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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-09-03 Daily Xml
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Campbelltown Rotary Club

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta) (15:36): This afternoon, I would like to reflect on an organisation in my community of Morialta that has contributed enormously to our local area and to my own personal development as well, prior to coming into the parliament. As a member of parliament, I have observed them contributing so much to our local community on a personal level, on a human level, on a resourcing level and on an infrastructure level.

I am talking about the Rotary Club of Campbelltown, one of the largest Rotary clubs in South Australia and a club whose members have included myself and the Leader of the Opposition, Vincent Tarzia, at different times. I have been pleased to be an honorary member for most of my time in the parliament. I was pleased to reconnect, along with Scott Kennedy, the Liberal candidate for Morialta, with them at a meeting a couple of weeks ago.

The reason I am keen to reflect on the Rotary Club of Campbelltown this week, rather than leaving my thanks to them and all of their members to a speech I will give later this year on leaving the parliament or at another time, is that it has been a very difficult month for the Rotary Club of Campbelltown, losing two of their members. I just want to take a moment to reflect briefly on those two worthy local residents in my area, and I think, potentially, the member for Hartley's area as well.

John Russo was only 74 when he passed away on 15 August. Born on 2 December 1950, John Giovanni Russo, as a member of the Rotary club, served his community and provided his efforts and his labours towards supporting others. I did not know John well but I met him on a number of occasions. I saw him hard at work and he is sadly missed and fondly remembered by those in the club who knew him.

The other member of the club who I knew much better was David Richards, very affectionately known to all as 'Wacka'. Wacka was a larger-than-life figure who was a member of the Rotary club for a number of decades. I do not think he was a foundation member of the Campbelltown Rotary club, but if he had not reached 50 years then I would be surprised if he was too far off it. He passed away on 8 August at the age of 89. He was born on 11 May 1936. The changes that he saw in our community over that time were significant.

Wacka was somebody who always had a smile on his face whenever he greeted you. My fondest memories of him are from the Campbelltown Christmas parades that we had for a number of years. The Campbelltown Rotary club would make a habit of having the van that was used to collect donations for the shed sale tied up in tinsel and towing a trailer on which would stand an electric keyboard and an amplifier with a microphone. Wacka would be playing the keyboard and singing Christmas carols. He had a unique voice that I remember very fondly: a strong voice, an audible voice and one that everybody on Stradbroke Road and the near surrounds and possibly some of the surrounding suburbs heard on those occasions.

He was a really good man. He was somebody who contributed to the community. I will miss him when I go to club events. He led a long and rich life, and he will be no less missed as a result. In this house I recognise the service of John Russo and Wacka Richards. Their service will be remembered fondly.

I do want to reflect more broadly, though, on the service that the Rotary Club of Campbelltown—and of course all of our Rotary clubs—provides to our communities. I will reflect on the other local Rotary clubs in Morialta on another occasion. The Rotary Club of Campbelltown through its shed sale raises significant money every month. The number of people contributing items to that is tremendous, and the money that they raise at the shed sale and through their other fundraisers goes towards a range of local, statewide, national and international relief effort causes. Very few clubs in Australia would provide as much as the Rotary Club of Campbelltown.

But it is the hands-on effort that the club is famous for, which I think all of their members can be particularly proud of. I am grateful that the club has taken on the role of supporting the annual fundraiser quiz night for domestic violence and the Eastern Adelaide Domestic Violence Service. The next one is coming up, and I note that Rory McClaren is the celebrity quizmaster this year. I thank all of those members of the club who are providing that service. I look forward to continuing to work with President Gail and all the other members of the committee for the remainder of my term and look forward to seeing them more in the years ahead.

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