JUNE 2012
REGISTERED BY AUSTRALIA POST - PUBLICATION No. VBH 6369
Best ever Swiss Festival!
The Austrian Club and its outside entertainment area in Heidelberg West played host to the tenth Swiss Festival. The weather was fine though a bit cold, but Swiss people know how to dress appropriately. By all accounts, the festival was very successful, perhaps the most successful one to-date with over 1,500 visitors attending the day-long festivities. The committee attributes the increase of numbers to a new approach of advertising including the targeted use of social media, the Heidelberg Leader and even The Age. Our special thanks go to our new Public Relations professional Melinda Varley, who has volunteered to ambitiously work with various media in order to get the Swiss Festival message out with a stunning outcome. Swiss delights were not in short supply such as Cervelat and Bratwurst, potato salad, Raclette, Zopf, hazelnut croissants and more. Our Swiss-French compatriots from the Groupe Romand du Victoria baked wonderful ‘tartes aux fromages’ (cheese tarts) in top-of-the-line V-Zug ovens. Such was the insatiable appetite of
the visitors that all food stuff and much of the imported Swiss beer and wine were fast selling out by early afternoon. What would a Swiss Festival be without Yodeling? Well, we were faced with a dilemma when we found out that the yodler of the Matterhorn Choir was not in the country. To solve that problem we decided to invite a very gifted Yodel duo from Auckland NZ, the Swiss Kiwi Yodlers Peter & Ursula Arnold. It paid off and people really enjoyed their performance. Pleasing to know that the Matterhorn Choir managed to sing a song together with the visitors from New Zealand. Young talented Swiss-Australian musicians such as the singer Renee Moullet and Jess Plattner (singing & piano) entertained the festival goers and especially younger generations with contemporary music. Traditional Swiss folklore was represented by the Dance Group Alpenrose, the Swiss Companion Singers, Chris Thalmann & Markus Zihlmann with their Schwyzerörgeli and Tom Webb with the Singing Saw. Phil on the accordion and Beat Stuber with his guitar played well known tunes to sing along. To entertain the kids a jumping castle, animal farm & magician was provided. We were glad to count again on the trusted services of our MC Joe Bovalino who is now on the breakfast team with Gold 104.3. Continued on page 6
89 Flinders Lane • Melbourne 3000 • Victoria • Australia • www.swissclubvic.com .au
SWISS CLUB OF VICTORIA Founded in 1899 89 Flinders Lane, Melbourne Vic 3000 T: 1300 893 968, F: (03) 9650 3104 E: info@swissclubvic.com.au W: www.swissclubvic.com Club Opening Hours Lunch: Mo - Fri from 12noon Dinner: Wed, Thurs & Fri from 6pm Bookings T: (03) 9650 1196 Swiss Club Catering For all Functions contact Chef & Catering Manager Roger Moullet T: (03) 9650 1196, F: (03) 9650 3104 M: 0409 040 249 E: swissclub@hotmail.com The Second Floor Function Bookings CBD Function Room with a difference! Info and/or bookings: T: 1300 893 968 E: thesecondfloor@swissclubvic.com.au
SWISS CLUB SUB-GROUPS Swiss Folk Dance Group Alpenrose President: Sylvia Hochuli T: (03) 9531 6575 E: hochuli@tpg.com.au Swiss Companion Singers Convenor: Heidy Giger T: (03) 9889 9321 E: adelheid1@bigpond.com Ladies Luncheons Convenor: Heidy Giger For bookings T: (03) 9650 1196 For information: T: (03) 9889 9321 E: adelheid1@bigpond.com SwissKids Convenor: Esther Blaser-Tokarev T: (03) 8521 3739 M: 0424 220 523 E: esther.blaser@gmx.ch
Pro Ticino President: Claude Rossi 5 Falls Road, Hoddles Creek Vic 3139 T: (03) 5967 4542 E: marclas@dcsi.net.au Swiss Yodel Choir Matterhorn President: Marco Unternährer 3 Bluegum Court, Upwey Vic 3158 T: (03) 9729 3338, (03) 9752 6996 (H) W: www.swiss.org.au/matterhorn Swiss-Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) General Manager: Marcel Svatos T: (02) 9262 1511, F: (02) 9290 1928 E: admin@sacci.com.au Postal address see: www.sacci.com.au Swiss-Australian Academic Network (SAAN) E: info@saan.id.au W: www.saan.id.au
COMMITTEE
The Swiss Diners Club Convenor: Damian Schaller M: 0410 461 364 E: damianschaller@swiss.org.au
Barbara Kündig President T/F (H): (03) 9005 4938 M: 0402 018 363 E: barbara@swissclubvic.com.au
Swiss Festival Chairman: Rolf Huber T/F (H): (03) 9807 0282 M (B): 0425 805 854 E: rolf@swissfestival.com.au
Rolf Huber Immediate Past President T/F (H): (03) 9807 0282 M (B): 0425 805 854 E: rhuber@swissclubvic.com.au
SWISS COMMUNITY ORGANISATIONS
Postal address and further information for all above see: W: www.eda.admin.ch/australia
Swiss Society of Victoria (Benevolent Society) President: Franz Schnellmann T: (03) 9449 2245, M: 0412 203 893 E: schnellmann@dodo.com.au
Organisation of the Swiss Abroad Council Member: Roland Isler Contact details: see below under Editor W: www.aso.ch / www.swiss.org.au/csa
Urs Derrick Wildi Treasurer & Membership Administration T/F (H): (03) 9824 7930 M: 0403 040 930 E: uwildi@swissclubvic.com.au Sigrid de Castella Membership Relations & Building Management Support M: 0416 088 000 E: sigrid@swissclubvic.com.au Antony Anderson Building Management M: 0416 069 666 E: antony@swissclubvic.com.au Damian Schaller Marketing Manager M: 0410 461 364 E: damianschaller@swissclubvic.com.au w w w.s w i s sc lu bv i c .co m.au
Trachtengruppe Schwyzergruess Australian/Swiss Cultural Society President: Sylvia Hochuli T: (03) 9531 6575 E: hochuli@tpg.com.au Groupe Romand du Victoria President: Rémy Favre 1 Hughes Street, Malvern East Vic 3145 T: (03) 9571 2835, M: 0412 135 095 E: remy@favrecranage.com W: www.swiss.org.au/chfrvic Unless otherwise stated, postal address for all is: 89 Flinders Lane, Melbourne Vic 3000
Embassy of Switzerland T: (02) 6162 8400, F: (02) 6273 3428 E: can.vertretung@eda.admin.ch Consulate General of Switzerland T: (02) 8383 4000, F: (02) 9369 1334 E: syd.vertretung@eda.admin.ch Consulate of Switzerland T: (03) 9824 7527, M: 0413 042 728 E: melbourne@honrep.ch
Impressum ‘Edelweiss’ appears quarterly in March, June, September and December. Circulation 500. For all enquiries contact: Roland Isler, Editor T: (03) 9524 6335 (B), M: 0412 935 565 E: risler@swiss.org.au 67 St Georges Crescent Heatherton Vic 3202
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President’s Message Dear members and friends of the Swiss Club, Didn’t we have a lovely autumn this year? The colours of the turning leaves were so much more intense than other years. Usually most trees just turn from green to brown, but this year there were so many shades of yellow and red in between. Do I guess correctly that it is due to all the rain we had this year? It reminds me very much of Switzerland and ‘Altweibersommer’ (Indian Summer). With autumn inevitable comes also Winter. Time to rug up and turn towards more heart and limb warming activities such as a hearty Swiss meal at the Swiss Club or joining one of our other club activities. With winter, we are also approaching the biggest day on the Swiss Club Calendar: 1st August - Swiss National Day. The club is running its usual festivities with the Seniors National Day Luncheon (31/7), the Lantern Procession and the evening festivities in the club restaurant on 1st August. Make sure you book your spot early and directly with the restaurant.
