Chairman’s Corner

Bridge Club

Since the last newsletter, we have had several meeting with the Bridge Club and can see many benefits in combining our resources to make a more vibrant, physically improved and financially secure club going into the future. In short, they have substantial cash reserves and a very successful business model, and we have a wonderful asset that has excess capacity and needs major refurbishment to achieve its potential.

The Bridge Club has engaged business and legal consultants to work with us to establish a framework for how the two clubs may be combined. Our priorities are that the Club will remain an enduring community asset and lawn bowls will be a large part of that future.

We have conveyed the Bowling Club’s requirements to the consultants and they are currently drafting a proposed Memorandum of Understanding and Deed of Arrangement. When they are received, the documents will be scrutinised by the Bowling Club’s Working Party and Board.

Undoubtedly, there will be a period of negotiation before documents can be finalised. During this period there will be one or more information sessions for members to be informed about possible arrangements and to ask questions.

It is important that as many members as possible attend these meetings to ensure they are fully informed about the future of their club.

Disposal of Property

As mentioned at the general meeting at which this proposal was discussed, it is a protracted process. The learning curve becoming a property developer is very long and educative. So far, we have consulted lawyers, a town planner, a surveyor, a valuer two estate agents and a property developer. We have the task of balancing the Club’s long term interests and achieving a reasonable return.

The C4 zoning of the property restricts the minimum size of a block for subdivision to 1500 square metres. There are further restrictions for a block of this size that allow a maximum built upon area of 600 sqm leaving 900 sqm for landscaping. It will not be possible for an oversized house to be built on the property.

The red box outlines the area that could be sold.

At the moment we are finalising the documentation needed for the Development Application.

It is anticipated the Ku-ring-gai Council may take some months to process the DA and then the project will be subject to review to consider the council conditions and where the discussions with the Bridge Club have taken us. A general meeting of members will be held before a decision is taken to put the property on the market so members can be fully informed of the situation.

Club’s Oldest Member

Ron Gee Kee has many claims to fame but being our oldest member is not one of them.

That honour belongs to Marie Milne, a life member from the East Roseville Bowling Club and that life membership has continued with the Lindfield Rollers. Marie who turned 103 last May, was Treasurer of the East Roseville Women’s Club for 22 years. She is currently living at Kowpa Aged Care in Roseville and wishes to be remembered to her friends that are still bowling.

Congratulations to Roshani

**Roshani Hetti** has moved from work experience to becoming a regular member of staff. She has been in Australia 6 years now and is embracing our way of life. She never dreamed that pulling beers in a bowling club would be a step to becoming an Aussie!

New Members

I would like to welcome Kevin Palmisano and Bob Waters, who have joined us in the past few months and Lois Chambers who has rejoined.

I wish them well with their bowling future.

Roger Parks

Chairman

Financial Update from the Club Treasurer

Another full Financial Year has just been completed, and I have been preparing LBC’s end of year accounts for our Accountants LBW & Partners so they can complete their review. The accounts are now in their hands, and I expect to have their completed review by mid-August.

The club has had another solid year of trading which can only be achieved through the fabulous support of our members and of course our non-bowls revenue.

Our trading result (subject to sign off by LBW) for the 12 months ended 30 June 2025 is summarised as follows:

30/6/25 30/6/24

· Total Revenue $378,806 $379,413

· Total Expenses $350,046 $344,618

· Net Profit $ 28,760 $ 34,795

You can see our net profit is $6,035 behind same time last year. However, to obtain a true view of our trading performance for the year we can make a couple of adjustments:

· Net Profit $28,760

· Add back one-off Subdivision costs $17,961

· Subtract Northbridge Provision balance $11,507

· Adjusted trading Net Profit $35,215

The adjusted net trading profit of $35,215 is an excellent result, a slight increase of $420 over last year.

This is despite a reduction of $7,424 in Green Fees which was more than made up from increased bar sales plus increases from North Shore Bridge Club and Telstra rentals.

Your club remains in a very good financial position, we continue to trade profitably, our balance sheet is strong and all of our very important financial obligations such as Superannuation Guarantee, PAYG tax and GST commitments are totally up to date.

I will report further at our AGM.

As always, if any member would like more details on the club’s financial accounts please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Ian Kimmorley

Treasurer

What’s Happening?

The Club 4’s and Club Triples competitions have both been completed.

