The Cape York Project — Our Interim Task
Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS)

From 2nd June 2006 for the following two weeks, Richmond Rotarians David Bibby, Simon Marriott, Mark Dwyer, Neale Jackson, Phil Mylecharane, Sue Bolton, Judy Nettleton and Mark Fielding ( a non-Rotarian friend) will be reconstructing a prefabricated house severely damaged by last year's cyclone. Such homes are provided for indigenous Australians located 60 km south of the Lockhart River , which is on the east coast of the Cape , about 300kms south of the Tip of Australia.

Our four-wheel driver enthusiasts leave on Friday 2nd June. Camping and food will be supplied on site, but all are advised to bring their own mosquito nets.

Richmond Rotary Club is proud of the initiative and enthusiasm shown by our team, and look forward to this second hands-on project, done with the approval and co-operation on the local indigenous communities.

Last year it was decided that we should get involved with another hands on project, like the Solomon Islands . The Rotary project that we wanted to do was the Balkanu Housing Project in Cape York, Queensland. This project was to build five steel framed, cyclone-proof residences for aboriginal families. We put our hand up and said we would send a crew of people to the Cape in June to do one or two of these residences.

Time and organizing all the parties concerned has put the Balkanu Housing Project back to September this year, or later. During our communications with the Rotary organizers of the Balkanu Housing Project, another project in the Cape came to light, and this is the project we are now doing.

The project is to reconstruct a pre-fab house for a local aboriginal family that was blown over by a cyclone 12 months ago. The family came to the Balkanu Housing Project committee requesting assistance and the Balkanu Housing Project committee is willing the take this reconstruction under their control.

We will be leaving on Friday the 2 nd June to drive to the work and spend the next two weeks doing the building reconstruction and then traveling to the tip of Australia for a little holiday.

The Dwyer family, Marriott family and Traude Bibby are flying into Weipa on Friday 16 th June to meet us and enjoy the trip to the Tip. If anyone would like to join us for the holiday section, you are most welcome to tag along. We have one spare seat in a car if you do not wish to bring your own 4WD. You can fly into Weipa and fly out of Horn Island at the tip and therefore would only be away for 2 weeks.

After getting to the “tip” the three cars of Simon M, David B and Mark F, will be taking a further two weeks to get back to Melbourne via Birdsville, Flinders Ranges and the Clare Valley. The Dwyer family will return to Melbourne in late August via Cape York, Cairns, across the top of Australia to the Kimberly and Broome.