Community
26 February, 2022
Cairns Rotary Club Celebrates 92 Years Of Service
ON TUESDAY, February 22, Cairns Rotary Club celebrated its 92nd Birthday with a function at The Benson Hotel.
The celebration was joint with Rotary International, which turned 117 on February 23.
Paul Harris created Rotary in Chicago in 1905. Initially, it was a small group of business associates from different professions, and the name Rotary evolved because the members met by rotation at their various places of business.
Rotary quickly expanded across different cities and countries to the degree that it was a consolidated international organisation when the Rotary Club of Cairns was formed in 1930.
Rotary works at all levels from micro-projects in small towns to global projects such as “End Polio Now”.
Since The Rotary Foundation was created almost 100 years ago, it has spent more than $4 billion on life-changing sustainable projects. Rotarians now undertake volunteer hours with an estimated value of $850 million per year.
Local Cairns Area Governor David Kirchner oversees the activities of 11 Rotary Clubs from Tully in the south to Mossman in the north and Atherton and Mareeba.
Mr Kirchner said it was an exceptional occasion to celebrate 92 years of Cairns Rotary.
“Cairns Rotary was the first Rotary Club in Far North Queensland, so it’s amazing to see how much Rotary has grown,” he said.
“This celebration is a great achievement as Cairns Rotary Club President inducted three new Rotarians.”
Local Rotary Clubs are often seen running sausage sizzles, duck races, raffles, festivals, car rallies and local community markets as fundraising activities.
The amounts these clubs raise are consequently given to a broad cross-section of needy local causes that benefit all ages.
Rotary has six clubs in Cairns, focusing on different geographic and demographic areas.
Each club is always keen to increase the number of local volunteers to direct more resources to identified causes.
Mr Kirchner said that the celebration is a great opportunity to motivate young volunteers to join.
“We’re struggling with getting young people involved; they all think that Rotarians are old like me, but we have many young Rotarians who are contributing to the community,” he said.
“I want to invite young people to join. Rotary is a great way to meet people and help the community with many opportunities and projects.
“We also like to focus on your individual projects and goals; if there is a specific part of the community you want to support, we want to make that a reality.
“I’ve been a part of Rotary for 26 years, and it has allowed me to meet like-minded people and give back to the community.” Cairns residents can readily find the relevant club details through the club’s online addresses.
There are plenty of opportunities to help these clubs with their annual programs and support humanitarian causes around Cairns and the Tablelands.
For more information, visit https://www.rotarycairns.org.au/
