Pittwater Life July 2023 Issue

News
Pittwater News
Local July Probus Club news
The guest speaker at the
next Palm Beach and Peninsula
Probus Club meeting is
the former NSW Director of
Public Prosecution, distinguished
barrister Nicholas
Cowdery AO, KC. His talk will
cover current issues in Criminal
Justice in NSW, including
spam fraud, crime trends
and, if time permits, topics
such as voluntary assisted
dying law reforms and drug
law reform. Meeting 9.30am
on Wed 19 July at Club Palm
Beach. Visitors welcome; more
info Carmel (0414 978 465).
The next meeting of the
Combined Probus Club of
Mona Vale is on Tues July 18
in the auditorium at Pittwater
RSL (from 10am). The guest
speaker will be Liz Nielsen
– Founder and Life Patron of
Pinchgut Opera, Australia’s
premier Baroque opera
company. Liz had taught commercial
law and established a
mediation practice before she
realised she had effectively
retired from the law, as Pinchgut
Opera was far more fun
and was taking all her time.
For Pinchgut, Liz has done
just about every administrative
task, from negotiating
contracts and grant applications,
to making lunches and
billeting musicians. Her talk
will provide an insight into
how Pinchgut quickly developed
a reputation as one of
the world’s finest companies,
specialising in historically informed
performance. Visitors
welcome; more info Robert
(0407 202 266).
The speaker at the next
Newport Probus Club meeting
will be member Hette Mollema,
who will speak about
‘Toiletology’ – a history of
human waste disposal. Meeting
at Newport Bowling Club
on Thurs 6 July, commencing
10am. Visitors welcome; more
info Di Burrell (0410 465 303).
If you are interested in
boats and sailing, don’t miss
the next meeting of the Bilgola
Plateau Probus Club at Newport
Bowling Club on Fri 7 July
(from 10am). Mark Salmon
will talk about the history of
the ‘Kathleen Gillett’, a small
sailing ketch that now has its
resting place at the Australian
Maritime Museum. Visitors
welcome; info 0415 538 864.
Narrabeen Lakes Probus
Club next meets on Wednesday
26 July at Narrabeen
Baptist Church. Doors open at
9.45am for 10am meeting. The
club has around 80 members
(visitors welcome, no waiting
list). Their July speaker will be
police officer Sandra Fraietta,
who will speak on schemes
used by scammers to trick
unsuspecting folk into giving
them their money. More info
call or text 0424 464 047.
At the next meeting of Pittwater
Men’s Probus, member
Bill Sherman will trace the
history of firearms, from
their early days in ancient
China through to the present
day. Meeting at Mona Vale
Surf Club, Tuesday 11 July,
commencing at 10am. Visitors
welcome; more info Terry
(0412 220 820).
Open Day to tour
Warriewood Brook
Anglicare’s Warriewood
Brook Village is holding an
Open Day on Friday 21 July,
commencing 10am. On show
will be the relaxed retirement
lifestyle available locally, with
furnished 2- and 3-bedroom
apartments available to tour
as well as the Village facilities
including the recently refurbished
café and community
area, gym and indoor heated
pool. Independent experts will
be available to assist with any
questions around the financial
aspects of retirement living
and the downsizing process.
You’ll also be able to chat with
current residents and hear
about their experiences. Limited
places available; register
via anglicare.org.au/openday.
Astronomy evening
at Waratah Park
Duffys Forest Residents Association
is hosting another
‘Evening under the Stars’ at
Waratah Park from 6.30pm on
Saturday 15 July. The event
is being held in conjunction
with the Northern Sydney
Astronomical Society (NSAS)
and owners of the park, the
Metropolitan Local Aboriginal
Land Council. The evening
will kick off with a talk from
Steve Pratley in the Ranger
Headquarters. Steve is a
senior astronomer with NSAS,
with a special interest in astrophotography
of distant and
curious deep-space objects;
he’ll discuss some of his most
interesting astrophotography
objects and the challenges of
bringing them to life with his
telescope. Phil Angilley and
other volunteers from NSAS
will bring their telescopes, so
attendees can view interesting
objects in the night skies,
starting at about 7pm. Park
in the top car park of Waratah
Park and stroll down to
the Ranger HQ, as the road
beside it may be used for
viewing. To assist the association
in knowing how many
telescopes to bring, and for
catering, please RSVP admin@
duffysforest.com.
Panel discussion
on the Voice
Mackellar MP Dr Sophie
Scamps says her recent Voice
Community Survey showed a
quarter of people in the electorate
would like more information
about the Voice before
voting in the referendum later
this year. In a bid to help as
many people as possible learn
more about the Voice and what
constitutional recognition for
our First Nations Australians
means, she’ll be hosting a
community forum and Q&A at
Pittwater RSL on Wednesday
26 July. The forum will include
a panel including Rachel Perkins,
Director and Co-Chair of
Yes23, eminent journalist Jeff
McMullen and human rights
advocate and former Socceroo
Craig Foster. Register to attend
(free) at sophiescamps.com.
au/events.
Technology made
easy for seniors
Have you ever struggled with
the demands of modern
technology? Computer Pals
Continued on page 34
32 JULY 2023
The Local Voice Since 1991