Australian researchers have developed a new approach to make seawater evaporate faster than freshwater, which could represent a significant breakthrough in addressing water scarcity.
Have you ever thought about the great network that you could advertise your company to. Rotary Melbourne is currently seeking advertisers for the next edition of the members Directory 2026-27. The cost to advertise is $900 for colour and $450 for B&W full page advert. Contact Jo at the office if you are interested.
An email has been sent to all Rotary Melbourne members to check their online Directory data in preparation of the 2026-2027 printed Directory. Please ensure you have checked both the hardcopy and online directory and advise any changes including updated photos. Please send your updates to the Directory Editor directory@rotarymelbourne.org.au
After welcoming members and guests, President Philip Cornish outlined a membership-focused meeting featuring: Dr Dimitrios Salampasis on Davos 2026; Past President Mary Barry on the “For a Meal” volunteering program; Patricia Matuschka reflecting on her first year of membership; and Past President Reg Smith with an update on the Melbourne Arboretum, where he serves as Board Chair.
MITS (Melbourne Indigenous Transition School) has shared their latest newsletter. The CEO emphasized “One MITS”, a commitment across students, staff, families, and community partners to ensure consistent high expectations, wellbeing support, and a strong sense of connection. Term 1 achievements were celebrated, including 100% attendance for 23 students, and staff updates were shared, such as the farewell of Teacher Tash Gaffney and parental leave for Head of School Michael Barnhoorn, with Taylor Culpepper stepping in as acting Head.
Visiting International Rotarians: Dores Schembri (Kensington & Chelsea, UK), Jon Sucich (Waiheke Island New Zealand), Margaret Hillary-Smith (Tusckentiam upon Thomes).
Visiting Australian Rotarians: Francis Harman (Australian Rotary Nomads), Jo Kwok (Brighton).
Membership Anniversary Peter Hollingworth, Amanda Wendt.
Happy Birthday Catherine Baxter, Kenza Dairi, Joseph Ebbage, Chris Sotiropoulos, Robin Syme.
On Duty: Rosemary Nixon, Karen Gornalle (Reception), Trevor Nink (Raffle), Peter Dakin (MC), Cheryl Lacey (Reflection), John Peberdy (Photos).
Sambun Sambath, a Cambodian scholar supported by Rotary Melbourne and Member of Rotaract Club of Siem Reap, has provided a March 26 update where he completed his first foundation-year subject, Cultural Anthropology. He sincerely appreciates you taking the time to read his update and for the continued support of Rotary Melbourne.
Wednesday 3 June 2026 is the date scheduled for Rotary Melbourne’s 6th Annual World Environment Day Lunch.
Our confirmed guest speaker will be Professor Graeme Samuel AC, and his topic will be “Developing a Fit for Purpose Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act – A 7 year project.”
Club Guests: PRIP Jennifer Jones (Speaker), Dr Nick Krayacich, Manon Beauchamp-Tardieu (Inductee), Jasmine Cott, Nick Goldstein.
Visiting International Rotarians: Margaret & John Gilroy-Smith (Twickenham upon Thames), Markus Hauser (St.Moritz), Santiago Parsons-Aubone (Buenos Aires), Shinji Higuchi (Osaka).
Visiting Australian Rotarians: Emily Coltraine (Southbank Elsternwick), Sue Moses-Chritchley (Fitzroy), Graeme Woolacott (Monash Glen Waverley), James & Belinda Allen (Sydney), Emma Davis (Moreland / DG9790), Jennifer Foster ( e-Club of Change Makers), Peter Shepheard (Altona), Dennis Shore (Hawthorn), Ian Knight (Werribee), Murray Verso (Williamstown), Michael Lapina .
Guests of Members: Millicent Nink (Trevor Nink), Tori Grimes, Helen Chaudhuri, Caroline Pilot (Deb Yin Foo), Harvey Cohen (Irena Bauer), Lina Scalzo (Quin Scalzo), Marian Shaw (John Shaw), Anke Timm, Grant Bayldon, Misha Coleman (Peter Rogers).
