1998:
29 members attended the February AGM. In his annual report, President Allan Dare commented on the sad passing away of members during 1997, the loss of others through leaving the area, and the disappointment felt that younger members were not joining the club. Membership had fallen to 60, with an average attendance of 30 at meetings.
Patron………………………………… Cr. I. Kingston
Patron………………………………… Mr. H. Sheaffe
Patron………………………………… Mr. C. James
Patron………………………………… P. Flower
Patron………………………………… Mrs. M. Page
President…………………………….. Mrs.S. Boyle
Vice President……………………. Mr. L. Dingjan
Vice President……………………. Mr. A. Prentice
Vice President……………………. Mr. B. Bevan
Secretary……………………………. Mrs. D. Lack
Treasurer……………………………. Mrs. M. Flick
Assistant Treasurer…………….. Mrs. D. Welstead
Social Secretary…………………. Mrs. J. Bevan
Librarian……………………………. Mr. B. Bevan
Catering Lady……………………. Mrs. D. Welstead
Auditor………………………………. Mr. E. Gough
Voting Delegates……………….. Mrs. D. Lack, Mrs. S. Boyle & Mr. A. Prentice
Public Officer…………………….. Mr. L. Dingjan
Steward……………………………… Mr. A. Prentice
Mr. Willett accepted the Club’s invitation to act as Garden Competition Judge while Brian Bevan volunteered to act as driver, assisted by steward Artie Prentice.
One of the conditions that the “Northern Star” stipulated for entries in the Grand Champion Garden was that any gardens that were entered into the Australian Open Garden Scheme were not eligible to be judged for Grand Champion status. Despite this, Bangalow Club decided that its own members could still be included in its own competition. Banora Point and Murwillumbah garden clubs sought permission to be included in the “Northern Star” Grand Championship and, after discussion, it was decided not to agree to this because of the long day judges already had in getting around the gardens.
As the cost of hiring the RSL Hall had risen as well as paying $7 for use of the kitchen, members decided to discontinue afternoon tea and raffles at the meetings and to have these only on social outings.
Social outings and visits to gardens continued unabated, with some highlights being a sausage sizzle at Rocky Creek Dam, a Pig on Spit at the home of Lou Dingjan, a fund-raising event at the home of Shirley Boyle, a visit to the Bangalow Historical Society and Christmas lunch at the Byron Bay RSL Club.
The Club’s Bank account at the NAB was closed and a new account opened with The Summerland Credit Union. $1,000 was invested in a long-term deposit as well.
1999:
Results of the February AGM were:
Patron………………………………… Cr. I. Kingston
Patron………………………………… Mr. H. Sheaffe
Patron………………………………… Mr. C. James
Patron………………………………… P. Flower
Patron………………………………… Mrs. M. Page
President…………………………….. Mrs. S. Boyle
Vice President……………………. Mr. L. Dingjan
Vice President……………………. Mr. A. Prentice
Vice President……………………. Mr. B. Bevan
Secretary……………………………. Mrs. D. Lack
Treasurer……………………………. Mrs. M. Flick
Social Secretary…………………. Mrs. J. Bevan
Librarian……………………………. Mr. B. Bevan
Catering Lady……………………. Mrs. D. Welstead
Auditor………………………………. Mr. E. Gough
Voting Delegates……………….. Mrs. D. Lack, Mrs. V. Leeson & Mr. A. Prentice
Public Officer…………………….. Mr. L. Dingjan
Steward……………………………… Mr. A. Prentice
Driver…………………………………. Mr. B. Bevan
1999 saw the introduction of a Market Morning held in the RSL Hall as its annual fund raising event, rather than holding fund raising events in the gardens of members. The Club still sent invitations to other Clubs to attend and also advertised in the Bangalow “Heartbeat”. The morning was a big success and $677.20 was added to the Club’s coffers.
All prizes for the winning gardens were increased by $5.00, and Mrs. Betty Lloyd accepted the Club’s invitation to act as judge for the annual competition. The schedule was revised and the former section for an established garden was merged with a garden featuring shrubs and trees – with two divisions, one being a country garden outside the 60k speed zone and, secondly, a town garden. As there was no support for the Business House section, it was decided to eliminate this.
