THE PROBUS CLUB OF NORTH SYDNEY

Newsletter 384 15 October, 2024

 PRESIDENT’S REPORT - Douglas

Greetings, 

Mary Ann and I did a trip to Bathurst as a recce for a Probus trip next year. The Zig  Zag railway was very interesting. A full train even on a Friday. Abercrombie House  in Bathurst is a hidden gem. The owner and family are doing the restoration on their  own which is a Herculean task. They even do a Xmas in July which might be an  interesting outing. The tour of the Chifley House gave an insight into this very  humble Prime Minister's life. (They don't build politicians like that today). Mayfield  Gardens had a severe frost recently which destroyed many flowers. Hopefully it will  be better for our planned visit this time next year. 

October is Probus month and I've proposed a picnic for Tuesday 29 October.  Details to be worked out. Unfortunately we will be away that day. 

The Xmas Lunch will be at Northbridge Golf Club on Tuesday 10 December. 

Many Probians enjoyed the excursion to the Mt Annan Botanical Gardens in beautiful weather. It was interesting to see the  

preservation and research work carried on the  

high tech labs. The Community Connect  

service worked well which is a relief. Bill can  

put his hair back. The next excursion with  

them will be to the Information Centre at the  

Badgery's Creek Airport next March. Other  

Clubs have reported that it is very interesting. 

  

 Induction of John W

MEMBERSHIP - report from Lynn

Current members total 54: 35 women and 19 men. 

Welcome to John W who was inducted at the September meeting. 

SPEAKERS - report from Patrick

• Our speaker this month is Ruth Graham (CEO of the Society of Australian  Genealogists) who will advise on ‘How to Build a Family Tree’. 

• In November, Michele Bell will elaborate on the services available from Aged  Care. 

  

Polly G’s recent birthday  

celebration. 

BIRTHDAYS  

Eleanor S, 26 October; Bill  

B, 27 October; Joan B,  

29 October. 

OUTINGS  

Report from Bill B on the Mount Annan Australian Botanical Gardens  PlantBank Tour. The tour was a great success, starting with a perfect sunny day  and a pleasant bus trip. Our guide was very informative with extensive knowledge  

of the workings of the world class PlantBank and its impressive architecture. We  enjoyed a pleasant lunch at the Cafe followed by exploration of the magnificent native wildflower gardens, packed with  

colourful flowers and as stunning a  

display of beautiful and unusual native  

plants as one is ever likely to see. The  

return bus trip was as smooth and  

comfortable as the first. This bodes well  

for future bus tours organised by the  

Club, now that most of our members  

have obtained their MyAgedCare  

transport numbers for the subsidised  

community bus services. 

WELFARE  

Remember to call Jackie M on 0412 836 997 for welfare support and follow up. 

WALKS - Lindsay K

LAST WALK at Cremorne - spot  

the plane NOT crashing into a 

tall tower AND the  

cruise liner berthed  

the opposite way round.  

NEXT WALK: Bronte  to Bondi Tuesday 12  

November 

3 km walk to Bondi Beach. It is an easy walk with some steps. Fabulous ocean  views as we head to Bondi Beach. 

Meet at Town Hall Station Platform 5 to catch the 10.22am train to Bondi  Junction. Arrive at 10.32am. 

2 minute walk to Bondi Junction Bus Terminus, Stand K to catch the 379 bus at  10.40am to Bronte Rd. Arrive 10.52am. 

We will then walk down Bronte Road to have a coffee at one of the cafes there.  

Lunch at the Bondi Icebergs at about 1pm. You will need your driver's license or  similar ID to gain entry to the club.    

Inquiries: Lindsay K 0405 239 614 

MOVIES - Peter W  

The film for Tuesday 22 October is likely to be The Critic with Ian McKellen. It is  set in 1934 London and McKellen plays Jimmy Erskine, the most feared film critic in  town - with Gemma Arterton as Nina Land the actress determined to win his favour.  When Jimmy finds himself in the crosshairs of his newspaper’s new owner, people  become entangled in a dangerous web of blackmail, deceit and murder. 

Hopefully the film will be showing at the Orpheum at a convenient time but if not we  may look at The Apprentice or Prima Facie. 

