Brief History of Rotary Club of Singapore

The year 1930 saw the Rotary flame kindle in Singapore. On June 6, 75 leading members of the community representing 20 different nationalities met at Raffles Hotel to inaugurate the first Rotary Club in Singapore. The flame was fanned by the visions of men like James W. Davidson, Lim Bock Kee and the founding President, Dato (Sir) Roland Braddell. The Board of Directors immediately set high standards for future Boards by organizing the first Malayan Rotary Clubs Conference in December 1930. Six months after its inauguration, the Club received its Charter under which it operates as Club No. 3360 on the roll of Rotary International.

By 1939, membership had risen to 148 and the Singapore Rotary was the most cosmopolitan in the world, helping by example, in a small way, to foster the Singapore tradition of a multi-racial community living in peace and harmony.

After the war in 1945, the Club started to function again, growing steadily in number each year making significant contributions to the welfare of the community and in promoting international understanding. By 1952, the Rotary Club of Johore Bahru became a reality through our sponsorship. Then came the Rotary Club of Singapore West in 1960 and the Rotary Club of Singapore East in 1965.

To show that it had not lost its spark and drive, the Club celebrated its Golden Jubilee by fathering the Rotary Club of Raffles City in 1980. In addition, it heralded its 55 years of service by increasing its membership to over 200. Women were finally admitted to the ranks in 1998/99.  In 1995, it again sponsored another club, this time in Cambodia, the Rotary Club of Phnom Penh, and in 2005 – the Rotary Club of Singapore Centennial.

Originally, the Rotary Club of Singapore was part of the Rotary district which covered seven countries: Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei. After the Vietnam War, the District was narrowed down to Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore.  Subsequently, Thailand became a new District, and later, our current District 3310 was formed with Singapore, Johore, Malacca, Sabah, Sarawak, Labuan, and Brunei.

Currently, the Rotary Club of Singapore has about 140 members.  Now a great grandfather Club, albeit full of vigour and ever dedicated to the principles and ideals of Rotary: MAKE DREAMS REAL - our motto for 2008/ 09.    

Let our past be but a prologue to the greater but creative future, and the history of our Club never fully written.

THE HISTORY OF ROTARY

On February 23, 1905, Chicago lawyer, Paul P. Harris, called three friends to a meeting. What he had in mind was a club that would kindle fellowship among members of the business community. It was an idea that grew from his desire to find within the large city the kind of friendly spirit that he knew in the villages where he had grown up.

Room 711 of the Unity Building at 127 North Dearborn Street in downtown Chicago, Illinois, was the site of Rotary's first meeting on February 23, 1905. At that time, it was the office of Gustavus Loehr, a mining engineer and one of the founding members of the organization.

The four businessmen didn't decide then and there to call themselves a Rotary club, but their get-together was, in fact, the first meeting of the world's first Rotary club. As they continued to meet, adding others to the group, they rotated their meetings among the members' places of business, hence the name.

Soon after the club name was agreed upon, one of the new members suggested a wagon wheel design as the club emblem. It was the precursor of the familiar cogwheel emblem now worn by Rotarians around the world. By the end of 1905, the club had 30 members.

The second Rotary club was formed in 1908 half a continent away from Chicago in San Francisco, California. It was a much shorter leap across San Francisco Bay to Oakland, California, where the third club was formed. Others followed in Seattle, Washington, Los Angeles, California, and New York City, New York. Rotary became international in 1910 when a club was formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

By 1921 the organisation was represented on every continent, and the name Rotary International was adopted in 1922.