.
The meeting was attended by 23 Rotarians and one guest.
Scribe: PP Martin Silink