From the President
Upon my initiation as President I mentioned the other PROBUS….Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Probus. After a successful career as a leader of Rome’s armies, he was confirmed by the Senate as Caesar Marcus Aurelius Probus Augustus, emperor of the Roman Empire, and reigned for six turbulent years from 276 to 282.
I was reminded of him again in an auction catalogue I recently received from Zurich. Lot 36 comprised an aureus coin minted in gold in the summer of 281, bearing his portrait as shown here:
This coin was minted to celebrate the victory of Probus over the joint usurpers
Proculus and Bonosus who were plotting to murder Probus and replace him with Bonosus as emperor. Upon being defeated, the former was betrayed by “friends” who turned him over to Probus, and the latter hanged himself.
In the best traditions of Roman politics at that time, Probus himself was assassinated by disgruntled soldiers in 282. He was the 47th emperor of the Roman Empire, which had a total of 132 emperors over its 500 years history in Rome...and about 60% of the occupants were murdered by family or army. A few reigned for 20+ years, other times there were three different emperors in one year!
And the coin? One of only four specimens known, it was estimated in the auction catalogue to realise Sfr. 35,000. After strong bidding at the May 29th sale, the coin cost the eventual buyer Sfr. 48,000 (AUD 65,000 approx.). As a matter of interest this 50-Lot auction was part 2 of the vendor’s collection, which realised a total of around AUD 14.6 million!
Probus did much to expand and consolidate his empire and like many emperors before and after him, he helped to maintain one of the longest lasting Empires in modern history.
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Membership. As a relatively new member of this Club, I believe one of its strengths is maintaining the 60/40 membership gender balance. Clubs which have large memberships rarely are able to achieve this balance, and I believe these large Clubs can lose the personal touch in member relationships. The latest membership list for our Club has eighteen different postcodes, a very large spread for our 50 members and a plus for expanding our numbers.
On the other hand (isn’t there always the other viewpoint?) I would regard a membership less than 50 in total as being too close to the minimum requirement, particularly as attendance at meetings is around two-thirds. So, please think for a few moments about nominating a friend or partner. The Club has some activity or interest for almost every active person, and each new member has the potential to add to this diversity. Please check with our membership coordinator Eleanor today if you have any questions. Thank you for your continuing interest and support. Kevin D
Membership report: Current membership stands at 50, (28 women and 22 men).
Many Happy Returns of the Day for your June Birthday: Janet B 03, Judy C 06, Sally J 06, Judy M 10, Elizabeth C 16, Janice G 16, and Ches W 21.
Program of Activities
Guest Speakers: Today we welcome Monica Ramesh, who will talk about Human Trafficking. Next month, John Walker joins us to speak about the latest in superannuation.
Probus Walkers: Colloroy Plateau to Narrabeen Lakes. On this pleasant walk we will wend our way from the Plateau (after coffee) along quiet streets, continuing through The War Veterans Retirement Village grounds to join Lakeshore Drive for access to Lagoon Circuit Track before finishing at the lakes. Along the way can be seen spectacular views of the lakes, ocean and headland. MEET: 9:30 am at Stand A Carrington Street, Wynyard to catch the 180 bus at 9:36 am. Walk classed as easy. Lunch at The Sands Hotel.
Probus Outings:
Tuesday, 27th June. Lancer Barracks Museum. We will travel by bus. The tour is booked for 10 am to 12 noon. Entry is $5 each, for 10 participants, minimum total entry is $50. Lunch will be at Parramatta Leagues Club, following which we can look around before returning to Northbridge. There will be no time for morning tea. Bus departs at 9 am.
July outing Saturday, 29th July. Metropole Hotel Katoomba for a ‘Christmas in July’ dinner and the replaying ‘live’ of 3 old scripts from The Goon Show. The plan is to take the train to Katooma on Saturday, for dinner and the show in the evening, and the train home on Sunday. We already have fixed bookings for this with deposits paid. If anyone else is interested in joining in, I can see if further bookings are available.
Tuesday, 22nd August. Would you like to go whale watching? From Circular Quay 1:30 to 4:30 pm. We would be going out through the heads. We could do lunch at Buckley’s. Cost is $56 concession, if 15 or more people go. If this proves not suitable, then ‘something else’ will happen! Please let me know.
Note: All our Probus meetings are generally held on the third Tuesday of every month, at 10:15 am. The next meeting will be held on the 18th of July 2017. The committee meetings are conducted in the Northbridge Golf Club at 9:00 am, on the same day as the Club meeting. Members are welcome to attend.
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