Miles Felstead joined the Rotary Club of Mosman in 1981 with the classification of Property Management. This was the commencement of a membership of 27 years in total, somewhat unusually punctuated by three resignations due to business and family reasons, with his final and fourth resignation taking place in 2011.
Miles served as President of the Club in its 1983-84 year, and served as President again in its 2001-02 year, thereby joining an elite group of members who have twice served the Club as President. In addition to this, Miles was elected as a Board member on a number of occasions, including as Treasurer and Secretary.
Miles was involved in many Rotary projects during his membership of the Club, some of them unique at the time, such as:
1. The launching of Australia’s first rhinoceros auction in 1984, which was spread across several months. In order to encourage substantial bids from the business community, the Club lodged a bid of $1,000, which, in an unexpected twist, became the highest, so the Club became the proud owner of Australia’s only male black rhinoceros, named Cody, who was inducted into the Club under the classification of “Zoological Exhibit”.
2. As part of a small group of members, the construction of a trailer-mounted barbecue in 1990, and again, its replacement in 1992, with a more sophisticated version. These barbecues raised tens of thousands of dollars over the years of their combined existence, until the second one was stolen from a supposedly secure area of the Bridgepoint carpark in 2002.
3. The Club’s first Soiree, held at the Mosman Grand Hall in March 2002, which raised $3,500 for the Club’s East Timor Water Project. Several further successful soirees have been held since then.
Miles also hosted a number Rotary Exchange students over the years.
In recognition of his service to the Club over many years, Miles was awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship in 1997.
In addition to his involvement in Rotary, Miles was also very active in the Mosman community, serving as President of the Mosman Chamber of Commerce for a period of time; alsobeing part of a group of local business owners responsible for convincing the Bendigo Bank to open a branch at Spit Junction when all the other banks had deserted that shopping centre, and then serving on its Board for a number of years.
Other interests outside of Rotary included amassing a collection of old vehicles in various states of repair, stored in a huge shed on his property at Bundanoon, and his timber-hulled cruiser, which he lovingly restored over many years. Miles was never short of a story to tell in relation to these interests, in which he always managed to extract humour from adversity.
Vale Miles; your many friends will have pleasant memories of you, and will all miss you!
PP Rob Sturrock
The family of Miles Felstead, a former member & president of Mosman Rotary, would like to inform you of his passing last week after a long battle with cancer. His funeral will be held at Northern Suburbs Crematorium on Tuesday, June 20th, at 1.15pm.
Noela Elsworth (Felstead), Rotary Club of Upper Northern Beaches