Monthly Speakers for 2023

In February, our guest speaker was Ms Robin Baird, a representative of the Sydney Metro who are building the rail line through Five Dock. The Sydney Metro West project will support a growing city and deliver world-class metro services to more communities. This new underground railway will connect Greater Parramatta and the Sydney CBD with a target time of about 20 minutes between the two centres. This once-in-a-century infrastructure investment will transform Sydney for generations to come, doubling rail capacity between the two CBDs Parramatta and Sydney, linking new communities to rail services like Five Dock and supporting employment growth and housing supply. The project is expected to create about 10,000 direct and 70,000 indirect jobs during construction.

At the completion of the AGM in March, two of our members, Jenny Pedley and Ian Chipchase, spoke about their recent trip they undertook in rural Australia titled "Travellers Tales, to the Gulf and Beyond".

Our speaker for the April meeting was Clare Pearson, the CEO of Little Wings, a nonprofit organisation that provides free, professional, safe flight and ground transport services for seriously ill children in rural and regional NSW and the ACT. This gives the children access to specialised medical services and treatments which are normally only available in major cities or towns.

The May Guest Speaker - Graham Sale.
Graham and his assistant Michael spoke about:
• services to help ageing in your own home,
• the advantages and disadvantages of moving to a reWrement village
• the financial aspects of moving into residenWal aged care (nursing home).
Graham Sale is an independent financial planner who specialises in Aged Care advice. Graham has been advising for 30 years and enjoys the work of helping families navigate the difficult path through government support as needed in later years.
Graham and his assistant Michael Stenta are part of the Aged Care Gurus network who pool information and work together to provide advice on these subjects all over Australia.

Guest Speaker for the June meeting was Elly Gearing from the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC). Elly first started as a field ecologist studying animal behaviour. She coordinated training events for WIRES around NSW and helped develop national training courses for wildlife rescue volunteers.
Elly is now AWC’s Development & Events Coordinator, managing aspects of their national events program, including remote sanctuary events, city funcWons and corporate field days. Australian Wildlife Conservancy operates a new model for the effecWve conservaWon of all Australian native species and their habitats, by creating a network of large-scale wildlife sanctuaries in remote and iconic regions, such as the Kimberley and Cape York.
With support from donors and innovative partnerships with Indigenous groups, governments and landholders, AWC is now the largest private owner/manager of land for conservayion in Australia, protecting endangered wildlife across over 12.9 million hectares. Through a combination of ground land management and scientific programs, they protect and reintroduce some of the nation’s most iconic and endangered wildlife species.

Guest Speaker for July was Ambre Hammond. Ambre is a concert pianist, composer, producer, teacher, author and has a humanitarian project called Girl Piano Truck.
Ambre’s vision is to put a piano on the back of a truck and travel to disadvantaged communities in remote parts of the world, giving free concerts in schools and orphanages.

Referred by member Richard Farmer, our August speaker was James Kelly is an experienced lawyer and guest speaker who has practised in the area of "Elder Law" for over 20 years. James discussed the importance of ensuring both you and your family are protected through prudent estate planning including Wills, Powers of Attorney, Advance Care Directives and Enduring Guardian documents and the risks associated with inadequate planning.
He has worked in regional practice since 1991 and has developed his legal practice mainly in the area of “Elder Law”. This is the law as it relates to seniors and includes conveyancing, accommodation in facilities such as retirement villages and aged care. He also advises in estate planning from the legal perspective and other general issues affecting older people. He drafts testamentary trusts in Wills and Trusts particularly where there are disabled beneficiaries.

The September guest speaker was Ken Maroney, the former police officer who served as Commissioner of the NSW Police Force from 2002 to 2007. His presentation covered his police career as well as his passion in life, doing what he could for the community.

Our October guest speaker was Susan Margaret Butler AO.Susan is an Australian lexicographer, who was the editor and publisher of the Macquarie Dictionary of Australian English from its first edi[on in 1981 until its seventh in 2017, and her retirement in 2018. Sue also wrote the Dinkum Dictionary, published in its third edition in 2009. In 2014 she wrote The Aitch Factor, a commentary on usage matters in Australian English.

Our November guest speaker was Sarah Martin. She is an experienced theatre nurse and part of an extended family of medical professionals. Dear Psychosis is Sarah's debut book. A confronting, dramatic and no-holds-barred account of a family's experience following their daughter's first-ever psychotic episode in Istanbul, and her later diagnosis of bipolar disorder. To some, it may be a warning, to others a story of hope. Most of all, it shows how the love and care given by strangers and family alike paved the way for their daughter’s recovery and inspired the family to break the silence around mental illness.

