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Polio Australia and Rotary: Working Together

The extraordinary work undertaken by Rotary International over the past three decades towards eradicating polio worldwide is an achievement that every one of Australia’s polio survivors is aware of and fully supports. No one who lived through the pre-vaccine epidemics ever wants to witness the effects of this vicious virus on the community again. Without the visionary leadership of Clem Renouf as the president of Rotary International (1978-79), we would not be talking about the possibility of global polio eradication today.

However, in addition to the lengthy “End Polio Now” campaign, Rotary International has an even longer history with polio than you might know, having helped establish community organisations over 80 years ago to support Australian children and adults who had contracted polio.

In 1925 the Rotary Club of Sydney sent one of its Directors, Mr B R Gelling, to the USA to examine the support that Rotary was then providing to polio survivors. There he was introduced by Paul Harris (Rotary’s founder) to Mr Edgar ‘Daddy’ Allen who had recently established the National Society for Crippled Children. Paul Harris and Edgar Allen were fellow Rotarians and close friends and in the early 1930s framed the Declaration of Rights of Crippled Children. Paul Harris became the Patron of the National Crippled Children’s Society and for the rest of his life maintained a keen interest in the support of polio survivors.

In December 1929 the Rotary Club of Sydney convened a meeting of ‘concerned citizens’ in the Sydney Town Hall and as a result the New South Wales Society for Crippled Children was established. The then President of Sydney Rotary Club, Sir Henry Braddon, became the first President of the fledgling New South Wales Society for Crippled Children. In fact, of the seven state wide community organisations around Australia once known as “Crippled Children Societies”, six were established by Rotary.

End Polio Now


Polio Australia is now inviting Rotary International’s Australian Districts and Clubs to explore strengthening relations with polio survivors in the following ways:

Invite a polio survivor to speak at your Club. Contact Polio Australia to book.

Challenge your Rotary Club members to see how many polio survivors they know of and/or can track down to sign them up to the Australian Polio Register. This might entail sourcing people through links with other clubs, especially those that attract a high number of retired people such as golf clubs, or aged care facilities, and other community services.

Registrations can either be completed online, or by downloading the paper version which can then be posted back to: Polio Australia, PO Box 2779, North Parramatta, NSW, 1750.

Polio Australia has included a section in the “How did you hear about the Australian Polio Register” section of the Registration Form where registrants can select “Rotary” and provide details of the Club which made them aware of the Register. This will help to track which Rotary Clubs are most active.

The Australian Polio Register was set up in October 2010 as a vital tool to capture statistical details of polio survivors living in Australia today – there is no other Australian registry recording this information.

Read more about Rotary’s links with Australia’s polio survivors in Rotary Down Under – October 2013.



Type
Grant or Donation
Year
Amount
Donated For
Donation
Rotary Club of Boronia
Select Year
$1,200
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary New Farm
2019/2020
$1,000
Walk With Me 2019
Donation
Rotary Central Melbourne
2019/2020
$170
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Horsham
2019/2020
$1,000
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Mount Gambier West Inc
2019/2020
$200
Rotary Club Talk
Event
Rotaract Club of Brisbane CBD
2018/2019
$500
Walk With Me 2018
Event
Rotary New Farm
2018/2019
$300
Walk With Me 2018
Donation
Rotary Club of Drysdale
2018/2019
$1,000
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Greater Dandenong
2018/2019
$80
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Keilor East Inc
2018/2019
$90
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Portland
2018/2019
$115.40
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Nambour
2018/2019
$1,000
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Mackay
2018/2019
$2,000
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Geelong Central
2017/2018
$1,000
General donation
Donation
Rotary Club of Ivanhoe
2017/2018
$500
General donation
Donation
Rotary Club of Thuringow
2017/2018
$1,500
General
Donation
Rotary Club of Thuringowa Central (Qld)
2017/2018
$1,500
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Bribie Island
2017/2018
$115
Rotary Club Talk
Event
Rotary Club of Geelong
2017/2018
$407.90
Breathe Charity Movie Screening
Event
Rotary Club of Albany Creek
2017/2018
$500
Walk With Me Brisbane 2017
Event
Rotary Club of Hamilton
2017/2018
$1,000
Walk With Me Brisbane 2017
Event
Rotary District 9640
2017/2018
$10,000
Walk With Me Brisbane 2017
Donation
Rotary Club of Mackay
2017/2018
$2,000
General donation
Donation
Rotary Club of Geelong East
2017/2018
$250
General donation
Donation
Rotary Club of Kerang
2017/2018
$300
General donation
Donation
Rotary Club of Cessnock
2016/2017
$1,000
General
Donation
Rotary Club of Toowoomba
2016/2017
$1,000
General donation
Donation
Rotary Club of Bribie Island
2016/2017
$2,632
General donation
Donation
Rotary Club of Albany Creek
2016/2017
$200
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Mackay
2015/2016
$1,000
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Bribie Island
2015/2016
$1,000
Regional Conference
Donation
Rotary Club of Wynnum
2015/2016
$500
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Warners Bay
2015/2016
$500
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Waratah
2015/2016
$500
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Rutherford
2015/2016
$500
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of North Ryde
2015/2016
$500
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Greenhills-Maitland
2015/2016
$500
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Belmont
2015/2016
$500
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Adamstown-New Lambton
2015/2016
$500
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Kew
2014/2015
$1,200
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Townsville
2014/2015
$1,000
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Townsville South West
2014/2015
$500
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Townsville Central
2014/2015
$2,000
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Thuringowra Central
2014/2015
$2,000
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Ross River
2014/2015
$2,000
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Mareeba
2014/2015
$750
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Goodna
2014/2015
$1,000
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Charters Towers
2014/2015
$500
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Cairns Mulgrave
2014/2015
$1,000
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Cairns
2014/2015
$300
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Singleton
2014/2015
$1,000
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Parramatta City
2014/2015
$1,000
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Paterson
2014/2015
$1,000
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of North Ryde
2014/2015
$500
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Cessnock
2014/2015
$500
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Frankston North
2013/2014
$455
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Warrandyte
2013/2014
$250
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Kew
2013/2014
$500
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Collingwood
2013/2014
$500
General donation
Donation
Rotary Club of Sorell
2013/2014
$500
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Toowoomba
2013/2014
$1,000
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Williamtown
2013/2014
$200
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Parramatta City
2013/2014
$1,000
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Parramatta
2013/2014
$500
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of North Ryde
2013/2014
$500
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Maitland Sunrise
2013/2014
$750
Rotary Club Talk
Donation
Rotary Club of Greenhills-Maitland
2013/2014
$500
Rotary Club Talk