On 25 March 26 Rotary Melbourne proudly recognise and celebrated Trevor Nink—an outstanding Rotarian whose dedication, leadership, and enduring commitment to Service Above Self have made a lasting impact on our Club, our community, and the wider Rotary world. It is with great pleasure that we elevate Trevor to Paul Harris Fellow Double Sapphire.
The Multi-District Impact Summit took place over the weekend in the Wimmera Region city of Horsham. It brought together some 400 people from Districts 9800 (ours), 9510 and 9780. Six of those present were associated with Rotary Melbourne. At the opening reception Sana Malik was presented with the District 9800 EnviroClub Award - Gold for continued achievement in enviroment and sustainability, covering the following projects The Melbourne Arboretum, Growing Futures in Timor-Leste, Carbon Social Certification, Sustainability Awards, Environment and Sustainability Lunches, World Environment Day raffle, SecondBite volunteering and 5000 Acts of Kindness indigenous seedling project.
On Duty: Bob Glindemann, Robert Fisher (Reception), John Saunders (Raffle), Richard Dent (MC), Barbara Yerondais (Reflection), Gerald Ashman (Photos).
Membership Anniversary Anthony Battaini (3), Catherine Baxter (7), Kenza Dairi (2), Joseph Ebbage (11), Ted Garland (43), Christine Johnson (24), David Kram (20).
Happy Birthday Peter Hollingworth.
What a terrific few days on the road for our 2026 OTC/Fellowship group, travelling from Melbourne through regional Victoria and finishing in Horsham, enjoying good company, great food and visits to some iconic historic sites along the way.
Thank you to Ruth Carlos Martinez for last week's reflection.
We’re delighted to welcome Manon Beauchamp-Tardieu the Founder and CEO of Little Green Panda, a Melbourne-based sustainable packaging company focused on creating innovative products designed to replace traditional single-use plastics made from food waste.
You may recall the call we made recently for volunteers for a small task at DIK to take lots of children’s shoes out of their packaging before they were sent to schools in Timor as part of the latest consignment of desk and chairs for several new schools being built by Spend it Well. Despite not being rushed with volunteers, a working bee of one (Bob) almost got the task done in the allotted time but there were still many cartons to do before the container was collected.
The attached is the FINAL March 26 RGECAF newsletter which reveals that the as previously reported, our goal of raising US$3.9 million was achieved in August 2023. Rotary’s fundraising is completed while our project partner, UNICEF, continues to implement the project on our behalf.
The 2025-26 Sir John Reid Community Service Award recipient, Fartun Farah, recently updated Rotary Melbourne on an important program funded by the award. On behalf of the East African Women’s Foundation, Fartun writes, “We sincerely thank Rotary Melbourne members for your ongoing support and partnership. Your contribution plays a vital role in enabling us to deliver impactful programs and create safer, stronger and more connected communities.”
No cost No waiting ..all it needs now is publicity by you.
Attempted suicide in Australia equates to a full plane crashing every day, injuring 95% of the passengers, (mainly our healthy young women) and killing 5%. 3-5% call crisis lines, but 70-80% hint or warn friends and family. Most people freeze. MessagesHelp.Org is an Australian pilot launched by the Australian Suicide Prevention Foundation with Rotary in Sri Lanka and RC Melbourne.
The Rotary Foundation Webinar: Legacy in Action with Rotarian Quin Scalzo AM and his daughter Cathy Scalzo is now available for viewing if you missed it on Monday 16 March 26. Please note that while the live video was showing correctly, the recording did not capture one of the panellist's video - apparently a technical glitch in zoom.
Master of Ceremonies: Karen Kim
Reflection Delivered by Ruth Carlos Martinez (See transcript later in this bulletin)
As meeting chair for the day, President Philip then introduced PRIP Jennifer Jones to address the meeting on Building Peace Through Action: Her address challenged us to think boldly about our role in building peace through action.
