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199402 [2017/01/10 18:12] – [Jagaungal by Chance] paul_barton199402 [2017/01/10 18:41] (current) – [The Sydney Bushwalker] paul_barton
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 A monthly bulletin of matters of interest to the Sydney Bush Walkers Inc, Box 4476 GPO, Sydney 2001. Club meetings are held every Wednesday evening at 8 pm at Kirribilli Neighbourhood Centre, 16 Fitzroy Street, Kirribilli (near Milson's Point Railway Station). Visitors and prospective members are welcome any Wednesday. To advertise in this magazine, please contact the Business Manager A monthly bulletin of matters of interest to the Sydney Bush Walkers Inc, Box 4476 GPO, Sydney 2001. Club meetings are held every Wednesday evening at 8 pm at Kirribilli Neighbourhood Centre, 16 Fitzroy Street, Kirribilli (near Milson's Point Railway Station). Visitors and prospective members are welcome any Wednesday. To advertise in this magazine, please contact the Business Manager
  
-EDITOR George Mawer, 42 Lincoln Rd, Georges Hall 2198 Telephone 707 1343\\ +|**Editor**|George Mawer, 42 Lincoln Rd, Georges Hall 2198 Telephone 707 1343| 
-BUSINESS MANAGER Joy Hyne 136 Lewis St, Dee Why 2099 Telephone 982 2615 (H), 888 3144 (B)\\ +|**Business Manager**|Joy Hyne 136 Lewis St, Dee Why 2099 Telephone 982 2615 (H), 888 3144 (B)| 
-PRODUCTION MANAGER Fran Holland, Telephone 484 6636\\ +|**Production Manager**|Fran Holland, Telephone 484 6636| 
-TYPIST & LAY-OUT Kath Brown\\ +|**Typist and Lay-out**|Kath Brown| 
-ILLUSTRATOR , Morag Ryder\\ +|**Illustrator**|Morag Ryder| 
-PRINTERS Kenn Clacher, Kay Chan, Barrie Murdoch, Margaret Niven & Les Powell\\+|**Printers**|Kenn Clacher, Kay Chan, Barrie Murdoch, Margaret Niven & Les Powell|
  
 February 1994 February 1994
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 George Mawer (leader); Barbara Bruce, Maureen Carter, Carol Lubbers, Annie Maguire, Judy Mehaffy, Erica Sandis66, Fazely Read, Frank Grennan, Len Hainke, Bob Horder, Peter Lafferty, Steve Lengakis., Victor Lewin (to Round Mountain Hut only), Keith Perry, Maurice Smith, David Trinder. George Mawer (leader); Barbara Bruce, Maureen Carter, Carol Lubbers, Annie Maguire, Judy Mehaffy, Erica Sandis66, Fazely Read, Frank Grennan, Len Hainke, Bob Horder, Peter Lafferty, Steve Lengakis., Victor Lewin (to Round Mountain Hut only), Keith Perry, Maurice Smith, David Trinder.
  
