Victoria
Members and guests are all invited to attend VIC Branch events
Victoria Branch including Regional Group Events 2026
Victoria Branch
Tuesday 28 July 11.30am for time to mingle prior to sit down at 12.15pm Victoria Branch Mid Year Luncheon at the Stamford Plaza Hotel 111 Little Collins Street Melbourne. Speaker Kirsty Sword Gusmao AO Bookings https://www.trybooking.com/DLUUP Cost $80.00 (incl GST) From resistance to a life of service:
Dr Kirsty Sword Gusmao’s life has been marked by the most astonishing, cinematic twists and turns. From a quiet childhood in regional Victoria to clandestine work smuggling East Timorese men to safety, from falling in love with an imprisoned resistance fighter to First Lady of Timor-Leste.
In 2015 Kirsty Sword Gusmão AO was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia for her distinguished service to Australia-East Timor relations through the development of mutual co-operation and understanding.
Living between Melbourne and Timor-Leste, Dr Kirsty Sword Gusmao AO is the founder of the Alola Foundation and the Chair of the Xanana Gusmao Reading Room which she established in 2000.
Friday 28 August 5.45pm collect tickets at the National Gallery water wall for 6pm entry. Booking is for the Exhibition and Lecture $90.00 incl GST. Ticket bookings https://www.trybooking.com/DNSPQ
For the first time, two of Melbourne’s most distinguished institutions come together for an evening unlike any other – a private lecture and viewing of CARTIER at the National Gallery of Victoria, presented in partnership with London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.
Featuring nearly 400 jewels, watches and precious objects spanning more than a century of royal courts, Hollywood and high society, this is the largest Cartier exhibition ever presented in Australia. The House was famously hailed by King Edward VII as “the jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers.”
Discover more than 30 spectacular tiaras alongside extraordinary creations worn by Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Princess Margaret and Rihanna — almost all on Australian soil for the very first time.
Among the exhibition’s highlights are jewels once worn by Melbourne’s own Dame Nellie Melba. Appearing at Melbourne Town Hall in 1902, she was, in the words of NGV Senior Curator of International Exhibitions Miranda Wallace, “studded with Cartier jewels… almost lit up. More than a century later, those dazzling creations return to the city where Melba captivated audiences, making this an extraordinary moment in Melbourne’s cultural history.
NGV Director Tony Ellwood AM describes the exhibition as “other-worldly,” bringing together “the finest craftsmanship in the world, alongside some of the most famous people in the world.
Bookings close 21 August (if not sold out before)
Tuesday 15 September 5.30pm Online event
Thursday 26 November 6pm Victoria Branch End of Year Dinner at the Stamford Plaza Hotel 111 Little Collins Street Melbourne
Speaker William Lye OAM KC, National Chair, Order of Australia Association Limited.
Cost $80.00 (incl GST) two-course dinner; beverages at bar prices.
Honours recipients, honouring the system and its traditions
William Lye OAM KC is the Chair of the Order of Australia Association. Following being honoured in 2017, William has served as National Director of the Order of Australia Association (OAA) and was this year elected to be the new National Chair of the OAA.
Inherent in William’s DNA is being solutions-driven with a range of initiatives in the pipeline to enhance this 50-year-old tradition of honouring Australians who go beyond to achieve in all that they do, with community at the forefront.
An oft-cited mantra of William’s is: ‘They can’t be what they can’t see’, referring to the importance of promoting the ideals and values of citizenship with the focus on the need for the next generation of young Australians needing our input.
William will excite us about what lies ahead for the Association, and he will lead us into our own reflections as to why each of us received an honour thereby inciting the need for why we should all be looking out for someone we can nominate.
Aiming to increase the numbers of women and multicultural nominees, William reminds us that each of our own awards marks not an end point but the start of a continuing journey. Therein lies the secret to honouring the system: it honours our contribution when we balance our social responsibility, ethical behaviours, and attunement to community needs, while holding respect for our culturally and socially diverse communities.
You will also have the opportunity to hear from an OAA Foundation Scholarship recipient regarding their journey after receiving their scholarship.
Bookings https://www.trybooking.com/DOBFB
Victorian Regional Groups Events
North Central Suburbs Regional Group
Informal Lunch – Tuesday 21 July – Commercial Hotel South Morang commencing at 12 Noon. Members and guests are able to order their own meal and drinks from the menu and pay individually. Bookings are essential and can be made with Irene Harrington OAM at: [email protected]
Reception and lunch for 2026 Honours recipients. – Sunday 23rd August commencing at 12 Noon at the Montmorency RSL Club. Members and guests are able to order their own meal and drinks from the menu and pay individually. This event will include a welcome and acknowledgement of both Australia Day and Kings Birthday Honours recipients. Bookings are essential and can be made with Irene Harrington OAM at: [email protected]
Spring Seasonal Lunch – Wednesday 23rd September commencing at 11:45 am at the Sycamore Tree café. Members and guests are able to order their own meal and drinks from the menu and pay individually. Bookings are essential and can be made with Irene Harrington OAM at: [email protected]
Informal Lunch – Tuesday 13 Oct commencing at 12 Noon at the Ringwood Club. Members and guests are able to order their own meal and drinks from the menu and pay individually. Bookings are essential and can be made with Irene Harrington OAM at: [email protected]
Please note for all events members are welcome to bring a partner/guest.
