Welcome to The Probus Club of North Balwyn Inc. A0016781Z website. We invite you to explore the various sections for comprehensive information. For any inquiries regarding the Club or related topics, please utilise our Contact Us page on the website.
Invitation to Prospective Members
We warmly welcome prospective retirees and semi-retired to connect with us through our website or by attending our monthly gatherings. These meetings take place in the Foard Williams Room at The Hub, Greythorn Community Centre, located at 2 Centre Way, North Balwyn. Convenient onsite parking is available, and you can find directions using Melways map 46, reference H2.
Monthly Meetings Details
The Club convenes on the second Tuesday of each month for a two-hour session commencing at 10 am. Please note that meetings do not occur in January or December. Each meeting features a guest speaker following a morning tea break, providing an excellent opportunity for learning and networking among members promoting camaraderie & purpose.
President’s Commitment
As the newly appointed president, I am committed to considering innovative ideas that will support membership growth and enrich club activities for all. My leadership will uphold the valued traditions of Probus while embracing practical enhancements tailored to our mixed-gender club.
Join Us for Fellowship and Fun
We warmly invite you to attend and to introduce friends to our community. Experience the friendly atmosphere, camaraderie, and enjoyment that our meetings are known for. We look forward to seeing you there and sharing this special time together.
We also extend a warm welcome to attend any of our SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS, (SIG’s), which are for example, Investment, Walking Group, Computer, Photography/Travel to name a few. Further information regarding all SIG’s can be explored on the newsletter & website and convenors can be contacted for further information.
Our SIG’s (Special Interest Groups) are created from our members interests and opportunities, some of which last the test of time, while others are superseded by technical advances. If members have any ideas to improve our existing interest groups or create new ones now is the time to come forward with suggestions.
Our attendance at SIG’s is paramount and we encourage all members to share ideas and assist our hardworking convenors. SIG’s provide a wonderful opportunity for new members to become acquainted with the activities and benefits of becoming a member of our Club.
We are always keen to attract new members to maintain the Club’s ongoing strength and vitality going forward into the future.
Our commitment, – “You will be a stranger but once”.
Our Club has an established new SIG “A Current Affair from Here and There” which will be led by our Past President Stephen Millard allowing the members to meet on third Monday at 10am in the breakout room at the Greythorn Community Hub. Adjourning to the Jolley Miller Cafe for further fellowship and light refreshments after the discussion. Please contact Stephen Millard for the discussion topic and provide your attendance.
PLEASE WATCH THIS SPACE – OFTEN!
Special Interest Group of the Month
Photography/Travel
About the Photography/Travel SIG
The Photography/Travel SIG meets on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at the North Balwyn Uniting Church Duggan St., North Balwyn,starting at 10.00am
This group is designed to bring like minded members who enjoy photography and sharing their knowledge with the aim of improving their photographic skills. No “sophisticated” equipment is required, iPhones, iPad or Tablets are sufficient.
The Travel part of the SIG has regular excursions to Museums, Art Galleries and historical sites and an annual trip of between 4-5 days within a 2 hour drive from our base.
Whether it be Photography meetings or excursions, the spirit of Probus : Fellowship, Friendship and Fun Is always at the forefront of our activities.
Agenda for year 2026: –
April : 29th. Seaworks Museum Williamstown May: 8th Piratefest – Seaworks Maritime Museum Event Cancelled May : 19th, Exhibition Building Dome Tour May : 26th. Combined Computer & Photo/Travel SIGs June : 16th. Victoria Police Museum July : 28th. Combined Computer & Photo/Travel SIGs August : 18th. ROME exhibition: at Melbourne Museum September : Healesville Trip 14/9 – 18/9/2026 October : 28th. Point Nepean National Park
Our Guest Speakers have traditionally been of extremely high quality covering many topics of particular interest to our members.
Guest Speaker for our General Meeting:
Our next Guest Speaker will be Marianne Schriever, topic will be “Working & Living in China,” She will be speaking on the 9th of June 2026.
Marianne’s work as Neuro-Developmental Consultant began in China in 2008. From then on she worked and lived in China almost every alternative year under a twelve month contract. Her role was to assist in the setting up KindyROO centres (KindyRoo establishes early childhood development programs) in 26 cities, the training of teachers, conducting parent forums, offering private consultancies and giving lectures at educational institutions and hospitals. Unfortunately, the Covid pandemic put an end to her work in China in 2020, but she has since undertaken voluntary work in underdeveloped countries
Previous Guest Speakers 2018 – 2025
May 2026
Brian Barnard
Police Dogs Victoria
March 2026
David Jollie
Working for The Overseas Project Corporation
February 2026
Lisa Ricketts
The history of Palace Balwyn Cinema
November 2025
David Jellie
The Volcanic Plains of Western Australia
October 2025
Eric Panther
Down Memory Lane
September 2025
Graeme Weber
Nuclear Power – why Australia needs to adopt it
August 2025
Winston Marsh
Lies our Mother Told Us
July 2025
Janet Werkmeister
Melbourne Roaring Twenties
June 2025
Mr. Geoffrey M. Horgan K.C.
The life and times of a Crown Prosecutor
May 2025
Dr Peter Johnston
Preventing Dementia
February 2025
Matthew Etty-Leal
“Barrie Humphries.”
November 2024
Dr David Gilbert Hay
The Battle of Binh Ba
October 2024
Alan Hall
The Four Men and the Walrus
September2024
Peter Tully
Friends of the Cerebrus
August 2024
Sue Corvasce
Discover the World
July 2024
Isabel Simpson
Women Achievers of Melbourne
June 2024
Raylene Schriever
The Aged Care Journey
March 2024
Ross McMullin
Life So Full of Promise – Further Biographies of Australia’s Lost Generation
