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Circular No. 115 Official Organ of 2/30th Bn. A.I.F. Assn Dear Dig, The Eleventh Annual General Meeting was held at the "Chow's" on Friday night, 13th July, 1956 and was a riot of fun. Approximately thirty five members were present, about twenty five of these arriving about six o'clock for a meal. The meal was a relaxed affair, great mounds of rice, plates of prawn omelettes, chickens and almonds and Keith Broughton trying to make firm orders with Mr Lee. Each time Keith ordered sweet and sour fish Mr. Lee turned up with pickled pork or long soup and the resultant argument in Chinese and English was a joy to hear. Anyway, we enjoyed the Makan. The meeting itself was a good one. Arch Thorburn was in the chair, apologies came from Les Hall, Bob Jack, Noel Johnston, Popeye Kentwell, Hank Massey and Stuart Plowes. The election of officers resulted in the following members being elected:-- Patron: The Old Gent; President: Arch Thorburn; Vice President: Harry Collins; Country Vice President: Curly Heckendorf; Secretary: Stan Arneil; Treasurer: Reg Ellis.
COMMITTEE: Suggestions, were put forward regarding extension of Welfare Work and Ron Foster brought up the proposal for a gathering on Anzac Day after the March. The Old Man spoke in his usual style, exhorting members to make the next reunion and the ceremony at the Cenotaph next January our two biggest functions to date. The gathering broke up at a fairly late hour. ANNUAL REUNION At the General Meeting suggestions were made to ensure a record attendance at our next reunion which will be held at the Gallipoli Legion Club Room in November. As a first point the Old Man announced that Padre Paddy Walsh has decided to come down for it and Paddy advised that he would like to renew acquaintance with as many members as possible. Paddy counts every man in the Unit as his personal friend and he has only seen a handful of us in ten years. It could easily be another ten years before he can make another trip. The next big point to be brought out was absence from past reunions of those who have neglected to join the Association. This is brought about mainly because they are not on our mailing list and consequently do not hear of the dates of our functions. Ron Maston is organising the next reunion and he would like you to write or telephone to him all the addresses of those ex-members of the Unit who have not yet joined the Association. If you can supply the addresses Ron will do the rest. Ron’s address is Elizabeth Bay, and his telephone numbers are BL4l4l or FA 5613. This month the major point of this Makan is the report and minutes which were tabled at the Annual General Meeting on Friday the 13th July, 1956. Please forward cheques, money orders and postal notes to Reg Ellis at Boronia Park. All money orders and postal notes to be made payable at the G.P.O., Sydney. Cheerio, STAN ARNEIL. 2/30tt In Bn. A.I.F. Assn. Minutes of Tenth Annual General Meeting Held at the Far Eastern Cafe, Dixon Street, Sydney on 29 April 1955. ATTENDANCE: About Sixty Members. CHAIRMAN: Vice-President Noel Johnston BUSINESS: 1. Minutes of the Ninth Annual General Meeting were received and confirmed. 2. Financial Statement for year ended 31/12/54 was received and adopted. Arising out of the financial statement a decision was made to increase admission charges to the next Annual Reunion to 15/0 per head. 3. Election of Officers. The election of officers resulted as follows:--
President: Arch Thorburn, The Election was unusual inasmuch as the Presidency changed hands for the first time since the formation of the Association at Changi in 1942. Speaking in support of the new President and the incoming Committee the Old Man said that the Association remained in good hands and he looked forward with interest to its progress in the years to come. 4. Presentation of Life Membership Badges. The Old Man presented Life Membership Badges to Reg Ellis, Ken Crispin and Stan Arneil for their services to the Association and the Unit. 5. Election of Old Man as Honorary Life Member. It was proposed by Stan Arneil seconded by Dick Tompson and carried unanimously that Honorary Life Membership be bestowed on the Old Man. 6. General: The Meeting was a lively one from its inception to its close. The attendance was excellent and the atmosphere most pleasant. The gathering broke up at a late hour. 2/30th Inf. Bn. A.I.F. Assn, Report for the 18 months period ended 30/6/56. The delay in issuing a report for the last calendar year was brought