Our Tribute to Reg Harris

Reginald liff Harris was inducted into the Club on 2nd August 1955 at the age of 39. Reg was admitted to the Club with the classification of Machinery & Equipment - Butchers' Equipment but this only partly described his entrepreneurial activities. Reg did not know any other way but to be an active participant in ¬anything that he did, and so it was with Rotary.

Reg was appointed a Director of the Club in 1958-59 and left his mark through his fund raising activities, including a golf day that raised a then very impressive £336 which became the catalyst for developing a scout hall in Hawthorn for the Sixth Hawthorn Troop. Under his Directorship of Community Service the Club also actively supported Yooralla, Victorian Society for Crippled Children and Christmas toys for Kew Children's Cottages. As International Service Director the following year connections were made with selected overseas Clubs and the Club expanded the hosting of overseas students at Club lunches and commenced weekend outings for the students with Club members.

Reg became Senior Vice-President in 1965-66 and was inducted as President of the Club in 1966-1967. A highlight of his year as President was the establishment of the Rotary Club of Kew. His year as President achieved much. Fellowship activities were very strong and accompanied by active fund raising. The first Club hosted the very first GSE Team to the District (from Canada). Other initiatives included the organising of an Apprenticeship Day and the publication of the Club's first history as well as the establishment of a Club archives section through the City of Hawthorn.

Sam Coffa, who later became a member of the RC Hawthorn, was successfully promoted and supported by the Club as a competitor at the Olympic Games in Japan. Perhaps the seminal achievement of the year was the successful Art Show which raised an amazing £2700 which provided the seed funds for the establishment of an Art Gallery and Sculpture Court for the citizens of Hawthorn. Responsibility for this Art Show was later transferred to the RC Camberwell and it has gone on to become a huge event in the Melbourne calendar and a major source of fund-raising.

Reg's achievements and contribution to Rotary were celebrated by the Club through a Paul Harris Fellow recognition in 1983, a Sapphire in 1997 and with 5 sapphires in 2005. It is said that behind every successful man is an outstanding woman. Cora Harris, the vivacious wife of Reg for 69 years and entrepreneur in her own right received a Paul Harris Fellow recognition in 2002 in acknowledgement of her support and contribution to the RC Hawthorn.

As with so many outstanding Rotarians, Reg had a parallel life of achievement of community service and commercial success. Reg was a Councilor with the City of Hawthorn for many years (1958-1972) and was Mayor in 1965-66.

His business activities were numerous and wide-spread. From his base as a supplier of butchers' equipment and shop fittings he had numerous business activities through RI & CJ Harris Investments. A holiday home in Eildon grew to a major involvement in that area including a Motel, Cement Works, abattoirs and a hardware store!

Reg was a returned Serviceman, discharged from the Air Force Staff Engineers School in March 1946. He was a member of the South Hawthorn RSL and until recently the Camberwell City RSL. Somehow there was also time for bowls and Reg was a long standing member of the Auburn Bowls Club.

There was to be no conventional retirement for Reg - or for Cora, who continued to run her "Little Shop on Glenferrie Hill" until quite recently. Reg turned an interest in things mechanical into a passion for restoring and showing vintage cars. A visit to Reg's workshop premises in Victoria Road Hawthorn would reveal yet another vehicle - or several, under restoration. His old Yellow Cab, one of the very few that survived was well known as a feature of many movies, often with Reg at the wheel.

It is perhaps ironic that Reg's last few years were spent in some discomfort from an injury he received from a Rolls-Royce that he was restoring that somehow ran over him during restoration. For many years Reg was well known for his mechanical pipe organ that he had imported from Germany and which he towed too many charity functions to entertain the public and raise money for Rotary and others.

Reg leaves behind a great legacy. He described himself as a grumpy old man. So he was in some ways and he certainly had little time for those who felt that they were owed a living. Yet he had enormous empathy to those who did their best and for those who struggled through no fault of their own. His quiet and often anonymous generosity was significant and he was always supporting activities of the Rotary Club of Hawthorn. But he provided the Club with much more than money. The standards and the culture of the Club very much reflected the standards and respect that Reg set as President of the Club and that he insisted on in the years that followed.

Reg, along with many generous Hawthorn Rotarians donated to buy a house in Survey St, Richmond to house Vietnamese migrants. Later the house was sold at a good profit and the Survey St Trust established as an ongoing source of funds for charitable work by the RC Hawthorn. Reg was closely involved with the trust for most of its operation and a Trustee of the fund from 1988 ensuring responsible and effective administration of investments.

Very few who met Reg would forget him. He was always his own man and had a presence that was always evident. Reg was an institution as was his Monday lunch that was held at his workshop for decades with friends who shared his love of vintage cars and often Rotarians would be invited to share that other life of Reg.

The Rotary Club of Hawthorn has been privileged to have many excellent members, people of vision, energy and commitment. Reg, as much as any member and more than most, will be remembered as an outstanding Rotarian and very much the spirit of our club.