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Our last event: "An Evening with Mark Nicholas", held on 15 December 2009 in the Grand Ballroom of the Perth Hyatt Regency. The well-known Channel Nine cricket commentator, and a former county cricket pro who scored more than 25,000 runs as an attacking middle order batsman for Hampshire from 1978-1995, and captained his county to many successes for more than 10 years, entertained a capacity crowd of over 350 people with reminiscences of the great sport. All present also enjoyed a three-course dinner, with beer from Coopers, wine from Sandalford Wines, and soft drinks. The sponsorship of Perth Audio Visual is also gratefully acknowledged. Finally a plethora of sporting and musical memorabilia (Australian cricket teams, Bradman, Tiger Woods, Elvis, Michael Jackson, U2 and other notables), African artefacts, paintings, an African safari, and other items were auctioned, and a grand total of about AUD 120,000 was raised on the night.

All funds will be used for our ongoing programmes of anti-poaching units, tracking equipment, field kit and other necessities. In the last 18 months, 130 out of 700 rhinos have been killed in Zimbabwe and we are increasing our programmes there to slow this down.

Thanks once again to all the participants, the sponsors, the volunteers who contributed to making this night another success for the SAVE FOUNDATION - and of course, thanks to our charismatic speaker Mark Nicholas!

The 2009 SAVE FOUNDATION NSW Black Tie Ball was held on Saturday 5th September 2009, in Sydney, NSW. It was our most successful to date, and raised $38,000. The occasion was to celebrate 20 years of fundraising in NSW.

The Black Tie Ball was held at the Hunters Hill Sailing Club for 180 guests. Guests enjoyed a wonderful three course sit down dinner, South African wines, and danced the night away to a great DJ. Author Tony Park, gave us a fascinating insight into his life in the African bush. He spends 6 months of every year in Southern Africa together with his wife, researching and writing novels set in Africa, whilst also taking part in annual wildlife census counts.

Taronga Western Plains Zoo presented a short DVD outlining the progress made since the inception of their rhino captive breeding programme in Dubbo 15 years ago.

The Live and Silent Auctions raised a total of $22,000. The 11 day safari, kindly donated by African Wildlife Safaris and Wilderness Safaris, raised $12,000.

VIP Guests included the Botswana High Commission's First Secretary Mr Mokoto, who flew up specially from Canberra for the event, and Mr Matthew Fuller, General Manager of Taronga Western Plains Zoo, who made the trip from Dubbo together with a group of rhino keepers.

Funds from the night will go towards much needed equipment for the Mombo Rhino Trust in the Okavango Delta, where white rhino have been successfully breeding since their reintroduction into Botswana in 2001.

(click on photo above to enlarge or here to see more photos of the event)

Our Annual General Meeting was held on
Wednesday 1st July 2009 at the Perth zoo theatrette

It was well attended by a group of over 50 members who were treated to a film on the May-June 2009 dehorning and horn implanting operations which committee members participated in.

On 6 May 2009:

An evening with MERV HUGHES

Merv Hughes is known to you all as one of Australia's sporting characters, as well as one of the best fast bowlers of his era. And he has some good stories to tell as well! We had 376 guests come along to give a profit of $7,723 from the ticket sales, or $20 per person. If you had a great time and thought it was tremendous value and were impressed by our passion and commitment to the cause, then please consider becoming a member . Or maybe you'd like to make a tax deductible donation ?

The main auction produced $76,870 of sales and the silent one raised $8,695. Our costs for these items were about $15,000, (many were donated) giving an overall profit of $70,565. This amount plus the ticket profit and the donations comes to a fantastic $87,288!! These funds will now be wisely and responsibly spent on all our rhino projects in Zimbabwe. Again, thank you so much to all the buyers on the night, you were tremendous! We wish to thank our all the sponsors and supporters again;

* Jason Giles Chartered Accounting for hosting Merv;

* Heineken beer;

* Little Creatures beers;

* Fine Wine Partners for their range of red wines;

* Ferngove Estate Wines for their range of Symbols white wines;

* Perth Audiovisual for their donated sound and visual equipment;

* Terry Hardie for his tireless efforts as auctioneer, despite a very bad back;

* All donors of auction items;

* Angelo of Annalice Framing for beautifying all our memorabilia

If anyone would like a private viewing of our safari film night material then please contact me and we can arrange a showing. You could travel either this September or next year.

