Guidelines for proposing new members

The strength of any club lies in its membership numbers and the participation by them in its activities.

To this end, members are encouraged, indeed urged, to propose suitable like-minded gentlemen to join the Club.

Membership Qualifications

Membership is open to men over 18 years of age, and candidates must be nominated and seconded. Although it is not obligatory, it is expected that candidates would also be known to at least one other member and that the proposers would have introduced them to at least one committee member.

Candidates who can show reasonable proof of descent from early settlers can qualify for Pioneer membership.

A Pioneer member is a member who is a descendant of one of the following groups:

  1. Officers and men under the command of Captain Cook during his expeditions to Australasia;
  2. Officers or men of the naval, military or civil services, officers or sailors in the mercantile marine, or landholders who resided in any one of the following countries or parts of countries on or before the last day of the year:
    New South Wales 1839
    Tasmania 1839 Victoria 1847
    South Australia 1847
    Norfolk Island 1857
    Western Australia 1860
    Queensland 1860
    Northern Territory 1888
    New Zealand 1855
    British Oceania 1878
    Papua New Guinea 1888
  3. The descendants of the 30 Explorers of Australasia as the Board may from time to time determine,
  4. Descendants of ‘qualifying ancestors’. The ancestor would have rendered outstanding pioneering services in or in relation to one or more of the countries listed above.

A limited number of nominees without these qualifications can also be admitted as members without any restriction on their membership privileges except having the right to vote on the number of non-pioneer members admitted.

Guidelines on nominating new members, including a nomination form, can be downloaded here or requested from the Club office. It is to be returned marked to the attention of the Hon. Secretary.

 

Application Procedure

In addition to completing his details on the front of the application, the candidate is to complete his ancestry on the rear of the form, starting with the earliest arrival of his family to Australia or qualifying territory as detailed above. This should include the year of arrival of the “qualifying’’ ancestor and ideally the name of the transporting ship. Subsequent marriages and issue follow down the page to the candidate himself.

Once the form is completed and signed by the candidate, the proposer and the seconder it is to be forwarded to the office of the Club marked to the attention of the Hon. Secretary. Notification of the application will be sent for comment (if any) to all members of the Club via the Bulletin or newsletter. The application will then be considered by the Board at the next (bi-monthly) Board Meeting for approval by ballot.

The Proposer should advise the candidate that the process may take a month or two depending on the interplay of the timing of the publication of the Bulletin newsletter and the date of the next Board Meeting.

Following approval by the Board, the New Member will be advised of his successful election by the Hon. Secretary. He will also be invited, along with his proposer, to a New Members lunch where he will meet other New Members as well as Directors of the Board.

At the lunch the New Member will receive his “Welcome Pack’’ containing amongst other items his Club tie, a copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, a list of members, an explanation of the workings of the Club, its interaction with the Union, University and Schools Club and details of upcoming functions.

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