Rotary District 9780 conference
Gary Newton with Rotary District 9780 Conference Delegates April 2018
Rotary District 9780 conference
Gary Newtons speaking at Rotary District 9780 Conference April 2018
Gary Newton at Rotary's Model United Nations Assembly 2018
Gary Newton at Rotary's Model United Nations Assembly 2018
Gary Newton at Polio Eradication Drive India 2018
Gary Newton at Polio Eradication Drive India 2018
RC of Ivanhoe, President Beverley Sheppard with Maryann Liethof 2017
Rotary Club of Ivanhoe, President Beverley Sheppard with Maryann Liethof 2017
Sue Mackenzie addressing Rotary Club of Burleigh Heads _End Polio Now_ Dinner
Sue Mackenzie addressing Rotary Club of Burleigh Heads at End Polio Now Dinner
Melissa McConaghy and Merle Thompson with Rotary Club of Katoomba Members 2016
Melissa McConaghy and Merle Thompson with Rotary Club of Katoomba Members 2016
Roctary Club of Kincumbre Members at Gosford Clinical Practice Workshop 2016
Rotary Club of Kincumber Members at Gosford Clinical Practice Workshop 2016
Rotary Club of Richmond NSW Members at Windsor Clinical Practice Workshop 2016
Rotary Club of Richmond NSW Members at Windsor Clinical Practice Workshop 2016
Jan Williams with Rotary Club of Albany Creek Members 2016
Jan Williams with Rotary Club of Albany Creek Members 2016
Polio Australia Stand at Rotary District 9820 Conference 2015
Polio Australia Stand at Rotary District 9820 Conference 2015
Bill Peackock at Rotary Shine The Light Conference 2015
Bill Peacock at Rotary Shine The Light Conference 2015
George Laszuk mans Polio Australia Stand - Rotary International Convention, Sydney
George Laszuk mans the Polio Australia Stand at the 105th Rotary International Convention in Sydney
Sue MacKenzie (right) with Denise Mitchell, President of the Mulgrave Rotary Club, Cairns
Sue MacKenzie (right) accepting a very generous cheque for Polio Australia from Denise Mitchell, President of the Mulgrave Rotary Club, Cairns
Dr John Tierney with David Clark, President of the Rotary Club of Cessnock
Dr John Tierney with David Clark, President of the Rotary Club of Cessnock
Rotary Club of Kew supporting Polio Australia at Bunnings Sausage Sizzle
Rotary Club of Kew supporting Polio Australia at Bunnings Sausage Sizzle
Rotary Club of Kew supporting Polio Australia at Bunnings Sausage Sizzle
Rotary Club of Kew supporting Polio Australia at Bunnings Sausage Sizzle
Mary-ann Liethof doing a Rotary presentation
Mary-ann Liethof speaking at Rotary Club
GaryBallarat2
Gary Newton speaking at a World Polio Day event in Ballarat