March 2012
PAJ
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2011 was the club’s 25
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anniversary and also the 10th Anniversary of the Mitsubishi Club Leschenault Environment Group. The 25th milestone was celebrated in a number of ways through the year, the most significant celebration being the 25th Anniversary Dinner held at Tomkins on Swan in May. This was a semi-formal evening dinner and dance with a good turn out of our members enjoying a fine buffet meal and entertainment from a DJ. The evening was a great success with special thank you to our Social Committee Denise, Karen, Pasc, Jan and Rosalie for organizing that event and many other Social evenings throughout the year. The turnout was not so good for a 25th Anniversary Picnic to Whiteman Park in March. However, those that did attend had an enjoyable day. Stella organized the pic-nic in recognition of the first social event held by the club in 1986. There were a number of 25th anniversary celebration trips run which re-enacted the inaugural 4wd trips from the club. These included Ninghan Station, White Hills, Dwellingup and Wandoo Woodlands. Thanks to Paul, Malcolm and Peter for organizing and leading those trips. The club’s history was re-incarnated through magazine articles researched and written by Stella and assisted with Bridget’s interrogation of life members. Stella and Bridget put in a lot of leg work and time compiling the history and interviews of current and past members and produced some very good articles for the magazine. The club has seen a lot of change in 25 years. We have slowly grown to now be one of the most respected 4WD clubs in Western Australia. That is all due to the effort and participation of our members. Occasionally, a member steps up to take on their first (Continued on page 6)
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From the Secretary’s Desk Committee of Management Elections. The election of Committee of Management members at the Annual General Meeting resulted in Peter Belcher being elected as Vice President, Bridget McPherson as Treasurer, with Paul Ryan, Keith Parker, Richard Nicholls, Guy Lehmann and David Jones as members of the committee. Congratulations to these members for their commitment to the club. Other appointed officers and all committee positions will be confirmed at the committee meeting on 28 March 2012. Attendance at Committee Meetings. The question was asked at the AGM, ‘who can attend these meetings? The answer to this is that, in addition to elected or appointed officers, any member of the club is welcome to sit in on the meeting or if they want to speak let me know and I will have their name on the agenda. The committee would welcome input from any member. Next meeting is as above and then on the 4th. Wednesday of May, July, September and November at 7pm in the usual meeting place. Entertainment Books. Please remember one of our annual fundraising efforts for the club is the sale of the popular Entertainment Books. The cost again this year is $65 and I am taking orders now. The books will be available by mid May. They do make a great gift for family, friends or your staff. They not only contain offers of fine or casual dining but entertainment, accommodation and more. Please let me know how many you would like and they will be reserved for you Please make payment to the club account at Bankwest BSB 306 089 Account 2840244. Don’t forget to detail payment as ‘Entertain. Book and your name. Every purchaser’s name will go into the draw with a chance to win two bottles of wine. Membership Register. Please remember to let me know when you have a change in your contact details so that I can make the changes to our records. To not do so will delay receipt of emails and delivery of the club magazine. You might check that your details are correctly recorded. Go to the website home page and you will see membership listing. (Continued on page 9)
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trip-leading venture, and soon discover that being up front is far more fun than driving in someone else’s dust. Take Glen for instance who lead a trip in September from Karragullen to Eagle Rock. With some planning and forethought Glen produced a very memorable trip from what would have otherwise been an easy Sunday drive. With the assistance of Dr Penny Hussey from DEC Glen turned a bunch of red neck 4WDers into respectable Rock Huggers. Richard Nicholls lead a team of dicks, Richard King and Richard Kingston, in establishing a very capable training committee. This year, thanks to the 3 Dicks and the assistance of Paul Ryan, we have had several driver training opportunities; these driver trainer programs have been developed to compliment the club’s trip leader guidelines. We are very fortunate to have someone like Richard Nicholls who has the experience and formal qualifications to mange our club’s training. But the talent does not end there. Michael Gilbert continued with the Oziexplorer training and Diana Veitch provided further Senior First Aid courses. This all culminates in an opportunity not seen in any other clubs where members can travel off-road with the confidence, skills and knowledge to do it safely and responsibly. Our club is made up of some extraordinary talent and personalities. And thanks to Piers Marmoy this good blood in the club is dispersed into the community through the Mitsubishi Blood Club Red Cross donations. Piers fights a difficult battle getting members to donate. But his persistence pays off, and despite the mad cows, people with tattoos and those who have been incarcerated lately, every 3 months he ends up with a hand full of members to donate a pint of Mitsubishi Red. The ability of the club to provide these activities is mostly due to the time and effort of the members, however, the financial backing of our sponsors allows for these activities to be resourced and appropriately marketed to members and the public. I extend the apprecia6tion of the members to our main sponsor Southside
