Category Archives: Membership

Yarn Dec 2019 – Jan 2020

The December-January edition of The Southern Yarn bridges the start of a new decade as we enter 2020. We’ve got reports on the not-so-formal dinner, the AGM, the Christmas party, and other club events, Give it a read, and we look forward to seeing you all next year. 

And here are some photos from the Christmas party that we could not fit into the Yarn.

Enjoy the photos.


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Yarn for October-November

Yarn 2019 – October November

The Yarn is out for October November. Please read it all!

Here is the Editorial, to get you started:

Since we decided to cut back to just every two months for this newsletter, you may have noticed that it is 8 pages now instead of 6. This is good for getting more news and stories to you, the readers. It also means more opportunity for you to send in news, short stories, photos, etc. As editor, I am always grateful for any such contributions! In this edition Jenny Gates shares her experiences from her recent visit back “home” (see “Getting to know”, p. 6). My sister in Brisbane also sent me a “Birds I view” piece which I’ll save until next issue. I already had Grackles written up (p. 8) and you can’t really talk about them in December/January – they’re long-gone! Whereas birds in Australia are pretty much everywhere all the time. Other Club members or family or friends often send me links to news bites that they think will interest others – very thoughtful – thanks. I like searching for interesting historical stuff for “100 years ago…”. In this edition there is one of them, and also a “200 years ago …”. I could have even included a “150 years ago …” since this month is the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth (and almost 70 years since his assassination) – a life that speaks to some of the ignorant intolerance still being preached today. Thanks as always to our advertisers and other regular contributors.

Enjoy, Charlie

Southern Yarn August – September 2019

The Southern Yarn August-September 2019

The Southern Yarn for August – September of 2019 is released with a bit of sadness, as it marks the first issue after the passing of Gordon Keatch, the person behind the creation of the Down Under Club of Winnipeg. 

Lots of other news in this issue, and mark your calendars with the events coming up, including the golf tournament this month!

You can explore previous issues of the Yarn on our page dedicated to the current and back issues.

Here’s the Editorial from this issue: 

Most members will know by now of the passing, on June 25th, of one of the Club’s founding members, Gordon Keatch,. It was sad news, though not totally surprising after his fall and with an “odometer” that had already clicked Continue reading

Burrumbuttock Hay Run

This post was originally published in the February 2018 issue of the monthly newsletter of The Down Under Club of Winnipeg, The Southern Yarn – http://downunderclub.mb.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Yarn2018_02-Feb.pdf

On January 26, 2018, the 13th Burrumbuttock Hay Run headed west to provide essential resources to drought-stricken farmers across regional New South Wales and Queensland. What exactly is the hay run and how did it get started?

Photo: http://hayrunners.com/index.php/photo-gallery/

The Burrumbuttock Hay Run (BHR) was founded by Brendan Farrell in 2014. When he heard about a farmer in Bourke, NSW, struggling in the drought, Brendan offered to take him a truck load of hay to help him out.

There have now been 13 successful hay runs delivering donated hay to drought-affected farmers all over NSW and Queensland.

BHR is about mates helping mates in times of need. Farmers impacted by drought often struggle to ask for help, and many also battle mental health issues because of the financial strain of trying to keep the farm afloat.

Although the hay delivered only provides temporary relief, it’s about showing fellow Australians that someone cares about them. Awareness and education are also important for Brendan and the team because they believe “Aussie farmers are critical to our future in Australia”. Continue reading