Rotary Melbourne members honoured the 106th Anniversary of the Battle of Amiens at the 0808@0800 service, joining dignitaries to lay wreaths at the Shrine of Remembrance in tribute to Sir John Monash and the Australians who served.
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Our club's International Service Committee met following last week's lunch, continuing to build on our existing and upcoming projects impacting peace, education, health, water & sanitation, and the environment, focusing especially on our South East Asian and Pacific neighbours.
President Philip was in Osaka, Japan last week visiting our Sister Club, the Rotary Club of Osaka. He attended a club meeting and also met with Osaka President, Yoshihiko Sano to extend our sister club relationship.
On 1 October 2025, the world lost Dr. Jane Goodall, pioneering primatologist, conservationist, and advocate for peace. Rotary remembers her not only for her groundbreaking work with chimpanzees but also for her keynote at the 2009 Rotary International Convention, where she urged members to make a positive daily impact. Click on Read More below for her Q&A, first published in The Rotarian, that captures her wisdom, humor, and enduring call to action.
Rotary Melbourne is backing RIMERN’s Spring Cleaning with RIMERN campaign to raise $5,000 by 30 Nov 2025.
RIMERN provides essential furniture and household goods to families starting over after crisis. Some items - like basic cleaning kits - must be purchased new to meet our quality standards.
A $50 gift sponsors a complete kit, but every dollar helps us deliver 10+ kits each week. Click read more below to change lives, one household at a time.
A patch of cement was a launchpad for a Rotarian who brought women’s soccer to Palestine. Honey Thaljieh and a handful of young women played on the makeshift pitch more than two decades ago in college in the West Bank. The effort led eventually to a national women’s team that she captained for years. Thaljieh ascended to a job at FIFA, the international soccer governing body, spreading the message that the sport is for everyone. Click Read More below to read how this soccer pioneer found Rotary.
Rotary Melbourne has again achieved carbon neutrality, reducing annual emissions to 11.979 tonnes CO₂e and offsetting these with 12 certified Carbon Social credits from the WithOneSeed community forestry program in Timor-Leste - supporting both sustainability and stronger regional communities.
Rotary Melbourne proudly recognised Charlotte Arndt of Beaconhills College with the 2025 Student Community Service Award. Celebrated for her inspiring and sustainable Play It Forward Vic initiative, Charlotte has transformed a simple idea into a project bringing joy, opportunity, and connection to young athletes in Fiji and now Samoa.
Did you see the story about BioEYES on WIN News? This Rotary Melbourne-supported project is an innovative school science program using Zebrafish to teach students about biology and genetics. BioEYES is expanding to regional and remote schools. Click on read more to watch the video.
Olayinka Hakeem Babalola, a member of the Rotary Club of Trans Amadi, Nigeria, has been selected by the Board of Directors to become Rotary International’s president for 2026-27. His term will begin on 1 July 2026.
This month, Rotary shines a light on one of our core causes: supporting education and literacy around the world. More than 775 million people worldwide over the age of 15 still cannot read or write. Rotary believes that literacy is not just about reading books – it’s about unlocking opportunity, breaking cycles of poverty, and empowering individuals to build better futures.
September is Rotary International Education & Literacy Month, and our unstoppable Ruth Carlos-Martinez has just pulled off another inspiring mission. She personally collected 18 boxes of books from Brighton Library to be sent to Dangan, Philippines.
Our Community Welfare Committee created and implemented the 2025 Cynthia’s Gift Mentoring Awards through partner organisations. The Inaugural Cynthia’s Gift presentation 20th August 2025 was led by PP Kevin Sheehan,
President José Ramos-Horta, Nobel Peace Laureate and President of Timor-Leste, spoke last week at at the Australasian Emission Reduction Summit in Melbourne. His message on courage, youth leadership and reforestation featured Rotary Melbourne’s burgeoning new partnership with Foundation Rai Matak and the Rotary Foundation - upscaling the proven WithOneSeed model to now grow 10 million trees in 10 years - helping 20,000 farming families and their communities plant trees, grow livelihoods through the sale of carbon credits, and shape a hopeful future in Timor-Leste.
Rotary Down Under is offering two $10,000 scholarships for budding journalists in the name of RDU founder Paul Henningham and his successor Bob Aitken.
Dubai has been officially selected to host the Rotary International Convention in 2027. It will be a convention focused on excellence and innovation. What's more, our club's own Amanda Wendt has been appointed Vice Chair of the Convention Committee. Save the date in your diaries now: 5-9 June 2027.
Larry A. Lunsford, a member of the Rotary Club of Kansas City-Plaza, Missouri, USA, is the selection of the nominating committee to become Rotary International’s President for 2027-28. Larry visited our club in 2022 as a Trustee of the Rotary Foundation, and met up with us again during the Rotary International Convention in Melbourne in 2023.
Rotary Melbourne members and friends attended the 0808@0800 service at the Shrine on Friday 8 August 25. The service commemorated the 107th 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. Click read more below to see photos and video.
At a meeting rich with history and fellowship, Rotary Melbourne proudly awarded the 2025 Monash Medal to Dr Robert Webster OAM, honouring his exceptional leadership, integrity, and service. Surrounded by distinguished guests and past recipients, the occasion celebrated values exemplified by Sir John Monash and alive in today’s community leaders.
Rotary Melbourne's Make A House a Home project (MAHAH) delivered a further 10 sets (20 tea-chest boxes) of new homewares to Launch Housing’s front line offices in Dandenong and Southbank.
Rotary Melbourne proudly congratulates the 2025 Young Achiever Award recipients - Billy Chen, Pailene Lim, and Mursal Rezai — who were honoured by Her Excellency Professor the Honourable Margaret Gardner AC, Governor of Victoria, at a special ceremony held on 23 July at the Sofitel on Collins. These inspiring young leaders are already making a significant impact in their fields and communities, continuing the strong legacy of the Award.
Tony Battaini was awarded the 2025 Axle Award presented by President Philip Cornish at our meeting on Wednesday 16 July 24. Congratulations Tony.
Club Member Amanda Wendt reflects on her unforgettable time at last month's Rotary International Convention in Calgary - cowgirl boots and all! From leading global teams to sharing fresh membership insights, she found connection, inspiration, and plenty of reasons to be excited for Rotary’s future.
July is Maternal and Child Health Month — Rotary Melbourne supports life-changing projects including immunisations across the Pacific (Give Every Child A Future), training midwives in Timor Leste, mental health research, and abuse prevention through SAFE Families. [Click on Read more below →]
Rotary Melbourne, in partnership with STEM Sisters, is working with regional and rural Rotary Clubs to help deliver Future Me - an engaging comic book series introducing STEM careers to young children, especially in underrepresented and disadvantaged communities.
