REPORT – ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Darwin Defenders 1942-45 Inc
Inc. No: A0038476E, ABN 79 573 523 218
Darwin Defenders 1942-45 Inc
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held at the Geelong RSL at 11 a.m. on Friday, 24 August 2007
Present : President Brigadier Douglas Ball, Vice-President Neil Webb, Secretary Rex Ruwoldt, Treasurer Pat Ruwoldt, Major General Frank Poke, Mrs Dorothy Poke, Stan Grimmer, Mrs Florence Grimmer, Tom Stevens, Michael Beavis OAM, Bill Huggins BEM, Jack Power, Vic Maurer, Rex Howard, George Nicholls, Lionel King, Mrs Isabel King, Bob Andrew, R.C.
Baker, Mrs Lesley McQuinn, Jim Connor, Patrick Connor, Syd James, Mrs Lois James, Hayden Shell (President of the Geelong RSL Sub Branch), A.J. Walker, Frank Betts, Mrs Phyllis Betts, Keith Martin, Geoff Wisbey, Frank Moore, Mrs Hazel Moore, Con Wilson, Ron Forbes, Bert Fenton, Reg Guest, Douglas Richens, David Cowling, Ken Picot
The President declared the meeting open and welcomed members and guests, some of whom had travelled from Melbourne, Ballarat, Ararat, Sebastapol and Tasmania, to the Annual General Meeting, called to meet our legal obligations as an incorporated body. Reports on the year’s activities will be presented, and the audited financial records tabled. The meeting also gives us an opportunity to catch up with friends and enjoy luncheon.
Our Guest speaker, to whom we offer a warm welcome, is Mr Brian Wrigley, Past President of Geelong Legacy.
Appreciation was expressed for the assistance and co-operation of the Geelong RSL Sub Branch over the past year, and we thank the ladies of the RSL Women’s Auxiliary for catering for our morning tea to-day.
A special welcome was offered to Ken Picot, a former foundation committee member, and to Major General Frank Poke. The President thanked both for making the effort to attend to-day.
The meeting observed one minute’s silence in remembrance of fallen comrades and the President recited The Ode:
They shall grow not old
As we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them,
Nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun,
And in the morning
We will remember them.
Lest we forget.
Apologies: Mr & Mrs Bon Jackson, George Woodward, Mrs Gwen Woodward, Len Osborn, Mrs Audrey Osborn, Melbourne Committee Chairman Ken Davison, Mrs Peg Davison, George Kent, Alan Provan, Mrs Irene Watson, Alex Hilliard, Len Kemp, Neil Walker, Alan Birch, Pat Leydon, Mrs Thelma Leydon, Peter Webb, Charlie Ponting, Robyn Bell, Alan Day,
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 30 August 2006:
Moved Stan Grimmer that the Minutes, as previously circulated, be confirmed as a true and correct record. Seconded Ken Picot. Carried.
There was no business arising from the minutes.
Reports : The President and Secretary then read their respective reports. Moved Tom Stevens, seconded Vic Maurer that the reports be received. Carried.
Financial Report (previously circulated) : Treasurer Pat Ruwoldt, in moving that the audited financial statement be received and adopted, expressed appreciation of the Auditor’s help. Seconded Frank Poke and carried.
Election of Officers : The Secretary announced that the existing committee members had offered to serve for another year, and as there were no further nominations, the following appointments were confirmed :
President : Brigadier Douglas Ball, AM, RFD, ADC, FAIM
Vice President :Neil Webb
Secretary : Rex Ruwoldt
Treasurer : Pat Ruwoldt
Committee Members : Stan Grimmer, Tom Stevens
Major General Frank Poke, AO, KStJ, RFD, ED
Web Designer : Margaret Ruwoldt
Appointment of Auditor : Mr Bon Jackson FCA indicated that he would be willing to act as Honorary Auditor for the current financial year if required. Moved Pat Ruwoldt, seconded Neil Webb that Mr Bon Jackson FCA be appointed Honorary Auditor for the financial year 2007-08. Carried.
Guest Speaker : Mr Brian Wrigley, past president of Geelong Legacy, told of the history of the sinking of the Japanese prison ship Montevideo Maru, and personal stories of some of the captured prisoners and members of their families.
The President thanked Mr Wrigley for a most interesting talk, which was greatly appreciated by those present, and presented the speaker with a copy of the book, “Darwin’s Battle for Australia”.
