HISTORY of the Lions Club of Mount Barker

Glaucoma screening

Dunn Park Pine Walk

Cemetery improvement

Scouts Hall - electrical wiring

Sash Ferguson Home - working bee

Christmas Eve festivities

Firewood - see note below

Trash & Treasure stall - Apex Mt Barker picnic meeting

Christmas cakes

Lions Mints

Raffle

Eden Park Boys Home

Mt Barker Primary School - centenary celebrations

Carols by Candlelight - Auchendarroch

Scouts Hall

Glaucoma screening

Christmas festivities

Lions Youth of the Year
Since 1978, we have been involved in Youth of the Year - at local, Zone or Regional level - every year except 1979, 1980, 1982 and 2011.

Lions Park - plans formulated and approved for a new park

Cyclathon - fundraiser for Heart Fund

Spectacle collection (Recycle For Sight)

Mt Barker Community Centre - raffle, Barn Dance (fundraiser)

Mt Barker Boys Club - plumbing of toilets

Willow Close Kindergarten, Mt Barker - working bees

Monster auction - fundraiser for St John Ambulance

Disco - fundraiser for Mt Barker Scouts

Mt Barker Boys Club - plumbing completed

Cyclathon - 43 riders, over $1000 raised

Miss Personality Quest - ring-a-thon conducted

Willow Close Kindergarten - completed bike track

Mt Barker Community Centre - constructed retaining wall

Lions Park - obtained Council approval to build a toilet block

Cyclathon

Christmas Pageant

Willow Close Kindergarten - fencing

Lions Park - construction of toilet block

Community Market

Hosted exchange student from New Zealand

Sponsored YMCA camp, Oakbank

Khmer Rouge defeated by Vietnamese forces

Israel invades Lebanon in pursuit of PLO

Falklands War

Lions Park - construction of toilet block continues

Cyclathon

Miss Personality Quest - support to Nairne Lions

Ash Wednesday bushfires in Adelaide Hills and Victoria

Bob Hawke becomes PM, commences 13-year Labor rule

Australian dollar floated

Australia wins America's Cup

Canberra overrules the Tasmanian Government to stop the Franklin Dam

Lions Drug Awareness - distribution of pamphlets

Christmas Tree sales - new fundraiser

Christmas Pageant - volunteer marshalls

Scouts Hall - assistance with toilet block

Lions Park - continued upgrading

Cyclathon - discontinued for safety reasons (increased traffic in vicinity)

Community Market - discontinued ("no suitable site was now available")

Miss Personality Quest - $2760 raised through various fundraisers

Christmas Pageant - Lions float discontinued

Christmas Tree sales - still in its infancy

Challenger space shuttle disaster

Stock market crash

Littlehampton Hall - painting

Rifle Club - target manning (new fundraiser - see note below)

Mt Barker Cream Bowl Festival (now defunct) - participation & stall

Christmas Tree sales - fundraiser turns a profit in third year of operation

Lions Park - upgrade of tables and seating

Willow Close Kindergarten - working bee

Scouts - local group sponsored to attend national Jamboree

Drug Awareness campaign - Lions assist local initiative

Seoul Olympics

End of Iran-Iraq War (1981-88), recognised by historians as the longest conventional war of the 20th century

Caithness Fun Run - volunteer marshalls

Red Cross - volunteer assistance for visit of mobile Blood Bank

St John Ambulance, Mt Barker - obtained approval to build a retaining wall

Mt Barker Boys & Girls Club - purchase of gym mats

SA Police Band - assistance with fundraising raffle

Birth of the Internet

Fall of the Berlin Wall

Tiananmen Massacre

George H W Bush (Bush Sr) takes office

Pancake stall - new fundraiser, Mt Barker Show

Lions Park - applied to Council for funding for playground equipment (Club to contribute $2500)

St John Ambulance, Mt Barker - constructed retaining wall

Caithness Fun Run - volunteer marshalls

Christmas Tree sales

Christmas Pageant - Lions float

Rifle Club - fundraiser/volunteering

RDNS - donation for vehicle running costs

War Memorial, Mt Barker - flagpole erected

Diabetes screening - arranged by club

Lions Park - upgrade on hold as Council develops own plans

Red Cross Blood Bank - volunteering/publicity

Christmas Tree sales

Christmas Pageant - Lions float

Rifle Club - fundraiser/volunteering

District Show - pancake stall

Paul Keating topples Bob Hawke as PM

Collapse of wool prices and single-desk system - Still Australia's largest-ever financial disaster