Regular ZOOM sessions with guest speakers.
Loddon Campaspe Regional Group
Saturday 18 July at Inglewood Session at St Augustine’s Church at 11am The Four Seasons Session at Inglewood Town Hall at 3pm Brilliant Bach!
Friday 24 July at 11am Golden Dragon Museum, 1-11 Bridge Street Bendigo
Group entry $15 each, followed by lunch at own expense
Members and guests are invited to join us for a guided tour of the museum followed by lunch at the Emperors Dragon Chinese Restaurant adjacent to the museum. Lunch can be pre-ordered before the tour to ensure meals are ready for our 12.30 gathering.
The Golden Dragon Museum is a living history of the Chinese people of Bendigo and now, as the hub of Chinese cultural activity in Australia, the museum allows visitors to experience first-hand, Chinese arts, history and culture. It should be a most interesting visit.
Please RSVP to Deb Fleming [email protected] by Monday 20 July
Barwon Regional Group
Thursday July 23 6.30pm Mid Year Dinner at The Gordon’s Davidson Restaurant 2 Fenwick St, Geelong Two course dinner. $ 45.00 per person (GST inclusive). Beverages at bar prices Guest speaker: Major Robert Charles OAM RFD Retd) Booking Details through TryBooking https://www.trybooking.com/DNEIS RSVP 18 JULY
Thursday August 20 2pm at the Eastern Hub, McKillop Street, East Geelong Primary Schools Awards.
Frankston Mornington Peninsula Regional Group
Friday 14 August Welcome to New Members Dinner 5.30 for 6.00pm Alexandra Park Pavilion 275 Main Street Mornington 3930 2 Course Dinner, Drinks at Bar Prices $60 (incl GST) per person
Guest Speaker Josie Jones OAM Josephine Jones OAM is an award-winning environmental advocate, citizen scientist, designer and community leader whose work has influenced coastal management practices across Victoria and beyond. At this year’s Welcome New Members Dinner, Josie will share insights into leadership, persistence and the role ordinary citizens can play in creating extraordinary environmental outcomes.
Book and Pay: https://www.trybooking.com/DNUPS
Eastern Suburbs Regional Group
Tuesday, 18th August Webinar Topic: Changing Lives and Transforming Futures at 7:30 pm (for one hour)
Registration: https://www.trybooking.com/DNWGS (or click the poster below)
We will hear from Janette Etherington, Coordinator for Rotary Engagement with Interplast Australia and New Zealand about some of the remarkable work being done by this organisation. Interplast provides free reconstructive surgery and allied health care in developing countries across the Pacific and Asia, and creates sustainable change by training and mentoring in-country clinicians.
Interplast programs focus on building local capacity through training, mentoring, and strengthening health systems so that communities can access care that transforms lives. In Australia and New Zealand, we often take it for granted that if we ever need medical care, we will be treated quickly and effectively by highly qualified doctors, nurses, surgeons and other specialists. But right next door in the Asia Pacific region, a lack of resources combined with limited training means people with repairable conditions are often not treated fast enough or well enough – if they are treated at all.
Janette Etherington has absolute passion for the work that Interplast does, and the difference it makes to so many peoples’ lives. She has been a Rotarian for 12 years and is a Past President of the Rotary Club of Nunawading. In Janette’s previous work lives she has held a number of senior management positions in retail, bookselling and the apprenticeship sector, working in both commercial and not-for-profit sectors.
Tuesday 15 September Webinar
Tuesday 17 November Webinar
Tuesday 24 November Event with lunch
Gippsland Regional Group
Sunday 13th September Spring Luncheon at the Leongatha RSL guest speaker Ms Chelsea Allen. Chelsea has an OAA Foundation Scholarship
Friday 23 October The Annual Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet Oration and dinner – Traralgon
North East and Goulburn Valley Regional Group
Sunday 11th October, 2026 at the McGuires function room at the Sherborne Terrace Hotel, Wyndham Street, Shepparton. Guest speaker to be announced. The venue is easily accessible with lots of parking available. Also, the Sherborne Terrace Hotel has offered all our luncheon guests a 10 percent discount off their accommodation if they wish to stay overnight.
Please note: The committee has chosen the luncheon date and location to coincide with the Archibald Prize exhibition which will be held at SAM (Shepparton Arts Museum), 530 Wyndham Street, Shepparton from 5th September to 1st November. Open 7 days a week.
Central Highlands Wimmera Regional Group
Sunday 18 October Luncheon at the Horsham RSL.
South Central Suburbs Regional Group
End of Year Dinner Thursday 12 November The Bridge Hotel, Mordialloc Guest Speaker: Colin Neave AM ‘Reflections on an Ombudsman’s Career’
Events still to be added for the following Regional Groups for 2026
South West Regional Group
Western Suburbs Regional Group
2027 Regional Group AGM
Sunday 21st February – Ararat RSL – 12.30 Lunch followed by AGM 1.30 pm. – Central Highlands Wimmera
Sunday 14 March 2pm Traralgon – Gippsland