Gladstone’s Rotary Anne

PICTURED: Members of the Rotary Club of Gladstone with Nellie, celebrating her 109th birthday with a special party On 6 November 2025.

A century of service and heart. Celebrated for her lifelong dedication to Rotary and the Gladstone community, 109-year-old Nellie McEachran has been honoured with a Paul Harris Fellow at the club’s 75th anniversary.

WORDS Anne Matthews. D9560 Passport Rotary Club, Qld.

Gladstone’s favourite ‘Rotary Anne’, Nellie McEachran, has been involved with the Rotary Club of Gladstone, Qld, since the 1960s. Recently, Nellie was recognised for her contributions to Rotary with a PHF.

The presentation took place at the Club’s 75th anniversary celebrations, held on 14 September 2025. District Governor Greg Marlow, District Governor Elect Rita Zappula, Past District Governor Adele Hughes and her husband Wade, the President and Secretary of D9560 Passport Club and more than 80 Rotarians and friends were in attendance.

Nellie’s husband Arch McEachran was a member of the club from 1960 until his passing in 2017. Women were not permitted to be members of Rotary at this time, but Nellie, like many other wives, wanted to be involved in the charitable and community work their husbands were committed to. So, wives of Rotarians or ‘Rotaryannes’ started informal groups.

The name Rotaryann – or Rotaryanne, especially in Australia and the United Kingdom – has an interesting origin. In 1914, a chartered train was carrying San Francisco Rotarians to a Rotary International Convention in Houston, Texas. Only men were on board until the train stopped in Los Angeles, when a couple, Rotarian Bru Brunnier and his wife Ann boarded. She was introduced as Rotarian Bru’s Ann and referred to by those on the trip as the ‘Rotarian’s Ann’, which became ‘Rotary Ann’. On arrival in Houston, the delegates were greeted by Rotarian Guy Gundaker of the Rotary Club of Philadelphia, whose wife was also named Ann. The two women were made to feel special, and the name ‘Rotary Ann’ stuck as a term of affection. It went on to refer to all accompanying wives of Rotarians at conferences and at club events across the world.

PICTURED: ‘Rotary Anne’ Nellie and Rotarian Arch McEachran on their wedding day, 6 June, 1942.

Nellie was born in Mackay on 5 November 1916 and married Arch on 6 June 1942. They moved to Gladstone in 1954 and purchased a house in Auckland Street in 1958. Nellie was always a homemaker and raised three children.

In 2016 Nellie became the region’s 25th centenarian. She was honoured at the Tondoon Botanic Gardens, with the planting of a tree and plaque ceremony on Friday 4 November. Then, on her 100th birthday, Nellie was treated to a party attended by her family and friends.

On 6 November 2025, the Rotary Club of Gladstone organised a special 109th birthday celebration for Nellie. The party was attended by Rotarians who wanted to celebrate “a woman whose life has been interwoven with the story of the Gladstone community since the 1950s”. Rotarians were joined by Glenn Butcher MP and Mayor Matt Burnett, as well as Nellie’s family and friends, for a very special evening that honoured a truly remarkable lady.

President of the Rotary Club of Gladstone Abe Zadeh shared a few heartfelt words, recognising Nellie “as a symbol of Gladstone’s spirit – resilient, kind and full of warmth. From her family’s Rotary connection in the 1960s and 70s to her ongoing friendship with our club through their ‘Backyard Blitz’ program, Nellie continues to inspire us all with her humour, wisdom and grace.”