Australia in recession

Collapse of the Soviet Union

Break-up of Yugoslavia commences

Gulf War evicts Iraqi forces from Kuwait

Local playground - upgrade works

Brighton Entertainers - new fundraising opportunity

District Show - pancake stall

Christmas Tree sales

Christmas Pageant - Lions float

Rifle Club - fundraiser/volunteering

Red Cross Blood Bank - volunteering

Mabo court ruling rejects legal doctrine of terra mullius, enables Aborigines to claim historical ownership

Barcelona Olympics

Ethnic wars in former Yugoslavia

Lions Park - toilets painted

Christmas Pageant - volunteer marshalls

Rifle Club - fundraiser/volunteering

Red Cross Blood Bank - volunteering

Bill Clinton takes office

Somalia - civil war sparks abortive US intervention

Primary school - construction of cubby house

Catholic Cemetery - working bee

Mt Barker Community Centre - working bee

Caithness Fun Run - volunteer marshalls

Christmas Pageant - volunteer marshalls

Rifle Club - fundraiser/volunteering

Rwanda Genocide

Election of Nelson Mandela completes the dismantlement of apartheid in South Africa

Lions Hearing Dogs - delivery of computer

Green Thumbs - tree planting and fence removal

Archer Hill Cemetery, Mt Barker - clean-up working bee

Longriders Motorcycle Club - charity (?) BBQ

Caithness Fun Run - volunteer marshalls (last year of Lions involvement)

Catholic Cemetery - working bee

Willow Close Kindergarten - working bee

Mt Barker Community Centre - working bee

Brighton Entertainers - fundraising opportunity

Christmas Pageant - volunteer marshalls

Rifle Club - fundraiser/volunteering

Japan - Kobe earthquake

Birth of eBay

Old Mt Barker Railway Station - cleaned underground tank

Guide Dogs - volunteer badge sales

Red Shield Appeal - volunteer charity collecting

Green Thumbs - fence removal

Drug Awareness - sponsored 1 participant in Youth Camp

Christmas Pageant - volunteer marshalls

Rifle Club - fundraiser/volunteering

John Howard elected

Port Arthur Massacre prompts tighter gun control

War Memorial, Mt Barker - working bee

Catholic Cemetery - working bee

Guide Dogs - volunteer charity collecting

Child-care centre - working bee

Green Thumbs - fence removal

Christmas Pageant - volunteer marshalls

Rifle Club - fundraiser/volunteering

Asian Financial Crisis breaks

Hong Kong reverts to Beijing control at expiry of 99-year British lease

Retirement home - window-cleaning working bee

Dumas St reserve, Mt Barker - working bee

Catholic Cemetery - working bee

Red Cross - promotion of local Blood Bank

Guide Dogs - charity collecting

Christmas Pageant - volunteer marshalls

Rifle Club - fundraiser/volunteering

Red Cross Blood Bank - volunteering

Youth Exchange - Hosted student from Holland

Local high school - Sponsored 'At Risk' camp similar to Operation Flinders

Red Cross Op Shop - assisted with opening and goods collection

War Memorial, Mt Barker - construction of wooden crosses

Dumas St reserve, Mt Barker - working bee

East Timor votes for independence; armed Australian peacekeepers sent in

NATO intervention in Kosovo ends Balkan Wars

Lions Hearing Dogs - working bee

Guide Dogs - charity collecting

Christmas Pageant - volunteer marshalls

Christmas Pageant - Lions float
(Last year of this project; the float was finally written off in 2007)

Linear Park - tree planting

Sash Ferguson Home - outdoor working bee

Frank Smith Memorial, Littlehampton - initial planning

Father Christmas - volunteers at shopping centre (once-off project, never run again)

Firewood - charitable project to be wound down after 25 years' continuous operation
(firewood collection discontinued; firewood donations to continue until stocks exhausted)

Red Cross Op Shop - installation of shelving and other minor upgrades

Guide Dogs - charity collecting

Christmas Pageant - volunteer marshalls

Adelaide Hills Community Nursing Service - funding for Bladder Scanner and new commode/shower chair

Children With Disabilities - funded participant at specialist camp

South Pacific - Funding to school in Vanuatu to purchase stationery

Sponsored and distributed 20,000 pamphlets offering advice to parents on teenage parties (in conjunction with SA Police)

YMCA Camp - funded 2 local participants

George W Bush (Bush Jnr) takes office

September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington

US declares war on Afghanistan, topples Taliban

Google's PageRank algorithm revolutionises Internet search

Works Meetings shifted to first floor of Trims building at intersection of Gawler & Hutchinson Streets

Club considers a proposal to dissolve and/or amalgamate with neighbour clubs. This proposal is strongly opposed by the President, who argues for a new recruitment drive to capitalise on rapid population growth in the Mount Barker district.

