The foundation of the Norfolk Island Lions Club took place on 9th May 1964 and it was duly chartered on Saturday, 17th October in the same year. Since then the Club has undertaken many projects that have been of benefit to the island and it was that date, some 50 years ago, that the following 31 members of the community combined together to set the wheels of the Lions Club of Norfolk Island in motion - Roy Sanderson; Charles Evans; Holder Christian; Greg. Quintal; Frank Thompson; Laurie Couper; Max Diegelman; David Neagle; Guilford Adams; Charles Menzies; Colin Alderson; Jim Montgomery; Richard Bataille; Ron Nobbs; Jack Clapp; Jim Paton; Malcolm Clark; Harry Plummer; Keith Curry; Ken Prentice; James Donovan; Allan Roberts; Leon Evans; Adrian Scott; Twis Forbes; Keith Solomon; Max Freyer; John Woodger; Ian Kenny; Robert Wordsworth and Monte Laing.
From all those mentioned above there are still three Charter Members - Greg. Quintal, Leon (Bubby) Evans and Ron Nobbs.
The formation of the Club will be celebrated tonight, Saturday 27th September, with a 50th Year Anniversary Dinner at the Paradise Hotel and Resort.
From Friday, 19th and Monday, 22nd September there has been a steady stream of Lions and their partners arriving for the 50th celebrations and in conjunction with this, the Norfolk Island Lions, Arthurs Vale and Norf’k Ailen Leo clubs have extended the hand of welcome to their District Governor, Dr. Anthony Cheung, the first Australian Lion of Chinese descent to hold this high office, his wife Emma and other Cabinet officers.
The District Governor is the chief administrative officer of the district and among many of his duties he must ensure that each Lions club in the district be visited by the district governor or other district officer once every year to facilitate successful administration of the clubs, and that the visiting officer submit a visitation report to the International Headquarters for each visit.
Our 3 clubs are members of District 201N5 that covers most of the Sydney metropolitan area and Norfolk Island.
At a District Level, the District Governor sets a Theme for the District and for 2014-2015, District Dr. Anthony Cheung’s Theme is “Serving in Dedication.” In summary these are;-
(i) Strengthen the Pride to encourage Lions to serve the community in dedication to Lionism, beginning at the individual level, then transcending this to Club, Zone and District levels;
(ii) To achieve a net growth of 35 members and set up 2 new Clubs and to facilitate Clubs to run more efficiently;
(iii) To improve communication between Clubs and District aiming at greater Club participation in District events to be brought about by better promotion of Lion skills and projects.
Dr. Cheung met with members of all the Norfolk Island clubs on Tuesday evening where representatives from each Lions Club outlined the projects that they had undertaken over the year and what were their plans for the year ahead. Many questions were directed from the floor to the District Governor and his officers.
It may sound as though a visit by the District Governor is all work with no time for fun and relaxation. Nothing could be further from the truth - during this visit there have been welcoming drinks and nibbles, official visits, the annual lawn bowls challenge - which was won again by the local club, thanks I understand to Dan Yager - and the Anniversary Dinner to be held tonight.
Like to join us and be of service to the Norfolk Island community? Just contact any member of the three Lions Clubs on the Island.
MUCH UP DAY
A week ago, Norfolk Island Central School said goodbye to year 12 2014. In the bitter sweet moments throughout the day the year 12 students started coming to the realisation that that was their last day ever as students of NICS.
The morning started off very eventful with the year 12’s doing the classic ‘Muck Up Day’. The muck up consisted of many things such as moved tables and chairs, fake meetings and most importantly plastic cups of water lined down the main high school hallway. From 7:00am on Friday morning all students were dressed in their… interesting… animal onezises at the roundabout and school fundraising for the Green Parrots recovery program. Raising an amazing $2068 throughout the course of 2 hours the year 12 students of 2014 have raised the most money for their charity in years.
The traditional Canadian long ball game, the students still in their animal onzies representing the parrots and the teachers was played at 10:00am. It hurts to say that this game was the first game won by the teachers in many years. Although they did cheat by greatly out numbering the students! Year 12 did ‘get them back’ by throwing many buckets full of jelly crystals, water balloons and even a cold bucket of water over the deputy principles head. However after going home and getting all cleaned up the formal part of the day was starting.