The President thanked members and guests for their attendance, and declared the Annual General Meeting closed at 12 noon.
OPEN FORUM:
General discussion was then invited on relevant subjects.
Major General Poke advised that the Melbourne Committee held their AGM on Tuesday, 21 August, and were honoured by the presence of our Patron, Sir Zelman Cowen and Lady Cowen at the meeting and the luncheon which followed. Attendance at the meeting was in excess of 60. Reports were delivered by the Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer, and noted that a donation of $2,000 was made to the Shrine of Remembrance Development Fund, and the Treasurer disclosed that a surplus of $100 was made over the year’s costs.
The Guest Speaker at the Melbourne AGM was Mr Dennis Baguley, CEO of the Shrine of Remembrance. In an interesting address he covered the history, current situation and activities, and future plans for the Shrine. A copy of the address will be sent to the National Secretary for inclusion in the Newsletter.
An interesting development has been the arrangement of an affiliation between the Melbourne committee and members with a Jewish Girls’ School, whose headmistress is very impressed.
Regarding the business of the Japanese troops in S.E. Asia and bicycles (referred to in the Secretary’s report), mobility provided by bicycles enabled the Japanese to spread down Malaya to Singapore. After the war it was discovered some Japanese prisoners of war had been merchant seamen on the Montevideo Maru.
Mr Hayden Shell, President of the Geelong RSL Sub Branch advised that his organization is beginning a 25-year plan for the future. The organization is over 90 years old and while it has been able to adapt to changing conditions, a new direction is being sought. Members of Darwin Defenders may be asked to give their recollections of the history of the RSL.
Secretary Rex Ruwoldt reported on a telephone call he had from Doug Berghart, President of the Darwin Mobile Force Association, which he joined in 1940. Recently he went to the Australian War Museum looking for a bombing of Darwin exhibit. He asked an attendant who replied they didn’t have anything at the moment but he believed there was something out on the road – nothing on a permanent basis – not important enough. Can we cooperate and arrange a permanent exhibition in the A.W.M.? The committee would be glad to have any ideas.
Rex Ruwoldt,
Honorary National Secretary.
SECRETARY’S REPORT ON THE YEAR 2006-2007
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen,
One of the most important things when organising any project is to know what needs to be done and to get it right. The army in Darwin in WW2 was not always lucky enough to do that. Sometime about May or June 1942, Intelligence reports from Malaysia stated that one Japanese unit on their march south to Singapore advanced at the rate of 40 miles per day. Senior officers in the NT concluded that if the Japanese could do that, to win this war we had to be fit enough to match them. So we were started out on weekly route marches in full battle gear, which meant that each man carried about 40 lbs of equipment in temperatures up th 115 degrees Fahrenheit. We progressed from 15 miles a day up to 30 miles, which seemed to be the limit for the fittest of the men. By the end of 1943, the strength of the unit was down to about 40%, the others having been graded out as unfit.
Then a further Intelligence report stated that THE JAPANESE HAD BICYCLES!
I would like to express personal appreciation to our President, Douglas Ball. His commitment to our goals has been outstanding, and he has done much to gain us respect and recognition in many places.
I also want to thank our committee members, Vice President Neil Webb, Treasurer and Minute Secretary my wife Pat, Stan Grimmer, Tom Stevens and Major General Frank Poke, for their help and support over the past year, and to my daughter Margaret, for her help and for setting up and maintaining the Darwin Defenders 1942-45 Inc web site.
Special mention must be made of the contribution of Major General Frank Poke. His help and advice have been of tremendous value to the Melbourne Committee, and through our National Committee, to our members throughout Australia.
We all owe a special vote of thanks to President Hayden Shell and Committee of the Geelong RSL, their Manager Phillip Marshall, and all the other staff members, the Ladies Auxiliary and the caterers for providing us with such an excellent venue for this meeting, and for our regular meetings throughout the year.
Special thanks to the Committees in Adelaide, Bendigo, Horsham, Shepparton, Bankstown, Perth, and Melbourne. These committees all hold regular meetings and work to organise ceremonies in their areas each year.
Thanks also to the Darwin City Council and their CEO Alan McGill for the organisation of their annual Commemoration, and for the assistance and courtesy extended to any of our members who visit Darwin from time to time.
The Shrine Exhibition:
Melbourne Committees main project this year was the running of the Exhibition in the Shrine of Remembrance from 1st February to 10th March, and the Commemoration Ceremony at the Shrine on the 20th February. Both functions were very well attended and a credit to Ken Davison and his dedicated committee members.