Sharon Pincott, the Australian-born "Elephant Lady of Zimbabwe" was in Perth on Wednesday 1st April to present highlights from the fantastic work she does with some of Hwange's elephants. Her book can now be ordered on-line from www.kalahari.net, www.loot.co.za or www.exclusivebooks.com. It is not yet available in Australia and Sharon is currently looking for a publisher there. If you can help, please contact her through the SAVE FOUNDATION by writing here.

(8th November 2008)

After a week of frantic bidding to name Lady's new baby, it is Bev Poor and Alan Thomson whose bid of A$ 1,500 won, and the little female "L"ephant will be called "Lantana". At the same time, Yvonne and Bob Piachniarski generously pledged the same amount to take a recently orphaned rhino calf under their wing, yet to be named.

Thank you all so much for being such generous benefactors. It can be no coincidence that Bev, Yvonne, Alan and Bob were all on our recent August and September safaris and saw all that we do first hand, witnessed the difficult working conditions for the wildlife conservationists and, consequently, just wanted to help as much as they could. Indeed, these funds will go a long way towards helping out our current challenges. There have been 5 rhino carcasses found in the last week in Bubiana, one of the conservancies! How absolutely shocking, making more than 70 for the year so far!

Our thanks also go to all the under bidders who helped generate such interest in this. Please feel free to donate whatever amount you'd like, please, all to a good cause. All tax deductible donations can go straight into 066113, 1004 4343, with your name please, or simply post a cheque to our office please. Receipts will be issued the Saturday following the donation.

Sharon Pincott, an Australian woman from Brisbane, has been working very closely with the Presidential herd of elephants in the Hwange National Park and adjacent areas, since 2000. The SAVE FOUNDATION of Australia has been supporting her with fuel and vehicle expenses for several years. Many of you would have met her on our Zimbabwean trips.

There are many different elephant family groups, each one named after a particular alphabet letter -- the B family, D family, etc. 'Lady', the matriarch of the L family has just had another calf, a female, who will now be known as "Lantana". Here she is!

If you just want to make a small donation to help keep Sharon's 29 year old Range Rover chugging around with fuel in it for a bit longer, then please do so -- 066113, 10044343 (please note your name for the receipt).

Again, thanks to you all and we wish LANTANA and the rhino calf a long and happy and snare-free life.

October 2008: 25 Years of Rhino Conservation in Zimbabwe with Norman English

We were privileged to host NORMAN ENGLISH for an illustrated talk on his work in Zimbabwe. Whilst not a household name in Perth, in the rhino world of Zimbabwe, he is a legend, having devoted the past 25 years to rhino conservation of one form or another. He is the longest surviving European game ranger in the Parks system.

Here's a brief run down of what Norman talked about;

1. His early days in Gonarezhou, 1982/3, fitting the first ever tracking collars to the rhinos.

2. Working with the white rhinos at Lake Kyle.

3. Capture of 10 rhinos at Chete in 1992 to bring to Dubbo for a breeding programme.

4. Development of Sinamatella as the foremost Intensive Protection Zone and the increase in rhino numbers.

5. Onslaught of systematic poaching from 2003 and the massive reduction in numbers.

6. Transfer to the Midlands conservancy and recent happenings there.

7. His return to Zimbabwe in 5 weeks time to take up a new challenge as head of anti-poaching operations in the biggest privately owned wildlife estate in Zimbabwe with 120 rhinos.

The SAVE FOUNDATION of Australia - NSW Branch presented:

A Night in Africa

A Gala Dinner Dance to raise funds for the beleaguered African Rhino

Guest Speaker TONY PARK - Australia’s answer to Wilbur Smith

Saturday 9 February 2008

An evening with Ian Chappell

A Dinner/auction with the celebrated former
cricketing great.

Monday 10 December 2007.

The SAVE FOUNDATION of Australia - NSW Branch held A Comedy Night in Sydney on Thursday 30th August with Wil Anderson of 2 Triple M Radio (formerly of The Glasshouse), supported by Stef Torok and partner.

A good time was had by all, and significant funds were raised for the projects supported by the SAVE FOUNDATION of Australia in Africa.

Thanks to all who were present, and most of all to Jim for organising this great event!

