Australia Day at John Wearn Reserve was a great success despite the challenging weather conditions (hot during the day and thunderstorms threatening all evening).
The morning Flag-Raising ceremony with Rotary District Governor Mina Howard, keynote speaker Dr Andrew Charlton MP, Councilor Georgina Valjak speaking on behalf of the City of Parramatta, and also featuringal an Aboriginal Smoking Ceremony which had great community participation. The local North Rocks Scouts did a fine job of performing the flag-raising, and young vocalist Rose from North Beats Music Academy performed a heartfelt version of “I Am Australian”. The North Rocks RFS cooked up a terrific Aussie BBQ.
The evening program of Cultural performances and Australian contemporary music (Rosana Gallo, and North Beats Music Academy performers) was organized by PP Dexter Tabeta and featured colourful costumes and fantastic entertainment. The evening family movie “Oddball” was unfortunately cut short by about 20 minutes due to poor weather at the very end.
The three organizing Rotary Clubs announced a joint donation of $4000 to be given to the Rotary Club of Parkes for use in their amazing flood relief effort and support of the community at Eugowra who have been so recently devastated by floods. PP Ed Strom accepted the "big cheque" on behalf of the Rotary Club of Parkes.
Thankyou to the organizing committee with members of RC North Rocks (Fay & David); RC Beecroft (Russell & Greg); and RC Carlingford (Trudy, Dexter, Bass, Sudhir) and Bob Erskine for their efforts in arranging this wonderful community event, with the support of the National Australia Day Council. Thankyou to all volunteers and club members who supported the event on the day.