In the 4’s, the team of Owen Holden, Alan Plambeck, Phil Lewis and Bob Silversides were the ultimate winners. Full competition details can be found here.

In the Triples, the winners were Ivan Steinthal, David Boyle and Gary Forster. Again, you can see the full details here.

Meanwhile, the Men’s Major Singles competition has commenced. Progressive results can be seen here.

The club has purchased two new microphones for the PA system.

Dates have been booked for the Roseville College girls’ bowling programme through August and September. Helpers will be required to run the programme – please talk to Gerry Ryman if you would like to help.

A Men’s Lunch is being organised for 31 July 2025 at the Belrose Bowling Club. See Nick Wiener for details.

Plans are progressing for the Roseville Shield competition, scheduled to take place on the 27th of September. Several clubs have already lodged entries.

Uniforms – By and large we have an adequate stock of club uniforms, except for men’s shirts, short sleeve, size L; more of these are now on order.

A number of people have asked about acquiring a rain-repellent jacket with LRBC colours and logo (Hunter jackets). We have just four of these for ladies left in stock (sizes M, L and XL) but only one for men (size XXL). However, I have recently discovered that our new uniform supplier (Premier Bowls Wear) can supply something very similar at a likely cost of $85 to our members.

The Premier jackets are unisex and water-repellent but not fully waterproof, i.e. much the same as the old Hunter jackets. I am told they are generous in size, so most people find a jacket size one step down from their shirt size works best.

Here is what the Premier version looks like:

Premier Bowls Wear have three options (which can be customised) for jacket lining.

• Micromesh lightweight mesh lining.

• Flannel lining, which is like flannelette sheets or old-style bowls cloth fabric.

• Or fleece lining for a warmer and thicker option.

The flannel lining is the most popular – warm but not too bulky.

If you are interested in purchasing one of the new jackets available from Premier, please let me (Garry Lowder) know. Because of their cost, it will be necessary for purchasers to order and pre-pay, to ensure that we are not left with orphan stock.

Know Your Fellow Bowler

Everyone knows Roger Parks. He is, after all, Chairman of our club. But do you really know him? I suspect not, so today we are going to discover a bit more about our esteemed Leader.

Roger was born in 1945, grew up in Melbourne and was schooled at Scotch College in our southern metropolis. He then went to Monash University for a degree in Economics and Politics, before moving to Sydney in 1972 for employment at the University of NSW in Property and Facilities Management. A very good background, I think you will agree, for the demands of the Office he now holds. While at UNSW he successfully rose from Administrative Assistant to Director of his Department, supervising 300 staff.

A distinguished professional career without doubt but also hidden somewhere in Roger’s past is a less celebrated role as a rent collector. He was the man who came knocking on your door to extract from you the rent due for the next week or fortnight or month, as the case may be. An essential and in its own way noble occupation, especially when you consider that among his ‘clients’ was Pastor Doug Nicholls, later Sir Douglas Nicholls, Governor of South Australia.

In 1981 Roger married Heather-Jane MacFarlane in Sydney and they have two children, Georgia and Tony. Their daughter, Georgia, is intellectually disabled and lives half time with her parents and half time in her group home in North Ryde. Tony lives in Brisbane and works as a geophysicist in the mining and marine industries.

Roger was conscripted into the Army in 1970-71, where he rose through the ranks to corporal. While serving, Roger was trained as an Air Dispatcher (“stuffing gear onto planes”) and moved around to different bases, including Puckapunyal, Wallgrove, Richmond RAAF base and Victoria Barracks in Paddington.

Apart from Bowls, and as might be expected for a Victorian lad, Roger is a fan of AFL and supports the famed Cats club (Geelong). He has also followed rowing ever since his exposure to the sport at Scotch College and he has long enjoyed tennis. He started bowling at the Roseville club in the year 2000. Outside of sports, Roger takes an interest in current affairs, the theatre and the movie scene. His screen favourites include the Godfather movie series and Slow Horses (a series on Apple TV)

When it comes to music, Roger reckons you can’t do better than Pink Floyd and Dire Straits, unless perhaps it is something from the Blues genre. He likes to read non-fiction political commentary and is currently enjoying “Abundance” by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, a book that looks at how regulations are strangling progress in many fields.