Many tears were shed on the stage and in the audience by the touching words of the MC Mr Tony Wilkinson. The words spoken by friends and siblings were funny, sad and happy memories making it even more real that the year 12 students are leaving the wonderful school. Tony’s words from a year advisers perspective were embarrassing, telling everyone what everyone what they wanted to be, favourite activities and books. There were also sad moments of looking around the room and seeing the teachers, students and family’s faces that have helped the year 12’s to this stage.
You could see the bitter sweet emotions of the students as they walked off stage for the last time. We wish year 12 the best of luck with all their upcoming exams and hope their hard work will paid off.
MORE INFORMATION ON SAVHANNA S ... by Nathan Bell
Private aircraft often come and go on Norfolk Island; very few are based here permanently. The small amount of privately owned aircraft we’ve had reside here on our beautiful island have only stayed for short periods as the expenses for the mandatory maintenance and overhauls has far outweighed the desire for a recreational aircraft on island.
Many residents may remember the little “Green Machine” often buzzing around on a still and sunny day. That plane in particular is known as a light sport or recreational aircraft and was imported to the island and assembled by syndicate consisting of seven experienced pilots.
However, this aircraft was dismantled and sold after the use of the aircraft became infrequent and the syndicate began to disband. The cost of maintenance and inevitable up keep was just not feasible, so it was sold.
Some may have noticed a small red and white plane flying around on Thursday 11th of
September. Piloting this particular aircraft that day was known local pilot and mechanic Hadyn Bell who bravely took the freshly built plane for its maiden flight around the island.
“She flew absolutely beautifully, didn’t even need any trimming!” said Hadyn as he began to recount his rather nerve racking experience, moments after he touched down from the test flight.
Hadyn then gave a quick brief on the overall performance of the plane as fellow builder and pilot Alex Martinez took to the skies in their new found pride and joy. This may have been their first flights in the aircraft; however both Hadyn and Alex are well acquainted with the plane after a solid two and a half years of construction as well flight training for this particular aircraft in Australia.
For the past two and half years the construction of the aircraft was kept as an ‘ongoing
project’ basis. Construction originally began with Rob Ryan, Hadyn and Alex however a licenced aircraft maintenance engineer by the name of Tony Scicluna who recently shifted back to the island with a keen interest in gyrocopters and light sport aircraft was sourced due to extensive experience in aircraft engineering, and was soon brought up to speed on the project. Extraordinary effort was made by all four of the builders to make this very special project possible.
The result of over 400 hours of construction is the first plane ever built on Norfolk Island. This is certainly an extraordinary achievement for the four passionate enthusiasts.
The main “construction hanger” used for the project were the mushroom sheds adjacent to Alex Martinez’s property, the use of these sheds kindly made available by Alex. The convenience of having a build site so close to home allowed Alex to throw down a fair few hours in the mushroom sheds to continue the so very complicated procedure of constructing the plane from the ground up.
With the hard work put in by all in just two short years the project was coming together and it was finally starting to look like a plane!
When the main fuselage and wings were completed it was finally able to be sprayed and
thanks to Shane McCoy it now has a nice shiny coat of red and white paint to go along with that new plane smell.
The plane itself is known as a Savannah S and was selected by Rob Ryan, Alex Martinez and Hadyn Bell for a few specific reasons.
It is one of few aircraft with an option of installing long range tanks increasing its endurance, thus allowing it to achieve oceanic capabilities to avoid hefty sea freight prices for the possibility of selling the plane in the future. The aircraft has great backup support for parts and services as it comes as a kit designed to be built outside of the factory. The kits metal work is all CNC machine drilled for all parts, panels and framing as the plane was designed to be built with only a basic knowledge of engineering and mechanic skills, making it a well achievable project for the buyers.
The aircrafts increased flight duration of up to eight hours will allow it to contribute and assist with emergency situations such as search and rescue or other incidents that may occur where eye’s from above can lend their assistance.
It’s also a very quiet aircraft with an engine designed for minimum disturbance, allowing residents who aren’t as passionate about aeroplanes to rest easy on their sunny weekends and Sunday afternoons
The aircraft is capable of carrying an optional ballistic parachute, life raft and EPIRB radar beacons as it may well be making the lengthy trip to New Zealand’s north island in the foreseeable future.
