A bit of our History...

Our 20th Anniversary Celebrations ...

L-R Chris Homer Shellharbour Mayor, Kellie Marsh - Patron, Allen Duff - Life Member, Diane Bourne, Wayne Bourne - Current President and Life Member, Laurene Mulcahy - Zone Representative and seated Margaret Duff, 

SHELLHARBOUR CITY U3A   20TH ANNIVERSARY - 22nd JULY, 2023

The Welcome address given by Life Member Allen Duff:

Happy Anniversary everyone and isn’t it wonderful that despite the need to find new venues and live through a three-year World-wide pandemic we have not only survived but thrived. 

I must first of all pay tribute to those who contributed to our U3A and then passed away. Some of them held key roles and worked to make our organisation such a great one. Others attended and supported us, adding to and leaving a little of themselves behind. We miss them and we posthumously thank them. 

And then there were many who were with us for a period of time, became involved and then moved away or moved on to different interests leaving ideas and learnings that helped us grow. Thank you to them as well.

We are grateful to you all as we are to our current membership that is making Shellharbour City U3A such a wonderful group to be part of and where, as elders, we are together, ‘Learning with Pleasure’. Over the years many visitors to our club commented to me that there was a really good feeling of friendship that made this club feel ‘special’. Of course, I agreed with them and now, on our Twentieth Anniversary would briefly like to reflect why that is so.

It seems the idea to start a U3A in Shellharbour was quite unusual. First, we had, like the United States of America, a ‘Founding Father’. He will be embarrassed by the term  but in 2002 our Ray Gall was a member of Wollongong U3A and Senior Vice President of the State Council of U3A’s. In that role he was contacted by a representative of the NSW Government Department of Ageing & Disability to see if he would organise a Senior’s Week Trivia Competition in the Southern Illawarra in 2003. Ray was aware that the President of Kiama U3A, Betsy Coroneos was already establishing a Trivia Competition for local U3A’s and he approached her to see if they could organise the event together.

During this process, it occurred to Ray that this could be the opportunity to establish another U3A in the Southern Illawarra area as people from here were already attending Wollongong or Kiama groups. He was supported by the Age & Disability Department who suggested he contact the local Council and the local Department of Ageing, Disabilities, Home & Community Care representatives. This proved to be wonderful suggestion as the Mayor, Ces Glenholme was very supportive and Narelle Williams from the latter Department was a tower of strength through the entire process.

From these contacts a committee was formed to organise the Trivia event and to get a U3A off the ground. The committee consisted of: Ray Gall (chair), Betsy Coroneos, Narelle Williams, 2 representatives from the Department, 2 representatives from Shellharbour Council. The Committee met regularly & worked hard. Narelle Williams arranged for the Public Liability Insurance for 1 perhaps 2 years. Publicity was provided with the help of Shellharbour City Council and some Government Departmental Funding and this very club, Warilla Bowls and Recreation Club was incredibly supportive of the event.

The big day was Thursday, 20th March, 2003 when 120 people turned up for a ‘typical’ U3A meeting in the morning with two guest speakers and an afternoon of Trivia. A very successful raffle made some needed funds, 50-60 people handed in forms expressing an interest to join a U3A, so it was decided to proceed. 

I guess we can say that we are unique that our group began through Trivia. And, you know, Trivia still runs through our veins, over twenty years later. We have now a Trivia class operating and every now and then a ‘music or film trivia’ session as part of our Tuesday meetings and we still send teams to the Senior’s Week Trivia Competition and often do quite well. Trivia was part of our birth and is in our blood folks, whether you are a fan or not!

From the forms and further publicity, a meeting saw a Steering Committee established. Jim Chapman was the Chairperson, with Dirk & Fini Meyer, Zoe Smith, Johanna Schmidt, Glenys & John Elbourn, John Currie, Ken Woollett, Ray Gall with Narelle Williams representing Council and Peter Burke representing HACC. This committee met a number of times and decided to hold the Inaugural Meeting at the Oak Flats Neighbourhood Centre in Fisher Street on 22nd July, 2003 at 2pm.

Many people, like Marg & I, saw the notices and features in the free local paper knew we wanted to go. Familiar with U3A in Port Macquarie and only back in the Illawarra a year or so we rolled up to find the room half full of chairs, mostly occupied with people scurrying to make extra rows. We didn’t know a soul there but there was a buzz of excitement. Obviously, some people knew each other well but there were a lot like us who, and you probably know what it’s like being the complete stranger. Your mind going crazy: ‘Mustn’t stare! That couple seem to know everybody!  Will I like this? I can always escape at coffee break? Where’s the loo? etc, etc’. I shouldn’t have worried! We were soon talking to other couples, listening to all the speeches, voting for people and smiling at the number of wives nominating husbands for major positions, paying to join and heading for home.

The Inaugural Committee was President: Joe Paulucci, Vice President: Glenys Elbourn      Secretary: Ken Tuckey, Assistant, Margaret Golack    Treasurer: Dirk Meyer  Assistant  Johanna Schmidt

That committee, like all others was amazing. Within a week they a number of classes organised and this grew weekly. Some of these were: Drama, Basic German, Basic Japanese, Change & Excitement, Geography, Computer Skills, Walking Group, Life Experiences, Tap dancing & The Plantagenets. There was always two guest speakers and a refreshing cuppa.

