By Aaron Cordy
SHEPPARTON Apex is inviting past members to an OASIS (Old Apexian’s Still in Service) event at the Shepparton Heritage Centre History Hub on Sunday, October 20.
Shepparton Apex Club was established in 1933 and officially chartered in 1934, as the 12th Apex Club in Australia, with Dr Arthur Dickmann as its founding president. For decades, this club has been a cornerstone of community service and charitable projects, driven by the enthusiasm of its members aged 18 to 45, until its final dinner in 2013.
“I joined at 18 years of age, I’m 81 now, so that’s 63 years ago. In those days we cut wood for pensioners, we helped build the wall between the swimming pool and the lake, we planted trees at the hospital, and then we raised money by doing Apex Antics,” said past member Pat O’Connell.
Inspired by Monty Python, Benny Hill, Graham Kennedy and Burt Newton, Apex Antics was a music review performed by Shepparton Apex Club aimed to have a lot of fun while raising money for the greater community.
“In those years the only entertainment in Shepparton was the Shepparton brass band, and there was no other entertainment but Apex Antics. We’d get 900 people, and it was just very, very funny. and money was raised for things in the community,” said Pat.
The event begins at 10am at the Shepparton Heritage Museum on Welsford Street, with speeches, engaging slideshow and firsthand accounts from past members about the club’s profound impact on our community. Followed by a screening of the Apex Antics footage. With lunch and drinks held at the Aussie Hotel from 12.
Entry is $10. For more information contact Roger Perry at 0437 541 078 perryroger8@gmail.com, John Foster at 0408 292 466 jfo65233@bigpond.net.au or Jim Balaburov 0427 575 131 Jim@balatrading.com.au.