The completion of this project is certainly a feather in the hat for the three proud flyers that look forward to many enjoyable flights through Norfolk’s clear and sunny skies.
With the tests flights still underway it may be a little while yet before the joyrides can begin, but keep an eye out for those bright colours in the near future.
Savannah S stats
Rotax Engine 912 S-100Hp
Maximum Speed-198Km/h
Maximum take-off weight-600Kg
Take-off run-55 Meters
landing run-70 Meters
Consumption at 75%-18.5L 1/h
Specifications
Wing span- 9.00 Meters
Wing area-12.87 Mq
Height-2.58 Meters
Length-6.60 Meters
Cabin width-1.12 Meters
Luggage capacity-20Kg
2014 YEAR SIX TOUR ... by Roz Tierney
What a fantastic time Jason Ellem and myself had on our recent educational excursion to Australia with 10 wonderful Year 6 students.
We visited Canberra, the Uluru area and Sydney Sport and Recreational Camp.
The tour started with Canberra where we participated in a variety of educational programs focused on Australia’s history, culture, heritage and democracy. The students were sponges. They soaked up all the information given and asked insightful and relevant questions.
Next we flew to The Northern Territory for 4 days of activities in Lilla and Uluru and Kata Tjuta National Park with our knowledgeable tour guide, Nathan. These activities included:
guided base walk of Uluru (Mala Walk), guided 6.5 km Valley of the Winds hike through Kata Tjuta ("many heads"), visit to the Ayers, Rock cultural centre, enjoying a fantastic sunset over Uluru and Kata Tjuta and a camel ride.
The most memorable part of this section of the tour was our visit to Lilla.
Lilla is an aboriginal outstation community located in the Watarrka National Park. Here we learned and developed an understanding of the local indigenous traditional culture. The traditional Custodians met and greeted us and welcome us with a short smoking ceremony. This ceremony involves lighting a fire with special native leaves that create smoke to welcome us to their country and to keep us safe whilst there.
We began our next morning with a hike along the 6.5km Kings Canyon rim walk, discovering the picturesque oasis of ‘Garden of Eden’ and the breath taking sheer cliffs of the North and South Walls. The walk took approximately 3 hours. Everyone should be very proud of their efforts. Some students seem to run up ‘Heart attack’ Hill with ease whilst I was challenged but eventually made it up and it was certainly worth it.
Sleeping under the stars became part of our experience and how majestic it was. Full moon, crisp nights, clear skies full of stars, comfy swags and the silence broken by snoring etc. I won’t name names!
Back at Lilla, Vera explained the painting symbols that are used in their artworks and we created our own stories. She also showed us how to make jewellery from seeds found in the area. Ruby, Danielle, Anson, Aiden and Croyden all show interest and some have scars (burns) to tell about it!!
After fond farewells to The Lilla Mob, Uluru and Nathan, we flew back to Sydney to start our final 3 days at Sydney Sport & Recreational Camp (Narrabeen for the parents who went on a Year 10 Tour).
This was a total change to what we have just experienced. Here the students were involved in abseiling, rock wall climbing, initiatives, kayaking, archery and the high ropes course. The activities here challenged many students and they persevered and achieved personal successes. Jason and I were proud at how they encouraged eachother to complete activities that for some were not easy for them.
On Wednesday night we went into Sydney for a walk around The Opera House, an ice-cream
and a ferry trip back to Manley where we were pick up and taken back to camp. The city lights were magnificent and the harbour trip was amazing at how dark it was.
The following night we had the opportunity to see The Bounty Beauties dance. What a fantastic concert it was. The girls dii Norfolk proud and were stunning. A big thanks goes to Sally Johnson and her helpers for organising such a treat.
An early start got us to the airport for our trip home to our loved ones and sleep.
Parents and Norfolk should be very proud of these 10 lettle sullun. They were excellent ambassadors for their families, NICS and the Norfolk Community.
Some experienced new things and achieved new skills whilst on tour: how to feed themselves, to serve others, clean up, wash dishes, to try new things, to be tolerant, to persevere, to succeed,
“This was a life changing experience” was a quote given by a student.
Jason and I enjoyed their company, enthusiasm, laughter and inquisitiveness.
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