Page 6 - Rotary Matters - July 2020

Bob Arnold OAM - Rotary Club of Blackwood

Rotarians were delighted to learn that Bob Arnold was awarded the Medal
of the Order of Australia in the recent Queen’s Birthday Honours.
Bob is a member of the RC Blackwood.

He has had extensive interests and service in yachting, church music,
theatre, kindergartens and primary schools as well as Apex and Rotary.
He had a particular passion for the environment and through Rotary has
been a district leader in the nest box program for endangered species and
founded Rotary’s involvement with the Australian Landcare Trust and the
Federal Governments major project of regeneration, environmental research
and education at Calperum/Taylorville Station out of Renmark in South
Australia.
He began his community service as the cadet training coordinator and rear Commodore at the Port Pirie
Yacht Club. He was training coordinator from 1949-57 and Rear Commodore in 1951-52. He joined the
Whyalla Yacht club in 1958 and served until 1963. In 1971 he was transferred for work to New Zealand and
served on the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club 1971-77.

From 1951-57 he was deputy Choirmaster of Port Pirie Male Voice Choir, church organist at the Port Pirie
Church of Christ from 1951-58. He joined the Port Pirie Theatre Guild as was chorus master 1952-58. He
became Choirmaster at the Peter St Methodist Church after his transfer to Whyalla and served in that role
from 1958-63. He was appointed conductor and musical director of the Whyalla Players and served from
1958-63. In New Zealand he also served as Choirmaster of Upper Hutt United Church 1972-77.

While is Whyalla he joined the Apex Club of Whyalla and was a member from 1958-63.

He began his Rotary service at the Rotary Club of Western Hutt in 1970 and was President Elect in 1977-78.
He resigned to return to work in Victoria and joined the Rotary Club of Balwyn. He was responsible for
major fund-raising initiatives for that club and was appointed Club Service Director 1983-84. He resigned
again because of a work transfer back to South Australia.

He joined Rotary again in 2002 at the Rotary Club of Blackwood. He was elected to the role of Community
Services Director in 2003 and became President in 2006-07. During that time he established school essay
and speech competitions and an inaugural Road Watch program. He introduced Open Community Forums
to engage with the Blackwood community and held three of these. He was also responsible for organising
major group projects with other Rotary clubs in the Adelaide Hills to increase the presence of Rotary in the
community. He co-organised the annual Christmas fair for Blackwood, the major community event for the
area. He established Music Fest – an annual music festival held at the Mitsubishi car plant in Adelaide.
He led that for four years 2007-2010.

In 2003 he began his interest in Calperum Station. This was a large former sheep station out of Renmark
that was purchased by the Chicago Zoological Society in 1993 as a research station to rehabilitate a
seriously overgrazed station and protect vulnerable species. It is part of the Riverland Biosphere Reserve.

It was transferred in 2003 to the Director, National Parks to be held in trust by the Australian Government
which arranged for it to be managed by the Australian Landcare Trust. The station occupies 2386 sq.km and
the adjoining Taylorville station of 926 sq. km was added. 95% of the combined stations is mallee and 5%
is river wetlands. It is used as a model for the implementation of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve action
plan. One of its purposes is to protect the endangered black-eared miner and the vulnerable mallee fowl,
bush stone curlew and southern bell frog. It is now managed as a broader environmentally sustainable
developmententity which could include new uses such as tourism. ...continued next page

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