A pleasant day was had when a bus was hired to take members to view the Champion Gardens of the region. David and Rosemary Hill opened their garden under the Open Garden Scheme with many visitors coming long distances to see hillside plantings and landscaping, and how they coped with shortage of water. The garden was given a good write up in the Gardening Australia magazine. The inclement weather during the year proved to be a challenge for the scheduled home garden visits and the social gatherings were, consequently, not as successful as in past years.
2000:
The Club’s financial position was still very healthy, with a credit balance of $449.50 and a term deposit of $1,000. 2000 Committee members:
Patron………………………………… Cr. I. Kingston
Patron………………………………… Mr. H. Sheaffe
Patron………………………………… Mr. C. James
Patron………………………………… P. Flower
Patron………………………………… Mrs. M. Page
President…………………………….. Mrs. S. Boyle
Vice President……………………. Mr. L. Dingjan
Vice President……………………. Mr. A. Prentice
Vice President……………………. Mr. B. Bevan
Secretary……………………………. Mrs. D. Lack
Treasurer……………………………. Mrs. M. Flick
Social Secretary…………………. Mrs. J. Bevan
Librarian……………………………. Mr. B. Bevan
Catering Lady……………………. Mrs. C. Cook
Assistant Caterer……………….. Mrs. J. Bevan
Auditor………………………………. Mr. E. Gough
Voting Delegates……………….. Mrs. D. Lack, Mrs. V. Leeson & Mr. A. Prentice
Public Officer…………………….. Mr. L. Dingjan
Steward……………………………… Mr. A. Prentice
Driver…………………………………. Mr. B. Bevan
A motion was put forward by Mrs. S. Boyle was passed by members that would, in future, see terms of consecutive three years apply to the role of President of the Club.
Mr. Ron Lever was chosen as the judge for the garden competition and, again, high standards were maintained and there were 13 entrants who had 81 entries to the various sections.
Yet again, members gave freely of their time in volunteering to help improve the gardens in Bangalow and to assist the Feros Nursing Home with tidying up and pruning. Name badges were ordered from Feros Village this year and Shirley Boyle had an Open Garden – the funds raised from this were donated to the Club.
The Club accepted an offer to take space at the annual Arts & Craft show where they took the opportunity to advertise the Club, with Carol Cook providing advertising material and members doing 2-hour stints to man the stall. A profit of $71.20 was made. A Lamington Drive was also used as a fund raiser.
A very happy bus trip to Tamborine Mountain to view the gardens was held, along with friends from Byron Bay Garden Club. Some members went to the Toowoomba Garden Festival with the Ocean Shores Club. The Christmas lunch was held at The House With No Steps and was a big success.
2001
The 2001 AGM was held on 7th February and the following Executives were elected:
Patron………………………………… Mr. H. Sheaffe
Patron………………………………… Mr. C. James
Patron………………………………… P. Flower
Patron………………………………… Mrs. M. Page
President…………………………….. Mrs. D. Lack
Vice President……………………. Mr. L. Dingjan
Vice President……………………. Mr. A. Prentice
Vice President……………………. Mr. B. Bevan
Secretary……………………………. Mrs. J. Bevan
Treasurer……………………………. Mrs. M. Flick
Social Secretary…………………. Mrs. R. Hill
Librarian……………………………. Mr. B. Bevan
Catering Lady……………………. Mrs. C. Cook
Assistant Caterer……………….. Mrs. J. Bevan
Auditor………………………………. Mr. E. Gough
Voting Delegates……………….. Mrs. D. Lack, Mrs. V. Leeson & Mrs. S. Boyle
Public Officer…………………….. Mr. L. Dingjan
Steward……………………………… Mr. A. Prentice
Driver…………………………………. Mr. B. Bevan
A decision was made to transfer the fixed term deposit from the Summerland Credit Union to the Diocesan Investment Fund where no charges were made and a better rate of interest was provided. An additional $600 was added to the $1,000. Mrs. S. Boyle was elected as representative on a Working Committee which met to discuss the future of Bangalow Village. This working committee was to look at the aims and population and other generalities. The Club also decided to take out membership of the Northern Rivers Rural Buying Service for a fee of $25 per annum. This entitled all garden members to be able to purchase their gardening needs at a discount rate.
