People on Zoom - Charles Rener, Tony Ryan, Helen Nodrum Invocation - Sue Loeliger Loyal Toast - Neville Kruss Chair - Linda O’Brien
It was a small group in attendance at Cilantro, due to a number of factors including, sickness, work commitments and travel.
One such traveller was our esteemed President Ron Brownlees having a short break with his lovely wife Marilyn. Vice President Linda O’Brien took his place and delivered Rons Presidents Report to the club
Our Guest Speaker was Ian Armstrong OAM JP and his subject was
“My life as a Collector ”
Ian is a former Rotarian and a past President and Patron of the Victorian Antique Dealers Guild Inc., and held the E.W. Cole Award as 'Australia's Greatest Collector'. He has also been a valuer and adviser to the Melbourne Museum, he is also known for his radio session on 3AW about antiques and valuing.
When not collecting he was in a family run shoe shop business in Frankston
His collection, which is large by world standards, includes penny farthings, Georgian shoe buckles, candle snuffers, Toby jugs and old portraits.
He is a passionate collector spanning some 70 years, starting with tram tickets. his early childhood collections, then he moved onto coins, cards that came in cereal boxes and cigarette cards at one stage he had approx. 5000,000 cigarette cards. His mother purchased silk worms for him and along with budgerigars he kept and breed them for many years
While he was speaking we were treated to a wonderful slide show displaying part of his varied collections.
At various times he has collected items building up an impressive collection only to sell them and start again one such collection is money boxes at one stage he had 700, he is now on his 3rd collection of money boxes because of his well known money box collection he ended up an advisor to the ANZ Bank Museum in Collins Street
He , bought with him a few items to show, a Melbourne Olympic games Torch, a replica of the famous Charlotte Medal [The Charlotte is a silver medallion, 74 millimetres (2.9 in) in diameter, depicting the voyage of the convict transport Charlotte, with the First Fleet, to Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Its obverse depicts the ship and the reverse is inscribed with a description of the journey. Struck by convict Thomas Barrett upon arriving in Botany Bay aboard Charlotte in January 1788, the medal is said to be the first work of Australian colonial art.[1] Within a month, Barrett became the first person to be executed in the new colony.]. He also displayed a silver goblet from the time of Queen Eizabeth the 1st . The star or the display was a beautiful silver horse racing trophy presented to a winning horse in Melbourne 1857, a precursor to the Melbourne Cup.
It was an interesting and varied talk we were each presented with a commemorative coin which is one of many commemorative coins he has had struck over the years covering subjects like Haleys Comet and The Moon Landing