By the end of the year, we had outgrown the neighbourhood centre and the committee managed to find the Lutheran Church on Old Lake Entrance Road, Oak Flats as our new venue. We commenced there at the beginning of Term One 2004 (10th February). Here we continued to grow within a symbiotic relationship with the church who’s congregation was declining so our rent was helping to keep it open whereas for us we had access to the premises five days a week at a reasonable price.

And our U3A just grew and grew. More classes were added. Day trips to Sydney to sightsee or see a show were introduced. I pity those poor passengers on the train when twenty or so talkative seniors poured into their carriage. Five-day tours commenced and the excellent speakers at each meeting continued. Joe Paulucci remained President for two years, followed by Ken Woollett for one because of ill health and then yours truly for two, also finishing because of health issues. But five years had passed and 90 people filled the now burnt down Aviator Lounge Restaurant at Shellharbour Airport to celebrate. By then Languages, Computers, Discussion Group, Music Apprecation, History, Photography, Art, Genealogy, Tai Chi, Tap Dancing, Theatre/ Movies and Friday Morning Tea Get-together.

Sheila Gall became our first female President and led the expanding group for three years, the maximum term under our constitution. By now we had a computer room set up with the cooperation of the pastor and congregation and many started to become computer literate. Feeling much improved I returned as President for three years. I was mobile then which was lucky as rumours began to circulate that the Lutheran Church was to be sold to developers. So, we set up a committee and started looking for a new venue. It is amazing how many little halls there are tucked away in this city and how expensive the only vaguely suitable options were, even though they were Council owned. A chance meeting at a function with the then CEO, Mark Sewell, of Warrigal and an inquiry about the decommissioned Catholic Church, in Bradman Avenue, Lake Illawarra led to us being granted a lease there. And we moved in a week before our tenth Anniversary.

And we grew and grew but with a lease at less than market value but still high for us we needed to fund-raise. The Sporties Club donated to us all the chairs they were replacing in a refurbishment; The ladies really sprang into action with Lorna Carles setting up a permanent second- hand book-stall, Barbara Street started a clothes rack sale with high class donated fashion on sale for one, two or three dollars; Di Bourne introduced the lotto game and Barbara Willis held a huge jumble sale. With having the Church and priests flat we had room to expand and so table-tennis, exercise, train your brain added to the growing list of classes. At times three could run at the same time and a separate area was set aside and named ‘Jeannies Café’ after the person who ran the Friday morning tea & chat.

The biggest challenge was the winter. It was like being in a refrigerator in that old church but even then our ladies knitted and crocheted some rugs we could wrap around us if we found ourselves not dressed warmly enough. Those days resembled a ‘pow-pow’ of the grey-haired, all sitting around like elders of the tribe soaking in the knowledge. Although, I must say, some us looked more like Buddas with rugs around our shoulders.

Margaret Shannon became President for two years and saw the club continuing to thrive followed by Robyn Hodgins and Chris Wade before our lockdown from July 2020 to January 2022 due to the Covid 19 World Pandemic. When members started to return, they elected our current President Wayne Bourne to lead us into our new future.

This has included finding a new venue as our ‘Old Church Home’ was to be demolished for a Retirement Village and we were given notice to move. Luckily the Committee secured the Hall of the now closed Warilla Nursing Home on a one year lease while they search for (hopefully) our permanent home.

Once again there was much to be done. Everything accumulated over ten years to be sold, dumped or transported and members rose to the task. Someone even composed an “Ode to the Hall” part of which said:

‘But U3A is not a place, It’s a living thing with a friendly face. Sorry, Hall we’re moving on. Maybe you’ll miss us when we’ve gone! We’ll be fine, won’t miss a beat. We’ll carry on in Arcadia Street.”

And we are and growing and growing so we have almost packed the place to the rafters.

Over twenty years there are many people who have made a difference and assisted our growth:

Our Patrons: The first was Jenny George, Federal Labor member for Throsby who printed our newsletter and supported us in the early days. When she retired, she was replaced by the young Stephen Jones who continued the role and saw it transition to the seat of Whitlam. When the young Mother, Kellie Marsh became Mayor of the City of Shellharbour, I approached her about our U3A and invited her to also become a patron which she enthusiastically accepted. Our thanks go out to you all for your encouragement & support.

Our Sponsors: We are grateful for grants over the years from the Shellharbour Club, IMB, IRT, Warilla Sports Club and Bendigo Bank plus generous donations from members including the late Carol Cruikshank who left a fund from which to donate to charities who speak to us.

Out thanks to all those who have served on the committee over the past twenty years. It is amazing what you have achieved. To all those who done those jobs that need to be done without the fanfare. Organising the teas, cleaning the hall, leading the classes, trips, outings, activities, the sound system, the audio system, the computer room, the welcomes officers, the clearing up & setting up people and everybody who has done anything at all that has been unsung, thank you,

And to all those who keep coming, sharing, participating, making Shellharbour City U3A a great place to be.

So Happy 20th Anniversary Shellharbour City U3A. May you thrive into the technological future and a world I am sure will be beyond my generation’s imaginings. To think that at this stage, I, like many of you, have spent one quarter of my life as a member of this organisation. It has helped fill my time and helped fulfil me as a person. Who would have thought when I was young that as an elder I would have the opportunity to keep my brain active by learning what I wanted to learn, mix with people I wanted to know and be an active participant in a life that makes me happy.

THANK YOU  

15 Year Celebrations ...