I trust you had time to come along to the Swiss Festival in March. It was again a well organised and lovely day out, showcasing what Switzerland has to offer here in Victoria. Thank you to all the performers and volunteers, but especially to the organising committee; Rolf, Damian, Chantal, Bruno, Patrick, Thomas, Melinda and Roger. Year after year, they spend a lot of time and energy to get this event of the ground. Well done and many thanks from all of us at the Swiss Club! New activities, groups and events are always welcome . We are here to support, so if you have an idea, please feel free to approach us with a plan. One such idea, which has been in the planning stage for a while, is now ready to take off; Social afternoons on the Second Floor, 3-4 times a year. All members are welcome. We start with a comedy and a chat for the first one on Thursday, 21 June at 1.30pm – see details on page 11. As it is a new event, we look forward to input from the members attending. Please come along, get involved, make new friends. Look after yourselves during the colder months. The committee and I look forward to seeing you at one of our functions. Barbara Kündig - President
Happy birthday to the following members who were celebrating their milestone birthdays recently: Michael Dardel Jessop, Anna Langenegger, Dorina Meda and Roy Rogers could commemorate their 80th, while Mary Schibli, Gwen Eckhardt and John Staubli celebrated their 90th. We congratulate you and wish you good health in many years to come! Congratulations to our founding member Gwen Eckhardt who is celebrating her 90th Birthday. From all members of the dance group, best wishes for many more healthy and happy years. Sylvia Hochuli
Welcome to our new members We warmly welcome Jeffrey Kershaw, Muriel Portier, Sylvie Eggertswyler, Lewis Johnson, Jacqueline Kirsten, Terence Wheeler, Rebecca Wheeler, Jürg von Känel, Sophie Petoud, Chris Villani, Lisa Cochrane, Nathan Cochrane, Alexandra Ilievska, Vivienne Larcombe and Rob Ruxton. We are looking forward to meeting you at one of our forthcoming functions.
Congratulations Congratulations to our Honorary Life Members Trudi and Marcel Theiler on their 60th wedding anniversary. Enjoy your ‘honeymoon’ trip to Africa and your summer in Switzerland. Our best wishes to you on this very special anniversary. We look forward to seeing you at the club again in October. Congratulations to Christian Schwärzler for competing in the Ironman Asia Pacific Championship on 25 March. Christian was placed 964 out of almost 1,800 athletes that took part in this grueling triathlon competition. Not bad for a 48 year old!
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Get well Best wishes for a speedy recovery to member Ros de Castella who underwent the first of 2 knee replacements on 19 March. Béatrice Delacrétaz has had a bad fall and had to spend some time in hospital. We wish you a speedy recovery. Dear members, please tell the committee or the editor if your partner, your friends or fellow members have a reason to celebrate, are unwell or have left for a better place. I wish to advise that Corinne has gone on leave, she is expecting her baby in a few weeks. My daughter Renee will be looking after you at the restaurant during that time. Roger Moullet Swiss Club of Victoria
Hans Ochsenbein On 1 November, 2011 we mourned the passing of Swiss Club Honorary Life member Hans Rudolph Ochsenbein. Hans was very fond of and loyal to his Swiss heritage; a characteristic important for a strong Swiss Club. A keen regular at the Club and club functions, Hans embodied the adventurous Swiss spirit that sends many Swiss to foreign shores like Australia. Born on 9 November, 1926 while the family resided in Meiringen for his civil engineer father to work on the Grimselsee. Hans’ studies of electrical engineering took him to Venezuela from 1954 to 1961. An adventure interrupted by a return to Switzerland to recover from polio and marry Honorary Life member Erika Ochsenbein. Hans embraced the challenges offered by the Swiss military and finished his service as a Grenadier 1st Lieutenant (Oberleutnant). His fitness would later help ensure his survival from polio and then open heart surgery at St Vincent Hospital Melbourne (SVHM) in 1983. Hans helped found HeartBeat SVHM for former patients to raise funds to buy equipment requested by St Vincent’s. After completing a scoping tour of Australia for Buhler AG (Uzwil) in 1964, Hans arrived in Melbourne by ship in August 1965, with Erika already expecting their first child, to assist Buhler’s local agent. Companies like Buhler have been great conduits for Swiss Club members to make their way to Melbourne. Hans helped found the Club’s Swiss School with the then Consul; becoming its 1st convenor in 1973. For many years Hans also quietly served as secretary of the Australian Die Casting Association. Hans is missed by his wife Erika, brother Peter, three sons and their partners and three young grandchildren. Simon Ochsenbein
Farewell to the Swiss Ambassador
On Friday, 16 March a farewell cocktail party was held at the Swiss Club for the Swiss Ambassador to Australia, Dr Daniel Woker and his wife Myriam. The event was well attended and many members of the Swiss Community took the opportunity to say good-bye to the Ambassador and his wife who are returning to Switzerland after their four-year engagement in Australia. This was the last ambassadorial posting for Dr Woker as he will leave the Foreign Service to take up an academic assignment. The Ambassador and Mrs Woker visited the Swiss Club several times during their stay in Australia and were always very welcome guests.
