Gladstone Rotary calls for a permanent club house The Rotary club has convered over 60 bicycles into wheelers at the former Ford car yard and is now looking for a spacious premises to continue its project.

The Rotary Club of Gladstone Sunrise (Queensland, Australia – D 9570) is putting out a call for a central hub for all Rotary clubs to come together and do good deeds for Gladstone.

The club, which has converted more than 60 bicycles into wheelchairs over the past few years, say they need a bigger shed to continue their Bikes to Wheelchairs project.

The non-for-profit club is calling on the council to help find a permanent space for the club in Gladstone.

Sunrise Rotary’s Graeme Bartlett said the club was building wheelchairs at the former Ford car yard on Hixon St in Toolooa.

The club approached Gladstone Regional Council in May.

“The idea to have a proper building for the club was taken positively and council wanted to help us continue making wheelchairs out of old bikes,” Bartlett said.

“They have even started bringing us old bikes that are found discarded at the dump.

“But we would like to see more of a push on a bigger shed for the growing club.

“We are growing more and more and it’s fantastic but we need somewhere a little bit more permanent. If the Ford car yard sells we won’t be able to continue the wheelchair project from the backyard.”

Bartlett said having a Rotary club house was a dream for the Rotary members.

“We don’t want to see the dream fall over,” he said.

“We’ve already had a discussion with council about a few potential places and we are pretty happy to accept a block pretty much anywhere if anyone is willing to help us out.

“We have no money because everything we raise we give it straight back to the community and to those who need it.”

Every Thursday afternoon members and non-members come to the yard to build wheelchairs.

“Even school students are helping out by painting the chairs,” Bartlett said.

Source: The Observer