To help advertise the fund-raising market Day, Carol Cook designed and made a banner to be hung in the township, along with signs that had already been made by Allan Dare. These did help to bring in the customers and $699.70 was made. Likewise, advertising in the “Heartbeat” newsletter helped to increase entries in the garden competition, which was again a success. A new base had to be made for the original Champion Garden trophy, and this would be done by Mr. John Reading early in 2002.
Some disquiet was being felt with Garden Clubs of Australia because of their dictates with regard to affiliation fees, numbers of magazines to be ordered and method of payment for same.
Although there had been an AGM in February, it was decided that henceforth all AGMs should be held in November, starting with 2001, to avoid late filing fees with the Dept of Consumer Affairs. Officers elected at this meeting were:
Patron………………………………… Mr. H. Sheaffe
Patron………………………………… Mr. C. James
Patron………………………………… P. Flower
Patron………………………………… Mrs. M. Page
President…………………………….. Mrs. D. Lack
Vice President……………………. Mr. L. Dingjan
Vice President……………………. Mr. A. Prentice
Vice President……………………. Mr. B. Bevan
Secretary……………………………. Mrs. J. Bevan
Treasurer……………………………. Mrs. M. Flick
Social Secretaries………………. Mrs. M. Byrne & Mrs. M. Rowley
Librarian……………………………. Mr. B. Bevan
Catering Lady……………………. Mrs. C. Cook
Assistant Caterer……………….. Mrs. J. Bevan
Auditor………………………………. Mr. E. Gough
Voting Delegates……………….. Mrs. D. Lack & Mrs. S. Boyle
Public Officer…………………….. Mr. L. Dingjan
Steward……………………………… Mr. A. Prentice
Driver…………………………………. Mr. B. Bevan
2002:
Mrs. Rose from Grafton acted as judge for the garden competition and the Club was requested to provide a Provisional Judge for our garden competition. Mrs. S. Boyle volunteered to become acquainted with the duties of Steward as support for Mr. Artie Prentice. As there had been occasions when a judge could not attend the presentation evening, members requested that the judge should provide a written report as to the general condition of gardens judged. With attendance at presentation evenings on the wane, it was also decided to make the presentations afternoon functions. The garden competition had fewer entries this year owing to the dry weather followed by frosts.
Again to encourage interest in gardening and attendance at monthly meetings, it was decided to hold a competition where members would bring along a flower, piece of shrubbery or a pot plant to each meeting and attending members would vote as to which was the most interesting. A point system would exist and a prize would be given at the end of the year.
With membership numbers on the decline, it was suggested that flyers should be distributed into the town’s letter boxes. Bangalow residents were also invited to attend the Saturday afternoon social outings, as a way of encouraging new members. In an effort to put the Club before the public, two Club members marched in the Billy Cart Derby procession carrying the banner very cleverly made by Carol Cook.
Afternoon tea was reinstated, with the Club’s urn being used and members taking along their own mugs – therefore, it was necessary to arrange for use of the kitchen.
Members decided not to renew membership of NRRBS as not many people had benefited from this.
The November AGM resulted with the following being elected to positions:
Patron………………………………… Mr. H. Sheaffe
Patron………………………………… Mr. C. James
Patron………………………………… P. Flower
Patron………………………………… Mrs. M. Page
President…………………………….. Mrs. D. Lack
Vice President……………………. Mr. L. Dingjan
Vice President……………………. Mr. A. Prentice
Vice President……………………. Mr. B. Bevan
Secretary……………………………. Mrs. J. Bevan
Treasurer……………………………. Mrs. M. Flick
Social Secretary…………………. Mrs. M. Byrne
Librarian……………………………. Mr. B. Bevan
Catering Lady……………………. Mrs. C. Cook
Assistant Caterer……………….. Mrs. J. Bevan
Auditor………………………………. Mr. E. Gough
Voting Delegates……………….. Mrs. D. Lack & Mrs. S. Boyle
Public Officer…………………….. Mr. L. Dingjan
Steward……………………………… Mrs. S. Boyle
Following increases in hall rental and strong increases in insurance costs, it was passed that annual fees be increased from $3 to $5.
