Interested in getting involved?
Are you passionate about your local, business and international community? Have you participated in a Rotary program and want to re-connect with Rotary?
Do you have an interest in helping others locally and around the world with the opportunity to meet a diverse range of like-minded people?
We'd love to hear from you. We invite you to contact us about joining our Club. The Rotary Club of Canterbury is vibrant and active in our Community - Locally and Internationally. Click here to Contact the Club about Rotary or joining Rotary or to find a Club near you.
What is Rotary
Members of a Rotary Club are part of a diverse group of professional leaders working to address community and international service needs and to promote peace and understanding throughout the world.
- Rotary clubs receive a charter from the worldwide organisation - Rotary International.
- A Rotarian belongs to a particular Rotary club after being invited to join that club.
- Rotary districts are a way of grouping a number of clubs in a particular geographic area. The area covered quite often crosses state and even national boundaries.
- Rotary District 9800 encompasses the City of Melbourne, the Melbourne CBD, surrounding and bay side suburbs and country clubs that stretch as far as Echuca Moama on the Murray River in northern Victoria.
Rotary International’s Beginnings
Founded by Paul Harris in 1905 Rotary International has become one of the most successful service organisations in the world. Raised in a rural village in Vermont, Paul had a vision of a club for professionals that would rekindle the fellowship he had known in his youth. Harris could never have known what a huge impact this first club would have on the world. He met up with three friends - a coal dealer, a merchant tailor and a mining engineer. At this first meeting the men committed to growing the group and decided that the business leaders they would attract should meet regularly to enjoy camaraderie. Meetings were rotated among their places of business and so ........the name “Rotary” emerged and so too did the commitment to improve the lives of the less fortunate.
When this first Rotary Club of Chicago donated a horse to a preacher in 1907, the Rotary commitment to service was born and Rotary became the world’s first service club organisation. By 1910, the International Association of Rotary Clubs was established (later renamed Rotary International).
In 1916, witnessing the growing popularity of the clubs in various regions worldwide, Rotary set up a district system. The organisation became truly global transcending national boundaries, race, language, and religion. Clubs mushroomed throughout Europe, South and Central America, Australia, Africa, and Asia. Rotary was represented on six continents by 1921. To reflect this worldwide presence, the name Rotary International was adopted one year later.
Rotary Club of Canterbury - Who are we?
What about Canterbury Rotary - Who are we?
Click here to learn More about the Rotary Club of Canterbury .