Newsletter Deadlines 2012 September Issue: Covering Sept/Oct/ Nov Editorial Deadline: Monday, 6 August Mailing: Wednesday, 22 August December Issue: Covering Dec /Jan/Feb 2013 Editorial Deadline: Monday, 5 November Mailing: Wednesday, 21 November
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From front page
Our latest attraction is worth a special mention – for the first time Walmas Meats & Smallgoods from Bayswater (Vic) took part in the festival and dressed up one of the stalls with Swiss paraphernalia. Margrit Hasler, the owner of Walmas, was selling all time Swiss favorites such as Landjäger, Mohrenköpfe, Ragusa, Swiss Flags and much more with great skill and ardour to the excitement of visitors. Visit her shop in Bayswater when you need to stock up on Swiss goodies! Our guest of honour was the official representative of Switzerland, the Consul General of Switzerland Mr Markus Meli who delivered a well versed address. The Swiss Festival Committee would like to thank Mr Meli for offering the festival wine. A very attractive pool of prizes ensured multiple sales of raffle tickets, lucky dip and guessing competition, with Mr Tom Surbeck being the lucky winner of a seven night voucher for two in an Interlaken Hotel inclusive of a six days ski or summer pass courtesy of Switzerland Tourism (RRP $1,800). On behalf of the Swiss Festival committee, I would like to thank the host Austrian Club, the many volunteers, entertainers and sponsors who contributed immensely to the success and with their time and effort made this event possible. I am happy to report that we made a profit which will be equally shared among all actively involved Swiss community groups. Sponsors: (in alphabetical order) BMC, Captain’s Lodge International, Consulate General of Switzerland/ Embassy of Switzerland, DKSH, Felco, Georg Fischer, Henkell Brothers, Herbert Schwärzler, Hilti, Iwan Ilya Meyer, King Island Dairy, Laurastar, Lindt, Mövenpick, Océ, SBS German Radio, Schaller Consulting, Silvers Circus, Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS), Swiss International Air Lines, Swissôtel Sydney, Switzerland Tourism, The Swatch Group, The Swiss Club of Victoria & Roger Moullet, Victorian Multicultural
Commission (VMC), Victorinox, V-Zug, Walmas Meat & Smallgoods. Entertainers and performers: (in order of appearance) The Swiss Companion Singers, Chris Thalmann & Markus Zihlmann (both Schwyzerörgeli), Tom Webb (Flag waiving, Singing Saw, Washboard and Spoons), Ursula & Peter Arnold (The Swiss Kiwi Yodlers from Auckland New Zealand), Phillip Nadvesnik & Beat Stuber (Accordion, Guitar), Renee Moullet (singer), Jessica Plattner (singer/piano), the Consul General of Switzerland Mr Markus Meli, Swiss Folk Dance Group Alpenrose, Swiss Yodel Choir Matterhorn, the Australian Swiss Search Dog Association (ASSDA), Swiss community groups in Victoria: (in alphabetical order) Groupe Romand du Victoria, Ladies Luncheon, Swiss Academic Network Melbourne (SAAN), Swiss Club of Victoria, Swiss Companion Singers, Swiss Folk Dance Group Alpenrose, Swiss Yodel Choir Matterhorn, Swiss-Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SACCI), The Swiss Diners Club, Trachtengruppe Schwyzergruess (Australian/Swiss Cultural Society), Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA). I would also like to thank my enthusiastic friends in the committee: Treasurer/Deputy Chair – Bruno Giger Volunteers Coordinator – Chantal Imbach Marketing – Damian Schaller PR consultant – Melinda Varley Logistics/sponsorship – Patrick Albert Sponsorship Consultant in Switzerland – Thomas Schmocker Food & Beverage Coordinator – Roger Moullet Planning for the Swiss Festival 2013 has already commenced. Date and place will be announced at a later stage. We hope to see you again next year! If you wish to relive the Swiss Festival, download pictures or find out more please visit www.swissfestival.com.au Please feel free to send us your feedback, the Swiss Festival Committee is looking forward to hearing from you. Rolf Huber - Chairman Swiss Festival
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Swiss Club of Victoria
The poya paintings of Gruyère
Poya is a style of traditional naïve folk painting developed in the Gruyère region. It is similar to the perhaps better known ‘Täfeli-Malerei’ or ‘Senntumsmalerei’ of Appenzell and Toggenburg. In spring, it’s time for the ascent to the mountain pastures with the herds. From 1800 onwards, simple paintings were created depicting this seasonal migration. These pictures painted by the ‘armaillis’ (herdsmen) are called ‘poya’. Originally, poya was an inventory of the herd, painted during the procession up to the mountain pastures; painting took the place of writing. Then they were hung on the front walls or over the windows of farmhouses as a sign of prosperity. About 800 of them have been counted in the Gruyère region. Modern artists are inspired by these old paintings. Poya painting is art, but not a personal form of art. It is art that belongs not to the artist, but to the region. Modern poya painting is no longer an inventory, but its expression and
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simplicity hasn’t changed, it mustn’t lose its identity in a too decorative craft. They depict an idealized world, where no machinery, commercial aircraft or tourism infrastructure blights the landscape – a call to embrace the slower pace of life. At Estavannens the first village festival, ‘The Estavannens Poya’ was organised in 1956 by the ‘Association Gruyérienne pour le Costume et les Coutumes’ (Gruyerian Society for Costumes and Customs). It commemorated the 75th anniversary of the publication in 1851, of ‘La montée à l’alpage’ by Étienne Fragnière, a poem about the ascent to the mountain pastures. The festival has since been repeated several times - in 1960, 1966, 1976, 1989 and 2000. The next Poya festival will be held in 2013. Alte Freundschaften Drei Schulkameraden, die zusammen alt geworden sind, verabredeten sich im Laufe ihrer Freundschaft immer wieder zu einem gemeinsamen Ausgang. Mit 30 sagten sie: “Kommt, wir gehen in den Ochsen, da hat es eine hübsche neue Serviertochter!” Mit 40 sagten sie: ”Kommt, wir gehen in den Ochsen, da hat es einen Fernseher für das Länderspiel!” Mit 50 sagten sie: ”Kommt, wir gehen in den Ochsen, da hat es gutes Essen!“ Mit 60 sagten sie: ”Kommt, wir gehen in den Ochsen, da hat es guten Wein!“ Mit 70 sagten sie: ”Kommt, wir gehen in den Ochsen, da hat es einen Lift in den ersten Stock!“ Mit 80 sagten sie: ”Kommt, wir gehen in den Ochsen, da waren wir noch nie!“
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Echo Helvetia Ursula Schappi, the presenter of the SBS German language program ‘Echo Helvetia’, has retired after more than three decades of outstanding service – not only to SBS Radio – but also to the Swiss community in Melbourne and Sydney. Her last broadcast was on Sunday, 12 February. We thank Ursula for her tremendous work and commitment and wish her all the best in her retirement. The new presenter of ‘Echo Helvetia’, which is an indispensable source of news, information and entertainment for many Swiss, is Adrian Plitzco. Adrian is well known as a presenter for the SBS German language program and as an author of adult fiction in German (Der harte Engel) children’s audio books (Lancelot - The one armed Kangaroo and Pirate – The barking Kookaburra) – all of which have been featured in the ‘Edelweiss’. And, of course, he is Swiss – a prerequisite to host the program as it is all spoken in Swiss-German. Regrettably, due to financial and staffing pressures, the program has been reduced to 15 minutes. It is hoped that this decision will be reversed back to 30 minutes. Please listen to the new format ‘Echo Helvetia’ every Sunday from 8.45pm to 9pm on 93.1fm.
New record on the Eiger Dani Arnold has set a new speed record on the Eiger North Face, climbing up the famous face in just 2 hours, 28 minutes. The 27-year old Swiss climber shaved 20 minutes off the previous record, set by compatriot Ueli Steck back in 2008. The Eiger North Face is one of the best known and most dangerous climbing destinations in the world, to-date 64 mountaineers have perished in the attempt. Standing 3970 meters in height, the mountain was first climbed back in 1858, although the North Face wasn’t conquered until 1938. It took the better part of two days to complete that climb, which makes it all the more amazing that modern climbers do it in just 2.5 hours. No word yet on if Ueli will attempt to reclaim the record. After all, he is a bit busy in the Himalaya at the moment. The extreme mountaineer will attempt a new or difficult Everest line rather than the standard South Col route. He’ll also forego the use of supplementary oxygen on the world’s highest peak.
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SwissCommunity is a free, high-quality platform serving the Swiss who are, have been or will be residents abroad, as well as those who are interested in Switzerland worldwide. Aims SwissCommunity.org is a networking site enabling Swiss people living all over the world to establish links with each other. The site also allows them to participate actively in debates on politics and society in our country. Dialogue with the ‘Fifth Switzerland’ SwissCommunity’s forum discussions facilitate a dialogue between both Swiss people living abroad and those living in Switzerland, and makes it possible for members of our diaspora to make their voices heard in Switzerland. The diverse discussion topics cover everything from politics to Swiss traditions to questions concerning expatriation. Networking The platform’s 11,000 members can contact each other interactively on the Internet, which develops solidarity between expats, regardless of where they live in the world. It is also a way of keeping in contact with Swiss people living in Australia. Promotion of Swiss associations The section ‘Local Communities’ enables Swiss associations to present themselves and find new audiences. Stay informed about events in Switzerland The ‘News’ section of SwissCommunity.org provides easily accessible information on events taking place in Switzerland. There you will find current news from swissinfo.ch and will be able to read the ‘Swiss Review’ online. Strengthen ties with Switzerland The section ‘Explore Switzerland’ gives access to information on various topics such as the politics, economy, tourism and culture of Switzerland and its 26 cantons. What’s more… On SwissCommunity.org, you will find lots of other information such as: • The current addresses of Swiss representation organisations abroad. • The ‘SwissCommunity Online Magazine’ intended solely for members of the platform.
