Fleet Air Arm
Association of Australia
2009 AGM - President's Report
3 October 2009
A warm welcome to all attending this Federal Council Meeting. We again meet to celebrate our privileged association with the Fleet Air Arm, its rich traditions and camaraderie. Our attendance is a pledge that we will continue to work to preserve this rich heritage.
This has been a year of consolidation after the wonderful success of the 60th Anniversary celebrations. The welcome resurrection of the ACT Division continues smoothly and I congratulate their leadership. The Western Australian Division unveiled a most impressive and appropriate Memorial Plaque on Memorial Hill, Fremantle, in January, which was the culmination of determined and innovative fund-raising and extensive organization and I congratulate Winston James and his team.
My major concern during the year has been the future of the Historic Flight. At one point it looked as though the aircraft would depart Albatross. Fortunately, an impassioned letter to CN pointing out that "once the aircraft were gone they were gone forever" had the desired effect and produced a rethink. During these discussions, I was grateful for the constructive contributions of Professor Michael Hough, Chairman of the Australian Historical Flying Museum Board, who strongly believes that the aircraft should remain at Nowra; albeit under HARS direction. The present, still evolving, plan is that the Flight will remain at Albatross in a dedicated hangar adjacent to the Museum. This is not a perfect solution, but, better than the alternatives and will keep the aircraft in naval colours and flying from a naval airfield. I will keep members informed.
I commend the proposal to create a "Naval Aviation Roll of Honour" to be co-located with the Wall of Service. The plan to record the names of all those who have died in Australian naval aircraft is, in my view, another important step in recording our history. Our Patron, Toz Dadswell, and the indefatigable Greg Wise have researched this project with great thoroughness and, in conjunction with the Naval History Section, prepared a list of names of those who should appear. This matter will be discussed in detail later in the meeting.
I thank Fred Lane for agreeing to be our keynote speaker today. He will tell us about his experiences in Korea and elsewhere and I look forward to hearing from him. Fred also represented the Association at the recent dedication of the Korean War Memorial in Sydney. This was a project we supported financially and Fred will give us a brief report of proceedings.
Thanks are in order for many of our members. In particular, I am sure that you share my pleasure in the awarding of Life Memberships. Qualification for this award requires long and dedicated service and successive National Executives have been meticulous in ensuring that every recipient is appropriately qualified.
I also mention Ken Vote for his carefully researched and often frustrating efforts in producing a new Association Banner. Ken was concerned that the original banner no longer represented the younger generations of our membership and I congratulate him in producing a banner which is entirely inclusive.
I especially thank our Webmaster, Harley Dadswell, whose largely anonymous efforts make a great contribution to the affairs of the Association. He constantly endeavours to extend the reach and scope of our website.
My efforts to significantly increase our membership have been frustratingly ineffective. I find it hard to believe that many ex-birdies would join just for the reunion and then not follow up their membership; but, that is what happened! Unbelievably, many who allowed their memberships to lapse have since complained about not receiving Slipstream! Our current membership of a little more than 1100 is satisfactory and provides a stable financial base, but greater numbers would increase our influence as well as extending the very real benefits of membership to those "outside the fold".
The White Ensign Club continues to prosper under the combined direction of the Association and the Shoalhaven Division of the Naval Association. Its use is increasing and it turned a small profit this year. Improved facilities included an upgraded power supply and disabled access.
In closing, I again thank everyone who made a contribution to the working of the Association during the year. In particular, I sincerely thank my colleagues on the National Executive, Vice President Peter Welsh, Secretary Dick Martin and Treasurer Denis Mulvihill. They are a hard-working, cheerful and supportive team. I also extend special thanks to our Patron, Toz Dadswell, who has always been available for good humoured advice and wise counsel.
It is timely to remember that the future of this wonderful Fleet Air Arm Association is in our hands. We must not relax our efforts in guarding its history and traditions.
David Farthing, President
Return to: AGM Report