Bally Barker Blog

A farewell dinner to Ian & Di McCarry was held at Totem Club. In early November, Ian and Di will be moving to Warners Bay to be close to their daughter's family and grandchildren. A group of Rotarian friends wished them Good Luck and they promised to come back and visit in the future. Ian has been a Rotarian for 25 years having started at Manly club and then the last 12 at Balgowlah. His drive and enthusiasm with many areas of service and Presidency in most of 2012-13 and all 2013-14  has been the the way Ian has approached any project or undertaking. He also tirelessly produced Bally Barker each month and many procedure manuals for service committees including Youth, Awards and our major fundraiser - the Annual Golf Day. His efforts with  many committees, projects and events and obtaining many sponsors will be greatly missed. Farewell Ian & Di  

A very successful and interesting meeting was held with 3 clubs tonight; Balgowlah Rotary, Dee Why Warringah and Rotary Club of Condobolin. Condobolin streamed their meeting from in a local hall, 8 Balgowlah members were at Balgowlah RSL and the remaining member/participants joined together via ZOOM. It was interesting to hear that despite Covid restrictions each club has been able to conduct or plan some worthwhile activities in coming months. The commitment and enthusiasm of all people participating was very evident and most rewarding. It was also World Polio Day and Balgowlah club member, PP Diana Hart AM, gave a thought provoking presentation to the group on Polio, its history, the development of treatments & vaccines, and Rotary's  launch of PolioPlus in 1985. From an estimated 350,000 cases in 125 countries in 1985 to just 10 so far this year (Nigeria, Pakistan & Afghanistan); the progress of the successful eradication programs has been phenomenal. She also discussed

It's all happening! Just what does it take to have a totally new fund-raising project that is Covid19 safe and gets all the family involved, your Fundraising team have devised the Cars'nClues Road Rally  The route was finalised and then appropriate bodies were contacted for permission to stage the event and use posters outdoors.  Our club has some very talented people,. Bev designed an eye catching poster :   Flyers then were prepared by a willing team.....     Great effort - they are now on displayed at Warringah Mall, Dalwood and Balgowlah Boys High School.   A big well done to all the workers! Other advertising and promotion includes: Flyers – done thanks to Bev. We just need to use them to advertise our event wherever possible so please tell all of your friends & family Emails sent to members, honorary members, past event participants, friends of Rotary & sponsors. Rotary Cluster Clubs with details of our Rally and a copy of the f

  President Report (Oct 2020) The first few months of our Rotary year starting July 2020 have been rewarding despite the challenging times with members engaged at meetings attended via Zoom and during the last few weeks face to face. We meet at Balgowlah RSL each 1 st and 3 rd Tuesday of the month but at present can only have up to 10 coming face to face due to the pandemic. Events We have postponed our major fundraiser Golf Day and Dinner due to Corona virus Covid-19, not because of the golf, but the dinner with auctions as we couldn’t mingle and the worry of close contact. We now hope to hold the event in March next year when hopefully restrictions will be less. To help raise some money we are now holding new event,   “Cars’n Clues Road Rally” on Sunday 1 st November. The event should be a lot of fun with participants following the clues to locations around the Northern Beaches and answering questions. It has helped give the members some focus and a

Biala Hostel During the school holidays, a willing team of Rotarians from clubs on the Northern Beaches worked on  minor refurbishment and repairs at Biala Hostel in Allambie Heights.  John and Lindy (left) with other volunteers The Biala Girls Hostel has been described as a "Lifeline" for indigenous girls from rural NSW, who live there while they go to Northern Beaches Secondary College - Mackellar Girls Campus.  Currently there are 9 students and it can accommodate 13 students.     The external recreational areas needed work especially the decking. So the team got cracking and made it happen.. This was more than a working bee, it was a well planned restoration project   Job very well done Thanks to all the volunteers who gave their time and skills ...

 1 October 2020 Sue arranged that all met at the Old Manly Hospital site just outside St Paul's school A group of 7 and set off up Bluefish Drive then walked east along a mostly well-formed track in North Head Sanctuary. Very soon we saw wildflowers of various colours and species     We then saw the 9.2 inch gun emplacements and the tunnels that support them. The area was completed in 1938 and in 2017 the guns were moved to be housed in Puckpunyal in Victoria at yet to be built artillery museum. They fired shells weighing 2 tons and had a range of 27Km (that's the distance from North Head to Parramatta).  The" hole in the wall" We didn't hear any frogs at the pond but all enjoyed a great view of the ocean cliffs along the walk and the relaxed at the Boathouse at Shelly Beach. Thank you to Sue you alread hada a walk in these parts in September. The group photo to record the event.