Mitsubishi, our long time sponsor DeRosa Auto Repairs and our regular magazine advertisers Campers on the Run for your continued support of our club. The club is also propped up with money from fundraising, and no one does this better than our raffle organizers Sam and Pasc Vasile. In the last couple of years the club has changed the practice of relying on members to provide raffle prizes, to using club funds to purchase them. This has placed the burden on Sam and Pasc to go out shopping on behalf of the club. The Vasiles are on the constant lookout for bargains which can be passed on to the lucky winners of the monthly raffles. Thanks Sam and Pasc for the time and effort you put into this getting the raffle organized at every meeting. My job has been made relatively easy due to having a master Secretary and supportive Management Committee in place. These club officers have done a remarkable job this year. No one could ask for a better Secretary than John King. His understanding of the committee protocols and the rules governing associations is very annoying. I can’t get away with anything that is not proper procedure. And while keeping me in check, John handles what is perhaps the most difficult job in the club with efficiency. John is the ultimate gentleman who will never criticize what you are doing, however he will politely offer an alternative suggestion. I’m glad to see that Peter Belcher has re-nominated for Vice President. Peter is always willing to step in when needed to fill either the Secretary’s or my role. It’s a pleasure having someone on the committee who has spent his life listening and contemplating before providing an opinion. You can be assured that with Peter on the Management Committee nothing is decided without due and proper consideration. Nicole Renshaw-King continued the role of Treasurer at the beginning of the year. We are fortunate in this club to have a number of experienced accountants and book keepers as members, of which Nicole is one who is always willing to volunteer her service. Unfortunate-
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ly Nicole had to hand over the Treasurer responsibilities during the year due to her own work commitments. I thank Nicole for the time and work she put into the club’s accounts and presenting the reports to the members. Later in the year, Bridget McPherson took over the Treasurer role and immediately set to work looking at ways and methods of simplifying and streamlining the books. In doing so, Bridget did a lot of legwork dealing with banks and sourcing out more contemporary banking methods. As a result, the club now has a secure electronic banking account where funds can be transferred electronically without the need for outdated bank checks. Bridget has done an extraordinary amount of work in the short time she has been Treasurer. We had Glenn Bignell join the committee for the first time in 2011 as our Insurance Officer. It’s always good to get new blood on the committee to get fresh ideas and re-question past decisions that may no longer be relevant. Glenn is another committee member who decisions are well thought out and considered before voicing opinion and you can be assured that his decisions are responsible. Glenn contributed a lot to the club this year, both on the committee and within the club. Richard Kingston took on a number of roles in 2011. As Membership Officer, Richard’s straight talking, approachable and friendly nature gave visitors an excellent first impression of what this club is all about. Richard also contributed significantly to the development of the club’s training and trip guidelines and reviews of Policy and Procedures. It’s people like Richard that make life easy for the Management Committee, he works solidly in the background and when a job needs doing it’s get done properly. Wherever Richard goes, Helen is a quick step alongside him making sure he is coordinately dressed in the club’s uniform. Thankyou Helen for organizing, occasionally parading and supplying the club with a smart club outfit. Our Environment Officer, Tony Weldon, is typical old school character. He takes his environmental interests
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Membership Fee. Treasurer Bridget is overseas at the moment so, on her behalf, I remind you that your renewal fee of $110 for the next year is due on 1 April. These can be paid direct to the club account, details above, making sure you detail ‘membership fee and your name’. Annual General Meeting. The minutes of this meeting held on 7 March, together with the President’s Annual Report and details of awards presented to members and the financial statements are posted on the website for all members to read. From John secretary@mitsubishi4wd.org.au March 2012