Planning your private or business function? The Second Floor is the perfect venue! Contact 1300 893 968 for information & bookings. Swiss Club of Victoria
Climbing High The Swiss undoubtedly have an affinity with mountaineering. Their eyes glow with excitement at the prospect of an adventurous climb – be it through deep powder snow or lush Alpine meadows. Rumour has it that this passion for scaling even the highest summits developed, because the Swiss wanted to catch a glimpse of the sea at least once in their lifetime. Yet, overcoming hundreds of meters of altitude just for a bird’s eye view is not an undertaking for the faint-hearted. It is thus hardly surprising that the Swiss should be at the forefront of cable car technology. While early systems were built to transport goods and materials rather than people, the rise of the middle class and the leisure industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries let to the development of cable cars for public use. The new technology saved time and energy and came as a great relief to those poor men who had to carry the rich – and the lazy – up the hills on their backs. One of the most impressive and oldest cable cars in Switzerland is the Pilatus cogwheel railway from Alpnachstad to Pilatus Kulm at 2,132 metres above sea level. With a gradient of up to 48%, it is the steepest cog railway in the world. A tall order Many people thought that Zürich-based Eduard Locher-Freuler (1840 -1910) was crazy, when he proposed to build a 4,618 metre long railway line up the steep sides of Mount Pilatus near Luzern. But the engineer had devised a unique track system that would ensure the locomotives could not derail even at such an extreme gradient. This system featured a flat bar with symmetrical, horizontal teeth on the sides rather than on the top of the rail to engage the cogwheels of the locomotive. Thanks to this revolutionary system, the railway now masters 1,629 metres of altitude in just 4.6 kilometres. It took 20 engineers and more than 700 workers – 600 of which were Italians – to construct the railway in just 400 days. Operation commenced on 4 June 1889 with a steam locomotive. The following year, a hotel was built at the Pilatus Kulm station, featuring a large sun terrace with stunning panoramic views. Locher was proven right, as the number of annual visitors rose to 50,000 by 1906. In 1937, the steam engine was replaced with modern electric railcars, which could accommodate 40 instead of only 32 passengers. The new system also shortened the descent by 30 minutes to a mere 40 minutes. Today, up to 550,000 visitors travel up to Mount Pilatus onboard the cogwheel railway every year to marvel at the exceptional scenery high above the Vierwaldstättersee. Stories to tell Despite the views, the popularity of Mount Pilatus and its cogwheel railway was not always a given – after all, the mountain used to have a bad reputation. In the Middle Ages, people believed that lake Oberalp on the Pilatus massif was the cause for devastating storms, because Pontius Pilate, the judge said to have ordered the crucifixion of w w w.s w i s sc lu bv i c .co m.au
Jesus Christ, was buried in the lake. According to the legend, horrible thunderstorms erupted in all places where people had tried to bury him, thus leaving a remote place in the mountains as the only option. Lake Oberalp was the chosen location. And so it happened that the region of Luzern was hit by terrible thunderstorms whenever the water of Lake Oberalp was disturbed. While the legend of the grave of the notorious Roman judge certainly made for a good story, the name ‘Pilatus’ actually derives from the Latin ‘Mons Pileatus’, which means capped mountain’. Other tales tell of both good and evil dragons, which lived in the furrowed crevices of Luzern’s most famous and feared mountain. One of these legends dates back to 1421 and speaks of an encounter between a dragon and a man named Stempflin. Stempflin passed out when the beast landed right next to him. When he awoke, he found a lump of coagulated blood and a dragon stone with healing powers. The chronicle of Petermann Etterlin tells how Regional Governor Winkelried killed one of the Mount Pilatus dragons. He supposedly first injured it with a spear wrapped in thorn twigs and then finished off the beast with his sword. Unfortunately, Winkelried died as well. Drops of poisonous dragon blood splattered on his hand and the poisonous breath of the dying dragon made Winkelried’s blood freeze. In the early hours of the morning of 26 May 1499, a wondrous spectacle was seen in Luzern: after a terrible thunderstorm, an enormous, wingless dragon rose out of the wild waters of the River Reuss at the Spreuer bridge. The beast had probably been taken by surprise by the thunderstorm and washed down from Mount Pilatus in the Krienbach, which flows into the Reuss beneath the Jesuit church. Several well-respected and educated townspeople authenticated the truth of this story. These days, the dragons seem to prefer to hide in their caves. Instead one can marvel at the previously extinct Alpine ibex, which was reintroduced to the region in 1961. Or if you have some of that Swiss mountaineering spirit in you, you can climb up to the summit of Mount Pilatus, where you are sure to catch a glimpse of the ocean somewhere in the far, far distance.
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Making sense of the language confusion It’s astonishing that the Swiss can understand each other. Not only do they have four languages, but well over half of them (the Swiss-Germans) speak one way and write another. Switzerland is at the intersection of three major European cultures – German, French and Italian – and the only language it can truly call its own, Romansh, is spoken by less than 0.5% of the population. Swiss-Germans, about two thirds of the population, write in High-German but speak a plethora of different dialects that are vastly different from High-German. Whilst mutually understandable, each of these dialects has its own strong local colour. The 35,000 speakers of Romansh are divided between five ‘idioms’, each with its own dialects. In some parts of Ticino there is a difference from one village to the next. Language is a topic of endless fascination to the Swiss. SwissGerman radio has a popular programme, ‘Schnabelweid’, where listeners can ask about the meaning and origins of words. ‘Da Num e da Pum’ in Romansh explores the derivations of names, and Swiss-Italian radio often talks about the dialects of Ticino and the neighboring areas of Italy in its ‘La domenica popolare’ programme. ‘Intré-No’ on Radio Fribourg is a weekly programme in Swiss-French dialect ‘Patois’. A new exhibition at the National Library in Bern called ‘Sapperlot!’ takes a closer look at the language landscape of Switzerland. It draws on the rich phonogram archive held at Zürich University, on the archives of the scholarly dictionaries of the four Swiss languages, and on the written holdings of the National Library itself. “Half the audios are historic, and the other half are contemporary... We wanted to present a colourful potpourri,” explains co-curator Peter Erismann. The four-language exhibition has a fourlanguage title: German: Sapperlot! French: Sacredouble! Italian: Sacarlòtu! Romansh: Sapperlottas! A toned-down swear word, it is now a somewhat archaic and light-hearted exclamation of surprise, admiration, annoyance etc. It derives Mundarten der Schweiz from the word for Schweizerische Nationalbibliothek sacrament in the four Ausstellung 8. 3. – 25. 8.2012 languages.
aube albig albigs algu alle allig alme ame amed amel amig äsie SAPPERLOT!
