On June 24, 1961, Shepparton Lions Club was formed with 30 members who went on to deliver countless projects for townspeople over subsequent decades.
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Sixty years later, club membership may have dwindled, but the memories are strong and past members are now being invited to a 60th anniversary dinner next month.
John Lewis talked to founding charter member and twice president Don Phillips, 89, about the club's heyday and the changing landscape of community service.
They were once the can-do fundraisers, tin-shakers, salvage workers, barbecue experts, builders and practical project delivery people of Shepparton.
For 60 years Shepparton Lions Club members have fundraised and contributed to community projects across the city, from creating kindergarten playgrounds to delivering Meals on Wheels and helping people recover from flood and fire.
Their activities down the decades were meticulously recorded in five hard-back scrapbooks by founding member Dudley Griffiths until his death in 2004. Today the big red books, packed with newspaper clippings, photos and written records detailing the club's activities, are in the safe keeping of fellow founding member Don Phillips.
The five volumes are a remarkable account of a growing city — its dreams, its challenges, successes and old ghosts, and the energy of the people who made it all happen.
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When the club was chartered at a dinner on June 24, 1961, 30 men signed up for the chance to contribute to their community — and perhaps have some fun along the way.
“So many people wanted to join the Lions Club in those days we had to cap it at 30 because of the catering. It was a popular club and very strong,” Mr Phillips said.
The menu from the inaugural dinner at Shepparton's Victoria Hotel is pasted on the first page of Mr Griffiths’ big red book series, which is divided into five separate decades.
Mr Phillips, a longtime owner of Shepparton's Hotel Australia, pointed to the Vic's drinks menu from that evening in 1961.
On offer are ale, whisky, Sauturne and Pimm's.
“Nobody was drinking much wine back then — it was a different time,” Mr Phillips said.
Selling showbags at the annual Shepparton Show became an early successful Shepparton Lions project which lasted for nearly 20 years.
“The show was really big in those days, and the showbags were a huge money-spinner for the club. There was a lot of work in packing them, but it was worth it,” he said.
But the rewards of Lions Club activities were not always measured in money.
A black and white photo from 1963 showed Mr Phillips seated at a table helping pack showbags with children from what was then called the Goulburn Valley Handicapped Children's centre in Bowenhall St.
A written note underneath the photo reads: "One of our most rewarding projects.”
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Turning the pages, Mr Phillips pointed to other projects — a van purchased for Meals on Wheels in 1974; playground equipment being installed at a reserve in Service St in 1969; building the imposing entrance to the now defunct International Village in about 1982; an art and craft fair at Victoria Park Lake in the late 1970s; and landscaping a Zeerust backyard after flooding in 1994.
The demolition of the old Shepparton Post Office in 1973 also offered the Shepparton Lions an opportunity to sell the bricks, pillars and ironwork at auction.
However, not all projects involved hard yakka.
Oaks Day fashion functions in Shepparton hotels and private gardens were a huge success during the 80s and 90s.
A Night With The Stars was an inventive and popular fundraiser with a barbecue and band at Shepparton Aerodrome and people paying for nighttime flights over the city.
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Then there was the Cosgrove train trip, which has lived long in Mr Phillips’ memory.
“We went out to Cosgrove Hall on a Saturday afternoon to clean it up and and set out drinks and nibbles for a gambling night,” he said.
The enthusiastic Lions members then drove back to Shepparton to get changed into party gear ready to return for a big night with wives and friends on board a train which had been hired for $200.
However, there was a slight hiccup to proceedings when they returned to Cosgrove Hall.
“We'd set up all the food and grog, and we asked a local to look after everything until we got back. We hopped on the Cosgrove train and when we got back we found this guy — I won't mention his name — as drunk as a skunk. He'd been helping himself to the grog,” Mr Phillips said, still laughing at the memory.
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More examples of inventive fundraisers were the regular barbecues in the bush where Ardmona KidsTown is now located. However, the bush barbies are now an example of how times have changed to make today's Lions activities more regulated and less feasible.
“We'd go in and clean up the bush and invite people to a barbecue in the forest. But I don't think you'd be able to do it now,” Mr Phillips said.
Health and safety regulations have also put a stop to other Lions activities such as demolishing houses for the sale of timber and scrap.
“Things are much more controlled now, it's getting harder to find something that the Lions Club can hook into as community projects. The big projects are all taken on by the government,” he said.
When COVID-19 arrived in 2020 the Lions’ activities were further curtailed, meetings were cancelled and fundraising became almost impossible. Consequently, membership has dwindled to about a dozen people.
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After 60 years of Lions membership, Mr Phillips said the club had contributed much to Shepparton.
“When I go through these books I'm amazed at what we've done over the years. They raised the money from the community and then they channeled the money back into the community for what it needs,” he said.
“It's quite staggering when you look at the records showing how much money was distributed to various organisations.”
Mr Phillips is now encouraging present and past members, friends and supporters of Shepparton Lions Club to attend a 60th anniversary dinner to be held at the Shepparton Club on August 15.
For more information, phone Mr Phillips on 5821 3300.
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