2003;
A small change to the fund-raising Market Mornings in the RSL Hall was not to include a guest speaker, and the sum of $842.60 was made – again due to the Club’s willing workers and their very generous natures. A second-hand amplifier and microphone were purchased for $30, and these were to be used at Market Mornings and Presentation afternoons. A Country & Western singer was engaged to entertain at the 2003 Presentation afternoon.
Interestingly, it was decided not to seek sponsors to help defray expenses of the Garden competition because Bangalow was still a small business centre and a lot of work was required to not only obtain the promise of sponsors but also to collect these donations at a later time.
The November social visit coincided with a Lions Club fund raising week-end at the Day Lily farm at New Italy, and (for a small fee) members enjoyed a BBQ lunch with scones, tea and coffee courtesy of the Lions Club. Many members also took advantage of being able to purchase some very colourful Day Lilies.
The November AGM elected the following executives:
Patron………………………………… Mr. H. Sheaffe
Patron………………………………… Mr. C. James
Patron………………………………… Mrs. M. Page
President…………………………….. Mrs. J. Bevan
Vice President……………………. Mr. L. Dingjan
Vice President……………………. Mr. B. Bevan
Secretary……………………………. Mrs. J. Bevan (provisionally)
Treasurer……………………………. Mrs. M. Flick
Social Secretary…………………. Mrs. M. Byrne
Librarian……………………………. Mr. B. Bevan
Catering Lady……………………. Mrs. D. Dare
Auditor………………………………. Mr. E. Gough
Voting Delegates……………….. Mrs. J. Bevan & Mr. L. Dingjan
Public Officer…………………….. Mr. L. Dingjan
Steward……………………………… Mrs. S. Boyle
Driver…………………………………. Mr. B. Bevan
2004:
At the November 2003 AGM, an unusual situation arose whereby the position of Secretary was hard to fill and President Judith Bevan took on the role of Secretary as well as President. Fortunately, in February 2004 Shirley Boyle volunteered to take on the Secretary’s job.
GCA decided that the North Coast Zone should be split into two, becoming “Northern Rivers Zone” and “Far North Coast Zone”, with Bangalow belonging to the latter. In their wisdom, another decision from GCA was to conduct a judges’ school and Rosemary Hill took up the opportunity of becoming a fully-fledged garden competition judge.
It was a reasonably quiet year for the Club, with only local garden visits. Mrs. Betty Lloyd was chosen as the Garden Competition judge, and there were more entries than in 2003. Champion Garden was won by Jo Schneider of Coopers Shoot.
The following members were elected at the November AGM:
Patron………………………………… Mr. H. Sheaffe
Patron………………………………… Mr. C. James
Patron………………………………… Mrs. M. Page
President…………………………….. Mrs. J. Bevan
Vice President……………………. Mr. L. Dingjan
Vice President……………………. Mr. B. Bevan
Secretary……………………………. Mrs. S. Boyle
Treasurer……………………………. Mrs. M. Flick
Social Secretary…………………. Mrs. M. Byrne
Librarian……………………………. Mr. B. Bevan
Catering Lady……………………. Mrs. W. Edmonds
Auditor………………………………. Mr. L. Dingjan
Voting Delegates……………….. Mrs. S. Boyle, Mrs. R. Hill & Mr. S. Heywood
Public Officer…………………….. Mr. L. Dingjan
Steward……………………………… Mrs. S. Boyle
Driver…………………………………. Mr. B. Bevan
The Club wound up its year with a very happy and successful Christmas lunch at the Bangalow Bowling Club.
2005:
Although there had been a few new members join the Club, 17 members only attended the February meeting.
The Market Morning in May raised $837.40, and this would be the last time that the annual fund-raising event would be held this way. An approach had been made to the Bangalow Show Committee to request that the Club be granted a market morning as Charity of the Day. As well as money earned on a stall conducted by the Club, it would also be given a percentage of takings on the day. So the generosity of members was tested when a market morning at the Bangalow Market was granted for August. This turned out to be one of the biggest fund raisers the Club had conducted. The Bank Balance stood at an extremely healthy figure of $1,973.80 and the Investment Fund stood at $1,452.88.
