Wangaratta West Combined Probus

Despite Monday 8 June being the King’s Birthday public holiday, our club still held our general meeting at the Wangaratta Club.

President Lendsay Maiden opened the meeting welcoming a good attendance of members, plus one guest.

Unfortunately, some of our members were noted as unwell at the time, so best wishes are conveyed to them.

Water aerobics, walkers, moviegoers and Sunday lunches are still very active.

The garden group is in recess until springtime.

Thirty members enjoyed a casserole luncheon in the well-appointed Terrace Hall on 11 June.

As always, the homemade soups, casseroles and sweets were delicious.

Thank you members for providing food and participating in a very convivial gathering.

Other lunches to look forward to include Christmas in July at Remel Whorouly on 22 July and the Tafe Luncheon on 19 August.

Guest speaker at the June meeting was Leading Constable Helen Parfett, who has been in the police force since 1987 and stationed at Wangaratta since 2002.

As a crime prevention officer, Helen explained some major problems in our community concerning family violence, drugs and car theft.

It is more important than ever to always lock your car and don’t ever leave valuables in it.

Helen said police will be at Bunnings carpark to replace screws in your number plates with anti-theft screws on Friday 3 July.

Helen also had handy hints regarding ‘scams’ which are prevalent, particularly by phone.

President Lendsay thanked Helen for speaking to us and for her general advice to keep us safe.

Wangaratta Appin Park Combined Probus

Vice president Phil Hargreaves opened the June meeting welcoming members and two visitors, Judy Hammersly and foundation member Bev O’Brien who had travelled from Melbourne to help celebrate our club’s 20th Anniversary.

Unfortunately president Amelia Edwards was unable to attend our celebration due to illness.

We wish all ’sickies’ the best and hope to see you all again soon.

Former nurse Michael Dodd was the guest speaker this month, and he spoke before all other duties were attended to.

Special interests groups are still very active as we approach the winter months, with games group meeting on the second Wednesday of the month at 5pm at the Men’s Shed and walkers meeting 9am each Monday morning for a stroll to a coffee shop.

Breakfast groups continue to meet monthly, while card groups meet weekly.

Craft group meet at 10am on the last Tuesday of each month, Friday lunch group catch up on the third Friday and Saturday of the month, and movie group attend a film regularly.

Book club has two vacancies if anyone is interested.

The craft ladies decorated tables for our 20th anniversary lunch with beautifully coloured painted flowers arranged in baskets.

A delicious two course meal was had with members enjoying lots of chatter and laughter.

The anniversary cake was cut by foundation members Glenyce Roy, Ida Zanin and Bev O’Brien.

Wangaratta Ladies Probus

Sadly, Doreen Holmes passed away last month and she will be sadly missed by the club.

Doreen has been in the club for over 30 years and together with Janet Clark started the Fun & Fitness group which is still going strong today.

The Social Dine-Out Club travelled to the Eldorado Tavern this month for lunch.

Twelve ladies had a delightful lunch and the menu was varied.

The barramundi with vegetables was very popular as well as the arancini, hamburgers and steak sandwiches.

Our breakfast at The Gateway had 20 members in attendance on 10 June, which was a record number attending.

As usual, a great breakfast, great company and wonderful discussions.

In May, the 13 members of the garden group met at the Old Town & Country Tavern, where they enjoyed lunch and celebrated a special “0” birthday as well.

No garden visits at the moment, but once spring gets here they will certainly be checking out more gardens.

Our guest speaker this month was John Houghton from Carevan.

John talked about how the Carevan is totally run by volunteers with no formal financial funding.

They rely on donations of food and financial donations from the community, groups or businesses.

While it was originally formed to help the homeless, it has now expanded to an “all inclusive” model and the meals are for any people in our community who may be struggling to provide food for themselves and their families.

They serve about 30-35 people each night they operate, which is Monday to Thursday from 6-7pm at Apex Park.

An eye-opening talk to say the least.

Wangaratta Central Combined Probus

Vice president Ian Wiedeman welcomed all, plus special guests Robert Tate and his friend Pam, at the Friday 19 June meeting.

He then introduced president Colin Thomson to commence the special meeting, being our 25th anniversary.

Current membership is now 76.

'Who am I?' was a brief, but very interesting insight into the life of Heather Ward, one of the founding members of the club.

She was born in Daylesford and lived and worked in and around Wangaratta and has worked tirelessly for the club since its formation 25 years ago.

Guest speaker Robert Tate assisted in the formation of the club through Rotary and told us the events leading up to the legal opening of the club.

For our entertainment, two poems were read by Vonnie Samson and we had a trivia quiz held by Chris Norris and Mick Maher.

We then had lunch followed by music from a ukelele band, which had many members dancing.

Coming events:

Seniors Race Day - Saturday 4 July 2026 at the Wangaratta Racecourse.

Cost is $55.00pp, which includes racecourse entry, a two course lunch and one drink, courtesy of the Wangaratta Turf Club.

'21 Hearts' - Wednesday 15 July at Albury Entertainment Centre.

This play tells the story of the nurses who fled the Japanese invasion of Singapore.

Contact Eileen Dining for more details.

Christmas in July - Friday 26 July at The Vine Hotel.

Cost is $40.

The next general meeting will be held at the Wangaratta Bowls and Sports Club at Park Lane at 10am on Friday 17 July.