2019-20 Annual Report Final - Flipbook - Page 86
SA CFA President’s Report
As I sit in isolation to write this
President’s Report, I am amazed to
look back on a year of social contact
and fellowship, given the current
climate we now find ourselves in.
The awarding of ten Churchill
Fellowships in South Australia for
2019 was a fabulous achievement,
and included the awarding of the
Dr Susan V Nelle Churchill
Fellowship, funded by the SA
Department of Primary Industries
and Regions, to Paul Triglau. Paul
will travel to Italy to learn artisan
baking/patisserie to establish an
Italian-focused course at TAFE SA.
It was also with much pleasure
that we learned that the CFA SA
Sponsored Fellowship was awarded
to Anastasia Read. Anastasia will
travel to the USA, Canada, Sweden
and Belgium to investigate family
preservation programs in child
protection space for Aboriginal
families.
Eight of our ten new Fellows were
able to attend the annual dinner and
AGM that was held at the Pavilion
on 15th November – coinciding
beautifully on the same day as the
award ceremony at Government
House for our new Fellows. The
evening was a great success,
and saw the awarding of two Life
Memberships – one of which was
endorsed in a secret ballot due to
the recipient being an ongoing
Committee member! Graeme
Adcock (2002 CF) and Christine
Morris BSocSc, MPH, FPHAA
(1997 CF) were both welcomed as
Life Members and they join a worthy
cohort in South Australia that also
includes Ian Tolley OAM, (1966 CF),
Dene Cordes OAM, PSM, (1985 CF),
Peter Elder (1986 CF) and Associate
Professor Tony Phillips M.Phil. FBCO,
FCCLSA, Dip.CL (1992 CF).
The annual dinner also saw Ian Tolley
presented with a special award by
the Trust’s National Chair, David
Trebeck, to recognise Ian’s longstanding personal commitment and
contribution to the ongoing success
of Churchill Fellowships in Australia.
84
2019-20 Annual Report
Attendees at the dinner would
have been familiar with the award:
a specially framed, limited-edition
print of the ‘Sir Winston Churchill’
rose. This has a very personal
connection to South Australia as
three South Australian Churchill
Fellows – Pat Toolan (2002 CF),
John Zwar OAM (1978 CF) and
Gilbert Dashorst (1988 CF) – were all
involved in what culminated in the
original botanical painting of the ‘Sir
Winston Churchill’ rose by Gilbert
Dashorst that is on public display in
Churchill House in Canberra.
While 100 strictly limited handnumbered and individually-signed
prints (59x42cm) were produced
on archival paper as a fundraiser for
the CFA SA in 2018, late last year
the Winston Churchill Memorial
Trust National Board voted to take
receipt of the remaining prints from
the CFA SA, in exchange for a CFA
SA Sponsored Fellowship for 2020.
With such a personal connection
to both Sir Winston Churchill and
Churchill Fellows, these prints are a
highly appropriate way to recognise
the lifetime achievements of
Churchill Fellows nationally.
On other rose-related matters, the
‘Sir Winston Churchill’ rose that was
gifted to our Patron, the Governor
of South Australia His Excellency
Hieu Van Le, was planted out in the
grounds of Government House with
a plaque acknowledging its origins.
On Sunday 26th May 2019 another
successful Churchill Chat was held at
the British Hotel in North Adelaide.
It was the second time that the
CFA SA opened up the event to
interested members of the public,
and over 40 people attended.
Three Churchill Fellows - Dr Richard
Davis MBBS, FFARACS, FANZCA,
(1980 CF), Chris Morris BSocSc,
MPH, FPHAA (1997 CF), and Maeve
Downes (2007 CF) - spoke about
their Fellowship, and subsequent
changes in their respective fields,
followed by a question and answer
session and lunch.
May also saw the 20th Anniversary
of Liquid Metal Studios, owned and
operated by sculptors Meliesa Judge
(2001 CF) and Will Kuiper. Their
workshop held open days during
that month and Churchill Fellows
were invited to a private walkthrough of the studio and exhibition
where they were able to see how
the sculptures are made, from
initial design through to the bronze
casting stages, while enjoying wines
from Adelina in the Barossa Valley
and Dog Ridge in McLaren Vale, as
well as some truly gorgeous cheeses
from Churchill Fellow Gina Del
Santo.
Our second Churchill Chat was
held on Sunday 29th September
on a beautiful spring day in the
Adelaide hills. Gill Weiss (2002
CF), a self-employed harpmaker,
opened her home for a shared
lunch and informal talk and tour of
her workshop. The weather was
sublime and we enjoyed beautiful
food and conversation amongst the
birds in the backyard.
2019 also saw the return of seasonal
casual dinners for CFA SA members
and their partners, and it has
been pleasing to see that different
Fellows have attended each of
these throughout the year. This
brings us to 2020, where plans
have been made for both casual
dinners and Churchill Chat events,
but these are subject to review and
re-arrangement throughout the year
as we make our way through the
uncharted territory that is COVID-19.
Our first planned Churchill Chat is a
concert that was planned for Sunday
3rd May 2020 in the Adelaide Hills,
hosted by Pam Freeman (1979 CF)
and Cathy Tully, followed by an ‘after
party’. The date is likely to change to
later in 2020…
Our other planned event for 2020
will be a fund raiser film-showing of
Sixteen Legs, courtesy of Tasmanian
Churchill Fellow, Dr Niall Doran.
Sixteen Legs is a film documentary
like no other!