History

Canberra Sundowners' History
The Rotary Club of Canberra Sundowners (the Canberra Sundowners) chartered as a Rotary club on 21st August 2021.  We had been working toward this goal for a number of years.  A brief history of the club, from its initiation as a satellite club is provided below.
 
Toward the end of 2015, the District Governor Monica Garrett approached the Rotary Club of Canberra Sunrise with a challenge to launch a satellite club focussed on attracting younger members.  The Canberra Sunrise Board, led at the time by President Peter Hill, accepted the challenge and commenced planning and recruiting activities to identify the minimum of 8 members required to form a Satellite Club.  Claire Scott took on the role as the first Chair of the Canberra Sundowners satellite club.
 
A primary driver for DG Monica's challenge was the declining membership across many clubs in the District (and Rotary across the board), and the observation that many traditional clubs were not offering an attractive and sufficiently flexible environment for younger members.  Less administration, more hands-on community service and greater flexibility were key goals for the new club.
 
While at the time we were looking for ways to attract younger members, members of any age were welcome to join our club.  The club seeks to offer an informal, more hands-on community service approach that includes loads of fun - ingredients that we were looking for and that we think may be more attractive to younger people. 
 
It took time and a great deal of effort to build numbers and to establish plans for the satellite club and we tried a number of approaches.  Below is a flyer we used in 2016 to seek out new members:
 
In January 2017, we had recruited sufficient members to become a satellite club.  The Canberra Sundowners (formally titled the Rotary Club of Canberra Sundowners) was established as a satellite club within the Rotary Club of Canberra Sunrise on 23rd February 2017.  It is a great credit to Claire Scott that she had the vision and commitment to lead this activity to fruition and to become the Sundowners initial Chair.  Other foundation members included Nick Scholar, Sam Saunders, Gus McBride, Philippa Butler, Kate Wiencke and Ash Jensen.
 
                                           
 
Current and Past Sundowners Chairs
Current year: Mitra Rawan (President) 
2023-24: Tara Pullen (President)
2022-23: Sam Doyle (President)
2021-22: Sam Saunders (Chair and President)
2020-21:  Emma McVeigh (Chair)
2019-20:  Tara Pullen (Chair)
2018-19:  Sam Saunders (Chair)
January to June 2018: Tara Pullen (Chair)
February 2017 to January 2018:  Claire Scott (Chair)
 
Club Member of the Year Award
This award of a Paul Harris Fellow is sponsored by Past District Governor Monica Garrett to recognise a club member who has made significant contributions to the community and / or the club over a Rotary year. 
2023-24:  Patricia McDonell
2022-23:  Christine Bell
2021-22:  Peter Hill
 
Paul Harris Fellows
Rotary was founded by Paul Harris, a lawyer, and three business associates in Chicago on 23 February 1905.
 
In his honour since 1957, Paul Harris Fellows have been recognised to express appreciation for contributions to the humanitarian and educational programs of The Rotary Foundation. Those programs include an array of projects that save and invigorate the lives of people around the world and enhance international friendship and understanding.  These projects are funded, implemented, and managed by Rotarians and Rotary clubs around the world.
 
Anyone who contributes* US$1,000 or more to the Annual Fund, PolioPlus, or an approved Foundation grant, or has that amount contributed in their name may be recognised as a Paul Harris Fellow.
 
Paul Harris Fellow recognition is both an award for exemplary work in community service or helping those in need, or a method of recognising a substantial donation to The Rotary Foundation.
 
As of July 2024, the following members of the Sundowners have been recognised as Paul Harris Fellows:
 
  • Christine Bell
  • Sam Doyle
  • Lynne Duckham OAM
  • Roger Eichler
  • Jordan Fallon
  • Helen Green
  • Peter Hill
  • James Holman
  • David Kurthi
  • Sara Lemanski
  • Patricia McDonell
  • Emma McVeigh
  • Ash Pagett
  • Tara Pullen
  • Mitra Rawan
  • Sam Saunders
  • Claire Scott
  • Ser Sim

Rotary International Formation

“WHATEVER ROTARY MAY MEAN TO US, TO THE WORLD IT WILL BE KNOWN BY THE RESULTS IT ACHIEVES.”  — PAUL P. HARRIS

Our 1.4 million-member organization started with the vision of one man—Paul P. Harris. The Chicago attorney formed one of the world’s first service organizations, the Rotary Club of Chicago, on 23 February 1905 as a place where professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form meaningful, lifelong friendships. Rotary’s name came from the group’s early practice of rotating meetings among the offices of each member.

 

OUR ONGOING COMMITMENT

Rotarians have not only been present for major events in history—we’ve been a part of them. From the beginning, three key traits have remained strong throughout Rotary:
We’re truly international. Only 16 years after being founded, Rotary had clubs on six continents. Today we’re working together from around the globe both digitally and in-person to solve some of our world’s most challenging problems.
 
We persevere in tough times. During WWII, Rotary clubs in Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, and Japan were forced to disband. Despite the risks, many continued to meet informally and following the war’s end, Rotary members joined together to rebuild their clubs and their countries.
Our commitment to service is ongoing. We began our fight against polio in 1979 with a project to immunize 6 million children in the Philippines. By 2012, only three countries remained polio-endemic—down from 125 in 1988.