Meetings & Speakers

On this page: Guest Speakers, Meeting Location and Times, Annual General Meetings, Committee Meetings

2024 General Meeting Calendar

January No meeting	23 February	22 March (AGM)
26 April	24 May	28 June
26 July	23 August	27 September
25 October	22 November	December Christmas Luncheon

Please advise our Secretary if you are unable to attend a monthly meeting.

NOTE: With respiratory diseases such as COVID-19 and influenza still circulating in our community, members are encouraged to continue to exercise caution and follow health department guidelines with regard to social distancing and mask wearing.

Please do not attend a meeting if you are feeling unwell or have any COVID-like symptoms.

Forthcoming Guest Speakers

Here's what's planned for guest speakers at our Club general meetings in the near future ...

(To find out about upcoming activities and outings go to the ‘Activities and Outings’ page.)

Zebras

Elephants

May 24th

Tony Thomas – Life and Death on the Serengeti Plains

Tony will speak about his safaris through three of Tanzania’s top wildlife reserves, Tarangire, Ngorongoro Crater and the vast Serengeti grasslands.

These reserves are home to literally millions of wildebeest, zebras and other grazers, accompanied by the prolific carnivores. The herds’ migration is one of the world’s great natural spectacles.

Tony will discuss Tanzania’s development, how its nature reserves are maintained, the battle against poachers and the increasing conflicts with local farmers and Maasai tribes. He will also show many of the stunning photos and movie clips he has taken of animals on the move during the herd migration.

Tony has been a journalist for 65 years and is author of more than a dozen books on current affairs and business. His connection to Serengeti goes back 60 years, to when he interviewed Dr Bernard Grzimek, head of Frankfurt Zoo and a highly recognised researcher of the Serengeti migrations.

Members at lunch

Post-Meeting Club Lunch
This meeting will be followed by a club lunch at The Railway Hotel, 280 Ferrars St, South Melbourne (cnr. Bank St).

To assist with booking arrangements at the hotel, you must book in advance to attend the lunch - unfortunately last minute drop-ins on the day are not allowed. An email will be sent out on the Friday before the meeting inviting you to make lunch bookings (please don't try to book before the email is sent out)

Note that you are welcome to attend the lunch even if you are not coming to the meeting.

General Meetings - Location and Times

Monthly Club General Meetings take place at 10.30am on the fourth Friday of each month, February to November inclusive (however always check the calendar above). Meetings usually finish around 12.45pm

General Meetings are held at the South Melbourne Community Centre, a City of Port Phillip facility, located at 1 Ferrars Place, South Melbourne. (If you are heading east on Park Street, Ferrars Place is the first street on the right immediately after crossing over the St Kilda light rail line).

There is plenty of 2 hour parking in Ferrars Place if you come by car. The venue is also very well served by public transport with a number of tram (routes 1 and 96) and bus (236) stops within 5 to 10 minutes walk.

The meeting format is usually as follows:
10.30-10.55: Coffee and socialising
11.00 sharp - be seated ready for the meeting's commencement
11.00-12.00: Guest speaker and questions/discussion
12.00-12.10: Short break
12.10-12.45: Meeting formalities and new member induction

Members and visitors may not enter the hall until 10:30am and are asked to have their mobile phone switched to silent during the meeting. The hall must be vacated by 1pm.

Annual General Meetings

AGMs occur on the fourth Friday of March (however always check with the calendar grid above), in conjunction with the normal monthly general meeting. The AGM is quite brief, focusing mainly on the nomination/election of the Committee for the following year.

Committee Meetings

These are held on the second Friday of each month, February to November starting at 10:30am. The venue is the Liardet St Community Centre at the corner of Liardet and Nott St in Port Melbourne. Non-Committee members of the Club are welcome to observe at these meetings.