Club Information
Welcome to our Rotary Club
Alexandra

Service Above Self

We meet In Person
Wednesdays at 7:00 PM
Alexandra Golf Club
Gordon st
ALEXANDRA, VIC 3714
Australia
First, third & fifth Wednesday 7.00pm Apologies/Guests John Allcock by mid-day Monday at the very latest SMS 0414 397 376 or landingear1991@hotmail.com Secretary Helen Gibb 0419893370
Home Page Stories
Alexandra Rotary’s Guest Speaker this week was Dr Brett Ingram, Adjunct Assoc Professor Deakin University and Senior Scientist Victorian Fisheries.
He was inspired by Jacques Cousteau in the 1970’s and studied at James Cook University before embarking on a 40 year career as a fish biologist. In the early days, Brett was part of a team which catalogued the Great Barrier Reef, being towed on a sheet of plywood towed by a zodiac inflatable for weeks/months at a time. It was uncommon NOT to see sharks at this time.
Most of his career has been at Snobs Creek hatchery, where he worked to develop and refine production techniques for native fish including Murray cod and Macquarie perch, and salmonids, as well as research into popular recreational fisheries across the state.  A single Murray cod female releases up to 50 thousand eggs (spawn). This process is hormonally induced in the laboratory. The spawn and milt (sperm from male cod) are mixed, and then incubated in tanks until large enough to be transferred into outdoor ponds where they are fed on plankton until grown to size. Snobs Creek Hatchery produces up to 10million fish/year, including brown and rainbow trout, chinook salmon, Murray cod and native perch.
Brett has also worked at Queenscliff developing breeding programs for the mussel industry, where the biggest challenge was to grow enough food to feed the young. Young larvae or spat settle onto ropes which are then transferred to open water to grow out to marketable size. This has developed into a 2000tonne/year aquaculture industry in Victoria. In Brett’s opinion our local mussels are better eating than the perhaps more widely known NZ green-lipped mussel. 
Brett has spent some time working throughout Southeast Asia on international aid projects to help develop fisheries and aquaculture in rural communities. In some places he worked with headhunters alongside orangutans. Fish are now bred in captivity for commercial consumption. Fishing is a vital industry throughout the Mekong delta. Improved breeding techniques have helped raise the standard of living for villagers.
Overseeing a short lived project which introduced barramundi to the warm waters of Hazelwood pondage was interesting. All was going well until the power station was mothballed, cutting the supply of warm water to the pondage. It is now too cold for these fish to survive there.
Despite all this knowledge, Brett is self-described  as 'very average at catching fish'.
An interesting and informative speech.
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Maria Price and Anne Burns joined the Rotary Club of Alexandra this week. Welcome to the world wide fellowship of Rotary.
Also Neil Robinson received his well earned certificate of appreciation in recognition of his efforts at the Easter Art Show and at our fortnightly meetings . He runs the bar, cleared the tables and helps with the dishes as well as being a cheerful friend.

Dr Mark Wallace, car lover, paramedic and now GP spoke at Alexandra Rotary this week.
Starting as  an apprentice motor mechanic ( which he hated) he joined the ambulance service in 1986.  During this time he met our fellow member Bruce Hyatt. Further training as MICA paramedic followed in 1991. This was richly rewarding work.
Following the Boxing Day tsunami in January 2005 Mark volunteered to work in Aceh Sumatra for several months . This time proved a turning point in deciding to pursue further qualifications in medicine.
Mark also worked in Vanuatu post cyclone, and as a helicopter based paramedic in Doha for 3 and a half years 2010-2013. An approach from the ambulance service to assist with retrieval of wounded patients from Benghazi, Libya during the time of the overthrow of Col Gaddafi provided another challenging but satisfying work experience.  The port of Misrata was full of ambulances, filles with people needing attention. A ferry was converted into a hospital ship to transport people to Tunis, Tunisia, a 3 day voyage. Mark was part of the team caring for patients and passengers.
Plans to return to a camp on the Libya-Tunisia border to set up another clinic were abandoned when that site was bombed, so Mark returned to Australia,
From 2013 Mark worked as a MICA paramedic while studying medicine, and living in a motorhome while completing his clinical rotations, before graduating in 2018.
He worked as an intern at Burnie, northern Tasmania for 2 years before returning to the big island (but not Melbourne) spending 6 months driving around the  state looking for a place that resembled Tasmania.
Mark's family (36 y.o daughter and 33 y.o son, partner a Melbourne-based physiotherapist) also enjoy their time in Alexandra.
His next challenge- to be a good GP. He is happy now to live a quieter life, as he is 'done with all the high drama and stress' of his early career.
Another busy meeting at Alexandra Rotary. We welcomed two new members to our club, Jane and Graeme Bylund. Graeme was a member and past president of the Geraldton Rotary Club. They join Lou Norgard who also joined recently. It’s wonderful to see new members helping to serve our community and become friends.
Chris Barry efforts were recognised with a Paul Harris Fellow award. Apart from his invaluable help with the computers and running of the Easter art shows he has for many years run weekly “computer and life skills” sessions for Menzies Support services. His skills are much appreciated by U3A and the HUB (CEACA) with computer courses. He even found time to be a Driving Mentor with the L2P programme helping people attain their driving licences. A well deserved award.
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Speakers
Cancelled
May 31, 2023
Cancelled
NYSF student Casey Clark
Jun 07, 2023
National Youth Science Forum - Inspiring Australia's Young.
Sharon and Geoff
Jun 21, 2023
Changeover Goulburn River Inn in Molesworth
 
Club Leaders
President
President Elect
Treasurer
Secretary
Community Service
Vocational Services
International Service
Rotary Foundation
Vice President
Immediate Past President
Membership
Club Administration
New Generations
Art Show
Music in the Park
Australia Day
Bulletin
Publicity
Bowel Scan