1962-1968 : Brisbane Western Districts Lions Club

Highlights

October 4, 1962 Organisation night held at the Oxley Golf Club. Organised by Australian secretary Jim McLardie and sponsored by the Lions Club of Moreton Bay. We were the 5th club formed in Brisbane, and the 245th in Australia.

December 8, 1962 Presentation of the Charter by DG Tom Magnus, governor of our District at the time of 201A. The presentation was held at the New National Hotel, 502 Queen St, with Don Peirce the chairman. The records show that the club was successful in reducing the price to 25/- per person.

Local - Nixon Park
Until 1964 most of Nixon Park was just another empty paddock covered with a high growth of grass and weeds. In September 1963 the Club's Civic Improvement Committee inspected the site, made recommendations, and architects Hall, Phillip and Wilson drew up a plan which, with Alderman Gordon Thompson's unqualified support, was submitted to the Brisbane City Council. With council approval came an undertaking that they would clear the site and keep it mown. This undertaking was honoured almost immediately and when we erected our first shelter and barbeque the council altered the Oxley Road fence alignment to provide adjacent off the street parking.
Since then we have built further shelters and barbeques, and repaired and repainted them.

National - Youth of the Year
The Youth of the Year Quest, conducted annually by Lions Clubs throughout Australia and Papua-New Guinea, originated in Brisbane in 1964. The late "Jamie" Jamieson, District Governor of 201A, noted that, while there were quests which set goals for which young girls and young ladies could aim, there was a lack of similar challenge for the young men about to enter commerce or industry. Could Lions, in some way, supply a challenge by recognising attitudes of responsibility and all round qualities of good citizenship? The Quest was introduced into District 201A, aimed at encouraging qualities of Leadership, Personality, Sportsmanship, Public Speaking and interest in community affairs.

Western Districts was an enthusiastic supporter of that first Quest, and that has continued to this day.

International - Nylons Galore From the December 1966 Australian Lion

When Lion Lloyd Kalinin, of the Lions Club of Brisbane Western Districts, elected to visit the London Host Club one evening in June, there was nothing exceptional about it. It was simply a Lion visiting another Club. He little realised that the outcome of this particular visit was to develop into something remarkable, which would ultimately lead to the involvement of thousands of people.
The guest speaker on that occasion was the Zone Chairman, Charles Berkley, of the Lions Club of Luanshya, Zambia. He spoke on the incidence of leprosy in Zambia and appealed for old stockings which, strangely enough, seemed to form the ideal bandage for these unfortunates.

This project appealed to Lion Lloyd not only as a human-interest story, but one which would provide the opportunity to direct those useless articles in every home to serve a humanitarian purpose. On receipt of his letter, our Club considered that the potential of this project was too great to confine to one Club. We reasoned that what applied to Zambia must also apply to every other country where this scourge is in evidence.
With this in mind, an approach was made to our District Public Relations Chairman PDG Roy Worfold. As Lion Roy agreed both with the value of the project and the vastness of the possibilities, he made immediate releases to the press, radio and TV stations. Within 48 hours the appeal had coverage in the major newspapers, radio stations and three TV channels.

The response from the Clubs of 201K and the general public alike was spontaneous. One of our newest Clubs, Coorparoo, alone collected over 8000 stockings. Individual gifts of stockings began to pour into the collection centres; the modest cardboard carton receptacle was soon inadequate and was replaced with a tea chest. Now wool sacks are used for storage pending shipment.

On September 15, through the good offices of Dalgetys and the Inter Ocean Line, eight tea chests containing 30,000 stockings were despatched on the Straat Singapore for the port of Beria en route to St Margaret's Leper Settlement, Fort Roseberry, Zambia, at no cost to Lionism.

By this time a considerable quantity of stockings was again in hand and the search for additional outlets continued. Enquiries at the Queensland Health & Home Affairs elicited the information that there were only a handful of sufferers in this State and they were provided for adequately. The same reply was given by the Commonwealth Health Department.

Next an approach was made to the various churches and we found that the Roman Catholic, Church of England, baptist, Lutheran and Presbyterian Churches all have missions in this field and collectively car for some 15,000 sufferers in New Guinea alone. These Missions have all been written to by their Brisbane offices, and we will make shipments to them as they advise their requirements.

The Mission to Lepers has also provided a list of five hospitals in India, all with between 500 and 1000 patients.

We have also learned that, as well as being used as bandages, nylon stockings are also invaluable for covering ulcers on limbs that have to be encased in plaster. Conventional beds are not suitable and again the humble nylons play their part in overlaying the ropes commonly used in lieu of mattresses and so contribute to the comfort of the patients. When these various uses are considered it would seem that the demand must be really insatiable.

On December 9, through the generosity of Burns Philp & Co Ltd., as shippers, and Houghton & Byrne Pty. Ltd., who will meet quarantine regulations re fumigation, another shipment of 30,000 stockings will go forward to the Franciscan Missionaries at Aitape, new Guinea, who care for some 400 in-patients and 1000 outpatients.
Information was received from the Methodist Overseas Missions to the effect that the leprosy station at Tari in the highlands of Papua/New Guinea would be glad to receive as many nylon stockings as possible.

And so it goes on - from its genesis, one alert Lion who could "sense" a good project, it has developed to a truly international activity involving 1000 Lions in this District bringing help to thousands of sufferers from this dread disease. The Lions Club of Brisbane Western Districts is justifiably proud to be handling the collection, packing and despatching of nylons on behalf of District 201K.

International - Indian Dentistry
One of the Western Districts largest international shipments occurred in 1970 when a complete Dental Surgery, donated by Lion George Fitzwalter, was sent to the Sion Lions Club in Bombay to be installed in the Diagnostic Centre that they had built. The relationship with Sion Lions had begun during the nylon stocking project, as they were one of the recipient clubs. They had also received shipments of spectacles and other equipment, and responded with a set of books which was presented to the Corinda Library.