Monthly Speakers for 2022

Our February guest speaker was John Ellerman, a microbiologist, who spoke about improving digestive health with beneficial bacteria and probiotics

Guest Speaker for April was James Rutherford, our Vice President, giving a 'Short History of Cobb and Co - A Transport Giant'. He presented a talk on the origins and the expansion of the coaching company which dominated the transport industry in the eastern states in the second half of the 19th Century and the role played by his namesake and great grandfather James Rutherford.

Our May speaker was David Rosenberg the author of the book "Inside Pine Gap - The inside story of the NSA in Australia". He was a high-tech spy who worked at Pine Gap for 18 years and will give a fascinating glimpse inside the top-secret world of military surveillance. He will have his book for sale after his presentation.

In June we had Mickey Robertson talking about Glenmore House. Glenmore House is an idyllic garden and a pleasure to visit. It’s open occasionally, and Mickey also runs kitchen gardening and seasonal cooking workshops

In July Valentine Kirychenko talked about his book, “Lydia’s Child”, a graphic portrayal of his Ukrainian family spanning the period from World War I, the Russian Revolution, Communist rule, through to WWII and ultimate resettlement in Australia. The book was for sale and proceeds will go to the Ukraine Crisis Appeal. to see response by Valentine to our fund raising. Click here to see the response by Valentine to our fund raising.

In August we had Jane Cox, a Senior Assistant Superintendent with Corrective Services NSW (CSNSW). Jane worked at the Long Bay Correctional Complex for 25 years and is now based at the Operations Scheduling Unit at Silverwater Complex where her main function is to manage the approx. 1100 Casual Correctional Officers that work at all the CSNSW centres across the state.
Jane delivered a highly entertaining, and sometimes hilarious, insight into how things are run in our state prisons.

In September, Senior Constastable Lisa Latu, of Burwood Police Area Command, presented on crime prevention strategies for the home, car and wallet. The tips provided will ensure seniors are aware of the current crime trends and how to identify a scam and prevent becoming a victim of crime.

In October Mike Munro, the well known TV broadcaster and personality, discussed his latest book “The Last Bushrangers”. We are all familiar with Mike Munro as a TV personality but his talk at the October meeting gave a different perspective of the man.
Mike’s talk included growing up as the only child of a single mother/housekeeper in a catholic monastery and the family’s struggles, his career as a newspaper and television journalist, leading to the discovery that his name was not Munro - changed illegally by his grandfather because of the shame of being related to “The Last Bushrangers” - the title of his latest book.
That in turn led to a 30 year odyssey researching his bushranging great-uncles, one of whom was hanged in 1903 in Boggo Road jail.

In November, Cheryl Cartwright presentation is titled “Antics at the Airport”.
For twenty years Cheryl taught Music in Secondary Schools, then, for the next twenty years, taught Christian Studies and Applied Psychology at St. Catherine’s Anglican Girls School. Having a bus licence took her on on some great school ex-cursions, which inspired her to go into tourism on retirement, but found working with “free range adults” too frustrating.
Meanwhile, her brother, an emergency worker with Anglicare, assisted in a mock disaster at the airport, working alongside Airport Ambassadors. He thought their job at the Help Desks would just suit her. So in 2009, Cheryl began working two 4 hour shifts per week as a volunteer at both the International Terminal and the Domestic Terminal 2.
The talk is entitled “Antics at the Airport” which is the theme running through a collection of verses and stories about the many funny incidents that arise from the 100,000 travellers that pass through the Airport each day and the job satisfaction that comes from reuniting people with their possessions, (particularly passports) and telling people where to go!

Monthly Speakers for 2021

After the joy of a bell ringer to entertain us for our first meeting since last March, we had a variety of guest speakers to suit many tastes and interests.

We had a surprise musical guest after our AGM on 16 March. None other than Elvis!

In April we had a gardening specialist, Robyn Bible, who specializes in growing geraniums and pelargoniums. Robyn explained how to care for them and propagate them. These are perfect for small gardens and balconies. She set up a display for sale on the day.

In May a recently retired police woman Deborah Wallace, dubbed "the cop known as the gangbuster" gave an entertaining talk about her experience in the police force. She set a stall to promote her book.

In June we met a sound therapy specialist, who addressed tinnitus, dizziness, etc.

In November we had a return guest. Tina Hyman has been designing and making jewellery for 30+ years’. She talked about her journey, how she makes her jewellery. She set up a display selling her jewellery. Being close to Christmas, there were many keen buyers.

Monthly Speakers for 2020

Monthly Speakers for 2019