Bulletin 19 August 2026

Highlights

• This Week
• Member News
• Club News
• Last Week's Meeting
• Other News
• Upcoming Events

This Week Wednesday 19 August 2026
Meeting No. 5137 in the Club's 106th Year

CEO Australian Flexible Pavements Association
Topic: Challenges Facing Our Roads
Wednesday 19th of August 2026
12:45 PM to 2:00 PM
No 35, Sofitel on Collins
Also Online via Zoom

CLICK READ MORE TO BOOK

Event

This Week's Duties - 19 August 26

This week’s duties: John Peberdy, Sue Smith, Marg Leser (Reception), Rosemary Nixon (Raffle), Rosemary Nixon (MC), Tony Battaini (Reflection), Gerald Ashman (Photographer).

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Member News

Membership Anniversary: John Green (29), John Peberdy (20), John Saunders (5).
Happy Birthday: Sumeer Bhandarkar, Adrian Nelson.

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.

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Club News

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.   

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.

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.

Owen Parnaby's book Australia's First Rotary Club tells the story of Rotary Melbourne since our 1921 foundation, its influential members, and the projects that shaped Victoria. It has long been part of the new member joining pack, giving every new Rotarian a direct line to the Club's history and figures such as General Sir John Monash.
Copies have now run out. A reprint would take time and come at real cost.
If you have a copy at home, please bring it along to a lunch or drop it at the office. Your donation helps ensure new members can still discover the story that connects us all.

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Last Week's Meeting 
No Meeting last week.

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Other News

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.

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. 

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Upcoming Events

Rotary District 9800 Governor
Topic: ‘Create Lasting Impact’ – District Priorities for 2026/27
Wednesday 26th of August 2026
12:45 PM to 2:00 PM
No 35, Sofitel on Collins
Also Online via Zoom

CLICK READ MORE TO BOOK

Event

Topic: Winter Masterpieces 2026
Friday 28th of August 2026
5:45 PM to 9:00 PM
National Gallery Victoria
In person only

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Event

CEO Benetas
Topic: Ageing in Place
Wednesday 16th of September 2026
12:45 PM to 2:00 PM
No 35, Sofitel on Collins
Also Online via Zoom

CLICK READ MORE TO BOOK

Event

AFL Executive General Manager Game Development,
Wednesday 23rd of September 2026
12:45 PM to 2:00 PM
No 35, Sofitel on Collins
Also Online via Zoom

CLICK READ MORE TO BOOK

Event

People. Planet. Peace.
Friday 30th of October 2026 to Sunday 1st of November 2026
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre

CLICK READ MORE TO VIEW CONFERENCE PROGRAM & TO BOOK

Event

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