Former Premier of Victoria Hon. Ted Baillieu AO is well known and much admired by Glenferrie Rotarians, not just because he is a Glenferrie Rotarian himself, but because of his extensive commitment to and engagement with significant community causes, including significant positions with Melbourne and Swinburne universities, Multicultural Arts Victoria, Sovereign Hills Musum Association, Queenscliff Historical Museum, Cancer Council Victoria, Australian India Chamber of Commerce, the Epilepsy Foundation of Victoria and the Victorian Highland Piped Band Association. Since April 2013, Baillieu has served as Chair of the Victorian Government's ANZAC Centenary Committee, overseeing Victoria's commemorations and facilitating connections between Victorians and the legacy of the Original ANZACs through family, institutions, geography, occupation, and place of residence.
Don't forget to Invite Partners and Friends for Tomorrow nights meEting!
Tomorrow night’s Club Meeting at Kooyong will be a special Partners and Friends evening. Members are warmly encouraged to invite partners, family and friends to join us for what promises to be a meaningful and evocative occasion, as we honour those who have served our nation.
Partners and Friends nights are a wonderful celebration of the Rotary family. We look forward to sharing this special evening together.
I would like to thank the incoming President of our club, Chris Raw, for standing in for me at our last dinner meeting. Chris and I are in regular contact with each other as the end of the Rotary year is fast approaching and there is much to do. We are in the throes of planning the important Changeover dinner to be held on Tuesday the 23rd of June at Kooyong Lawn Tennis club. Invitations will be sent out soon so please keep that date free for what is always a memorable and enjoyable evening.
Speaker: Tony BoyleTopic: Home Batteries and Much Much More
Tony Boyle, left. Electrifying Boroondara.
Club members enjoyed a very enlightening presentation by Tony Coyle from Electrify Boroondara on the subject of how to electrify your home and business to save money, improve health and comfort and create a safer climate.
Tony guided us through the decision process that one ought to follow when considering installing a solar battery.
The Rotary Club of Glenferrie extends its sincere condolences to Isaiah Lahai and his family on the passing of his mother, Baindu Finda Lahai, in Sierra Leone. We share the following personal tribute as a mark of respect and in recognition of the important role she played in Isaiah's life and values.
In Loving Memory of Mother Baindu Finda Lahai 15 January 1947 – 11 April 2026
Isaiah Lahai
It is with deep sorrow and reverence that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, Baindu Finda Lahai, who departed this life on 11 April 2026 in Buedu Town, Kissi Tongi Chiefdom, Kailahun District, Republic of Sierra Leone, surrounded by her loved ones after a brief illness. She was 79 years old.
Mother Baindu Finda Lahai was born on 15 January 1947 in Liberia, into a respected family in Foya. She was united in marriage to Deacon Solomon Falla Lahai of Sierra Leone, and together they shared 58 years of devoted partnership, building a family grounded in faith, resilience, and love.
The Rotary Club of Glenferrie has recently donated $3,600 to the Rotary North Balwyn led joint project to provide medical equipment to the village of Vo Thanh in Vietnam. The club joined the project in April 2020 at the instigation of then International Service Director Robert Hogan. The project, which supports the poorer communities in the Hạ Hòa District of Phú Thọ Province of Vietnam, of which Vo Thanh is one, won the District 9800 International Service Award in 2020.
This latest contribution followed the visit to Vo Thanh in 2025 by Glenferrie Rotarian Christine McCann as part of the project team visiting local schools and health care centres. Following discussions with local representatives, several priority items were identified as needed to enhance healthcare delivery, including stethoscopes, a blood glucose tester, and a new computer and printer for the medical station; equipment essential for improving patient care and record-keeping.
Through this multi-club project, Rotary in Boroondara, in partnership with the Overseas Kids Foundation, has built a strong and enduring relationship with the people of Phú Thọ Provice. Truly uniting for good and testimony to the difference we can make to the lives of others when we get engaged.
Just back from a week in April on another six monthly trip to Sumba as part of the Foresight Sumba Eye Program. This was a participatory important week, in which the eye registrar from the Udayana University (Dr Jelly) was already using the eye clinic set up by funding from the Rotary Club of Balwyn. It was our chance to check out how the clinic was functioning. Also, the 4 optometrists were involved in one on one training with our eyecare nurses, some of whom are employed by the Sumba Foundation. The new theatres at the Waikabubak Hospital were impressive and we were allowed the use one of the four theatres for the week of surgery where the Dr Jelly, Dr Saphira (from Caritas) and Dr Cho (consultant from Udayana University) operated on mainly cataracts.
About this time, 46 years ago, Glenferrie Rotarians were very busy indeed, organising the River Run - then the major fundraiser for the club - a ten mile jog along the banks of the Yarra, scheduled for 4th May 1980. The River Run was founded in 1978, three years after the club's charter, and was held annually until 2004.
Then Club President, John Skerritt (1977-78), commissioned club member Bill Luke to devise a format for a ‘fun run’ which would be of interest to fitness conscious people. And so the Rotary Club of Glenferrie Sunday Observer River Run was born.
Rotarians embrace the Four-Way Test because it reflects the organisation’s deeper purpose: fostering trust, promoting ethical leadership, and building stronger communities
As Rotarians we, each of us, commit to living according to the Four-way test. But sometimes we forget, and sometimes the result is that little things blow up to create much more serious fissures in our relationships.The Four-Way Test reminds us that even small actions can have a big impact on others. In a busy world, respecting others and taking a moment to follow through on our responsibilities, honour our commitments and respect the needs of others can make all the difference to how smoothly our communities, including our club, operates. This article reflects on how consideration and cooperation - simply being considerate of others - bring the test to life.
Residents of Camberwell, Hawthorn East and Glen Iris, including Glenferrie Rotarians, quickly fell in love with the iconic Leo's Fine Food & Wine store (alias Leo's Supermarket) in Summerhill Road, Hartwell, which opened in 2010. Alas, Leo's Hartwell closed in late 2025, much to the dismay of loyal customers. (It has since reopened as a Coles Local). Leo's, which opened first in Kew in 1985, was well known for its European style, its gourmet foods and the unique products it sourced from European suppliers - products you would never find in the 2½ big brand supermarkets that dominate the sector. But did you know the Leo's connection with Rotary? This tribute to a past member from Kew Rotarian Murray Chessell, which appeared in the Kew Bulletin on April 9th 2026, explains the connection. Here is an edited extract kindly submitted by Murray. Ed.
Edited Extract from talk on History of Rotary Club of Kew 9 April 26 - Murray Chessell, Rotary Club of Kew
There were some very capable businesspeople in the club over the years, but some of my fondest memories are of Leo Blake of Leo’s Supermarket fame.
He left school the day he turned 14 and went to work as the butcher’s boy at Carnegie. I don’t know when he first started his own grocery but by the time, he died he had built a small empire of grocery shops stretching from Frankston to Ferntree Gully.
Except for one loyal lieutenant and a couple of people to keep the books, he never built a big team, and he never needed a grand office.
The Rotary Club of Glenferrie acknowledges the traditional owners as the custodians of this land, recognising their connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to Australia's First Peoples, and to their elders, past, present and future.
The Rotary Club of Glenferrie | PO Box 2134 | Hawthorn Vic 3122