A climb to help save the rhinos: one of our members, Evelyn Wong organised a climb of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania in September 2007, to benefit the SAVE FOUNDATION of Australia. Three more members, and one friend, participated and all five reached the top (5,895mASL) , raising in $10,000 in the process. While the trip was entirely self-funded, all monies donated go directly towards the actions of the Society in the field, and are fully tax-deductible in Australia. Read all about this endeavor here.

Examples of how donated money will be spent:

$50	pays the wages of one anti-poaching unit ranger for a month
$100	kits out an APU ranger for a year
$150	fuels a 4WD patrol vehicle for a month
$200	buys a two-way radio for APU patrol communications
$500	buys a set of 4WD tyres for an APU
$750	pays for one teacher for a year
$1000	buys fuels to pump water from one borehole during the dry season

Our 20th anniversary Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, 24 July 2007, was held at the Education Centre theatrette of the Perth Zoo. It was a great landmark and achievement for us, and we were honored by the presence and participation of over a hundred members and sympathisers of the Society, including many long-time members.

In addition to reviewing as briefly as we could our accomplishments of the past 20 years, we were honored to host the world premier of Greg Opie's film:

That we still have rhinos here ...

Thanks to all our supporters in these difficult times for the rhinos and the people of Zimbabwe. We pledge to continue our action to ensure that they remain in the wild for our children's children to see.

Here are some more of the main past events:

December 2006: An evening with David Gower raised a mammoth $150,000 for the cause. David Gower, OBE, a former England test captain, was one of the most elegant batsmen of his generation. Since retiring from competitive cricket he has become a broadcaster and journalist, commentating on both BBC and Sky TV. He was raised in Tanzania before moving to England and his interests include safaris and wildlife conservation. David Gower has been involved with the SAVE FOUNDATION since 1988, and a patron since 1993.
February 2006: A Safari Film Night, filled the Perth Zoo Education Centre Theatrette almost to capacity on Wednesday 15 February 2006, and generated much interest and stimulating discussions. If you dream of joining one of our trips, email Nicholas or call him on 9444 6550.
November 2005: An evening with Bryce Courtenay, a fund-raising event held at the Perth Hyatt Regency. Bryce supplied the main entertainment with an inspirational talk, and fundraising came from our auction of African safaris, sporting memorabilia (Eagles, Australian cricket team, Tiger Woods, and other celebrities), African artefacts, paintings, and other beautiful items. We raised over A$ 70,000, and all funds will be used for our ongoing programmes of anti-poaching units, tracking equipment, field kit and other necessities on the ground in Africa.
October 2004: James Thompson, a veterinary doctor and one of our members who has done voluntary work with the anti-snaring programme, recently organised a raffle amongst his students at the University of Sydney and raised $430 to benefit DART, the Dete Animal Rescue Trust in Zimbabwe.
October 2003: Dinner Auction and Cricket event. Raised $ 65,000.
December 2002: RE/MAX "Black Rhino Legends Cricket Eights", played in Perth , preceded by an evening with David Gower at Hyatt Regency in Perth - 350 guests. Raised $80,000.
February 2001: Celebrity cricketers auction at Hyatt Regency with special guests Heath Streak and Zimbabwe cricket team. Raised $40,000.
April 2000: Andy Searle Memorial function with special guest Chris Foggin - raised $7,000.
1997: Third SAVE FOUNDATION cricket fundraiser in Zimbabwe . Raised $30,000
September 1996: Second SAVE FOUNDATION cricket fundraiser in Zimbabwe. Raised $40,000.
July 1996: An evening with Bryce Courtenay at Hyatt Regency Ballroom. 356 guests. $38,000 raised.
1995: First SAVE FOUNDATION cricket fundraiser in Zimbabwe . Raised $27,000
1995: Dinner with David Gower, raised $40,000
1994: An evening with Allan Border & Richard Hadlee raised $40,000
1993: A dinner with David Gower at Doyler's in Sydney, raised $55,000
1991: A dinner with David Gower at Coco's in Perth, raised $14,000
1989: A garden party at Bishop's House in Perth, raised $15,000
1988: A soiree at Bishop's House in Perth, raised $10,000
1987-1994: An annual display at the Perth Royal Show raised a total of $85,000
1988-2004: 11 safaris over this period, have raised a total of $140,000

Stay tuned for the next SAVE FOUNDATION event!