Pit Stop (men's health) - new sponsorship

Tour Down Under - volunteer marshalls

Royal Society for the Blind (RSB) - badge sales

Christmas Pageant - volunteer marshalls

Widespread drought

Minerals boom boosting Australian fortunes

Frank Smith Memorial, Littlehampton - construction commences

Royal Society for the Blind (RSB) - badge sales

Red Shield Appeal

Tour Down Under

Christmas Pageant - volunteer marshalls

Red Cross Blood Bank - volunteering

Membership reaches 14.

Adoption of branded Lions apparel.

Pit Stop (men's health) - Club becomes Gold Sponsor for Adelaide Hills region

Frank Smith Memorial, Littlehampton - working bee

Lions Hearing Dogs - working bee

Guide Dogs - badge sales

Tour Down Under

Red Cross Blood Bank - volunteering (final year of club involvement)

Indian Ocean Tsunami (December 26)

Athens Olympics

Iraq War continues

Birth of Facebook

Google becomes a fully public company

Frank Smith Memorial, Littlehampton - completion

Royal Society for the Blind (RSB) - badge sales

Tour Down Under

Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans

Iraq War continues

Local Directory - planning

Cancer Council Relay for Life (new to Mt Barker) - charity BBQ with Apex Mt Barker

Council Postman (new fundraiser) - Club members to distribute newsletters and calendars on behalf of the District Council of Mount Barker

Tour Down Under

Highland Gathering - gate volunteers

Middle East:

• Israel-Hizballah War
• Iraq War morphs into Sunni-Shia fratricide

Purpose-built BBQ trailer sought

Club enters a team in Relay For Life

Introduced the practice of combining with other clubs for the (mid-year) Handover dinner

Harvey Norman (new to Mt Barker) - fundraising BBQs

Lions Biggest BBQ - fundraiser for childhood cancer research

Council Postman

Red Shield Appeal

Tour Down Under

Highland Gathering - gate volunteers

Relay For Life - charity BBQ

Middle East:

• Iraq War - US counter-insrgency strategy turns tide

Community Centre (?) - construction of playground

Red Shield Appeal

Tour Down Under

Hills Mental Health Sevice - funding for companion dog (pet therapy)

Camp Quality

Julian Burton Burns Trust

Membership reaches 20.

(Temporary) revival of Club bulletin The Mountain Lion.

Introduced a roster system for inter-club visits

Bunnings Mt Barker (new business) - fundraising BBQs

Adelaide Hills Farmers Market (recently established) - fundraising BBQs

Pub Raffle (Great Eastern Hotel, Littlehampton) - regular fundraiser

Special Olympics - donation to fund health checks at 2010 Games

Tour Down Under

Highland Gathering - gate volunteers

Relay For Life - charity BBQ

Lions Biggest BBQ - fundraiser for cancer research

Barack Obama takes office

Tamil Tigers separatist insurgency in Sri Lanka defeated after 26 years

Middle East:

• US escalates offensive against Afghan Taliban insurgency
• Iraq War begins to wind down
• Massive protests in Iran following fraudulent re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Special Olympics - hands-on volunteering

Lymphodoema screening - conducted locally

Community Centre - upgrade of playground

Tour Down Under

Lions Biggest BBQ

Financial assistance to family who lost their house to fire

Assisted a resident of Sash Ferguson Home:
 - provision of personal computer
 - part-funding of companion dog from the RSB.

National Feature - Introduced the custom of selecting a national flag at random; the corresponding nation - and its Lions clubs - are to be the topic of a short presentation by a Club member at the following Dinner Meeting.

Inter-club visits - introduction and rostering

Club celebrates 35th anniversary

People's Choice Community Lottery - new fundraiser

Flying Doctor - charity collecting

Bunnings BBQs - roster system introduced by Bunnings

Pub Raffle, Littlehampton - going well 

Red Shield Appeal

Tour Down Under

Lions Biggest BBQ

Youth of the Year - project suspended for the first time since 1982 owing to prohibitive deadlines

Japan - Fukushima quake & tsunami creates lingering nuclear crisis

Middle East:

• Arab Spring topples dictators in Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen
• Civil war in Libya with Western intervention topples Gaddafi
• Civil war in Syria fails to topple Assad

Conquer The Summit FUN RUN:

• District Council of Mount Barker provides seed funding
• Proceeds to Operation Flinders, Hills Disability Housing

Chemo caps - production commences September 2012

District Show - gate volunteers (ticket selling & marshalling)