In Swiss-German dialects it occurs in various forms, including sappermänt, sackerlänt, safferemänt and sapperemost, and can also be used in combinations like potz sapperlot! or sapperlot abenand! The exhibition is open from 8 March to 25 August, 2012 Listen also to the audio ‘Do you speak Swiss?’ on swissinfo: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/multimedia/audios_podcast/ Do_you_speak_Swiss.html?autoPlay=y&view=podcastDetail&ci d=32350358 Want a taste of Switzerland? Visit the Swiss Club Restaurant
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[EGGIWIL]
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[WOLHUSEN]
[SARNEN]
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Last tango for Hazy Hazy Osterwald, one of the best known Swiss Jazz and Swing musician and composer of the post-war period, has past away on Sunday, 26 February, one week after celebrating his 90th birthday. In 1944 he founded the legendary Hazy-Osterwald-Sextett. The band achieved world-wide fame in 1958 with the song ‘Kriminaltango’. Other big successes included ‘Konjunktur ChaCha’ (1960) and ‘Der Fahrstuhl nach oben ist besetzt’ (1966). The band was also very successful in accompanying stars like Udo Jürgens, Caterina Valente, Bibi Johns, Gilbert Bécaud or Sacha Distel. The Hazy-Osterwald-Sextett performed its farewell concert in Montreux in 1979. Swiss Club of Victoria
Defining ‘Swissness’ Switzerland is well-known for the traditional Swiss values of democracy, punctuality, efficiency, first class service and precision. It is also renowned for its wonderful mountains, chocolates and Swiss Army knives. But did you know that ‘Swissness’ is now a contemporary trendy brand and marketing tool that companies are using to their advantage to sell products ? What attributes are they aiming for? It is above all the concepts of naturalness, multiculturalness, fairness, neutrality and the reliability of that quintessential Swissness that the companies are flagging so successfully. However, when Swissair - a company that embodied Switzerland and everything Swiss - was grounded in 2001, the Swiss brand suffered a deep shock and crush in reputation. Everyone thought the Swiss reputation had been ruined for good. The effect was so far reaching that an international study was launched in 2008 into reviewing the Swiss brand called ‘Swissness Worldwide’ and was led by the University of St.Gallen. The findings were published in 2010 and found that Swissness was associated worldwide with high-end products, with beautiful landscape and scenery and also with traditional values. But the researchers also found some negative connotations associated with Swissness, maybe a trail of the Swissair crash, maybe more to do with the Swiss way. These included concepts such as: unfriendliness, cold, reserve, distance, political neutrality, even political disinterest, high prices and strange financial pacts as the main concerns. Within the study, Switzerland was often compared with Japan or Germany in terms of output and efficiency, but never with any other European country. They also found Switzerland to be synonymous with top performance be it with regards to watches, the finance world, cleanliness or in terms of building quality. All traits to be proud of. So what is this strange mix of positive and negative attributes – what is Swissness all about and how is it any good when marketing a product? As a country, Switzerland boasts a diverse cultural folk and this migration can be interpreted as a reference to a certain world openness and this would therefore explain why Switzerland is also well known for being a country of innovation. Pocket knives were invented here, the Swatch watch and car, and of course, the Red Cross and the World Wide Web, to name but a few. The Swiss are known for having a very comprehensive and top quality health system, an intact and tight family unit and security. All positives in fact. The discussion so far seems to reinforce the concept of Swissness as being something very well definable and concrete, but in fact it may much more equate to that non-definable, non-specific success and the economic success and passion in particular that is so typically Swiss and maybe it is that which sells so well and not the cows in the meadows or the chocolates which are rather superficial after all – or are they?
Second Floor Club Social: Movie Afternoon L’original…
Thursday, 21 June, 1.30pm Swiss Club, 2nd floor For bookings please ring Rita Schwärzler-Abbt on 9561 7811 or email ritaherbert@bigpond.com or Barbara Kündig on 9005 4938 or email barbara@swissclubvic.com.au Cost: complementary, gold coin donation appreciated. Afternoon tea or coffee can be bought for a minimal amount. If you like to have a hearty lunch before, ring Roger at the Swiss Club on 9650 1196. Please bring a friend(s) for a fun film afternoon and a chat and discussion after.
Login and get the latest info: www.swissclubvic.com
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Meet Franz & Pat Doos Franz and Patricia, thank you for inviting me into your lovely home. You can look back over more than half a century of Swiss Club life and you are, of course, well known to the older generation of club members. Your contemporaries would perhaps find similarities in the experiences you have made in coming to Australia in the 50s. Younger members, such as myself, listen to these stories with great interest because it allows us to draw comparisons with our own experiences and wonder how different many things were then. How were your early years in Switzerland? I was born in 1931 in a little place called Gerliswil, near Emmen, about five kilometres from Luzern. I am the oldest of four boys. My dad worked for von Moos steel works were he became a specialist in wire drawing. I went to primary and secondary school in Emmenbrücke. Later on my family moved to Kastanienbaum near Horw were dad had a poultry farm for egg production. After completing my school years, I started a 3-year commercial diploma in Luzern with one of the largest grain importers in Switzerland. Finishing this I, like most lads of my age, had to spend the obligatory time in the army. And then I moved to Basel, were I got my first job with Natural AG, a shipping company. I stayed there for about a year and then got a job with Panalpina as an accountant. The job required me to move to different branches, wherever an accountant was needed, and so I had the opportunity to spend some time in St.Gallen and in Chiasso. And finally they transferred me to the biggest branch in Zürich but I just couldn’t stand the boss. So I left Panalpina after a couple of years and went back to Basel where I got a new job with NCR (National Cash Register Company). As a Luzerner, did you feel comfortable living in Basel? Yes I did. Besides I had an uncle in Basel and two cousins with whom I got along very well. I had a room on Blauensteinerstrasse which was close enough to be able to walk to work. When and why did you come to Australia? I had ‘itchy feet’ and I wanted to travel. Originally I intended to go to Canada, but they were looking for trades people whereas Australia was also looking for business people and as NCR had a subsidiary in Melbourne, I had a job waiting for me. I arrived in Melbourne on a Friday in November 1955 and was picked-up at the pier by the NCR office manager Mr Frances who took me out to dinner at ‘Marios’ where I had the biggest steak I had ever seen. I started work the next Monday as a clerk and yes, I was the only male who could touch type – somewhat of a novelty in 1955. Was it easy for you to settle in Australia? Yes, I settled in very easily. My English was not as good as it is today but it was fluent and not long after my arrival I met my dear wife Pat, and that really sealed it. I had a good job and was well looked after. I stayed with NCR for a couple of years when I met Oscar Nicolet. He was the manager of H.H. Buckley, the then agent for Sandoz, and when he offered me to become his assistant, I jumped at the opportunity. Now I gained a