As in past years, there were a couple of alterations to the competition schedule, and production of these schedules was carried out by Carol and Colin Cook. The competition was a particularly successful one for the Club’s Champion Gardener – Shirley Boyle – as Shirley was also judged as the Regional Champion of Champions. Other major winners were:
Champion Garden…………………. Shirley Boyle
Reserve Champion……………….. Jo Schneider
All Seasons Garden………………. Shirley Boyle
Best Landscaped Garden………. Jo Schneider
Town Garden………………………… Carol Cook
A special award was presented to the Bangalow Public School for its vegetable garden. The “Northern Star” garden supplement was certainly one worth getting in 2005!
The following were elected to executive positions at the November AGM:
Patron………………………………… Mr. C. James
Patron………………………………… Mrs. M. Page
President…………………………….. Mrs. J. Bevan
Vice President……………………. Mr. M. Lassen
Vice President……………………. Mr. B. Bevan
Secretary……………………………. Mrs. S. Boyle
Assistant Secretary…………….. Mrs. M. Byrne
Treasurer……………………………. Mrs. M. Flick
Social Secretary…………………. Mrs. P. Hunter
Librarian……………………………. Mr. B. Bevan
Catering Lady……………………. Mrs. H. Sowerby
Auditor………………………………. Ms. M. Dingle Draper
Voting Delegates……………….. Mrs. S. Boyle & Mrs. R. Hill
Public Officer…………………….. Mrs. M. Flick
Steward……………………………… Mrs. S. Boyle
Driver…………………………………. Mr. B. Bevan
2006:
Members got into the swing of things with a Street Stall in April and, as usual, very generously donated cakes, plants, etc., for a successful stall. The Club provided a well-established tree to the family of Steve Bensley who was ill with cancer, and planting of the tree was done by Shirley Boyle and her family.
Insurance cover with Garden Clubs of Australia was discontinued in favour of the Royal Horticultural Society of Victoria whose charges were less than GCA, although affiliation with GCA was required for one year due to the fact that judges needed to be members of an affiliated GCA club.
For the first time, photos were taken of gardens in the competition and an impressive slide show was shown on Presentation Day on 8th September. Although entry numbers were down and gardeners endured a week of rain prior to judging day, the competition was regarded as yet another success. Jo Schneider’s magnificent garden in Coopers Shoot Road was the Club’s Champion Garden as well as Regional Champion Garden. That made it two years running for the Club to have one of its own gardens judged as Regional Champion Garden! Major category winners were:
Champion Garden…………………. Jo Schneider, Coopers Shoot Road.
Reserve Champion……………….. Shirley Boyle, Slatterys Lane.
All Seasons Garden………………. Maddie Jackson, Ewingsdale.
Best Landscaped Garden………. Jo Schneider, Coopers Shoot Road.
Helen Johnston had taken over promotional work for the Club and her efforts were starting to reap rewards. The Club’s competition results were published in “The Echo” and “Heart Beat”, however there was dissatisfaction with the lack of advertising given by the “Northern Star” prior to the competition and reporting of results following the competition.
A wonderful milestone was reached when long-time members Allan and Daisy Dare celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary. Allan and Daisy have had much success in the garden competition over the years, first winning Champion Garden in 1980 and continuing on with class wins nearly every year.
Results of the November AGM were:
Patron………………………………… Mr. C. James
Patron………………………………… Mrs. M. Page
President…………………………….. Mrs. S. Boyle
Vice President……………………. Mr. M. Lassen
Vice President……………………. Mr. L. Dingjan
Secretary……………………………. Mrs. C. Cook
Minute Secretary……………….. Mrs. M. Byrne
Treasurer……………………………. Mrs. M. Flick
Social Secretary…………………. Mrs. P. Hunter
Librarian……………………………. Mrs. M. Jackson
Catering Lady……………………. Mrs. H. Sowerby
Auditor………………………………. Ms. M. Dingle Draper
Voting Delegates……………….. Mrs. S. Boyle & Mrs. R. Hill
Public Officer…………………….. Mrs. M. Flick
Steward……………………………… Mrs. S. Boyle
Driver…………………………………. Mrs. M. Byrne
As membership numbers were starting to increase (promotional work was paying off!) and members were eager to have name badges, a source for these was found in the Ocean Shores Garden Club and these were available for members at $5 each.
