Historic gavel finds it way home from Boksburg after 30 years
President of the Rotary Club of Boksburg Noel Wauchope recently realised that the gavel his club had been using for more than 30 years belonged to the Rotary Club in East London.
The gavel dates back to 1926 – almost a century ago.
Wauchope’s father-in-law, Oswald Graham, was born in that same year, in East London, and died in 2015.
According to Wauchope, the gavel has been in the possession of the Rotary Club of Boksburg since 1980, but nobody recalls how it came to Boksburg all the way from East London three decades ago.
“Without a doubt it had been lifted by a visiting Rotarian from Boksburg in accordance with an old Rotarian habit of carrying off a piece of regalia from the club being visited to enforce a return visit to collect the item carried off.
“It is, however, unheard of to take 30 years to fetch back one’s club’s gavel,” said Wauchope.
Wauchope made contact with Rino Nepgen, president of the East London Rotary Club, who was thrilled to have his club’s 91-year-old gavel returned.
The historic piece was returned by courier and, to Wauchope’s surprise, Nepgen fixed a plaque of thanks to another gavel which they had been using in the meantime, and sent it to the Rotary Club of Boksburg.
