• Probus Perth 40th Anniversary May 2024

In the beginning… Probus arose from Rotary  International. Older and retiring Rotarians who no longer were unable or wished not participate in fund-raising activities, but who wished to continue with the camaraderie an educational entertainment to which they had become accustomed, founded the Probus movement.  The early Probus clubs all had a Rotary Club as the sponsor and our Perth Probus is no exception being sponsored by Perth Rotary club, and we are delighted to have the Perth Rotary club president to be with us today.

Our club, men only at the time, first met at the W.A.C.A. club and then moved to Kings Park Tennis ccub which was more geographically suitable for the to the membership. When renovations forced a further move it was to the upstairs of the Wembley Hotel.  However, the staircase became increasingly difficult for some of the older members and Ray Purdie negotiated the final move to our present venue, The Lake Karrinyup Country Club. The moved was facilitated by many of the Probus members also being members of the golf club.

Around ten years ago there were signs of an impending crisis to our Probus Club. Membership was falling; attempts at recruiting new members were unsuccessful; outings had to be cancelled at the last moment because of lack of numbers; and eminent visiting speakers spoke to a diminishing number of elderly men, several of which  succumbed to somnolence after the first few minutes of the talk.

Having a mixed gender membership was suggested and hotly discussed.  Eventually, a postal vote decided in favour of the change.  This resulted in the resignation of  several stalwarts,  but numbers and social activities have blossomed, and now our club is more lively than it has ever been.

Hamish McGlashan