A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ADELAIDE BRANCH

The Ulysses Club is a social club formed in 1983 from an idea put forward by Stephen Dearnley ( No 1). The Ulysses is a social club for mature people over the age of 50 with a common interest in motorcycles. Persons of 40 years and over may join as junior members, (someone has to help the "more mature members" off their bikes).

The Ulysses Club which originated in Sydney. NSW, was a little over three years old when the Adelaide Branch came into existence. At that time total Australia-wide membership was approximately 750, with only about 20 living in the Adelaide area. The popularity of the Club was growing and mature motorcyclists from all walks of life were showing increased interest and seeking information as to how they could become members.

Who was responsible for Adelaide branch forming?

Peter Reynolds who was the National Secretary at that time visited Adelaide and contacted each of the existing Adelaide members to arrange an inaugural meeting at the Victoria Hotel, O'Halloran Hill. On the afternoon of the 28th December, 1986, a group of twelve met in the dining room of the hotel and the decision was taken to form an Adelaide Branch. Having come to that decision, it was then necessary to appoint someone to conduct the affairs of the Branch. No volunteers came forward, so after some discussion Neville Rodert offered to act as Secretary and Lyall Zilm agreed to preside over the Branch. It was further agreed that bi-monthly meetings would be held at the Road Safety Centre, Oaklands Park, on the first Thursday of every second month. These facilities were kindly offered by our member Les Jackson, who was the Chief Road Safety Officer at the Centre.

When was the first meeting held?

The first meeting was held on the 5th February, 1987, at 7.30 pm, and was attended by 22 members and friends. A calendar of monthly runs was drawn up and these were generally well attended. The Club was off to a good start and everyone was full of enthusiasm. Membership steadily increased over the next twelve months and the first Annual General Meeting of the Branch was held on the 23rd December 1987. Lyall Zilm was elected the President and Ray Mullen the Secretary/Treasurer. Due to a period of absence, it was necessary for Lyall to resign his position and a new election was subsequently held on the 4th February, 1988, at which Bryce Morley was duly elected to the position of President , a position he held until 1997, when Des Blackwell was elected as President.

Where did we have meetings?

Regular meetings were then held on a monthly basis on the first Thursday of the month at the Prince Albert Hotel, Wright Street. Adelaide, at 7.30 pm. Meetings continued to be held at this venue into the 1990's. However, as the number of members attending these meetings was growing rapidly. it became necessary to find larger and more suitable accommodation. It was subsequently decided that we meet at the Earl of Leicester Hotel, Parkside, this proved to be an ideal location for a while. Once again our membership out grew the hotels capacity and we moved to the Terminus Club on Richmond.

Meetings Today

Today our meetings are held upstairs at the West Adelaide Football club, 57 Milner Rd, Richmond.
Meeting sometimes see in excess of 300 members. Many members meet early in the clubs dining room for dinner or a drink together before the meeting begins at 8.00pm.

What happens at meetings?

At varying intervals throughout the year we have speakers who talk on topics of interest to members - the committee welcomes nominations for topics and speakers.

Join us and take a look , introduce yourself and have a chat to some members.