21 Macquarie Place, SYDNEY.

29 Apr ‘46

Present

Those present numbered approximately 120.
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Opening

The meeting opened at 2000 hours.
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Chair

The chair was occupied by Mr W E FRASER.
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Activities to Date

To open the meeting the Chairman gave a brief resume of the activities of the Committee up to the present time, including:

1. Forming of a pro-tem Committee on 15 Feb ’46, giving the names of the office bearers,
2. Receiving from the 2/18 Bn Comforts Fund AIF the sum of ₤220 as a donation to the 2/18 Bn AIF Assn,
3. The zoning of the Association as HQ Sydney with branches at INVERELL and TAMWORTH, and
4. Finally organising the Church Parade on Anzac Sunday and the Inaugural General Meeting and Reunion on 29 April ’46.

Constitution

The Chairman then called on Mr A E DAVIS to read the Draft Constitution of the Association and answer any questions arising out of it. On completion of the reading several questions were answered and after a general discussion to the satisfaction of all present, a motion was put before the Meeting, adopting the Constitution as read with the addition of any necessary clauses to cover the country branches. The motion was carried unanimously.
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Correspondence

The only correspondence dealt with was a letter from lt-Gen H GORDON BENNETT outlining the proposed 8 Div Council and a motion as passed for the committee to nominate two of its members to represent the 2/18 Bn AIF Assn on the 8 Div Council.
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Patron – Nominations were called for and Brig H B TAYLOR was unanimously elected. Brig TAYLOR was present and was given a rousing reception. He later replied and thanked everyone sincerely both for the welcome accorded him and for the honour of being elected patron.

President – The following nominations were received:
       Messrs W E FRASER, DT OKEY, RH JONES, H FARMER
Two scrutineers were elected and a secret ballot conducted which resulted in Mr D T OKEY being elected.
In taking over the Chair, Mr OKEY expressed his thanks and assured those present he would strive to do his utmost to carry out the responsibilities which they had placed upon him. 

Treasurer – W E FRASER and JG FULLER were nominated for this post. JG FULLER withdrew and WE FRASER was duly elected
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Mrs A L VARLEY

In respect of our late CO and late BDE Commander Brig A L VARLEY, a motion was put to the meeting nominating Mrs A L VARLEY as an additional Patron. The motion was unanimously carried with great acclamation.
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General Meetings

It was moved and adopted that the Assn should hold three (3) General Meetings per annum, one in April for election of Office Bearers etc and the other two at times most suitable to country personnel – those two to be more along social lines.
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Newsletter and “Men May Smoke”

The Secretary briefly outlined his ideas of a Newsletter “for the purpose of keeping all members in touch with one another” and pointed out the unlimited scope of such a publication say once every three months, in answering queries, social news, etc. He also suggested the final publication of “Men May Smoke” for the purpose of publishing an Honour roll, abridged history of the 2/18 Bn, etc. After some discussion on these points, it was moved and adopted that the Committee investigate the possibilities of these two items and act accordingly.
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Christmas Party

A Christmas Party to be organised for the children of deceased members and present members, was discussed and it was decided to leave this in the hands of the Committee.
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Decorations

It was announced during the course of the evening that the following awards had just been published in General Orders
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       MC to Capt J VERNON

       DCM to Late Lt C WAGNER, also MID won in the Philippines.
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Entertainment

Throughout the evening light entertainment was provided by an entertainer hired for the evening.
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Close

There being no further business, the meeting was declared closed at 2300 hours.