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with everlasting enthusiasm and pulls no punches when it comes to promoting the cause. It is this attitude that has made the club’s environmental contributions recognized and envied by other clubs and associations and earned the club and Tony Outstanding Services awards from DEC twice. Our appreciation for Tony’s contribution is unquestioned, however I wish they would finish building his bloody house. As the club’s historian, Stella Weldon was in her element in 2011. Although the club is relatively young in real terms, 25 years can hold a lot of memories and events. The difficulty with recording history is finding records of earlier years when the club was in it’s infancy. Things were not recorded, or if they were recorded, were not passed on to subsequent committees. Stella has done a magnificent job researching and collating the club’s history from both a committee perspective and a personal perspective from former members. What we fail to appreciate from time to time is the support role that partners play. I’m pretty sure that without the support and help from Stella, Tony’s and the club’s environment achievements would not have occurred. This year Stephen Kalynuik stepped up to assist Tony with the environment work and also volunteered his services on behalf of the club at the Wilbinga Cleanup. Stephen also volunteered first up with Michael Gilbert in organizing the club’s Perth 4WD show stall when most of us where relaxing down at Big Valley, Margaret River. If we get just one new member like Stephen every year, the club will be much the better for it. Thanks Stephen. When we talk about enthusiasm, no one can discount the keenness shown by Michael Gilbert in creating a smorgasbord of links on our web site. In the last year, Michael has taken the role of Web Master literally and spun the club’s web into every dark hole of the Internet. He drives the club’s web page like he drives offroad. If there’s an unexplored conduit in the maze of the World Wide Web, Michael will certainly cast a link down it. Thanks to Michael the club has explored new territory in developing Internet possibilities. Thank you
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also to Michael for running the OziExplorer classes and also running an Oziexplorer trip to put all that training into practice. Paul Johnson took over the newsletter editor from myself last year. Those of you who are familiar with publishing software will appreciate the difficulty in learning the user interface of unfamiliar software and working out the formatting used by someone else. Paul spent countless hours familiarizing himself with the newsletter and the software. In doing so, he has ironed out many of the newsletter problems to produce a visually attractive and interesting magazine each month. Thank you Paul for the many hours you put in editing and designing the magazine every month. It’s a big task which the recipients only get to appreciate the final product and not what actually goes into producing it. Another committee task that is not seen to be appreciated is the role of WA 4WD Delegate. Guy Lehmann is a great ambassador for our club in attending the WA4WDA meetings every month. Having been a delegate in previous years I know there are a lot of representatives from other clubs who just attend and don’t contribute to the association meetings. However Guy has established himself as a positive influence and in doing so has taken on a number of roles with the association. Guy is now the Association’s Land Manager, which is the Association’s environment liaison with DEC and other organisations in ensuring the continued access for 4WDs in off-road areas. It’s people like Guy that allow the rest of us to enjoy 4WD activities without too many bureaucratic restrictions. Thank you Guy for the immense work you do for the club. With the club growing each year, there is a necessity for coordinating trips and social events so that members have the option to choose what suits their taste. Keith Parker has done an admiral job as Trip Coordinator ensuring that members liaise with him before organizing an event. Keith also followed up with DEC if the trip involved conservation land. Keith also spent many hours collating and archiving Oziexplorer tracks, maps and other travel references to provide the club with a very comprehensive library of Oziexplorer tracks and
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other maps for members to access when planning trips. Trevor Thuenissen has put together one very impressive database of information on anything to do with 4WDrives. As club Librarian for the last year, Trevor has collated a very useful resource for members to research articles on travel locations, vehicle reviews and mechanical information. Trevor also maintained the club’s property register and assisted Tony on management of the Leschenault Environment work. His time and dedication in compiling this resource is very much appreciated. Thank you to Denise Belcher as Social Committee chair, and the Social Committee Karen Archer, Jan Freegard, Pasc Vasile and Rosalie King for their organizing and running the many social events in 2011. Everyone in the club more than appreciates your time and efforts. Social events are an important aspect of the club. Although our main focus should be on 4WD trips, social events allow us to get together and know each other. Each member of our club has their own unique personality. Personalities can clash if they are not understood by each other, and it is these social occasions where we can get to know each other properly and develop leniency and understanding. In closing, thank you to all members for making up what is a fantastic club. If I have failed to mention anyone in particular, I do apologies, because as you have heard we have a large team of dedicated people and one or two of you may get blocked out in this snap shot. As we progress into our 26th year I thank all those members who will contribute to running trips and events as the year progresses. Just remember that if you have not run a trip before, there are more than enough people willing to give you a hand organizing and running them. I also appreciate that many members have busy work and family commitments and are not able to participate in some events or running the club. This is expected and I trust that those of us that do our best to run the club, do it to your satisfaction. If not, please do not hesitate in providing suggestions to the committee. I look forward to serving you for one more year. Martin Archer.