 +====Governing Rules====
 +
 +by Jim Brown
 +
 +With all the recent flap and hoo hah about republics there has naturally been quite a deal written and said about Consitutions, Rules of Governance, and the like. Most of the broad statements contained nothing that was entirely new to me, because as soon as I inherited the job of Club Secretary, almost 44 years ago, I found I had to become familiar with our simple little Constitution. Later, in my workaday life, I had to learn something of the provisions of the NSW Transport Act, so for a large slice of my life I have been aware (sometimes uncomfortably so) of regulations that govern many of us.
 +
 +Indeed, I can almost sympathise with the veteran club member, now passed on, who in the course of a debate whether some decision of the Committee was necessary and desirable, came out with:
 + 
 +Rules were made for fools.\\
 +The wise don't need them,\\
 +And the fools don't heed them.
 +
 +Somewhere about that time I'd heard a definition of homo sapiens as "the tool-making animal" the only one to devise implements to serve his purpose. If I'd known it at the time of the debate I could have rejoined in crude rhyme "also the rule-making animal".
 +
 +Probably about the same time I'd read that "human beings are the only creatures that can weep" (ignoring crocodile tears, of course). I wondered if humans are also the only animals that identify the absurdity of some situations and laugh and decided that, although both grief and joy are normal conditions, there is a good deal to be said for laughter at the right place and time. A wise old owl once said, "Tis sweet to play the fool in season".
 +
 +Even before the "rules for fools" debate someone had called my attention to a rather odd clause in the Constitution then governing Club affairs. It read "Membership shall be open to all persons of both sexes over the age of 16 years" and I was asked if I knew anyone of "both sexes". Anyway, the dubious phrase about "both sexes" vanished during the revamp of the Constitution in preparation for becoming an Incorporated Association.
 +
 +Ours is not the only walkers' Constitution to have contained some ambiguous statements. Not long after I became a member, a girl prospective was on one of the same walks. In addition to SBW, she was also seeking entry to another smaller Club long since defunct and brought on the trip a copy of this other Club's rules, which several of our people read carefully. Now I won't pretend that, after 46 years, I can remember the exact phrasing, but the essence of one clause was "unmarried members of different sexes shall NOT occupy the same tent".
 +
 +My Club crony and I were aware that the vexed question of "co-tenting" had been discussed gravely in SBW some years earlier, but by general consent - the current attitude was to "let sleeping bags lie" However, from a purely literal interpretation of the other Club's rule, it appeared it would be O.K. for his wife to share my tent," or conversely, my wife could legitimately shelter in his tent. Of course, neither Ken nor I was married at the time, so the issue really didn't arise.
 +
 +In our Club - as with most Constitutions - it is difficult to get agreement to any amendment. Of all the forty odd proposed amendments to the Australian Constitution since 1901, only eight have succeeded at the necessary referendum. Quite apart from the usual requirement to get, overwhelming numerical majority to vote for the alteration, there is the old human reaction of suspicion of, and resistance to, a change.
 +
 +However, I do remember quite clearly the first time I heard a successful amendment submitted to the Club. At the time, the Club year ended on 31st January, but all new members paid the full annual subscription, and were entitled to a rebate of half of the amount in the following year, if admitted "after 1st August".
 +
 +On 1st August 1947 there was a Committee Meeting, a young woman was admitted, and paid up for the full year. Then the Treasurer developed a queasy conscience and brought under notice that the first six months of the Club year actually expired on 31st July, and he moved an amendment to insert the words "ON AND" so that the Constitution would read "On and after 1st August", entitling anyone admitted "ON 1st August" to qualify for the rebate.
 +
 +At the time the Club had its quota of "bush (walker) lawyers", ready to cry "foul" or "unconstitutional", but none of them drew attention to the point that the Treasurer and the new member share the same surname.....well, not quite, because he was Allan Hardie (the legendary "Dormie") and her surname was Hardy. Anyway, no one questioned whether there was a relationship or favouritism factor, and the amendment was carried.
 +
 +I recall all of this quite well, because during the next couple of years I went on a good many of the same walks as "Miss On and", and we found ourselves in accord on a wide range of topics. In fact, she typed the script of this magazine you are reading, as she has for almost all of the Club magazines "ON AND AFTER 1st August 1971", when I was doing my last stint as Editor.
 +
 +**The Annual General Meeting**
 +
 +The Annual General Meeting will be held on Wednesday, 9th March 1994. The President, Office Bearers and Committee will be elected for the coming year. Only members may vote (not prospectives) and all ACTIVE MEMBERS are eligible to stand for every office. Come along and register your vote.
 +
 +**Please note** A wrong Phone"number was shown in the last Walks Programme for SASHA LITVAK, whose correct home phone number is 663 0755. His walk is on Saturday 26 February to Blue Gum Forest. Please mark your Walks Program accordingly.
 ====Resignation==== ====Resignation====
  
199402.1484032371.txt.gz · Last modified: 2017/01/10 18:12 by paul_barton

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