Posts related to 'communtiy groups'

Mitcham Rotary Changeover Dinner

Published by Alex Makin on Tuesday 1st of July, 2008

This evening I was invited to the Mitcham Rotary 2008 Changeover dinner. Rotary rotates its President on an annual basis to ensure new ideas and to assist in providing equitable distribution of the workload within the club.

Tonight’s dinner provided an opportunity for Sharon Partridge, the outgoing President, to discuss her year as the President of Mitcham Rotary. Sharon, who is a former Whitehorse Councillor, discussed Rotary’s involvement in the support of rural communities hit by drought and the successful fundraising concert, which featured Archie Roach. The proceeds of this concert provided a scholarship for indigenous medical students as well as solar technology for community buildings in East Timor.

Mitcham Rotary, like the many Rotary clubs within Melbourne and Victoria provide valuable community activities across the country and internationally. For more details on Rotary please visit www.rotary.org.au

Ringwood Historical Society meeting - discussing the architecture of Ringwood

Published by Alex Makin on Tuesday 24th of June, 2008

Tonight’s Ringwood Historical Society meeting included two topics, with the first speaker discussing the evolution of cameras followed by an examination of the historical architecture within Ringwood.

Greg Wade, a member of the society, displayed an impressive amount of historical cameras and traced the evolution of photography and film. Greg covered the early cameras, through to the mass commercialisation of photography and into the digital era that is prevalent today.

The discussion on architecture traced Ringwood’s history and development from the early Victorian era of 1840 through to the post-war development in the 1950s and beyond. Much of Ringwood’s early development, such as the Ringwood Railway Estate, reflected the 1920s interwar style of architecture, with brick featured chimneys, common at the time.

Following World War II another housing boom in Ringwood occurred with the settlement of returned soldiers and housing reflected a simpler design with contrasting colours. Throughout the 60s infill development occurred particularly in parts of Ringwood East and Ringwood North with an emphasis on flat roofs and native gardens.

While Ringwood may lack the traces of early architecture evident within inner Melbourne, there are still examples of historical housing, reflecting the changing character and pace of development within Ringwood.