Probus club to launch

A Probus Club for active retirees is launching  at The Hub, 80 Harbour Esplanade, Docklands at 10.30am on Thursday, December 2.

Probus Clubs have monthly morning meetings with a stimulating speaker. Between meetings, members organise their own social, travel, hobby and fitness groups.

There are more than 2200 Probus Clubs in Australasia with about 200,000 members.

The meeting will decide on a club name, provisional office-bearers, activities, venue for meetings, and fees. It will also apply to Probus’s national office for accreditation.

There is large unmet demand in inner Melbourne for a Probus Club, according to Tony Thomas, a director of Central Melbourne Sunrise Rotary Club.

“We want as many retirees as possible to come to our launch or ‘interest’ meeting,” he said. “From there we will organise the next official meeting and the club then becomes self-supporting.”

“We need at least 25 potential members at the Hub to launch the club.”

Mr Thomas can be contacted on 0407305757 or [email protected].

“Please get the word out on the grapevine and bring your friends. If there is enough demand, this one ‘interest’ meeting may even create two Probus clubs, e.g. one for Docklands and one for Southbank.”

Probus Clubs exist globally and are non-sectarian and non-political. They are not focussed on social welfare and aged-care issues. A member and a partner can both join.

Probus Club rules forbid fund-raising – on the ground that members have already made good contributions to the community.

Costs are negligible – typically $20-40 annual subscription and $5-10 per meeting.

 A typical Probus meeting starts at 10am, and organises activities. After morning tea an expert speaker arrives and talks for 45 minutes plus questions. Topics might be the Trans Siberian rail trip or news about “The

Lady”, Burma’s persecuted democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Many clubs then arrange lunch, depending on venues.

You don’t need to pre-book – just turn up, Mr Thomas said.