Thee Applecross Advocate Vol.55 No. 24 (Dec. 15, 2025)

Dear Rotarians and friends

Well, 2025 finished for Applecross Rotary with our final Perth Makers Market for the year and what a market it was! The forecast heat meant last minute adjustments to the roster. We thank Lorri, ably assisted by Ray, for her patient work in putting this roster together and to our fellow Rotarians and community groups for their forbearance in the lead up and their endurance with the challenges of the day. Well done, one and all!

I am pleased to say that Essi is happily settled in Broome with the Kneebone family for the holidays. She has already immersed herself in Broome-time and enjoyed two sessions amongst the hatching turtles along Cable Beach.

As we look forward to 2026 I encourage Applecross Rotarians to consider registering for the up-coming State Conference, March 13^th – 15^th. With John McKechnie AO KC, Barrister, Prosecutor, Judge and Corruption Commissioner the keynote speaker, Jonathon Usher, renowned New Zealand Rotarian, Magician, Comedian, Speaker as our MC and, significantly Wise Wines as our first sponsor, the event promises to be informative, entertaining and sociable.

We will be launching the 2026 year for Applecross Rotary with a flourish. Be sure to note our first speaker on 20^th January will be the highly anticipated Brian Burke. The meeting will be held at the spacious Manning Ripper Football Club so everyone is encouraged to bring along guests to hear our former Premier speak and to enjoy our hospitality.

With those key dates noted in your diaries for 2026 I wish everyone a joyful festive season and a happy, healthy new year.

Best wishes

Margaret Brede

Report from our Last meeting for 2025

Posted by Michele MUIR on Dec. 16, 2025

Our final meeting of the year was very much in the spirit of Christmas and was both jolly and hilarious.

Essi gave out raffle tickets which would entitle us to our Bad Santa gifts a little later in the meeting. Before we did our usual “heads and tails”, Briohny gifted the club a hand-carved jarrah two-up “thrower-upper”. It was crafted by her Great Uncle Gary, who is 81. He has previously made rocking horses, jewellery and memory boxes. Logan had the honour of being the first “tosser”.

The AGM was dealt with in record time. Board membership is a duplicate of last year.

Then Essi showed a video and gave a short presentation of the great time she and other inbound Rotary students had on their weekend away in Albany. Essie said the weather in Albany reminded her of summer in Finland. The young people braved the cold temperatures and had two swims at the beach; and they visited the Gap, National Anzac Centre and enjoyed trekking in the national park.

On the last night they stayed at a farm and Essi tried her hand at shearing a sheep. Everyone brought food from their own countries and enjoyed an early Christmas party. They spent a very chilly night camping outdoors and woke with the sunrise at 4am.

Next week Essi is going to her new host in Broome for six weeks and is excited for the experience. She doesn’t expect to see Briohny again before Briohny leaves for Finland but they may catch up there.

Briohny spoke next and thanked Applecross Rotary for the opportunity to visit Finland. She will leave Perth on 17^th January. She met up with other outbound students for a camp at Point Walter recently and found the students’ presentations on a variety of topics very interesting, especially about living in France and Germany. On the last day, parents attended and one of the lectures was how to pack properly. (click here for presentations)

Then came the really fun part of the meeting. Tom donned his Father Christmas hat and started calling out the raffle numbers. Hamish chose his present first and the rest of us followed. John received the most hilarious present – a cricket ball which opened to reveal a pair of gorgeous “Howz That” black undies. Tom claimed it wasn’t from him. As soon as it was her turn, President Margaret chose a present from the front and took it straight to John and stole the ball and undies. Presumably for her husband.

Briohny’s gift changed hands three times and she finished up with a six pack of beer! A big beautiful cake did the rounds a couple of times and was very popular.

On a personal note, I received a gorgeously boxed teapot, cup and saucer. I couldn’t have been happier because I collect teapots. As we seemed to be a present short, Ian supplied a ready wrapped gift for Dawn who was the last number to be called. Dawn immediately came over to me and it looked like she was going to steal my teapot. But I was granted a reprieve when she just couldn’t do it and moved on to Clive’s glass tumbler set. I then had two reasons to be grateful!

And we are grateful to the members in this club for their friendship and positivity and the good times we share.

Merry Christmas everyone and we look forward to seeing you all again in 2026, from Clive, Ian and Michele.

PMM Car Parking Report

Posted by Ray Philp on Dec. 17, 2025

Whew — that was a hot one!

A huge thank you to all our volunteers for their tremendous efforts on Sunday at the Perth Makers Market.

We knew it was going to be a scorcher, with the market opening half an hour earlier and an advertised early close of 2:30pm. As temperatures climbed past 39°C by 1:30pm, MarketLife advised stallholders that they could pack up from 2:00pm.

In preparation for the extreme conditions, generous support from Mal Taylor saw two gazebos donated, providing much-needed shade for our donation collectors in the lower car park. An umbrella was organised for the entrance position; however, a missing part meant the morning shift (Barry Mendelawitz) missed out on shade, while the afternoon shift (Tony Haeusler) was able to benefit.

our RYE outbound Briohny Sheedy heading to Finland in January!

Although attendance tapered off from around 11:30am, the earlier start delivered a very busy morning, resulting in a pleasing return from donations for our efforts.

Our regular volunteers from Rotary E-WA and Rotary Attadale once again did a fantastic job, working alongside Applecross Rotary members, partners and friends. We were also fortunate, for the first time, to be supported by volunteers from the Fremantle Sea Scouts. Under the leadership of Michael Hopper, they contributed a very productive 16 hours on the day. The young Scouts were particularly helpful with the pack-down of infrastructure — always the toughest part after a long day directing traffic.

regular volunteers from Rotary E-WA: Alan Briggs, Glynis Armstrong, Kero O'Shea

It has been a very successful year of fundraising for our projects, with Applecross Rotary playing a key role in supporting the Markets for stallholders and the wider community.