about by the substitution during April, for the usual General Meeting, of a special reunion. During the period the following functions were held: TENTH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING: The meeting was held at the Far Eastern Cafe in April, 1955, and was, what could be termed a roaring success. About sixty members attended and the night was a very happy one for all present. The points of interest of the meeting have been outlined in the minutes which are attached. ANNUAL BALL: The committee decided after long discussion to dispense with the holding of the Annual Ball during 1955 and 1956. Results over the last few years have not been satisfactory either from a financial or attendance viewpoint. MONTHLY MAKAN: The monthly Makan has been continued, the final Makan of the period being the 113th to be issued. COMMITTEE MEETINGS: Since the 10th annual General Meeting Committee Meetings have bean held on the second Thursday of every second month. Attendance at the Committee Meetings were as follows: Arch. Thorburn 7; Harry Collins 7; Stan Arneil 6; Bill Ennis 5; Ray Simmons 5; Reg Ellis 4; The Old Man 4; Dick Tompson 4; Noel Johnston 3. MEMBERSHIP: The Membership has remained fairly stable throughout this year. A personal letter from the President to all the members who had allowed their subscriptions to "slip" by without a payment, for a period of three years or scrap resulted in many members renewing their subscriptions. WELFARE: The Committee is taking an active interest in Welfare as always. Several cases have come to hand when we have been able to assist with advice and on occasions monetary grants and loans have been made. The Committee have been fortunate in their choice of Les Hall to assist them in Welfare work. Les is an "old hand" at this type of service to the community and he has already performed investigations for us. The selection of a Welfare Officer is a delicate one as those in need are often very sensitive of their position. Les is to our mind ideal for the job and will, with Sammy Hall, give us a very good team for Welfare work. ANNUAL REUNION: The Annual Reunion was held at the Gallipoli Legion Club Rooms on the last Friday night in November. The Reunion was very successful, over a hundred members attending. A Guest of the Association for the evening was Mr. Malcolm Sinclair, President of the 30th Inf. Bn. A.I.F. Association. During the evening the Old Man presented a Life Membership Badge to Alan Penfold in recognition of his efforts in the writing of the Unit History. The President, Arch. Thorburn, then presented the Old Man with a similar Life Membership Badge for his untiring efforts in war and peace for the members of the Unit. Those present showed their appreciation of the two presentations by acclamation. SPECIAL REUNION: During April, 1956, a special Reunion was held at the Gallipoli Legion Club Rooms. The Reunion was held as an experiment to ascertain whether any country lads would be able to attend with less difficulty than during November. From this latter point the Reunion was not a success although those who were there enjoyed themselves immensely. The Committee decided at a subsequent meeting to discontinue the holding of a Reunion in April and revert to the traditional November date. OUR UNPAID STAFF: All members express their appreciation once again to Mrs. Bessie Ellis for her work for us during the year. Mrs. Ellis types the envelopes for the monthly Makan and with Reg assisting, stamps the envelopes and folds the Makan. She has performed this work for over ten years and we are really grateful. The Committee also would like to thank all wives, mothers and sisters who write to us. LAST POST: During the period under review the following comrades left the ranks: George Gillard, "Don" Coy.; John Gaden, "A" Coy.; Les Thorne, "HQ" Coy. These friends of ours will be sadly missed wherever we gather. They were part of us and shared our life during those long years when good friends were all that we had. The Association extends deep sympathy to the next-of-kin of such fine soldiers. FINALLY: The Association is growing in solidarity as the years go on. Letters of appreciation from Country members continue to arrive and show that interest in the affairs of ex-comrades does not lag. The Executive and Committee express their appreciation of your effort to make a good Association and in their turn will maintain their keenness on your behalf. For and an behalf of the Executive & Committee,
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