Celebrating 40 Years of Service in Australia with the Captain James Cook Chapter

Shari Thorne-Sulima, National Chair, Units Overseas

November 22, 2024

It was this Chair’s pleasure to represent the President General in Sydney, Australia, for a week celebrating the Captain James Cook Chapter’s 40th anniversary. After crossing the International Date Line, this Chair touched down in Oz and was welcomed by Chapter Regent Ann Cairns, who hosted a tour of downtown Sydney and shopping along Oxford Street. We were joined by chapter members Charlene Bradley and Pat Musick for a lively pub dinner.

Many activities were held leading up to the grand celebration. The group hiked along Botany Bay to the location of Captain James Cook’s first landing on the continent, as well as viewed several indigenous statues placed by the shoreline. Driving up to Cape Sollander, we watched humpback whales breaching and tail-slapping on their migration path to Antarctica.

An evening of star gazing at the home of Gaila Merrington ended up too cloudy to view comet activity, but we did see the Southern Cross, Venus, and Saturn and her moon Titan. A day at Bondi Beach featured strolling the promenade, watching waves crash into the Bondi Icebergs Club pool constructed in the rocks jutting into the ocean, then getting a sneak preview of the beautiful artwork displayed in the hills of Bondi as part of the Sculptures by the Sea festival.

Appreciating a performance by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the famed Sydney Opera House allowed this chair to cross an item from her bucket list. The New South Wales Library was the site of a welcome lunch break. A tour of the library’s stack room revealed original log books and maps from Captain James Cook. One of the library’s prized possessions is the personalized coat of arms presented to Cook’s widow by the King of England.

The CJCC’s 40th anniversary celebration was hosted at the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron in a gorgeous room overlooking Sydney Harbor. Approximately thirty of the chapter’s fifty members, plus over a dozen spouses and guests, attended the gathering and enjoyed cocktails, a delicious lunch and the reading of a congratulatory letter from our President General.

Organizing Chapter Regent Charlene Bradley delighted the assembly with a history of the formation and growth of CJCC. UOC Outstanding Junior Caroline Colvin shared information on Junior Membership and the OJ contest and encouraged the chapter’s Juniors to get involved.Over a delicious cake embossed with the DAR logo, members shared stories of their DAR service projects, including keeping local parks litter free, preserving local wildlife and providing educational and nutritional supplies for native Australians. Following the celebration, several members and guests enjoyed a harbor sail hosted by the Merringtons.

Charlene Bradley and her HODAR, Graham, welcomed everyone to their Tuscan-inspired villa for a sunny outdoor brunch Sunday morning. Photos of previous CJCC events were passed around, much laughter was shared and the celebratory week came to an end.

Should your walkabout plans lead you Down Under, CJCC members are eager to greet you. Members reside in all five Australian states and one territory, so you have a friend no matter where in country you roam. Thanks again to CJCC Regent Ann Cairns, Charlene Bradley, Gaila Merrington and Pat Musick for planning the many events, offering warm hospitality and creating fabulous memories during this chair’s week Down Under. Congratulations on forty sparkling years of DAR service in Australia!

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