It will come as no surprise that Roger Parks is very much a community-minded person and is justifiably proud of having served on committees and community groups such as the P & C of the school where Georgia attended in Bondi, as well as childcare centres, credit unions, scouts, a professional body (University Facilities Managers) and, of course, our bowling club, where his commitment and leadership is much appreciated and admired by all.

Like most of us, Roger is quite well travelled, with his favourite places located on opposite sides of our vast country – Port Stephens and the Kimberley. His favourite cuisine? Indian, what else?

When asked who the most influential person in his life was, Roger replied without hesitation – his daughter Georgia. And as if that wasn’t enough to inspire us, he offered this advice to his 21-year old self – “partying is not the answer”.

Makes me wonder what the question was!

A Smile on Your Dial

When Forest Gump passed away, he arrived at the Pearly Gates and stood in front of St. Peter. St. Peter said, "Welcome, Forest. We've heard so much about you." Then he said, "But it's getting crowded up here, so now we have to give people a little test before letting them in."

"Okay," said Forest. "I hope it's not too hard. My momma always said, 'Life is like a final exam. It's tough.'"

"Yes, Forest, I know. But this test only has three questions. Here they are."

Which two days of the week start with the letter 'T'?
How many seconds are in a year?
What is God's first name?

Forest smiled and said, "The first one is easy. The two days that start with 'T' are Today and Tomorrow."

St. Peter was surprised but said, "Well, that's not what I was expecting, but you have a point. I'll give you credit for that one."

"Next question," said Forest. "How many seconds are in a year? Twelve."

"Twelve?" St. Peter asked, confused.

"Yes, sir. January 2nd, February 2nd, March 2nd..."

St. Peter interrupted him, realizing what Forest meant. "I see. I'll give you credit for that, too."

Forest smiled and said, "And the last question, 'What is God's first name?' It's Andy."

"Andy?" St. Peter said, shocked. "How did you come up with 'Andy'?"

"I learned it in church. We used to sing about it," Forest said, singing, "Andy walks with me, Andy talks with me, Andy tells me I am His own."

St. Peter opened the gate to heaven and said, "Run, Forest, Run!

The following ripostes were posted on an Australian Tourism Website and the answers are the actual responses by the website officials, who obviously have a great sense of humour (not to mention a low tolerance threshold for cretins!)

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Q: Does it ever get windy in Australia ? I have never seen it rain on TV, how do the plants grow? (UK).

A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die.

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Q: Will I be able to see kangaroos in the street? (USA)

A: Depends how much you've been drinking.

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Q: I want to walk from Perth to Sydney - can I follow the railroad tracks? (Sweden)

A: Sure, it's only three thousand miles, take lots of water.

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Q: Are there any ATMs (cash machines) in Australia ? Can you send me a list of them in Brisbane , Cairns , Townsville and Hervey Bay ? (UK)

A: What did your last slave die of?

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Q: Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Australia ? ( USA )

A: A-fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe.

Aus-tra-lia is that big island in the middle of the Pacific which does not ... Oh forget it.

Sure, the hippo racing is every Tuesday night in Kings Cross. Come naked.

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Q: Which direction is North in Australia ? (USA)

A: Face south and then turn 180 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we'll send the rest of the directions.

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Q: Can I bring cutlery into Australia ? (UK)

A: Why? Just use your fingers like we do.

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Q: Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule? (USA)

A: Aus-tri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is … Oh forget it.

Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Kings Cross, straight after the hippo races. Come naked.

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Q: Can I wear high heels in Australia ? (UK)

A: Let me guess, you’re a British politician, right?

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Q: Are there supermarkets in Sydney and is milk available all year round? (Germany)

A: No, we are a peaceful civilization of vegan hunter/gatherers. Milk is illegal.

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Q: Please send a list of all doctors in Australia who can dispense rattlesnake serum. (USA)

A: Rattlesnakes live in A-meri-ca which is where YOU come from. All Australian snakes are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets.

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Q: I have a question about a famous animal in Australia , but I forget its name. It's a kind of a bear and lives in trees. (USA)

A: It's called a Drop Bear. They are so called because they drop out of Gum trees and eat the brains of anyone walking underneath them. You can scare them off by spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.

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Q: I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Can you tell me where I can sell it in Australia ? (USA)

A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.

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Q: Do you celebrate Christmas in Australia ? (France)

A: Only at Christmas.

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Q: Will I be able to speak English most places I go? (USA)

A: Yes, but you'll have to learn it first.

***