THE SIZZLE of bacon and eggs will signal the start of Mount Gambier’s Australia Day celebrations at the Cave Garden on Sunday morning, with Lakes Rotary Club of Mount Gambier volunteers manning the tongs for the 20th consecutive year.
Continuing a tradition first introduced by APEX Mount Gambier, club past president and the city’s 2019 Australia Day senior citizen of the year Graham Robinson said the breakfast had become an essential part of the City Council-backed event.
Among the food donated for the breakfast is 75 dozen eggs, 75 loaves of bread, 40kg of tomatoes, around 130kg of fruit, 600 sausages and 60kg of bacon, with the volunteer organisation eager to serve up an Australia Day feast.
“Like all service clubs, Rotary is all about supporting the community and that is really the driving force our involvement,” he said.
“Usually at meetings everyone is just sitting around a table, but when we are at events like this we have more fun and are able to socialise more.
“The interaction with members is far more social and we have to communicate to make it work.”
Proceeds from the breakfast will be split evenly between Foodbank Mount Gambier, Royal Flying Doctor Service Mount Gambier patient transfer facility and Uniting Care, with Mr Robinson estimating it would raise around $2000.
“People do not realise the money we are able to give away is due to the sponsorship we receive,” he said.
With around 30 members and volunteers catering to serve a predicted 600 customers, Mr Robinson apologised to those who enjoy runny eggs.
“We do not have the eggs too runny or otherwise it would just get too messy,” he said.
“Some people like crispy bacon, some people do not.
“We tend to use the short cut bacon which some people prefer anyway and there is less fat on it too.”
He said there was no real skill involved in cooking the breakfast other than being able to multitask.
“There are at least two people cooking bacon and one doing sausages and we often find the bacon tends to be consumed more readily,” Mr Robinson said.
“We have people serving, cooking food, loading the toasters, buttering the toast, cutting the fruit and flipping the eggs and tomatoes.
“Nobody has any specific role, they just go where they are needed at them and it just gets done.”
Mr Robinson said unused food would be donated to Limestone Coast charities.
Mount Gambier’s Australia Day celebrations will start at 7.30am and will continue until 10am, with food priced at $10 for adults and $5 for children.
Official proceedings start at 9.15am with the flag raising and awards ceremony.
A raffle will be held for those who bring their own cutlery and a prize will be awarded for best dressed on the day.
