from Bulletin 7/2019 September

The 50th AGM of the Glebe Society was held on the afternoon of Sunday 25 August at the Glebe Town Hall.

This was a landmark AGM, being the 50th since the Society was founded in 1969. It was wonderful to see so many people in attendance (around 80), with a good number of new members. Outgoing Glebe Society President Verity Firth invited new members to stand up and introduce themselves and they were made welcome by existing members.

Election of Management Committee

The following office-bearers were elected:

President:

Brian Fuller

Vice President:

Mark Stapleton

Secretary:

Jude Paul

Treasurer:

Jane Gatwood

Ordinary Members:

Dorothy Davis

Michael Morrison

Ted McKeown

Robert Hannan

Verity explained that the Management Committee has decided to experiment with having four presidents over the year in order to share the onerous tasks associated with the role and to prepare younger and less experienced members for the role. After Brian Fuller’s three-month term as President, the role will be taken over by Virginia Simpson-Young, followed by Janet Walquist and then Mark Stapleton.

All Convenors of Subcommittees are automatically members of the Management Committee; these people are listed on the back of the Bulletin.

New constitution adopted

A new constitution was put to the meeting for approval. All members will have received a copy of the draft constitution as well as an explanation for the proposed changes. The meeting was satisfied with the detailed explanation provided by Ted McKeown from the drafting committee and the motion to adopt the new constitution was passed.

Life members elected

A very moving part of the AGM was the nomination of Jack Mundey for Life Membership. The nomination was spoken to by Meredith Burgmann. In the next Bulletin we will bring you more details from Meredith’s speech but most members would be aware of the pivotal role Jack Mundey and the Builder’s Labourers’ Federation played in saving Glebe from impending destruction from the radial freeways.

 

Meredith Bergmann speaks to the nomination of Jack Mundey as a Life Member of the Glebe Society (photo: Phil Young)

Dennis McManus, the convenor of the first Planning Subcommittee was also nominated for life membership. Neil Macindoe described Denis’ contribution to Glebe including his mentorship of Neil who is the current Convenor of the Planning Subcommittee. Again, more details will come in the next Bulletin.

The final nominee for Life Membership (and clearly the least deserving by a country mile – Editor) was Virginia Simpson-Young. Again, more details to follow in the next Bulletin.

Commendations

Commendations were presented for a large number of members – too many to name here – who were involved with the incredibly successful Glebe Society Community Festival held at the end of June to celebrate the Society’s 50th anniversary. As pointed out at the end of the AGM, Judy Vergison (who was on the Festival Steering Committee with Dorothy Davis and Virginia Simpson-Young) was the mastermind behind the Festival and a great deal of its success can be attributed to her creative genius.

 

Glebe Society President, Verity Firth, with guest speaker, Dennis McManus (photo: Phil Young)

Guest speaker

The final major piece of the AGM was an interview by Verity Firth with Dennis McManus. Dennis elaborated on his article, ‘Recollections of a Glebe Society founding member’ which appeared in Bulletin 3/2019. Dennis made an interesting observation during the interview that drew a fascinating connection between the ‘50 Years – the Bulletin Editors’ View’ documentary played before the AGM and an incident he had written about in his article. During the Fig St demonstration in 1974, Dennis had positioned his car in front of a bulldozer, an incident that was reported in The Sun:

Police booked a motorist who parked his car in the path of a bulldozer. The man locked his car and refused to let police in. Later, he drove towards the police and refused to stop. His car pushed Superintendent Gill over.

 

Screenshot from the Glebe Society’s Bulletin Editors documentary showing Dennis McManus’ car blocking the path of a bulldozer at the Fig St demonstration in 1974. (source: https://youtu.be/Qe7N7l4CxUA)

(For the record, Dennis denies he had attempted to run over the Superintendent.) Dennis was very surprised to see this incident appear in the documentary screened earlier in the afternoon!

A video of Dennis’ and Verity’s conversation will be uploaded to the Society’s YouTube account.

Release of Glebe Society History Book

All members who attended the AGM received their free copy of the 68-page full-colour booklet: Fifty Years of the Glebe Society: Celebrating Conservation and Change in Glebe and Forest Lodge. The booklet brings up to date the 40th anniversary history booklet. All members will have the opportunity to get their own free copy over the coming months.

 

Neil Macindoe spruiking the hot-off-the-press Glebe Society history, Fifty Years of the Glebe Society: Celebrating Conservation and Change in Glebe and Forest Lodge. The book was written by Jeanette Knox, Neil Macindoe, Jan Macindoe and Ted McKeown with assistance from Virginia Simpson-Young and Dorothy Davis. (photo: Phil Young)

Second Screening of the Glebe Society 50th documentary

Prior to the AGM was a second screening of the Glebe Society’s documentary made by Allan Hogan, 50 Years – the Bulletin Editors’ View, which was well-attended with around 65 people, most of whom were members. The film is now available on the Glebe Society’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/Qe7N7l4CxUA. You can’t watch it without coming away very proud to be a member of the Glebe Society – or wanting to become one!