Shrine staff said the Darwin Defenders exhibition was the best exhibition ever held at the Shrine and it should have been left there.
Membership:
Sadly, advice has been received that 42 of our veteran members have passed away since our meeting last year. At the current age of our veterans, this rate of attrition is to be expected. There are a number whose correspondence is returned marked “Left Address”. It is possible that some of these have passed on but we have no way of checking.
There has been some increase in membership largely due to the transfer of 74 members from the Darwin Commemoration Association in Sydney. Their long standing secretary Jack Lilly died in 2002 and after some 40 years their service at the Cenotaph in Sydney had to be abandoned for the lack of someone to organise it.
Eric Miller took up the job of secretary, newsletter editor and publisher and whatever else had to be done, but due to failing eyesight he is no longer able to carry on and there was no one else in their Association who was able or willing to take over from him. Their committee decided to make an approach to transfer their members to Darwin Defenders 1942-45 Inc.
There have been the usual losses by attrition, but some membership gains have been made through the publication of the book “Darwin’s Battle For Australia” and through distribution of the brochures “When War Came To Australia”. Whenever a book is posted I include several brochures and an invitation to join the association.
Brochures:
We usually keep a good supply of “When War came to Australia” brochures available. A further order for another 6000 is currently being printed.
It is interesting that most of our new members have joined because someone gave them one of these brochures, or lent them a copy of one of our newsletters. In other words, it depends largely on our existing members making personal contact with potential new members.
Newsletters:
Our Newsletters continue to attract strong interest and support, but getting enough material together for the newsletters is getting more difficult. If you have anything to contribute, please send it in.
The addition of colour has met with widespread approval, and it has given the publication a big lift.
“Darwin’s Battle For Australia”
The Book “Darwin’s Battle For Australia” has met with wide acclaim and continues to sell well.
The 12 Squadron Flag:
Darwin and the RAAF aerodrome and its buildings were devastated in the first raids on February 19, 1942.
One of the 12 Sqn men there on that day was the late Jim Wilkins, of Geebung, Queensland. Geebung achieved some fame when Banjo Patterson published his poem “The Geebung Polo Club”. If you have never read that poem your education has been sadly neglected.
There is one other thing about Jim Wilkins – his given name was not “Jim”. He absolutely hated his given name and would only use it on official documents. He said he courted his nearest and dearest for two years, and it was not until she saw his signature on their wedding certificate that she realised his name was not “Jim.”
The air raids set fire to the hangars and stores buildings at the RAAF aerodrome. Jim Wilkins had the foresight to salvage the fire damaged flag, and for over 60 years he kept it in an ice-cream container at his home. In 2004 he donated it to Darwin Defenders 1942-45 Inc with the express wish that we care for it in the future.
If you look closely at the white stars on the flag, you will see signatures. They are the signatures of the 12 Sqn personnel who were there on that fateful day. Jim and most of his mates are no longer with us, but their names will live for many years on the 12 Sqn flag.
It is one of Australia’s national treasures.
To preserve it for future generations, Darwin Defenders 1942-45 Inc have had the flag mounted in an air space within a frame, glazed with Perspex. The recommendation is that it be kept in a dry air conditioned atmosphere.
It was exhibited in the Darwin Defenders 1942-45 Inc Exhibition in the Shrine of Remembrance in February 2005 and 2006.
Our Committee then considered means of having the flag on public display. The feeling of our Committee was that the flag is really a historic relic of “Darwin’s Battle For Australia” and the suggestion was made that an approach be made to the Darwin City Council.
On behalf of Darwin Defenders 1942-45 Inc, assisted by Vice President Neil Webb and Tom Stevens, before an estimated gathering of about 1000 people at the Darwin Casino, I had the honour of officially handing over the 12 Squadron Flag to the custody of the Darwin City Council, on the evening of 19th February 2007.
This was 65 years to the day since the flag was salvaged from the ruins at the RAAF aerodrome in 1942.
Commemoration Ceremonies:
To maintain public interest and in honour of those Veterans who are no longer with us, we must keep organising the ceremonies on or about February 19th each year. The costs are small. It is largely a matter of organising the local people and facilities and we have to rely on members to organise ceremonies in their own areas.
Take care; there are not many of us left!
Rex Ruwoldt, Secretary.