MELBOURNE CUP - Noreen B 

The excitement of the Melbourne Cup is racing towards us. Lunch is at Northbridge Golf  Club, 12 noon on 5 November 2024. The five-course degustation lunch includes cheese  boards and champagne on arrival. Live races will be on the big screen, sweeps and prizes  are available. We have two tickets for anyone who feels lucky and would like to come. Join  us and enjoy the fun. 

Who will be the winner on the day?  

  A reminder of the banking details 

Cost is $110, Preferred payment is by Direct Debit (or cash at next meeting) to Probus  bank account with your name and the description “Melb cup” Details: BSB: 032-099  Account number: xxxxxx

Ring Noreen on 0412 957 857 if you need a copy of the large brochure sent out  previously or can come or have any questions. 

REMINDER - Probus Tuesday monthly schedule 

1st Tuesday outing 

2nd Tuesday walk 

3rd Tuesday committee meeting 9.30am followed by general meeting 10.15am 

4th Tuesday movie 

5th Tuesday possible picnic 

Page 4

DIARY DATES FOR OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, DECEMBER

Tuesday 15 October, 9.30 am Committee meeting, Northbridge Golf Club Tuesday 15 October, 10.15 am Probus meeting, Northbridge Golf Club 

Tuesday 22 October, probably The Critic at Cremorne Orpheum. See p.4  Further details TBA 

Tuesday 29 October, picnic, details TBA 

Tuesday 5 November, Melbourne Cup lunch, 12 noon, Northbridge Golf Club.  See p.4 

Tuesday 12 November, walk Bronte to Bondi. See p.3. 

Tuesday 10 December, Christmas lunch 12 noon, Northbridge Golf Club.

 PRESIDENT’S REPORT - Douglas  

One of my aims for my year is to have more activities. Here are several I'm suggesting. 

You may recall our pleasant trip to Bundeena last year. There is an Art Trail walking tour on  Sunday 6 October. See http://www.arttrail.com.au/ There is a map in this website. There  are about 20 studios open on that day. I'd suggest the train from Central at 9.22 am to  arrive at 11.00 am. We could return at our own leisure on the ferry at 3 or 4 pm. I'll ask for  a show of hands at the Meeting. To get insurance cover, I will put to our Committee that  this be an official Probus outing. 

We saw the National Theatre Live film version of the play Prima Facie. It is very powerful  and is not light entertainment. I'll suggest to Peter that he make this in an extra event. 

October is Probus Month and I'm suggesting to Committee another picnic on 29 October,  like last year. Another Club could be invited to join us. We should make a special effort not  to feed the kookaburras. 

Mary Ann as the Club's Ambassador attended the Probus Cluster meeting recently which  was very positive. I will ask her to talk to the meeting about this. 

The whole business of Transport Numbers has been a nightmare. Mary Ann has born the  brunt of this and could write a book about it but that would trigger post traumatic stress. It  is now nearly finalised except that Community Connect has been taken over which could  cause problems. Hopefully it will be sorted before the Mt. Annan trip. 

By being away for 6 weeks I’ve dropped the bundle on getting the Melbourne Cup and  Xmas lunches organised. Can there be suggestions for the Melbourne Cup lunch on the  North Shore? For the Xmas lunch Northbridge offers a lunch of turkey, ham etc for a main  and Xmas pudding or trifle for dessert for $65.00 pp. An arrival drink would be $10 pp  extra. Committee will discuss this option. AV is available for a slide show. 

I will talk at the Meeting about a possible trip on the Metro to visit arty Sydenham. Page 1 

SPEAKERS - report from Patrick

This month our Speaker is Christine Stewart, who bought an old building in Little Hartley a  few years ago. During renovation, she discovered it was one of the oldest pubs in the Blue  Mountains, originally called “The Golden Fleece” and later “Collit’s Inn” after the family who  

ran it. This history captured Christine’s imagination and she subsequently published a  book on her findings. 

In October our Speaker will be Ruth Graham, CEO of the Society of Australian  Genealogists. Her talk will focus on an Introduction to Family History. 

