On July 30, I attended the final meeting of the East Gippsland WBA Group. We gathered in the Bairnsdale Club for dinner and the meeting.
There were many present who would be familiar to WBA members here in Melbourne and it was good to renew friendships. The reason for the meeting was that time, age and changing circumstances for many of the EGWBA members has meant that there has been considerable difficulty in carrying on a regular programme of meetings and events. After careful consideration it was felt the time had come to call a final meeting to disband the group.
Chaired by Bernard O’Kelly with John Nicholson as secretary, the meeting followed dinner and there was much positive discussion as to the ways in which the group could manage the closure.
The assets of the group were identified and declared. Marion Gullickson reported on current financial status of the group. The funds were disbursed as follows: donations were made as per the articles of the association for the WBA to the following organisations, Paynesville Maritime Museum, Paynesville Classic Boat Rally Organisation and the Coast Guard Paynesville. Any remaining funds were to be returned to WBA in Melbourne in recognition of the financial support given when EGWBA was being established.
Other assets such as trophies, records etc were passed to the Paynesville Maritime Museum. Some assets such as merchandise and a banner were returned to WBA in Melbourne. One of the assets was a saw table loaned to me in 2007 for the period of construction of Rufus. This had been passed to EGWBA members by Hugh Murdoch and loaned to me through John Nicholson. In keeping with Hugh’s wishes, this saw table is available to WBA members for use as needed. Please contact Geoff Carroll if you wish to use it.
It is to be hoped that EGWBA members would feel that they still have a connection to WBA here in Melbourne and will join us on our weekend visit to Paynesville in November this year.
Geoff Carroll