|
Back to 1951 index or
Main Index
Makan – No. 58 Official Organ of the 2/30th Bn. A.I.F. Assn Patron: Brig. F.G. Galleghan, D.S.O.,
O.B.E., E.D. Dear Dig, The Sixth Annual General Meeting of the Association was by far the most successful, in all respects, that we have held to date. About 65 members were present and from start to finish there was not a boring moment. The meeting itself was bright enough to keep sleep away and there was plenty of comment on all the questions raised. As there was nothing contentious raised during the meeting, tempers remained calm. A new committee was elected, comprising Phil Schofield, Bill Innes, Arch Thorburn and Johnny Parsons, all of C. Coy. We expect that the new committee will push us around a little as all new committees usually do. The election of Johnny Persons did away with the original intention of electing a social secretary and, as he has now been pinned down for one year at least, we will foist any problems on to his broad shoulders. Tribute was paid at the meeting to the work of the retiring members, Bill Clayton, Garry Evans and Sid Grounds. They were good committee members but circumstances prevented them sitting again this year. One point arose during the night which we will pass on to you at once. There is talk of cutting down on the P.O.W. survey as part of the present economy drive of this Government, This is not official, but we take the news in good faith and urge you, if you have not yet been through the survey to immediately apply to the Repatriation Department for your survey. After the business of the meeting those present settled down to a little steady enjoyment until the beer ran out. It was certainly a very cordial night. Not the roar and noise of a full scale reunion, but a leisurely drifting from group to group with plenty of good fellows to laugh with. During the meeting, the motion to amend the Association Constitution was passed unanimously. The new rule was too hard for any there to interpret and Arch Thorburn explained its meaning, which boils down to the fact that we are now able to admit to the Association any member of the 8th Division whose unit Association has its headquarters outside Sydney. The rule is one which will not be rushed by outsiders because very few of other units would want to join OUR Association. However, there are several friends of ours who are as much a part of our unit as any of us and it will be a real pleasure to admit them as bona fide members to all our gatherings. Jock Logan was down recently for the big football, he gets around does our Jock. Kevin Ward, A. Coy., has just shifted into a new house at Buckland Street, Bankstown. Kevin is doing better than most from a material sort of way, he has a new car, his own home and best of all, two children, a girl and a boy. However, he has very bad eyesight still and is unable to drive the car himself, leaving that to his wife. Ray Streatfeild of Padstow was unable to get along to the Ball but sent his regards to all his friends. Ray is a very solid supporter of the Association and is a good solid citizen himself. Les Parfrey writes that he and brother George are carving the big stake out of the jumbucks. In addition, they are both in good health and feel very confident of the future. They often see your old friend Max Pyle, who is also keeping the best of health. Jim Parsons of Katoomba is one of those who are building the cottage during the weekends. He does not keep good health, but is one of the old smiling type and he has a nice little wife to give him all the encouragement he needs. Bob Dickson of New Lambton has been suffering very badly his winter from arthritis. It is a grave disability and interferes with his work to say nothing of the enjoyment of life. Bob and his wife said goodbye to their son, now 17 years old, who has joined the Navy and is now in Melbourne. Bob and his wife are on their own again now and find it a little lonely without a great strapping son around the house. The Ball was both a success and a failure. Socially it was our best Ball to date! There was never a dull moment and there were many new faces on the floor. Those who came along for the first time resolved to bring bigger parties for our next effort, if ever. There were many of the old familiar faces missing because of the ever present and apparently, in our, units, ever increasing baby problem. Babies are coming along thick and fast and future Makans will tell you the tidings of them as they arrive. During the night the Old Gentleman made a small presentation to Mrs. Bessie Ellis as a token of our appreciation for her constant and continued work in distributing the Makan to you each month. On your behalf, the Brig. Presented a silver tea service, suitably inscribed, and he made the most of the opportunity and spoke out like a bush lawyer. At the appropriate time he handed the teapot over and dropped it! Yes, it just had to happen. It went something like this..."...and Mrs. Ellis it gives me great pleasure to ask you to accept this little gift,” cllunnnk, teapot on the floor and uproar from all the ignorant members of B., C. and Don Coys. However, it provided a little cheerfulness and everybody was the happier for it. You did not know of the proposed little presentation as we had to ensure that it was a complete surprise to the recipient and we are happy to say that it carries with it the thanks of all the members for the smoother running of the Association. One very questionable point during the evening was the fact that the raffle for a dozen bottles of ale was won by Doug Blanshard of A. Coy - the raffle was managed by Garry Evans of A. Coy. Now for the other side of the Ball. We had been promised over 200 bookings for the Ball and our guarantee was 230. We were prepared to pay for a small number under the guarantee but we were not prepared for the fact that only 175 actually paid. The social committee, to wit Johnny Parsons, was completely let down by most of those who gave the Ball a miss after booking their tickets. There are always good reasons for these things we know, but this time the percentage who failed to turn up was too great and instead of making enough to help our expenses along we will just cut even and then only because of very generous assistance from various donors and from the assistance of Garry Evans and his merry man who raffled the beer for us. You would not like anyone to feel that this is a personal slight but a little quiet thought will enable one to see that we could quite easily have been £50 down the drain. We will try and arrange things a little better next year, although we all realise that with rising costs the margin is becoming smaller and smaller. We cannot let this opportunity go by without expressing our thanks to Ward Booth for his donation of the Ball tickets, to Alan Penfold and to all those who helped with the Ball and to those generous members who made donations to the Ball Fund but who were unable to get along. These last members are Mrs Bell, Darrel Proctor, Alan Cameron, Hank Massey, Lt. Col. Ramsay, Mr. Charles Clayton, Vernon Baynes, Neil Huntley and Bruce Greer. Whilst on the subject of finance, we would earnestly request those who are still dragging the chain with this year's subs to send them along at once, if possible. It bears repeating that our postage per member is now 3/9 per year for the Makan and annual report, this leaves 1/3 to pay for stationery, printing and general expenses. We still have good friends to discount our stationery purchases, but it is a nightmare job trying to make ends meet, so PLEASE SEND IN YOUR SUBS. We regret the late issue of the Makan this month. We like to be on time but sometimes work catches up on me and delays are unavoidable. Please forward all, cheques, postal notes or money orders to Reg Ellis, 13 Albany Street, St. Leonard's. Cheerio, STAN ARNEIL. Back to 1951 index or Main Index |