Rotary Club of Canberra Burley Griffin NewsNotes 22 June 2026
A word from the Captain's Cabin
Dear members of Rotary Club of Canberra Burley Griffin,
Greetings, and once again, my sincere apologies for my absence.
Out of the million things that COULD have gone wrong, in our proposed escape from a Canberra winter to a summer heatwave in Malta, via Dubai, none actually did! In fact matters are all going very smoothly and uneventfully (so far!)
We have been relaxing (in our modest 14th century palace converted to B&B) in between hikes to explore the fascinating history and geography of this amazing place. I now better understand why so many Maltese (and Gozitan) migrants came to Australia post-war, but also why many were drawn back to their homelands subsequently. The social bonds are still very strong.
Human settlements have existed on Malta since the end of the last Ice Age, about 12500 years ago. Today at Xgara on Gozo, I visited the site of the oldest known freestanding buildings in the world. Much bigger (and at least 2000 years older) than Stonehenge.
The Phoenician traders settled here about 9000 BC. The Romans came and went, as did the Moors, the Norsemen (Vikings) the Knights Templar of the Hospital of St John, the British…. Empires came and went. Turks tried to conquer in the 16th century but failed. Germany and Italy dropped more bombs / hectare on Malta in 1942 than anywhere else in (in)human history but failed to destroy it. Remarkable resilience on 2 small, isolated islands in the centre of the Mediterranean. The friendly locals have given us remarkable insights into the human condition.
Thinking of you all and hoping everyone is in robust good health. I’ll check in next week from somewhere else, unless warned not to. I would hate to be a travel bore!
President Neil
President Neil's adventure to Malta....
Last Week:
Dr Mark Lax was our guest last week speaking about the History of Tea. It was very interesting and frankly more exciting than the editor expected.
Mark gave a polished presentation of the origins of tea, from its beginnings in ancient China around 2737BC when its medicinal qualities was discovered, through the spread as the national drink of China in the Tang Dynasty, its spread to Japan via the monks and Portuguese traders the 6th century, to is value as a trading commodity across the world in the 1800's. Its notoriety spread as a weapon of trade war with the Boston Tea Party, the Madhatters Tea Party, The Tea Party Party, etc.
Today there is a wide range of tea from white and green to robust black and matcha.
Dispute still exists about the relevance of milk - before or after steeping and pouring?
Mark has another presentation on Japanese Tea culture and the Tea ceremony - maybe a return visit?
Many thanks,Mark.
Ed.
OAM, CSM, is a retired Air Force Officer and military historian who currently serves as the Chair of Legacy Australia.
The Boston Tea Party was a unusual use of tea......
How long should you steep tea?
Coming up:
NOTE - Editor's absence:
Bill will be on holidays in the coming weeks so please send contributions to the Bulletin to Editor Stephen on:
sjmcmillan1975@live.com
by wine and cheese o'clock on Sundays from 2- 14th July.
Date: Thurs.
Event:
Club member to Introduce, Thank and send write up to Bulletin editor.
25th June
Plastic : no longer Fantastic
Simon Copeland
Michael
2nd July
John as Chair -vacant speaker
9th July
John is Chair – vacant speaker
8th August
Peace Bell
Remembrance Day for Hiroshima and Nagasaki
21st September
Peace Bell
UN International Day of Peace
24th October
Peace Bell and Canberra Nara peace Park
Candle Festival
10th December
UN Human Rights Day with Zonta Canberra remembering victims of domestic violence.
Rotary In-joke of the Week
What do you call a well-dressed Lion?
A dandelion.
Thought for the Week
"The best antidote I have found is to yearn for something.
As long as you yearn, you can't congeal: there is a forward motion about yearning."
Gail Godwin 1937
Recollections: 2003 Canberra bushfires swept through Chauvelle Circle in Chapman where 3 of our members lived. Tony B lost his home, Tony B.'s garden was razed and Tony W's garden and surrounds were devastated. Here's 2 of our clean-up squad - Ron Rabey and Bob Brading working out which end of the chain saw to hold......