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Well done Bridget Mc. Beach fun on the Duke of Orleans trip this year. Congratulations also to Troy S. for his P.O.T.Y. entry last month. Email editor@mitsubishi4wd.org.au 15
Left: A photo from the Archer collection
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Piston Broke Ninghan Station trip. Michael Gilbert – Marion had to work on the Friday so he would leave Perth after work and drive to Wubin and camp the night. He changed his mind and drove straight through to Ninghan. Being pitch black on his arrival and only a cardboard sign on a stick to warn him of our rough whereabouts he slowly made his way in the general direction of our campsite. He gave up trying to find us and pitch camp for the night. Saturday morning the braver, younger, fitter or less sane members embarked on a climb of the adjoining Wathergabbing Hill only to see a lone vehicle parked about 100 metres from our camp site, Yep you guessed it the Gilbert’s. So close yet so far, Piers can tell you a story about answering the call of nature in the general direction of their campsite at some ungodly hour of the night. Ninghan Station trip Paul Johnson – We all anxiously awaited his arrival scheduled for late Saturday afternoon. They finally arrived amidst dinner preparations and were immediately surrounded by willing assistants as well as the heaviest rain I have ever seen up there. Paul and his family were soaked from head to toe. There was water 2 inches deep in their clothes, shoes, socks and no doubt Paul's jocks as well. Half way through the erection of their tent, Paul made the other Paul (Ryan) a cash offer of $50,000 for his caravan!! Who thought for a minute... looked up at the skies... and promptly turned down his offer. Funnily we haven’t seen the Johnson’s on a camping trip since. Editor Note: Well we actually DID enjoy BIG VALLEY but we checked the weather before going!
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Have you seen this man. Last spotted on a beautiful southern beach. Please call the police on
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1800 FASHION !
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This year’s award goes to Pat O’Dowd – Pat is one the members of the club who is always willing to lead a trip when the calendar is looking bare. He includes in his trips lots of unforeseen activities to keep his tag-alongs on their toes. It’s not a 4WD trip with Pat unless someone gets stuck somewhere. Listening to his running commentary on the UHF gets everyone excited with anticipation. Like one of his one-liners which went something like this… "Little bit of water here I'm going to go for it but I think I will go straight down"
Pat receiving his Piston Broke Award
Just about everyone in the club would have been stuck at some time while driving off road. This Is usually done entering soft sand, slipping into a mud hole, or trying to climb a rock that was not meant to be climbed. But not Pat, he likes challenging different things and when he spots an opportunity he goes for it. On one of his recent trips through Gnangarra in November the convoy was getting a little hungry for a lunch stop when in true Pat style he calls over the radio "I'm stuck". Everyone in the convoy is thinking, hang on, the track is almost bitumen, there’s been no rain for months and there’s not a hill in site? Pat was found stuck on top of a pile of tree mulch.
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Photograph of the Year Award Each month a POTY entry is chosen to be displayed in the newsletter. The Photograph chosen is the one that best represents the club’s motto “Outward Bound.” The POTY is chosen by the editor from the 11 POTY entries that are printed in the newsletters. I urge all members to submit interesting photo’s. Please label them so we know who took the photo!. There were some great photographs to choose from this year including relaxing camp fires on the beach to exciting river crossings and dune descents. This year’s POTY is awarded to John Holbrook for his photograph taken on the Harvey Hills Climb day trip and printed in the Dec newsletter. John has taken some great shots on different trips and this one definitely depicts the club outward bound in 4wd mode! Congratulations John.
John and his P.O.T.Y
CLUB AWARDS There are many members in the club who deserve recognition for the work and effort they put in making the club an enjoyable part of our lives. There are those members who have year after year contributed in some
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way or other, but do not get officially recognized because we have so many others members making their mark each year. We have 2 Annual Awards that recognize contribution to the club. The Ian Lockhart Award recognizes a members significant contribution to the club over the past 12 months which effectively allows all other members to enjoy our activities. We also have the Club Person of the Year Award which is given to the person who scores the highest points through out the year by attending and contributing to activities The club’s award for recognizing significant contribution to the club over a period of time is Life Membership. Life Membership is not given just because a member has been with the club for a specific timeframe. During the time of membership, those members must have contributed to the club in some significant way, such as serving on the committee and/or providing time and effort in organizing the activities of the club. However, this achievement is often forgotten and unrecognized by newer members. For this reason I would like to take this opportunity as we close the 25 th Anniversary of the club in reiterating the club’s appreciation to those members. Founding members Warren and Maxine Gosney. Warren and Maxine do not attend many functions or trips lately due to travel and family commitments and as such a lot of you may not have met them. The Gosneys have served in the Secretary role and then Treasurer and membership officer. They were fundamental in the development of the club and organizing club trips and social functions. As you can imagine, being founding members of a club would give you a feeling of paternal ownership, and as one of the many subsequent President’s of the club, I can only hope that we are able to make this club develop and prosper in a way they anticipated. Dorothy Hill, and her late husband Reg, joined the club in 1989 and it didn’t take long for the hills to get actively involved taking on the roles of Activities Officer. Reg became President in 1999 and Dot took on the Treasurer role in 2003. Dot and Maxine ran the club’s social events for some years. Sadly Reg passed away in 2009 and as a mark of respect the club held a Reg Hill Tribute night and were joined by Reg and Dots family and grandchildren.
