From our Members - Eighty Club Melbourne Inc.- Caring for the Less Fortunate Burgher community in Sri Lanka

                           CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF EIGHTY CLUB HISTORY

                          A speech by Tony Scarnivel at The Grand 8th July 2012

Ladies & Gentlemen, can I take you back 30 years to a time when there was no Eighty Club.                                                                                               

The year is 1982. The scene is a restaurant in Melbourne and at one of the tables sits a group of friends; they are migrants from Sri Lanka. They are laughing and joking and enjoying a meal together, much as you are today. But amidst their merriment one of the ladies grow quiet, she puts down her knife and fork and says “While we enjoy this sumptuous meal, there are families in the land of our birth who struggle to put food on their tables. Children go hungry and men and women are unable to find jobs”.  Now, her friends could easily have shrugged off her remarks with  “ tough luck, not our problem, what can we do?” But their hearts were full of compassion and they felt the need to reach out to the less fortunate and they all said “what shall we do? Even if we help a few families let’s try and do something”.

The scene now shifts to a street stall in Bentleigh where these friends have prepared homemade chutneys, pickles and jams. They sit shivering in the freezing winter cold with piercing winds howling around them selling their homemade products to raise money for the poor. I must point out to you that these migrants had only recently arrived from a life of luxury with servants at their beck and call. But now they sit at a dusty street stall. The good folk of Bentleigh must have wondered who these brown skinned people were, remember that multiculturism had not yet made its mark on the streets of Melbourne. However, a few passersby ventured to try the chutney, got hooked and came back for more.

Meanwhile this group and their friends were meeting in each others’ houses and discussing plans to establish a Charity. In typical Sri Lankan style there was a concoction of suggestions, clashes of idea and personalities. However, they all dreamed the one dream of reaching out to families in dire need.

And so, on 25th September 1982 The Eighty Club was born. Why the name 80 club? They were in the 1980’s and they modestly considered a membership of 80 to be a realistic number to achieve. How wrong they were.  At that inaugural meeting, the founder members were David & Yvonne Smith, Ronald & Eileen Van Houten, Jackie & Ellis Albrecht, June Bartholomeusz, Betty & Killtore Chapman, Brenda & Tyrone De Silva, Myrtle Knower, Pearl & Denzil Petersen, Violet Poulier,Richard & Rita Young and that mover & shaker Brenda Koch. Their dreams sprang into reality and they started on a brave journey. We are grateful to these members for their foresight and vision as the Club would not have seen the light of day without them.

Of these names there are but two surviving founder members known to us.. Betty Chapman, is unable to be present today due to ill health. Would you put your hands together for the other surviving founder member, Rita Young.

David Smith was appointed President, but as he and his family moved to W.A after two months, the first full time President was the charismatic Willem Leembruggen. He charmed his friends and relations who had no chance but to join the Club.  In 1984 and 85 the Club was led by the popular Ernie De Bruin, Membership passed the expected 80 and reached 150, with 100 families receiving assistance in Sri Lanka. It was in that year that Arlene and I joined as members, and we remember seeing the ladies of the Committee in a hot kitchen cooking the meals for fund-raising lunches. In a small church hall there were about 60 or 70 tickets sold. And when a few months later they sold 100 tickets you could not wipe the smile off the faces of the Committee.

The next President laid the administrative foundation of the Club, by arriving at a working arrangement with the Dutch Burgher Union of Ceylon. The DBU had its own premises for distribution of funds, a staffed office, a Social Services section that was a recognized government charity and a committee experienced in social services. To this day we receive audited accounts and official receipts from the DBU. In addition, a few years ago a dedicated bank account was opened for Club funds from which bank statements are reconciled and sent to Melbourne. The President I speak of is none other than Maurice Forster who with Pam migrates to warmer climates and flies back in the summer. Years later when the Australian Government relaxed the rules for funding the education of overseas students, Maurice established a Sponsorship scheme designed for Sponsors to finance the education of students in Sri Lanka . I know there are many of you who have experienced the pride and joy at the completion of your sponsored student’s education, their entry into the workforce and most of all the achievement of self-sufficiency. As Maurice would say “ Nothing beats poverty like education.” But, I am ahead of myself.

