100 years of Lions.

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Lions Australia is celebrating 100 years of work and the Lions Club of Newcastle - itself just 63 years young, will be joining in the celebrations.

The Newcastle branch is celebrating their achievements including buying white goods for women's refuge Jenny's Place, raising nearly $9,000 dollars for family refuge Respuctus and their legacy project is underway establishing changing room facilities for people with a disability throughout Newcastle.

"Getting people on the ground and helping in a real tangible way - we contribute around $50,000 a year to HMRI for diabetes research, we've just been involved with a partnership with Respectus to help refurbish and build a pretty large refuge in Newcastle," said Lions Club of Newcastle president Peter Graham.

Lions are a worldwide organisation who have been on the frontline for disaster and emergency relief since June 7th 1917. The organisation was started in Chicago by Melvin Jones and now boasts 1.6 million members worldwide, with Newcastle the 54th club to be chartered in Australia.

Peter Graham is proud to be a part of the largest service club organisation in the world.

"What it means to me is that I'm actually contributing to society in a real tangible way really helping people that don't live quite as well as you or I do. I've just been gobsmacked by the whole thing about domestic violence. At first I didn't think much of it at all but just talking with the people and working with the people doing the work we are only just scratching the surface," said Peter Graham.

Centenary of the death of Maitland's Les Darcy

BY JARROD MELMETH and JESSICA ROUSE

Maitland will come together today to celebrate the centenary of the death of legendary boxer Les Darcy.

There will be a number of events today throughout the city where "Maitland's favourite son" lived and worked, and fell in love with sport of boxing which started his incredible career.

Les Darcy was one of the best middleweight fighters in the world and his career record finished at 50 fights with 46 wins before his tragic death at the age of 22 from blood poisoning.

Maitland Mayor Peter Blackmore says 100 years ago the people of Maitland all saw the boxer as someone to look up to and aspired to be him.

"People as I say were looking for somebody that they could support, they could follow, they could cheer on and I come back to the fact that just look at the 22 year olds nowadays. Could they have done what Les Darcy did in that time? 100 plus years ago? It was a sad loss, Maitland's favourite son, Les Darcy."

A service will be held at East Maitland Park at 12.30 today, while a plaque paying tribute to Les Darcy will be unveiled at the site where he used to work as a blacksmith.

"We have two schools that are sending about 60 children each to come along, and think of the impact that will have on those children that in sixty years time they can say I was there for the centenary of the death of Les Darcy, Maitland's favourite son. And it promises to be a spectacle," said Mayor Peter Blackmore.

Image maitland.nsw.gov.au