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Tony and Stella Weldon joined the club in 1990. They have contributed to the committee in the role of Secretary 1993 to 1995, membership officer 2022 to 2004, and of course been actively involved in the development of the club’s environment commitment since 1994. This has culminated in the club and Tony receiving official recognition by receiving the DECs Outstanding Service Awards in 2009 and 2011. John and Sue Bromberger joined the club in 1995. John had served as President between 1996 and 1997 with a lengthy stint as the Club’s Vice-President from 2002 to 2007. Sue was Secretary between 1997 and 1998. And in their many years in the club, they have been instrumental in organizing trips and social functions and giving the club a family friendly atmosphere. The Brombergers have been very generous in providing the club with an avenue of printing the club’s newsletter through their own business and been extremely generous in supplying services and contributions to club events. As the current President of the club, I particularly owe gratitude to John and Sue for being so approachable and friendly at the club’s stand at the 2003 Perth 4WD Show, convincing Karen and I to attend a club meeting. Once again, on behalf of the committee and members of this club, thank you to the life members for your wonderful contribution in developing and maintaining this club over the last 25 years.
Club Member of the Year
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Tony W. Club Member Of The Year
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The Club Member of the Year Award is issued to the member who in the past 12 months has participated in the most activities and contributed significantly to those activities. It’s no good having activities if members don’t turn up, participate and/or help out in some way or other. The CPY Award is given to the person who scores the highest points through out the year. Points are awarded for attending meetings, trips and other activities. They are also awarded for contributions to the magazine, web and environment work. Additional points are given to those who organize trips and activities. In 2011 the following members received the highest points It is my pleasure to present the 2011 Club Person of the Year Award to Tony Weldon.
Ian Lockhart Nominations The following members have been nominated for the Ian Lockhart Award. Unfortunately, I can only present the award to one member, but each of these nominees deserves the award in their own right. This award is given to the person whose contribution has been exemplary over the past 12 months. The following words are taken directly from your nomination forms, but having said that, I completely agree with your comments. The nominations were as follows;Tony and Stella they both have so much passion for the club even after all these years, and of course Tony Dec award last year. Stella Weldon - for all the hard work she did in 2011the 25th anniversary year and also currently with the heritage site at McBeg Stella Weldon : takes on duties over and above what is expected of her. Trevor Theunisson. I believe he has done a great job managing three roles with enthusiasm. Vis : Librarian;
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Property Officer (whatever the correct title is); and Assistant Environment Officer. Trevor Theunissen for his efforts in setting up the club library. He should be acknowledged for the mammoth task of reading and cataloguing all the magazines andbooks into such detail. Helen Kingston Helen has handled the job of Club Shop manager in a very efficient manner during the year., She was always on the look out to change or bring in new stock and regularly displayed stock at club meetings. Due to her persistence many of the members now wear the club clothing and carry other bits of club paraphernalia in and on their vehicles. Paul Ryan - just for being Paul Ryan (what other reason do you need)!!!!! Denise Belcher - and the girls- or always organising fantastic social dos, and I don't think people realise the work that goes behind it that goes unseen. Well done to all :o) Michael Gilbert has been energetically doing extra "stuff", is forward thinking and putting in many hours 'playing' with the I.T. side of things. However, this year’s award goes to a member who has received 7 nominations from members. And believe me, that is a significant result considering the coercing that is needed to get people to otherwise submit nominations in the first place… This year’s Ian Lockhart award goes to John King Your comments;Is always the rock and never fails and is always there for the club. Gives an exceptional amount to the club. And is like the oracle, Wise, Fare and Un-bias and an out and out Gentle person. The club is lucky to have him.
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A gentleman and a scholar. Does this nomination really need explaining? Not only is he a pillar of society, he is also the cornerstone of which the clubs foundations are built upon. His efforts see many things admin attended to with the utmost precision and professionalism. His contribution to the club is both tireless and second to none and the club is all the better for having him as a member. He conducts himself with pride and compassion for fellow members at all times and a you will never hear a harsh word pass his lips‌.well except when he tells you the Smithy fishing story. He does it all and I doubt if the club would function as well as it does without him. He has done an excellent job and has had a huge input into the development of the Policies and Procedures on top of dealing with minutes, emails and the countless other tasks. For his tireless effort as secretary and dedication to the club. It is my privilege to present the 2011 Ian Lockhart Award to John King.
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John King, 2011 Ian Lockhart Award Winner
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Meetings Commencing at 7:30pm Manning Senior Citizen’s Centre 3 Downey Drive, Manning
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