Page 4 - History Presentation Tony Dell 2016

In 1977/78 the Membership limit was 55, including Honorary Members (i.e. still 45 ordinary
members), and was increased to 65 at the 1987 AGM and to 75 in 2001. By 2011 it had
increased to 80.
In the current Constitution, the Committee has the discretion to lift the membership limit to
90 provided the additional 10 positions are filled by females of any age or males under 35.
The original Constitution was a creature of its time and was a fairly prescriptive document,
especially in relation to attendance at meetings. Up to 1988 the Committee minutes are
replete with notations about who needed to be written to or spoken to regarding their poor
attendance record. When things got serious letters were sent suggesting that the miscreant
was in breach of the Constitution and should consider their future membership in the Club.
This usually led to resignations but in some cases membership was formally terminated.
In 1988, because of the increase in value of Club assets and because of increasing worries
about the joint liability of members for damages in an increasingly litigious world, it was
decided to incorporate the Club under the Incorporation of Associations Act 1964.
I, for my sins, got the job with Ron Ruthven as my consultant. The resulting document was
much less prescriptive and basically followed the 'Model Rules' under the Act with a few
tweaks to line it up with the philosophy and history of the original Constitution.
In 2000, I drafted amendments to provide for Associate Members and to broaden the
definition of Honorary Members, which were subsequently endorsed by a Special General
Meeting. There have been minor tweakings since to cover mainly administrative
contingencies like dealing with cash donations.
Life Members
The Club has thirteen Life Members on its list, eight of whom are still with us. The list in
order is Bob Peacock, our founding President (1968) who died in 1988,

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