Can-Do Capers - volunteer fundraising

Lions Quest Seminar - with involvement of 3 local High School teachers

Spectacle collection (Recycle For Sight) - resurrected project

Pub Raffle - discontinued due to flagging patronage 

Tour Down Under

Highland Gathering - gate volunteers

Flying Doctor - charity collecting

Youth of the Year - project resumed

Drum Beat - sponsorship of program for at-risk youth

Lions Quest Seminar - workshop attended by 3 teachers from local high schools

Red Shield Appeal

London Olympics

Middle East:

• Syrian civil war spreads to northern and eastern regions, notably Aleppo
• First democratic elections in Egypt considered a victory for Muslim Brotherhood

• Electronic timing introduced
• Dedicated website introduced
• Start location shifted from Caravan Park to Keith Stevenson Park
• Proceeds to Operation Flinders

Chemo caps:

• Production continues in CWA Club Rooms, Mt Barker
• Purchased 2 overlocker machines (1 machine funded by District Council of Mount Barker)

Red Shield Appeal

Tour Down Under

District Show - gate volunteers

Highland Gathering - gate volunteers

Flying Doctor - charity collecting

Middle East:

• Syrian civil war degenerates into stalemate and fratricide as Kurds, jihadists gain major footholds in north and east
• 1400 killed in Damascus chemical attack; Assad regime subsequently undertakes to surrender or destroy all stocks of chemical weapons
• French intervention in Mali crushes nascent jihadist state
• Military coup in Cairo overthrows elected government dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood

Club membership reaches 25 (full members, excluding Lions Ladies and Lions-at-Large)

Website launched:

• May: Commencement and unofficial launch
• August: Completion and official launch

Club creates position of Vice-President, with L Butcher as inaugural VP (2014-15)

Two members appointed as Trustees of (respectively) Lions Hearing Dogs and the Lions Medical Research Foundation (LMRF).

Hills Hire provides storage for BBQ trailer

Club sponsors two members to attend Lions ANZI Forum, held this year in Adelaide

Project Handywoman - pilot program commences

Black Dog Ride - charity BBQ in aid of depression

Eye Tri Fun Day, fundraiser for Blind Sporting Council (Mt Barker's first-ever hosting of this event) - gate volunteers

• Administration streamlined
• $5000 raised - proceeds to Operation Flinders, Strength For Life

Chemo caps

• Production venue shifted to Old Railway Station, Nairne
• Diversification to other products (e.g. quillows)
• Renamed Lions Community Assist Program to reflect widening remit

Farmers Market - regular monthly barbecues discontinued mid-year due to dwindling revenue

Red Shield Appeal

Tour Down Under

District Show - gate volunteers

Highland Gathering - gate volunteers

Flying Doctor - charity collecting

Christmas Carols (Mt Barker, Oakbank) - commissioned BBQs

Redevelopment of Mt Barker CBD continues

Second Park & Ride facility opened in Mt Barker (Dutton Rd)

Mysterious disappearance of flight MH370, presumably over Indian Ocean

Russia annexes Crimea, accused of sponsoring separatists in eastern Ukraine

Flight MH17 downed over Ukrainian airspace, killing all 298 aboard including 38 Australians

Year-long Ebola epidemic in West Africa kills 8000

Street protests in Hong Kong (2 months) remind Beijing of verbal promise to introduce full democracy in HK by 2017

Middle East:

• Number of Syrian refugees reaches 10.8 million (3.2m cross-border, 7.6m internal) out of a pre-war population of 22-23m.
• Syrian civil war spills over into Iraq
• Assad regime recaptures Syrian heartland, attacks Aleppo with shrapnel and chlorine bombs
• Jihadists break away from al-Qaeda, declare "Islamic State" headed by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as the first modern Caliph
• International military alliance goes to war with Islamic State
• 50-day Gaza-Israel war

Facebook page launched

Bespoke publicity brochure designed and distributed

Lions sign installed at Auchendarroch (the Club's venue for Dinner Meetings)

Bain-marie purchased for use at BBQs

Club awarded 2nd prize in the Premier's Awards for Linear Trail Watch project

Five Minute Biography commenced at Dinner Meetings

Christmas party takes the form of a Progressive Dinner hosted by Club members

Linear Trail Watch

• 2015 event: Attracts 173 runners and raises $5000 - proceeds to Operation Flinders, Strength For Life, Mt Barker Men's Shed
• 2016 event: YMCA brought on board as a partner organisation; decision made to offer a shorter (5km) option, in keeping with a more family-friendly format

Lions Community Assist Project (LCAP)

Tour Down Under (TDU), January 2015:

• Routine (annual): Marshalling duties
• Highlight (2015): Event catering (in collaboration with other Lions and community clubs) for Mt Barker finish of TDU stage and Bupa Challenge amateur cycling event

Red Shield Appeal

District Show - gate volunteers

Highland Gathering - gate volunteers

Commissioned BBQs:

• Opening of Mt Barker wetlands
• Relay For Life (cancer)
• Light The Night (leukemia)
• Christmas Carols (Mt Barker, Oakbank)

Classroom sound system to improve student learning, Littlehampton Primary School

Digital Image Resource package (electronic photo albums), Eldercare Sash Ferguson, Mt Barker

Bench seats (2), constructed by members of the Mt Barker Men's Shed and installed at the following venues:

• IGA Mt Barker
• Summit Health Centre.

Nairne Girl Guides - club members laid concrete foundation for storage shed

Sampson Flat bushfire (January 2015)

Nepal Earthquake (May 2015)

Ebola epidemic in West Africa brought under control

Middle East:

• Islamic State captures Palmyra, Syria; captures and subsequently loses Ramadi, Iraq; loses Kobane to Kurds; acquires affiliates in Libya, Egypt (Sinai) and Afghanistan
• Russia enters Syrian civil war following renewed rebel onslaught and predicted imminent collapse of Assad regime
• Islamic State's Sinai affiliate downs a plane ferrying Russian holiday-makers, killing all 231 on board
• Large-scale influx of asylum-seekers to Europe, predominantly from the Middle East, Africa and Afghanistan; 1.1 million granted asylum in Germany alone
• Yemeni Civil War: Iran-backed Shiite Houthis capture Sana'a, but halted at Aden by Saudi-led military intervention backed by Persian Gulf states, US and Sudan
• Over 2000 die in stampede at Mecca's annual Hajj festival
• Long-awaited nuclear accord negoatiated with Iran in return for sanctions relief; implementation incomplete at year-end

40th Anniversary Dinner; guests include Ann Ferguson (Mayor) and Jamie Briggs MP (Member for Mayo)

First female President (L Butcher)

Mobile Skin Cancer Screening

Conquer The Summit FUN RUN:

• Raises $6000 - proceeds to Operation Flinders and YMCA.
• First year with YMCA as partner organisation
• First year a shorter route option (Laratinga Circuit, 5km).
• Principal sponsors: Go-Vita, IGA.

Lions Community Assist Project (LCAP)

Tour Down Under (TDU)

Linear Trail Watch (inaugurated 2015)

Red Shield Appeal

District Show - gate volunteers

Commissioned BBQs:

• Parents & Children's Camp-out
• Light The Night (leukemia)
• Christmas Carols (Mt Barker)
• Pets Domain & Lions Hearing Dogs

Completion of Mount Barker East freeway interchange

Rapid urban development continues within Mt Barker; new and ongoing projects include Aston Hills, Matilda's Rise, Piper's Crest, Bluestone (Stage 3), Springlake, Minters Fields and Newenham

World: Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics

US: Election of Donald Trump (defeating Hillary Clinton) to succeed Barack Obama

Asia:

• China escalates land reclamation and construction of military bases in the South China Sea, defying international maritime ruling
• Philippines elects demagogue Rodrigo Duterte as president.

Europe:

• Britain votes to relinquish membership of the European Union ('Brexit' referendum)
• Mass influx of asylum-seekers from Middle East and Africa slowed by (shaky) cooperation deal with Turkey and by construction of border fences between European nation-states
• Asylum-seekers attempt to reach Europe from Libyan coast - many in boats designed to sink prematurely and force rescue by EU patrol vessels.

Middle East:

• Syrian government recaptures Aleppo with military assistance from Russia, Iran, Hezbollah and Iran-trained Shiite foreign legion
• Turkey launches limited ground invasion of NW Syria, backing local rebel forces opposed to both Islamic State and Kurdish expansionism
• Turkey repairs badly strained relations with Russia following downing of Russian warplane (Nov 2015)
• Turkey conducts large-scale purge of public service and military, following failed coup attempt against President Erdogan
• Islamic State loses and subsequently recaptures historic city of Palmyra, Syria
• Islamic State loses eastern suburbs of Mosul (its last Iraqi stronghold) to US-supported Iraqi forces; heavy urban fighting continues at year-end
• Islamic State defeated in its North African stronghold of Sirte, Libya
• Low-level civil war continues throughout Libya, with 3 rival governments and numerous regional militias
• Second year of Yemeni civil war; Iran-backed Shiite Houthis suffer substantial reverses in fitful combat with Saudi- and Emirati-backed forces; civilian death toll reaches 10,000.