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glimpse of the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, which became the cornerstone of my later activities. Just diverting from your working career for a second, what else happened during that time? Well, I joined the Swiss Club in 1956 and both Pat and I became regular visitors to the club. Pat: And we got married and our son Peter was born in 1957. Looks like things moved along very quickly. What came next? A most defining point was, of course, when I set-up my own business Medos Equipment, also in 1957, together with my partner Dr K. Weiner. Our initial product line consisted of medical-surgical instruments and consumables and selling took place in doctor’s surgeries and hospitals. The business expanded rapidly and so did the range of products we were marketing. These included laboratory products and Wild microscopes of Heerbrugg, Switzerland. By 1969 we opened our Sydney branch and employed around 16 staff. 1969 was also the year that you joint the committee. It’s a little unusual that you took on the role of president without having served on the committee prior to this. Pat: I think I can answer this. The club wasn’t doing too well financially and that is why Franz was asked to step in. Franz is an exceptionally good businessman, as the success of Medos Equipment proved. He was able to apply his experience to help sort out the club’s troubles. Franz: There was also another reason. The club received an offer from an interested party to buy the club premises at 161 Spring Street. I immediately saw a great opportunity in this for the club and went about setting-up a sub-committee to manage this. It was decided to do a swap for another building rather than selling outright. We looked at several properties, including one at Jolimont, but eventually we decided on 22 George Parade. Swiss tradesmen then renovated the old brick-building and I went to the Licensing Court to have the Liquor Licence transferred...not many Swiss, if any, would recall that but for me it was the best thing I ever did for the Club and I’m still quietly proud of what we achieved at the time. And after the job was done, you left the committee. During my presidency my company became involved in a new business partnership with a US company from Cleveland/Ohio and it made it impossible for me to continue in a meaningful manner at the Swiss Club. Yes, my job was done and I left the committee, but we continued to frequent the club and in particular we loved to play golf with our Swiss Club friends. Swiss Club of Victoria
We had some good times with Joe and Marie Schibli down at Red Hill. What about you Pat? How were you involved in the business and the Swiss Club? I had a young family to look after, three children by then. Our two daughters, Carolyn and Andrea were born in 1959 and 1966. As the business grew, I saw myself taking on the entertaining side of the business, organising dinners for customers and so forth. I kept being involved with the Swiss Club on the ball committee for about six years and in 1979 I joined the committee for a year. Franz: And during this time, the business continued to mushroom. We had branches and distribution network in all mainland states and for about at year in Auckland, New Zealand. At one stage Medos employed over 130 personnel. And what happened eventually, did you sell the business to retire? Pat: We were in business for a long, long time, and eventually our son Peter took over as Managing Director in 1993 and Franz moved into the back-room as Chairman. Franz: We went to Europe for three months for a well-deserved holiday in 1996 and when we came back Peter died tragically in a diving accident. That was a terrible, terrible blow to us and to the whole family. For the business, it meant I had to stay on a little longer but eventually we sold it in 1998. If you would be on the committee now, what would you change? Pat and I have very little opportunity to frequent the club these days. We love to go to the Senior Christmas and National Day lunches and catch-up with old friends we haven’t seen for a while. So, we really couldn’t say what it is that we would change, if anything at all. If you could invite five people, living or dead, to dinner, who would they be? Franz & Pat: Our dear son Peter and our Swiss Club friends that have already left – Max and Stephanie Amman, Marcel Seuret, Walter Hauser – we miss them all. Thank you both very much!
The Swiss Club Doubles Championship was held on 16 March. John O’Reilly and Greg Gibbs triumphed over Adrian Besley and Peter Raschle. Congratulations to the winners! The 2012 dates to mark in your diary are: • 15 June - Bernard Sandoz Cup • TBC - Swiss Club Singles Championship Cost: Only $20 per person which includes dinner. Bookings are essential, please ring Roger at the Swiss Club or myself on 9439 7593 or 0418 645 313. New players are always welcome! Louis Schneider
Celebrate Switzerland’s 721th birthday!
National Day Family Picnic Gembrook Sports Ground - Melway map 312 F9
Sunday, 5 August from 11.00am to 4.00pm Official Celebration at 2pm Das wöchentliche Radioprogram über alles Schweizerische in Australien, der Schweiz und der Welt. Eine Viertelstunde Aktuelles, Musik, Reportagen und Interviews auf Schweizerdeutsch mit Adrian Plitzco. Jeden Sonntag von 20:45 bis 21Uhr auf 93.1fm SBS HOTLINE (03) 9949 2191 www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/german/highlight/page/id/204967/t/Echo-Helvetia
Admission free – Easy parking – Plenty of shelter Come and enjoy the traditional Swiss family picnic to celebrate this special day! Grilled Sausages – Nussgipfel – Glühwein Bonfire – Folkloristic Music and Songs A special occasion for children – bring your Lampions! Organised by the Matterhorn Society
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Swiss National Day Lantern Procession Lampionparade Wednesday, 1 August, 2012 at 6pm for 6.15pm start. Where: Federation Square, near the big screen. Our lantern procession will start at Federation Square at 6.15pm. We will walk along the Yarra River and end at the Second Floor of the Swiss Club of Victoria. Bring your own lantern (bought or homemade), flags, bells etc. (lanterns with candles or batteries only, no flammable liquids). Parents are responsible for their children at all times. Members: Children free. Non-members: Children $5.00 Refreshments will be served for the children only Parents have the option of purchasing drinks at the restaurant bar.
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Must RSVP and PREPAY (no exceptions) by 25 July, 2012 via our website swissclubvic.com EFT BSB: 013-375, Account: 3536 82406 **Please state the event and your name in the Remarks Field!** Cheques made out to Swiss Club of Victoria send to 89 Flinders Lane, Melbourne VIC 3000). Cash or Credit Card pay at the Club For more information contact Barbara on 9005 4938 or email info@swissclubvic.com.au
Swiss Club of Victoria
The Rütli Oath The Rütli oath (Rütlischwur) is first mentioned by Hans Schriber in the ‘White Book of Sarnen’ in 1470. Its canonical form is that of the 16th century ‘Chronicon Helveticum’ of Aegidius Tschudi. Tschudi dates the event to 8 November, 1307. The building of Switzerland as a federal state in the first half of the 19th century (1803-1848) revived symbols of the period of growth of the old Swiss confederacy in the Late Johann Heinrich Füssli, 1780 Middle Ages, including the legends of William Tell and Arnold Winkelried and the Rütli oath. Patriotic songs such as the ‘Sempacherlied’ as well as Schiller’s play had an important position and shooting competitions became an important symbol of the common cause and military readiness. After the establishment of the federal state, the Rütli oath became associated with the Swiss Federal Charter (Bundesbrief), a document dated to the beginning of August 1291. This choice was not straightforward, as it went against Tschudi’s date of 1307, and historians could enumerate a total of 82 similar documents of the period of 1251 to 1386. The decision was motivated pragmatically, as the modern Swiss capital of Bern was going to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the city’s foundation in 1891 and it was convenient to place the 600th anniversary of the confederacy in the same year. Especially in central Switzerland, the opportunistic re-dating of the event was resented, and the Rütli oath continued to be dated to 1307 well into the 20th century. Accordingly, the 600th anniversary of the Confederation was celebrated again in 1907, this time in Altdorf. It was only after the celebration of the 650th anniversary in 1941, seen as an important symbol of Swiss independence in times of war, that the date of 1291 became universally associated with the Rütli oath. The Swiss national holiday on 1 August marks the date of the Federal Charter, and thus the Rütli oath. Following a public vote on 26 September 1993, 1 August has been an official national holiday since 1994. The three men who took the oath were according to Friedrich von Schillers drama ‘Wilhelm Tell’: Werner Stauffacher (Schwyz), Walter Fürst (Uri) and Arnold von Melchtal (Unterwalden) – even though the White Book of Sarnen’ does not mention surnames! It simply says: «…und kamen also ihrer drei zusammen, der Stoupacher zu Schwyz, und einer der Fürsten zu Uri und der aus Melche von Unterwalden, und klagte ein jeglicher dem anderen seine Not und seinen Kummer,…» More likely they were the three Landamänner (Canton chiefs) of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden; Konrad ab Yberg, Werner von Attinghausen and Konrad von Wolffenschiessen. Today only the Ab Yberg family still exists. w w w.s w i s sc lu bv i c .co m.au
National Day Celebration at the Club Wednesday, 1 August, 7pm Get into the swing with our famous ‘Kapelle Grüezi Mitenand’! 3-course menu with Coffee & Tea Members - $35.00 per person Non-members - $40.00 per person Drinks at bar prices Reservations essential. Book early on 9650 1196
National Day Senior Members’ Luncheon Tuesday, 31 July, 12 noon For Swiss Club Members born 1942 and earlier The Committee of the Swiss Club of Victoria has much pleasure in inviting you to celebrate Swiss National Day 2012 with a Luncheon at the Swiss Club. Please fill in the form below and mail to Rita Schwärzler-Abbt, 18 Hertford Cres. Wheelers Hill 3150 no later than 24 July. For Information, please ring: Sylvia Hochuli: 9531 6575 or Rita Schwärzler-Abbt: 9561 7811 Cost: Complimentary for members, non-members $40.00 Payment to be enclosed with application.
