History

THE MORWELL STORY

A Brief History of the Rotary Club of Morwell as told in, "A Long Time and a Good Time" Fifty Years of Service by the Rotary Club of Morwell Inc 1946-1996.
 
The District Governor in 1944-45, J Burgess Watt, of Hobart, charged the Rotary Club of Traralgon with the task of Sponsoring a club in Morwell and appointed as his Special Representatives Rotarians Jack Harrison and Geoff Littleton.  They held an interest meeting and found that Morwell had the numbers, the people and quality of leadership to ensure the success of a Rotary Club.
 
The provisional Rotary Club of Morwell was formed on July 31, 1945.  Its Charter, bearing the signatures of TA Warren, President of Rotary International, Phil Lovejoy, Secretary Rotary International, and District Governor HJ Holmes, was presented by the immeadiate Past District Governor, J Burgess Watt on 12 March 1946.  Rotarian Len Trigg was Charter President and the new club began with twenty members: LB Trigg, J Goyen, H Mitchell, D Scammell, F Jenkins, R Payne, W Firmin, J Bush, JS Lawless, R Phillips, JH Catterick, RR Davey, WE Ferguson, JG Haugh, PP Kelly, AW Ronald, WN Shaw, B Vary, W Macdermid, and SG Winchester.  These members are shown in the following image along with their signatures.
 
The Rotary Club of Morwell was formed during a period of great uncertainty - the very existence of the town of Morwell on its current site was in question.  The members of the newly formed club, all prominent citizens, were actively involved through their business and professional capacities, in negotiations which led to Morwell becoming the veritable "Hub of the Valley"
 
Our club's development has run in parallel with that of the Valley.  In the early years members were forced to concentrate on basic local issues in the prevailing climate of uncertainty and unpredictable growth.  Existing infrastrucrure was inadequate and the club bod much community work providing needed facilitiesat places such as schools, YMCA, the hospital and sporting grounds.  But, members did not confine themselves to local work.  In 1948 Morwell sponsored the Creation of the Rotary Club of Moe.
 
With the future direction of the Latrobe Valley apparently settled, huge development occurred in the 1960s and 1970s.  Our club grew in tandem with the region's growth, reaching a membership of 84 in 1975-76.  The provision of amenities was still important but an added emphasis was placed on International Service.  We numbered among our members migrants from non-English speaking backgrounds.  Student Exchange became a major focus as did efforts to ease the difficulties new citizens had finding their feet in a strange land and different culture.  The club also gave support to people and communities overseas.  In 1978 the Rotary Club of Morwell was successful in launching the Rotary Club of Hazelwood with several members with links to the Churchill town and area formed the nucleus to form the university town club.
 
In the mid 1980s it became clear that the huge growth once predicted for the SECV would not continue - indeed there would be cutbacks.  In common with Rotary worldwide and service clubs in general, the club began to find it increasingly difficult to maintain numbers, although it has always been able to attract quality people.  The induction of women members (Rotarian Gloria Auchterlonie led the way in December 1991) has proven invaluable.  The club and the town are once again faced with uncertainty, but both will prove equal to the task.

THE ROTARY INTERNATIONAL STORY

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

—PAUL P. HARRIS

Our 1.2 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 remain polio-endemic—down from 125 in 1988.

NOTABLE ROTARIANS

Rotarians are your neighbors, your community leaders and some of the world’s greatest history-makers: 
  • Warren G. Harding, U.S. president
  • Jean Sibelius, Finnish composer
  • Dr. Charles H. Mayo, co-founder of Mayo Clinic
  • Guglielmo Marconi, Italian inventor of the wireless radio and Nobel laureate
  • Thomas Mann, German novelist and Nobel laureate
  • Friedrich Bergius, German chemist and Nobel laureate
  • Admiral Richard E. Byrd, American explorer
  • Jan Masaryk, foreign minister of Czechoslovakia
  • H.E. Soleiman Frangieh, president of Lebanon
  • Dianne Feinstein, U.S. senator
  • Manny Pacquaio, Filipino world-champion boxer and congressman
  • Richard Lugar, U.S. senator
  • Frank Borman, American astronaut
  • Edgar A. Guest, American poet and journalist
  • Sir Harry Lauder, Scottish entertainer
  • Franz Lehar, Austrian composer
  • Lennart Nilsson, Swedish photographer
  • James Cash Penney, founder of JC Penney Co.
  • Carlos Romulo, UN General Assembly president
  • Sigmund Sternberg, English businessman and philanthropist
Ready to make history with us? Get involved.