BIRTHDAYS in September  

1 Paul O, 17 Cynthia C and Douglas I, 18 Annemarie R,  20 Patrick W, 21 Anne P, 28 Peggy B, 29 Polly G. 

MEMBERSHIP - report from Lyn M

Membership numbers are the same as last month, 53. We have 35 women and 18 men. 

WELFARE  

If members are aware of another member who is not well or who would like to speak to  someone for welfare support, please call Jackie M on 0412 836 997. 

MOVIES - report from Peter W

The movie selected for Tuesday 24 September at a time to be advised is Thelma. I am  hoping that it will be on then at the Orpheum but if not I will find an alternative. 

This film has good reviews. When 93 year old Thelma gets duped by a phone scammer  pretending to be her grandson, she sets out on a quest across the city to reclaim what was  taken away from her. 

OUTINGS - Jocelyn & Carole

From our AGNSW guided tour  

of the Archibald, Wynn &  

Sulman exhibition on 3  

September 

1. Mt. Annan Australian Botanical Garden - Tuesday 1 October - enquiries Bill B  0478 601 738 wberryarch@gmail.com 

NOTE: Closer to departure Bill will confirm details with all those who have booked  and paid.  

Advice from staff: “ There is a fair bit of walking at  

PlantBank facility and Herbarium- about 800m return, and  

very few seating options, 1.5 hours standing and walking; so  

hope that suits the more frail members of your group. In my  

experience some prefer to sit whilst other continue on and  

collect them at end” 

11:00am - 12.30 pm Tour of PlantBank. For information on  

PlantBank click this link: https://www.botanicgardens.org.au/ 

discover-and-learn/plant-conservation-and-discoveries/ 

sustainability-plantbank 

12:50pm Lunch at Cafe - individual choice of food and payment. For menu details click  this link: https://thegardenscafe.com.au/menu  

1:50pm Short self guided tour of Gardens. 

� 2. Melbourne Cup Luncheon, under discussion with Northbridge Golf Club,  Tuesday 5 November.  

Details to come from Noreen. � � 

WALKS - report from Lindsay   

LAST WALK : On 10 September 16 of us set out from  

Circular Quay to Birchgrove for the Birchgrove to  

Balmain Walk. It was glorious weather and just the right  

temperature. At the end we divided into 3 groups as  

some didn't want to tackle the steeper streets. But most  

of us ended up at the East Village Hotel for lunch.

NEXT WALK : Tuesday 8th of October Cremorne Point. 1 1/4 hours easy grade walk. 

We will meet at Circular Quay prior to the departure of the 10.27am Ferry from Wharf 4 to Cremorne Point. We will have our coffee at Sophie's Place at Cremorne Wharf. From  the wharf we turn left and walk past the bus stop. Past the bus stop we turn left to follow  the path along the foreshore. It is an easy walk, well maintained path and a gentle  undulating walk. The leads us to Bogata Ave and Hodgson Ave. We turn right and follow  the road but we keep walking straight, which means climbing the stairs as we come to  them. This will eventually bring us to the other side of the Cremorne Peninsula and we  walk back to the wharf. From there we will catch the bus to Cremorne Junction. Buses  leave the wharf at 13 minutes and 43 minutes past the hour. At Cremorne Junction we  will have lunch at the Siborg Cafe. After lunch we can catch our respective buses  home.   

Penny and I will be away next month so Annemarie and Bill B will be leading the walk. Annemarie's number is 0413 014 283  

REMINDER - Probus Tuesday monthly schedule 

1st Tuesday outing 

2nd Tuesday walk 

3rd Tuesday committee meeting 9.15 am followed by general meeting 10.15 am 

4th Tuesday movie 

5th Tuesday possible picnic 

DIARY DATES FOR SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, NOVEMBER

Tuesday 24 September Cremorne Orpheum, THELMA, p.2. Details TBA

Tuesday 1 October Mt. Annan Australian Botanical Garden. Information p.3.  Bill B will confirm bus details later. 

Sunday 6 October Bundeena Maianbar Art Trail. Information p.1 Douglas Tuesday 8 October Cremorne Point walk. Details above, p.4

Tuesday 5 November Melbourne Cup lunch. Details TBA, Noreen Byrne