We’ll be back again next year, with the following dates confirmed:

Sunday 1 March 2026
Sunday 12 April 2026
Sunday 24 May 2026
Sunday 20 September 2026
Sunday 1 November 2026
Sunday 13 December 2026

With the Fremantle Sea Scouts keen to become more involved in managing the car parking, there’s definitely some light at the end of the tunnel — and a welcome boost of youthful energy to help lighten the load!

the Fremantle Sea Scouts crew

our newest member Dawn France first time as parking volunteer with Kero O'Shea

Michael Cockram (Attadale) finding some natural shade!

some behind the scenes volunteering (this could cost me)

Merry Xmas from a happy treasurer Brad and PMM project leads Lorri and Ray. Lorri looks forward to your support again next year when she sends out the ROSTER for the first market for the 1st March 2026.

JacFest Wrap

Posted by Chris WHELAN on Dec. 17, 2025

As we wrap up another wonderful year for the Rotary Jacaranda Festival, we’d like to take a moment to reflect on what has been a truly special season for our community.

In this edition, we look back on some of our proudest achievements, with 2025 marking not only the 25th year of the Rotary Jacaranda Festival, but also our biggest year yet in terms of donations raised.

As always, every dollar raised through the festival goes directly back into supporting local community groups and initiatives — something we’re incredibly proud of and grateful for.

We hope the festive season gives you the chance to slow down, spend time with loved ones, and reflect on a wonderful year. Please take care, stay safe, and enjoy the special moments that come with this time of year.

From all of us at the Rotary Jacaranda Festival, we wish you a very happy Christmas and a safe, joyful New Year. We look forward to keeping you updated with more from the festival in the year ahead.

Warmest wishes,
Chris Whelan & Erin Madeley
Jacaranda Festival Organiser & MarketLife Director

We’re incredibly grateful for the generous support that helps bring the Jacaranda Festival to life each year. Our major supporters, Lotterywest and the City of Melville, have played a vital role in the success of the event. Lotterywest has proudly supported the Festival for over 20 years, providing funding to the fullest extent of their charter. The City of Melville continues to be a longstanding partner, offering not only funding but also guidance and practical support that helps our community vision flourish.

We also extend our heartfelt thanks to our key local sponsors — The Good Grocer, Mont Property, Pharmacy 777, and Ross North Homes — for their commitment to the event and the local community.

In addition, we deeply appreciate the many local businesses who lend their support behind the scenes, from providing power and parking spaces to granting internal access that ensures the safety and comfort of our guests and performers. Your contributions make a real difference.

CONFERENCE NEWSLETTER #3

CHAIRPERSON

BREDE, Margaret

DAWSON, Chris

RECEPTION

HAEUSLER, Tony

HOST

DUNCAN-SMITH, Logan

Breakfast Meeting Invitation
DOME Deep Water Point
Jan 20, 2026 7:30 am – 8:30 am

Breakfast Meeting Invitation
DOME Deep Water Point
Jan 27, 2026 7:30 am – 8:30 am

Breakfast Meeting Invitation
DOME Deep Water Point
Feb 03, 2026 7:30 am – 8:30 am

Breakfast Meeting Invitation
DOME Deep Water Point
Feb 10, 2026 7:30 am – 8:30 am

View entire list

Jan 20, 2026 7:30 AM

Brian Burke

Former Premier/ Author

Brian Thomas Burke is a former Labor Premier of Western Australia (1983 – 1988) and Australian Ambassador to Ireland and the Holy See (1988 -1991).

Burke has published his autobiography, A Tumultuous Life, which deals in detail with his colourful and often controversial life and career.

Burke is a knowledgeable, interesting, humorous and entertaining guest speaker. While he is no longer a member of the Labor Party, Burke maintains connections across the political spectrum.

View entire list

Member Birthdays

Logan DUNCAN-SMITH

January 6

Clive Purt

January 8

Chris DAWSON

January 13

Jamie KELLY

December 3

Suresh PRABHAKARAN

December 13

Margaret BREDE

December 29

Kenn WILLIAMS

December 30

Spouse Birthdays

Helen Dawson

January 8

Dennis Brede

January 24

David Palmer

December 23

Anniversaries

Hamish TURNER

Chris Turner

January 17

Gordon DUNBAR

Diana Dunbar

January 20

Chris BACK

Linda Back

January 26

Peter McEWEN

Dany McEwen

December 5

Margaret BREDE

Dennis Brede

December 8

John KELLY

Ann Kelly

December 16

Ray Philp

Val Philp

December 30

Join Date

Liz PALMER

January 17, 2012

14 years

Kenn WILLIAMS

December 12, 1997

28 years

Logan DUNCAN-SMITH

December 12, 2017

8 years

Malcolm TAYLOR

December 15, 1996

29 years

President

Margaret BREDE

Immediate Past President

Tom ATKINSON

Secretary

Ronald BOWER

Treasurer

Brad FRANKEN

Foundation

Chris WHELAN

Membership

Adele CLEMENTS

Public Image

Ray Philp

Vocational

Aaron Hoffman

Community

Marianne THOMPSON

International

Tom ATKINSON

Youth

Logan DUNCAN-SMITH

Attendance

Tony HAEUSLER

Club Protection

Ronald BOWER

Bulletin

Ray Philp

Perth Makers Market

Lorri BRAZIER

Jacaranda Festival

Chris WHELAN

Program

Clive Purt

Program

Michele MUIR

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