Yes, I would like to attend the Swiss Club National Day Senior Members’ Luncheon 2012 SCV Membership Card number(s):
Name(s):
Address:
Telephone: Email: Payment: _________ x $40.00 = $____________ Complimentary for Swiss Club Members
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From food of the gods to ultimate Swiss indulgence The earliest record of chocolate was over fifteen hundred years ago in the Central American rain forests, where the tropical mix of high rain fall combined with high year round temperatures and humidity provide the ideal climate for cultivation of the plant from which chocolate is derived, the cacao tree. The cacao tree was worshipped by the Mayan civilisation of Central America and Southern Mexico, who believed it to be of divine origin. Cacao is a Mayan word meaning ‘God Food’ hence the tree’s modern generic Latin name ‘Theobrama Cacao’ meaning ‘Food of the Gods’. Cacao was corrupted into the more familiar ‘cocoa’ by the early European explorers. The Maya brewed a spicy, bittersweet drink by roasting and pounding the seeds of the cacao tree (cocoa beans) with maize and capsicum (chilli) peppers and letting the mixture ferment. This drink was reserved for use in ceremonies as well as for drinking by the wealthy and religious elite, they also ate a cacao porridge.
The Aztecs of central Mexico also prized the beans, but because the Aztec’s lived further north in more arid regions at higher altitudes, where the climate was not suitable for cultivation of the tree, they had to acquire the beans through trade and/ or the spoils of war. The Aztecs prized the beans so highly they used them as currency - 100 beans bought a turkey or a slave - and tribute or taxes were paid in cocoa beans to Aztec emperors. The Aztecs, like the Mayans, also enjoyed cacao as a beverage fermented from the raw beans, which again featured prominently in ritual and as a luxury available only to the very wealthy. The Aztecs called this drink ‘Xocolatl’, the Spanish conquistadors found this almost impossible to pronounce and so corrupted it to the easier ‘chocolat’. The Aztec’s regarded chocolate as an aphrodisiac and provider of physical strengths and endurance. Emperor Montezuma reputedly drank it fifty times a day from a golden goblet and is quoted as saying of Xocolatl: “The divine drink, which builds up resistance and fights fatigue. A cup of this precious drink permits a man to walk for a whole day without food.” In fact, the Aztec’s prized Xocolatl well above gold and silver so much so, that when Montezuma was defeated by Hernán Cortéz in 1519 and the victorious ‘conquistadors’ searched his palace for the Aztec treasury expecting to find gold and silver, all they found were huge quantities of cocoa beans. The Aztec treasury consisted, not of precious metals, but of cocoa beans.
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Chocolate moves Europe Christopher Columbus noticed how valuable cocoa beans were to the Mayas when he captured one of their trading canoes off present-day Honduras, but he investigated no further. It was Hernán Cortéz, conqueror of the Aztec empire, that brought chocolate to Europe in 1528. By this time the conquistadors had learned to make the drink more palatable to European tastes by mixing the ground roasted beans with sugar and vanilla (a practice still continued today), thus offsetting the spicy bitterness of the brew the Aztec’s drank. The first chocolate factories opened in Spain, where the dried fermented beans brought back from the new world by the Spanish treasure fleets were roasted and ground, and by the early 17th century chocolate powder - from which the European version of the drink was made - was being exported to other parts of Europe. The Spanish kept the source of the drink - the beans - a secret for many years, so successfully in fact, that when English buccaneers boarded what they thought was a Spanish ‘treasure galleon’ in 1579, only to find it loaded with what appeared to be ‘dried sheep’s droppings’, they burned the whole ship in frustration. If only they had known what treasure fell into their hands! Within a few years, the cocoa beverage made from the powder produced in Spain had become popular throughout Europe, in the Spanish Netherlands, Italy, France, Germany and - in about 1520 - it arrived in England. The first chocolate house in England opened in London in 1657 followed rapidly by many others. Like the already wellestablished coffee houses, they were used as clubs where the wealthy and business community met to smoke a clay pipe of tobacco, conduct business and socialise over a cup of chocolate. The Swiss chocolate success story Heinrich Escher, mayor of Zürich, was introduced to chocolate in Brussels in 1697 and brought it back home, where it was discreetly consumed at the feasts of the various guilds which ruled the city, until the Zürich Council banned it in 1722 as unfit for virtuous citizens (as it had a reputation as an aphrodisiac). Chocolate manufacture didn’t begin in Switzerland for well over another 100 years. In the 18th century, Italy became a centre of confectionery and chocolate-making, drawing practitioners from around Europe. Many ‘cioccolatieri’ from the Ticino (Val Blenio) and the Grisons who had learnt their trade in Turin, Milan and Venice left home to work abroad, founding strongly family-oriented manufacturing businesses in Amsterdam, Stockholm, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Strasburg, Nice, Paris, London, St.Petersburg, Copenhagen and elsewhere. Their know-how flowed back to Switzerland’s chocolate pioneers, who gradually began to establish factories and shops. The first chocolate shop in Switzerland opened in Bern in 1792 and from these beginnings Switzerland turned into the Number One chocolate nation by the early 20th Century. One of these pioneers was François-Louis Cailler (1796- 1852) from Vevey. He learnt his craft in Turin. Upon his return to Switzerland, he opened a mechanised chocolate factory in Corsier-sur-Vevey in 1819. Although commercial success was a long time in coming, the young Cailler created the basis for Swiss Club of Victoria
industrial-scale production (the rotary grater for cocoa beans) and offered sixteen different sorts of chocolate with a variety of additional ingredients, including cinnamon and vanilla. Jacques Foulquier (1799-1865) began manually producing chocolate in Geneva in 1826. His son-in-law and successor, Jean-Samuel Favarger, gave the brand that is still famous today its name. Demand grew, and by 1832 the canton of Vaud alone boasted some 32 manual chocolatemaking businesses. The first steamships began operating, bringing yet more consumers. Tourism flourished. During the reign of Queen Victoria, the horror stories that Lord Byron, the poet Shelley and his wife Mary (the author of ‘Frankenstein’) wrote on Lake Geneva in 1816 attracted the first English tourists. Having trained as a confectioner under his brother in Bern, Philippe Suchard (1797-1884) from Boudry in the canton of Neuchâtel travelled to the United States in 1824, where he met many Swiss émigrés. In 1826, back in Neuchâtel, he opened a chocolate factory that became famous far beyond the country’s borders. But the pioneering spirit that drove Philippe Suchard was not confined solely to chocolate. It was he who introduced steamships to Lake Neuchâtel and Lake Thun. He was also interested in shipping along the River Rhine, traded in silk and macaroni, and was even involved in iron-ore mining in the US. A look at the industry in 1883 shows that Suchard accounted for 50% of the chocolate produced in Switzerland. In 1831, Charles Amédée Kohler (1790-1874), a wholesale grocer who also sold cocoa, decided it made more sense to open his own chocolate factory than to continue supplying confectioners with the raw material. Just like Cailler and Suchard, he constantly sought to refine the existing range of chocolates. His most important creation was nut chocolate. The family-run firm trained several famous apprentices, including Rudolf Lindt (in 1872-1875) and Robert Frey (1880-1883). Daniel Peter (1836-1919), a son-in-law of F.