From 1988 to 89 the Club was lead by the late Vernon Kelly whose wife Maureen is here today. Membership rose to 200 and 120 families were being helped. From 92 to 93 Ian Kelly was President, Ian now resides in Sri Lanka.
And then from 1994 to 1995 the next President took membership to 300. That President is that lovable rascal Henry ‘chutta’ Brohier.
The road that we had travelled so far was relatively smooth but now we hit a roadblock and it unfortunately occurred during the next Presidency.
That person who was President from 1996 to 98 was the well known and much loved Ivor De Kretser, whose untimely death has been a shock to us all.

For 8 years the most popular fund raising event was the Annual Food Fair. Held in a church hall in Clayton, from morning to 5 in the evening a steady stream of members and the public bought food from a dozen stalls. The food was donated by the Committee and friends. The mood was jolly with friends swapping yarns, dancing to a band and eating hot hoppers cooked on the premises. All left with bags of food and smiles on their faces. And then in 1999 our cheerfulness turned to shock & dismay. The morning media reported “ Man dies eating Eighty Club food”  The distress and sorrow at the death of a member was bad enough, was it also the death of our Club? Every fund raising event was centered round the sale of food. Had we reached the end of the road? Were our dreams shattered? Radio stations phoned Ivor for his comments, Reporters knocked on his door and television crews were parked outside his house. Some committee members suffered the indignity of Food Inspectors barging into their houses and inspecting their kitchens. We were certainly experiencing the lowest and darkest period of the Club. But Ivor and his committee decided to go ahead with the next fund-raiser which was a lunch. It was decided that food cooked by the committee was too risky. Fortunately, registered caterers Mazhar and Melanie Rauff came to our aid offering to provide food at a reasonable cost. The lunch was announced and with all fingers crossed we waited for the response. And then, it was as if the dark clouds rolled by and the sun shone again, we received letters and phone calls of support and encouragement from our members, many of whom are here today. Lunch tickets started to sell and soon the lunch was sold out. Yes ! We were on the road again.

But there was still some unfinished business. We waited anxiously for the Coroner’s report on the death of our member. And when it finally came the conclusion was death by a heart attack. We heaved a huge collective sigh of relief. Now, ladies and gentleman you would think that the media would correct their inaccurate reporting, but no, the media circus had passed us and they were busy destroying the reputation of other organizations. But for us, our dream was still alive.
Ivor was followed by the late Edgar Jansz as President from 1999 to 2000 and he took the membership to 500.
After Henry Brohier took the chair for another year, we had our first and only female President from 2002 to 2003. It was Pam Forster who produced a memorable souvenir celebrating 21 years of the Club.

In 2004 and 5 it was the turn of our popular Newsletter Editor Darryl Isaacs. Membership rose to 586 and we increased assistance to 175 families. Then, on Boxing Day 2004 we turned on our TV’s and witnessed the horrific scenes of destruction caused by the Tsunami in Sri Lanka. Buildings were smashed and countless lives were lost. Darryl called an emergency meeting at his house and a Tsunami Fund was established. The response was overwhelming, we received a total of $90,915. On a single day we raised over $10,000 at a Sausage Sizzle outside a Bunnings store organized by the late Conraad Hatch and his wife Rita who is here today. We were truly humbled by the kindness and generosity of the Australian public.

From 2006 to 2007 our dream was further realized by membership reaching 590 and we were able to assist 186 families. The President then was the one and only Errol Jacotine who with his wife Violet organized the Silver Jubilee celebration.
Under our current President membership has grown to 637 and the number of families receiving assistance has been raised to 210. Put your hands together for our current president, the able and hard-working Rodney De Kretser.
For the financial year ended June 2012 we distributed Rs. 5,862,000 to 200 families. And due to your generosity we were able to pay two bonuses , one for Christmas and one at the end of financial year. Bonuses totaled Rs. 1,870,000.
All this would not have been possible without your generosity and support. We are indeed grateful to all those members who, when paying their annual subscriptions, add a donation of $20, $50 or $100. Also, to those who request donations to the Club in memory of loved ones who have passed away. And my favorites are those unselfish members who ask their friends and relations for donations in lieu of birthday presents or Christmas presents. As well, a special thanks to our largest benefactors Victor,Loraine, Jude & Kris whose hearts are as big as The Grand.

The road that we have travelled has demanded a deep commitment, hard work and a clear vision, and we have no illusions that the road ahead will bring us fresh challenges.
But for now the dream lives on and our thoughts return to the words of that lady, 30 years ago, who put down her knife and fork and said “while we enjoy this sumptuous meal there are families in the land of our birth who struggle to put food on their tables”.

Thank You ladies and gentlemen.