Realising that the time was now opportune, Dene again wrote to "The Advertiser" in 1982, posing the question of the Mulberry Tree's origin and was gratified with the responses by letter and telephone calls. This was the point at which he decided, along with his wife Dianne, to convene a meeting of all those who had expressed interest, with the ultimate object of forming an investigative organisation to consider early South Australian, and in particular, Kangaroo Island history.The date selected for this first meeting was 13th March 1983 and the venue was the home of Dianne and Dene Cordes, in Belair.
- Extracts from Kangaroo Island Pioneers Association - Its Development and Progress 2005 (44 pages),- compiled by William P. Holmesby.
RETIREMENT OF DENE CORDES FROM THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
At the Annual General Meeting and in his absence, the Association accepted, with great regret, Dene’s retirement from the Executive Committee. As the founder of the Association and after being on the Executive Committee for 33 years, the Association owes Dene an enormous amount of gratitude. In particular, the Association would like to thank Dene for allowing a smooth transition of executive positions since 2012, for, in that year, he asked to be relieved of his job as secretary, but the Executive persuaded him to remain as secretary as it was a presidential changeover year. In 2013, Dene resigned as secretary, however a new position was created, ‘Kangaroo Island and member liaison’ as the Executive did not want to lose his expertise from the Executive Committee and with a little bit of persuasion he accepted this appointment. He has relished this position and his organisation of the 2014 Karatta reunion and the memorial sign and other plaques since then has been outstanding. Unfortunately, he has now stated that the work he has been doing is too much for him and he is resigning from the Executive Committee.
At the AGM, members sent Dene some wonderful messages of support for his years of service on the Executive Committee, some of these were:-
“A sad day, without your beginning and continual work there would be no KIPA. May we continue to ‘do you proud.’ ”
“But for you, we would not be gathered here together. Thank you for your tireless workover many years. Enjoy your well-earned rest.”
“Dene, you have done a wonderful job for Kangaroo Island.”
"The KIPA owes you a great debt, you were working for Kangaroo Island’s true place in SA’s history for many years, even before the Association was founded by you.”
The Association is sure Dene will maintain his many contacts, both on Kangaroo Island and on the mainland and knows he will always have the wellbeing of the Association close to his heart.
Autumn Newsletter No. 60 May 2016, Kangaroo Island Pioneers Association