On Saturday 17th June 2023, a dinner was held at the University Club to celebrate not just the end of the Rotary year but the end of Rotary District 9455. Four members of our club were in attendance: PP Di Collins, PP Simone Collins, President Fiona Tremlett, and Rtn Ralph Martins.
Rotary in Western Australia originally started as one big district (245), which later was split in two (945 and 946), and then 3 (9450, 9460 and 9470) as the number of Rotary Clubs and Rotarians grew. PRID Ken Collins was the very first District Governor of District 9470 when it was formed. As the number of Rotarians then declined, we contracted back to 2 districts (9455 and 9465), and next year we will be back to one big district (9423 – this time the district number comes from the year of the contracture!)
Those Past District Governors still within District 9455 were recognised, with Charter President Di Collins representing PRID Ken Collins in the line up.
As the most prominent Rotarian from our District (and Western Australia as a whole), tributes were given to PRID Ken, first by PDG Ron Geary, who reflected on Ken as a “Polio Warrior”, and then by PP Di, giving a brief overview of Ken’s other Rotary experiences. The transcript of Di’s tribute can be found below.
We were delighted to receive the best Club Communications award, which recognises excellence in the club bulletin, website and social media. The award was accepted by our Public Relations Director, PP Simone Collins.
Di Collins’ Tribute to PRID Ken Collins
Great leaders don’t set out to be a leader…they set out to make a difference. It’s never about the role – always about the goal.
This is true of PRID Ken who led his life through Christian principals, with his guiding principle being the Parable of the Talents which is ‘the more ability one is given, the greater is expected of them’.
Another saying he often quoted at District Conferences around the world at which he represented the RI President is “There is no true service without sacrifice, but when love fills the heart, all giving, all service brings such joy, there is no sacrifice.”
Ken used his profession as a Medical Doctor with Rotary as his vehicle, to touch the lives of millions throughout the world, through countless projects and volunteer missions.
The first was in 1983 to remote villages in Indonesia and along the Malaccan Straits, where he would see up to 150 people in a day. Some people, who had never seen a doctor before, walked three days in each direction when they heard a doctor was coming to the village. He spent days in villages which did not
have a single toilet, and didn’t know how to handle the situation when he asked to use one.
Following straight on from there, a month was spent in the Vietnamese Refugee camps in Hong Kong where our daughters and I joined him.
The most dangerous was on the West Irian border in Papua New Guinea where warfare was raging. He departed for PNG 9th August 1986, just 5 weeks after handing over as District Governor. There he trekked over death adders, had a waterfall as a shower, and bamboo slats as a bed. It was pre mobile phones which prevented regular contact, so I spent the weeks at home concerned for his safety.
The last was taking teams of Gynaecologists and Midwives to Raipur, India in 2017 and ’18 to train the locals in better medical practices as there was a very high mortality rate of mothers and babies due to childbirth.
His volunteerism numbered 30 and covered 15 different countries. Many were as a site visitor to investigate possible projects, others were spent visiting projects for which he sought or gave assistance.
With little financial help coming from Clubs, Ken chose to so arrange his life to put money into Superannuation, draw an income on which to live and then put the rest of his earnings into projects as it was the only way he could maximise filling the needs he was constantly bombarded with.
Counting only projects large enough to be assisted by a Rotary Foundation Matching (now Global) Grant, he initiated or assisted with 159 projects in 14 countries.
Back in those days there were no such things as “Rotary Foundation Major Donors” or “Arch Klumph Society Members” so when they were introduced, Ken had already qualified for these categories by meeting the needs of those in need.
Taking time out of his busy medical practice, in 1985-86 he served as the first District Governor of District 947 when our daughters were 5 and 7; a District of less than 1,000 Rotarians with an attendance of 555 at his District Conference in Northam, attesting to his dynamic leadership. Ken was known to say he only became a District Governor as a stepping stone to higher service and went on to serve on every National Committee and countless International Committees, including as Chairman of the Extension Committee of Rotary in China.
In 1997, the day after returning from representing the RI President in India, a call came through from RIPE Glen Kinross, inviting Ken to serve as a Trustee of the Rotary Foundation. His words of “Would you be daunted by Past Presidents of Rotary International if I appointed you as a Trustee?” rang in Ken’s ears on occasions when he stood up to Past Presidents on matters of principle.
Ken followed on to serve as a Director of the Board of RI from 2000-2002, making him the only West Australian to serve on both major Boards of RI.
Over the six decades of Ken’s Service through Rotary the positions and roles he carried out numbered six pages of one liners, this was repeated for the major projects he supported, six pages of one liners.
He was recognised for his significant and ongoing contributions by being presented with every possible Rotary International Award and a number of State and Australian Awards. I believe the most significant one to him was in 1991, when RI President Paulo Costa named him the most exemplary Rotarian in the world at the Mexico City Convention. This was a once off award and never repeated.
The night after Ken passed away, Past RI President Kalyan Banerjee from India phoned me and said that he considered Ken to be one of the greatest Rotarians in the world and in his opinion, he was the greatest.
This is but a snapshot of a great humanitarian who dedicated his life to the service of others and I have been privileged to have walked alongside him on this journey.
In closing I would like to read from a letter sent to Ken by Glen Kinross as he finished his year as International President.
Dear Ken & Di,
We would like to thank you both for your continuing support for our efforts and particularly for your superhuman effort in launching the low-cost shelter program. We’ve heard nothing but praise for your work as a Trustee, Ken, and know whatever further time you spend as a Trustee will be total commitment.
There is no need to thank us for your appointments. You deserve them. We have observed you both over a long period and know you are a part of a small group who give 100 plus percent to Rotary. In life each of us has opportunities but very few grasp them. You have, and you have earned our complete respect.
Good luck with your candidature for the directorship of RI. It is a time when we need strong business-like leadership from the President and Board.
Kind regards from Heather and me,
Glen. 2nd August, 1998.