“WHATEVER ROTARY MAY MEAN TO US, TO THE WORLD IT WILL BE KNOWN BY THE RESULTS IT ACHIEVES.”

—PAUL P. HARRIS

Our 1.2 million-member organization started with the vision of one man—Paul P. Harris. The Chicago attorney formed one of the world’s first service organizations, the Rotary Club of Chicago, on 23 February 1905 as a place where professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form meaningful, lifelong friendships. Rotary’s name came from the group’s early practice of rotating meetings among the offices of each member.

OUR ONGOING COMMITMENT

Rotarians have not only been present for major events in history—we’ve been a part of them. From the beginning, three key traits have remained strong throughout Rotary:
We’re truly international. Only 16 years after being founded, Rotary had clubs on six continents. Today we’re working together from around the globe both digitally and in-person to solve some of our world’s most challenging problems.
We persevere in tough times. During WWII, Rotary clubs in Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, and Japan were forced to disband. Despite the risks, many continued to meet informally and following the war’s end, Rotary members joined together to rebuild their clubs and their countries.
Our commitment to service is ongoing. We began our fight against polio in 1979 with a project to immunize 6 million children in the Philippines. By 2012, only three countries remain polio-endemic—down from 125 in 1988.

ROTARY CLUB OF MAROUBRA | HISTORY

Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Randwick, the Rotary Club of Maroubra was chartered on 12 February 1960 and comprised 22 members. Each charter member represented an individual industry from within the local area. On 5 May 1960, the two Clubs held a Dinner at the Randwick Racecourse to celebrate the charter of the new Club.
 
(Above) District Governor Frank Brown, assisted by Stan Lewis of the Rotary Club of Randwick, officiates at the Rotary Club of Maroubra Charter Night at Randwick Racecourse on 5 May 1960.
 
On 3 May 1987, a partnership agreement was signed between the Rotary Clubs of Randwick and Maroubra. From then until December 2015, the Clubs combined to conduct the successful Rotary Markets at Kingsford. Every Sunday at the Rotary Markets, on the corner of Anzac Parade and Rainbow Street, Kingsford, both Clubs rostered members for a morning and afternoon shift and provided great fellowship for both Clubs. For 28 years, permanent and casual stallholders set up a variety of stalls selling goods such as jewelry, plants, new and pre-loved clothing, low-priced grocery items, tools, and toys.
 
(Above) Maroubra and Randwick Rotarians on an afternoon shift at the Rotary Markets: Patrick Lim, Dudley Tinyow, Alex Woo and Joe Chow
 
The funds from this initiative have benefitted local, national and international projects for many years.

Rotary Police Officer of the Year Awards for Eastern Beaches and Botany Bay

A major project of Maroubra Rotary Club is the Rotary Police Officer of the Year Awards for Eastern Beaches and Botany Bay Police Area Commands. Initially conducted as a joint project with Randwick and Botany Bay Rotary Clubs, the Awards have been held since February 2011 with Rotarians, Police Officers, local politicians, Mayors, business representatives, and guests in attendance. Following a reorganisation of the Police Area Commands in 2019, the Club now holds an annual Awards night for Eastern Beaches Police Area Command. In past years we were privileged to welcome as special guests the Minister for Police and Emergency Services; the NSW Police Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner; and Commanders of the Eastern Beaches and Botany Bay Local Area Commands. The Mayors of Randwick and Botany Bay/Bayside Councils, the Federal Member for Kingsford, and the State Members for Coogee, Heffron, and Maroubra have always been very supportive of the Police Awards. The ongoing success of the Awards would not be possible without the support and major sponsorship of Randwick City Council and the generous sponsorship from local businesses.

NOTABLE INTERNATIONAL ROTARIANS

Rotarians are your neighbors, your community leaders and some of the world’s greatest history-makers: 
  • Warren G. Harding, U.S. president
  • Jean Sibelius, Finnish composer
  • Dr. Charles H. Mayo, co-founder of Mayo Clinic
  • Guglielmo Marconi, Italian inventor of the wireless radio and Nobel laureate
  • Thomas Mann, German novelist and Nobel laureate
  • Friedrich Bergius, German chemist and Nobel laureate
  • Admiral Richard E. Byrd, American explorer
  • Jan Masaryk, foreign minister of Czechoslovakia
  • H.E. Soleiman Frangieh, president of Lebanon
  • Dianne Feinstein, U.S. senator
  • Manny Pacquaio, Filipino world-champion boxer and congressman
  • Richard Lugar, U.S. senator
  • Frank Borman, American astronaut
  • Edgar A. Guest, American poet and journalist
  • Sir Harry Lauder, Scottish entertainer
  • Franz Lehar, Austrian composer
  • Lennart Nilsson, Swedish photographer
  • James Cash Penney, founder of JC Penney Co.
  • Carlos Romulo, UN General Assembly president
  • Sigmund Sternberg, English businessman and philanthropist
Ready to make history with us? Get involved.