On Wednesday 12 August 26, Rotary Melbourne was privileged to step inside one of the great stories of Australian innovation — the extraordinary work of the Corporate member Bionics Institute.
Every day, 55 African elephants are killed for ivory and a rhino is lost every 16 hours. If you care about wildlife, want to act, and believe individual effort matters, the AMES Fellowship offers 2 to 4 weeks of hands-on conservation work at the Dabchick Reserve in Limpopo: game drives, anti-poaching training, wildlife research and cultural exchange with the local Gumbi community.
The fellowship is organised by a former fellow student of Tita Matuschka (Rotary Club Melbourne), who is happy to connect interested members directly with the program coordinator. Open to anyone 17 and over. Click Read More below for more info.
Membership Anniversary: John Green (29), John Peberdy (20), John Saunders (5).
Happy Birthday: Sumeer Bhandarkar, Adrian Nelson.
Rotary Melbourne supports the Melbourne Indigenous Transition School. This month's MITS Newsletter explores the theme of Respect – one of the core values that underpins life at MITS. In this edition, you'll read stories that highlight the many ways respect is lived out across our community: respect for culture, family, learning, Country and one another.
From repairing Mrs. Sokhom's home for 20 volunteers in the summer heat, to fixing bicycles for children at Don Sva School, to leading a rural reading campaign, our Rotaract scholar in Siem Reap has had a month full of service and growth. She also marked a personal milestone, being elected President-Elect of Rotaract Siem Reap.
Click read more below to see the photos and her full update.
A warm invite from Rotary Melbourne Member Mimmie Watts:
Join us in Melbourne from 17 to 20 November 2026 for the 3rd African Diaspora Women's Summit, "Reclaiming the Narrative: Legacy, Leadership & Global Sisterhood in a Polarised World." Hosted by the Australian African Institute, the Summit brings together leading women from across the African diaspora for keynote sessions, panels and networking.
Registrations are now open. Click read more below to learn more and register.
In 2023, your support backed Dr Talia Carl with an Australian Rotary Health grant to research the mental health of Aboriginal children aged nought to twelve, a group at higher risk yet far less likely to receive help.
Rather than adapt an existing tool, Talia is co-creating one with the community it's meant to serve: the Growing Minds Check In for Aboriginal children, designed to catch early signs and connect families to culturally safe support.
Reach a child early, through support their family trusts, and you can change what comes next. That's possibility, backed early, by you.
Have you missed the Rotary and Community Service Radio Show on Friday 14 August, on 94.1FM 3WBC? Hosted by Ian Salek and his co-host Alex Birnie, the program features a special interview with Rotary Melbourne President Dr Carol Bond.
BREAKING NEWS: After 15 years, Branko has finally won the wine raffle!
The focus of this meeting was Award of the 2026 Monash Medal, and distinguished members the Spirit of Australia Foundation, Representatives of Engineers Australia, past recipients of the Award and the current and immediate past District 9800 Governors were present.
A small change in your grocery shop from today until 1 September 26 can help us make a big difference for people struggling to put food on the table.
Demand for food relief continues to grow as people all around Australia are facing hardship this winter due to the high cost-of-living.
You can support SecondBite and Foodbank Australia through the Coles Community Food Relief Appeal and help us provide more food to people in need through our national network of charity partners.
Club Guests: Lara Olsen (Medallist), Nicolas Frances-Gilley, Rob Webster, Jeffrey Rosenfeld, Graeme Hope.
Visiting Rotarians: Peter Shepheard (Altona).
Guests of Members: Jim Barry (Stephen Lake), Andrea May (Pam Hargreaves), Michael Headberry & Peter Darvall (Peter Rogers), Jonathan Anazodo (Deb Yin Foo), Bec Dash & Misha Coleman (Andrew Morrice), Andrew Eddy (Anthony Austin), Rafael Camillo, Beverley McArthur, Michael Bennett, David Polonsky, John Vansetten, Ross Youngman, Janine Shearer, Chuan Tan, Karen McConalogue (Visitors), Jerry Andrews, Kriston Symons, Kate Kennedy, Margaret Jollands, Vinay Subrahmanya, Keith Sharp, Yew Chin Koay, Bec Lin, Justine Paragreen, Tim Ellis (Visitors - Engineers Australia).
A number of Rotary Melbourne members attended the 0808 Battle of Amiens Service at the Shrine on Saturday 8 August 2026. The service commemorated the 108th Anniversary of the Australian Victory at the Battle of Amiens, 8 August 1918 by the Australian Army Corps led by Sir John Monash, Lieutenant-General, Commander Australian Corps.
On Friday 7 August 2026, the Spirit of Australia Foundation celebrated the Monash Commemorative Service at the Legislative Assembly Chamber, Parliament House hosting a broad collection of Victorian secondary schools, politians, senior members of the Victorian community and Rotarians from Rotary Melbourne to share in celebrating the legacy and ongoing impact of General Sir John Monash GCMG KCB VD.
What’s happening across District 9800
RIMERN: Providing Household Items for New Lives
Seventy-two microwave ovens, ninety-two floor mops, forty-two kettles and thirty toasters – what do they have in common? A Rotary project providing household items for families, refugees or people who had been incarcerated starting new lives in secure accommodation. read on.
Take a look at the progress made on our two Dandenong projects!
Earlier this year, Launch began construction on Dandelion and Cumulus – major social housing projects in Dandenong.
Rotary Melbourne proudly awards the 2026 Monash Medal to Ms Lara Olsen, honouring her lifetime of leadership, integrity and service through a career dedicated to Australia's clean energy and water sectors. She led strategy at the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and CitiPower Powercor. Lara’s work in actively mentoring the next generation through gender equity and diversity programs in engineering and technology reflects the enduring spirit of Sir John Monash.
In 1922, US Rotarians ran an attendance contest with an unusual condition: the losing clubs would join together to give the winning club a prize. The Rotary Club of New York City won, and Immediate Past President Arthur Chadwick of the Rotary Club of London presented them with a bell.
The bell carried real history. During WWI it served on the auxiliary warship Patrol No. 20, mounted on a frame built from oak salvaged from Admiral Nelson's HMS Victory.
Chadwick hoped the bell would sound a clear note of goodwill in its new home and stand as a symbol of the friendship between London and New York Rotarians. Accepting on behalf of New York, Past President Raymond Knoeppel described how the bell's soft tinkling on its final ocean crossing had been cheered as a message of true Rotary brotherhood.
The bell has represented something else since: order, discipline, and the steady rhythm that guides members through their weekly meetings, much as it once did at sea.
Membership Anniversary Mary Barry (20), Peter Doherty (22), Kevin Sheehan (30).
Happy Birthday Robert Fisher, Garry Fowler, John Levi, Ramona Martinovici, Caroline Pilot.
This week’s duties: John Peberdy, Sue Smith, Marg Leser (Reception), Rosemary Nixon (Raffle), Rosemary Nixon (MC), Tony Battaini (Reflection), Gerald Ashman (Photographer).
Dr. Karen McConalogue, Executive Director, Leadership Academy, General Sir John Monash Foundation delivered a powerful address "Leadership in Challenging Times"
Thank you to Adrian Nelson for last week's reflection, on Wednesday 5 August 2026.