2007:
The Club’s new librarian (Maddie Jackson) really got into the throes of her job. Maddie kindly itemised all books and listed these in two folders for easy scrutinisation and selection by members.
The Club’s promotions expert (Helen Johnston) was also working wonders with keeping the Club’s name before the public, and her efforts included articles in the “Northern Star” gardening section.
For a period of time, guest speakers were not included at monthly meetings; however, during this year the custom of having a guest speaker was re-introduced and thoroughly appreciated by members.
Long-time member Artie Prentice celebrated his 90th birthday – congratulations, Artie! However, it was a sad time for the Club when founding member Frank Scarabelotti passed away at the age of 109 – he had certainly had a big innings and had contributed greatly to the Club!
An approach from Casino Garden Club to all clubs saw the introduction of a Friendship Day in May, and this was the inaugural get-together for club interaction. It was a very successful and happy day.
The Club seemed to be progressing in leaps and bounds with new members coming along to regular meetings. Until now, any incoming correspondence would have been sent to the home address of an executive. A decision was taken to obtain a post office box in Bangalow, and this provided consistency for all communication and obviated the necessity to advise change of addresses when executives changed positions. Connection with Garden Clubs of Australia was finally severed when it was found that the GCA did not cover all judges in our area and the Club was able to obtain a separate list of judges.
Following dissatisfaction with the way the “Northern Star” handled the 2006 competition, the newspaper held a meeting with all Clubs, and four representatives from Bangalow attended: Maddie Jackson, Shirley Boyle, Rosemary Hill and Margaret Byrne. The newspaper determined that five generic categories should be included in each Club’s own schedule, and the newspaper would present the trophy to the Regional Champion Garden on the Friday afternoon prior to the announcement of all garden winners in the Saturday supplement. This required Bangalow Club to re-schedule its own presentation. A sub-committee was formed to finalise the competition schedule.
The Promotions Officer (Helen) had again been busy advertising the 2007 competition, producing flyers and obtaining many sponsors, alleviating some of the draw on Club finances. Due to the success of the slide show at the 2006 Presentation afternoon, it was again decided to take photos at all competing gardens. 2007 major winners were:
Champion Garden…………………. Maddie Jackson
Reserve Champion……………….. Rosemary Hill
All Seasons Garden………………. Maddie Jackson
Best Landscaped Garden………. Rosemary Hill
The final event for the year was the fund-raiser at the Bangalow market where the stall made $530 and approximately $1200 was donated by the market organisers to the Club as Charity of the Day. It was another huge effort by Club members, but certainly worth while
Results of the November AGM were:
Patron………………………………… Mr. C. James
Patron………………………………… Mrs. M. Page
President…………………………….. Mrs. S. Boyle
Vice President……………………. Mr. M. Lassen
Vice President……………………. Mr. R. Rowlands
Secretary……………………………. Mrs. M. Byrne
Treasurer……………………………. Miss K. Amor
Social Secretary…………………. Mrs. P. Hunter
Librarian……………………………. Mr. B. Bevan
Publicity Officer………………… Mrs. M. Jackson and Mrs. H. Johnston
Catering Lady……………………. Mrs. H. Sowerby
Voting Delegates……………….. Mrs. S. Boyle & Mrs. J. Bevan
Public Officer…………………….. Mr. L. Dingjan
Steward……………………………… To be appointed July
A big vote of thanks was given to Mrs. Marie Flick who finally relinquished the reins as Treasurer. Marie had been in this position since 1993, but having attained her OBE (Over Bloody Eighty), Marie felt it was time to retire.
The Club celebrated its Christmas lunch at Heritage House in Bangalow – a well-deserved celebration following a busy year.
