International Toast from Australia

On Friday 14th July President Stewart announced to the club that the Rotary Club of Port Macquarie had been in touch with Past President Alan Rankin to obtain information so they could propose a toast at one of their regular meetings. President Stewart was sent a card and information leaflet signed by many of their members. This was passed round the meeting on Friday. Please find the text for you to read at leisure.

To promote International Understanding and Goodwill it
is customary at each of our regular dinner meetings for
club members to charge their glasses and toast a
Rotary Club somewhere in our Rotary World.

Our International Toast on 5/ 07 / 2017
is to the Rotary Club of Stirling in Scotland

Please be assured of a warm welcome should you pass this way.

ROTARY CLUB OF PORT MACQUARIE INC. DISTRICT 9650 AUSTRALIA
Website: http://rotaryclubportmacquarie.org/he

Our Club was founded on 22 May 1948. It was the first Club in the
town and has been involved in numerous projects as well as raising
funds which are used to assist local and offshore charities, schools,
hospitals and other non-profit bodies. Our District takes in a large
part of northern New South Wales extending from the coast to about
500 kilometres (300 miles) inland.
Its projects (often in conjunction with other local Clubs) include
provision of steel towers for surf lifesavers keeping watch at our
beaches; Rotary Lodge, which accommodates families of out-of-town
patients being treated at the hospital; a Community Centre for use by
our local Clubs and other persons and organizations; our annual
Bowelscan project, where we sell a kit used by pathologists to test for
bowel cancer. Our main offshore projects are a hospital and school
on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu, an island nation to the north-east
of Australia, and a hospital and toilets in Nepal.
Our main fund-raising activity is our annual book sale with thousands
of donated books being sold; we have an annual golf day; we hold
numerous barbeques selling the popular sausage sandwiches
Australians love to eat (hot dogs are not quite as popular).
Our meetings are on Wednesday nights and allow us to have fun and
fellowship as well as learning something from our guest speakers.
Our Sergeant extracts fines from members for various
'misdemeanours' as well as giving members an opportunity to
contribute sad or happy dollars (often when a member's favourite
sporting team wins or loses, but also to announce happy events like
the birth of a new baby.

Climate

With a climate recognized as the best in Australia, it's not surprising that
Greater Port Macquarie is amongst Australia's longest established and
best loved holiday destinations with its glorious bays and beaches,
intricate inland waterways, rainforest and rolling hinterland.
Port Macquarie has a humid sub-tropical climate with a mean maximum
temperature of 22.20C, a minimum temperature of 13. IOC, and an
annual rainfall of 1,540 mm (60.6 in).

History

The Port Macquarie area on the mid north coast of New South Wales, is situated
on the Hastings River and surrounding tributaries, and was inhabited by two main
groups of peoples, the Thungutti and Birpai Nations. This area was first visited
by European, John Oxley in 1820 (Port Macquarie Historical Society, 1976).
Oxley noted that, "The pott abounds with fish. The sharks were larger and more
numerous than I have ever before observed. The forest hills and rising grounds
abounded with large kangaroos and the marshes afford shelter and support
to innumerable wild fowl. Independent of the Hastings River the area is
generally well watered, there is a fine spring at the very entrance to the Port. '

Population

The city has a population of 48,000 and the wider area of the
Hastings Valley had a total population of 72,000.
Port Macquarie is now the fastest growing place in New South Wales.

General

Port Macquarie is a popular tourist destination, known for its extensive
beaches and waterways. The town is also known for its koala population,
being the home to the Billabong Koala Park and the Koala Preservation
Society's Koala Hospital, caring for injured koalas.