-L. Cailler and a close friend of Henri Nestlé, founded the Peter-Cailler company in 1867. In 1875, he succeeded in mixing cocoa paste with condensed milk, thereby creating the world’s first milk chocolate, which he dubbed ‘Gala Peter’. The result was so successful that the entire industry switched to this production method from 1880 onwards. Daniel Peter therefore played a pivotal role in helping Swiss chocolate reach the supremacy it enjoys today. Although chemist and pharmacist Henri Nestlé (1814-1890) did not produce chocolate himself, his company was responsible for the global marketing of Peter’s milk chocolate from 1904. The first chocolate factory in german-speaking Switzerland opened in 1845. Inspired by the experiments of Cailler and Suchard, Rudolf Sprüngli-Amman (1816-1897) developed a manufacturing process that enabled him to refine chocolate. Aquilino Maestrani (1814-1880) was the most important w w w.s w i s sc lu bv i c .co m.au
figure in chocolate-making in eastern Switzerland. Like his father, a chocolatier from Lugano, Maestrani spent time in Lombardy (Milan) and later Nuremberg learning the fine art of chocolate manufacturing. In 1850, he opened a factory in Luzern, which he then moved to St.Gallen in 1859. In 1874 another factory was established by Johann Georg Munz in Flawil. Rudolf Lindt (1855-1909) opened a chocolate factory in Bern in 1879. A born tinkerer, Lindt constantly improved his mixing and grating machines until he had developed a method for producing a soft-melting chocolate, which he called ‘chocolat surfin’. It was the first chocolate that melted in the mouth, and signalled the birth of modern chocolate. Also in Bern, Jean Tobler (1830-1905) ran a confectionery shop in which he sold his own specialities alongside chocolate made by producers like Lindt. In 1899, he founded the Tobler chocolate factory. We have his son Theodor to thank for inventing Toblerone, the most famous of all Swiss chocolates, in 1908. The years 1890-1920 were the heyday of Switzerland’s chocolate industry, as it earned a reputation far beyond the country’s borders. Tourism was booming, and members of the international high society, who spent their holidays in Switzerland, became the world’s ambassadors for Swiss chocolate. Rudolf Lindt, for example, aimed his advertising at exclusive girls’ finishing schools in western Switzerland, where Europe’s crème de la crème gathered. This was an era of phenomenal growth rates. From 1888 to 1910, the number of chocolate producers rose from 13 to 23, and the number of people employed by the industry jumped from 528 to 5547. Whereas about 13 tonnes of chocolate were produced in 1905, this had already risen to 40,000 tonnes (three-quarters of which was exported) by 1918. Switzerland thus became something of a chocolate superpower, and by 1912 it had cornered 55% of the world’s chocolate export market. Export figures fell during the Depression years of the 1920s and 1930s, and it was only after the end of the Second World War that the Swiss chocolate industry recovered and took off again. In the 1950s, sales were still at around 26,000 tonnes, compared with 170,000 tonnes today, representing a turnover of 1.7 billion Swiss francs. International competition forced the Swiss chocolate industry to streamline its production while at the same time sticking to and further improving the tried-and tested recipes on which Swiss chocolate had built its excellent reputation. After all, why change a winning formula? It once was food of the gods for the Mayan people, today for many in Europe, and especially in Switzerland, chocolate is part of the daily diet. With an estimated 12 kilos a year, not surprisingly, the Swiss lead the world in chocolate consumption.
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Australian Squatters by Hubert de Castella. Translation, with introduction and notes by C.B. ThorntonSmith of ‘Les Squatters Australiens’ (1861). Publisher: Melbourne University Press, 1987 ISBN: 0-522-84333-6 Language: English Binding: Hardcover, 212 pages Charles Hubert de Castella (1825-1907) was born in Neuchâtel. In 1854 he arrived in Australia to join his brother who in 1850 had bought Yering Station in the Yarra Valley. A year later, in partnership with another Swiss, Guillaume de Pury, he bought Dalry Station, adjoining Yering. While seeing Australian landscapes with a painter’s eye, he enjoyed a vigorous outdoor life on horseback, happily combined with congenial interludes in Melbourne. He returned to Switzerland but in 1862 Hubert and de Pury returned to Port Phillip, intending to take up sheep farming. Discouraged by the high price of sheep but encouraged by the growing reputation of Victorian wines, they decided to establish vineyards. He bought part of Yering, which he renamed St Hubert’s, and planted about 100 acres of vines, later increasing his vineyard to 250 acres. Hubert was devoted to his adopted country. This, his first book, is an account of his first stay in Australia. This book is out of print but you may find it in secondhand bookstores and online.
Kapelle Grüezi Mitenand entertains our members and guests on the first Thursday of the month. On 3 May, they had special guest musicians joining the group. Four students from Canterbury Girls Secondary College together with their teacher, Jane Farnham, played with Kapelle Grüezi Mitenand. Ms Farnham enjoys playing Swiss music and has been teaching her students John Wanner’s arrangements. What a great way to spread Swiss Music beyond the Swiss Community. We look forward to more CGSC students playing at the club and thank Ms Farnham for her initiative.
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Gâteau au fromage The recipe for this favourite dish from the French part of Switzerland is brought to you by Rémy Favre, President of the Groupe Romand du Victoria: This recipe is sufficient for 2 square tarts of approx 26cm x 26cm or 2 round tarts of approx 30cm diameter. You will need: Puff pastry sheets 4 eggs 120g flour 3 pinches of salt, 3 pinches of pepper, 1 pinch ground nutmeg (spices can be adjusted to taste) 8dl milk 2dl cream 700g grated Gruyère cheese Grease two square cake trays of approx 26cm x 26cm or if round approx 30cm diameter. Cut sheets of puff pastry to size and lay sheets in baking trays, leaving edges 2.5 cm high. Using a fork or hand whisk, mix eggs, flower, salt, pepper and nutmeg, then gradually incorporate milk and cream. Add grated cheese to mixture, mix well and pour into trays. Cook approx 30 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees. The gâteau au fromage is ready when golden in appearance and the mixture is soft but not runny. Bon appétit!
“In Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love; they had five hundred years of democracy and peace and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.” Orson Welles “Switzerland is a small, steep country, much more up and down than sideways, and is all stuck over with large brown hotels built on the cuckoo style of architecture.” Ernest Hemingway Gee, Orson and Ernest, since when is the cuckoo clock a Swiss invention? Amazing how stupid comments can become famous quotes, just because famous people allegedly uttered them. The Editor
Swiss Club of Victoria
THE NEXT AUSTRALIAN JASS CHAMPIONSHIP WILL BE HELD AT THE SWISS CLUB OF VICTORIA IN MELBOURNE ON SUNDAY, 10 JUNE 2012 The Swiss Club of Victoria is proud to announce that another National Jass Championship will be held on 10 June, 2012. This all-day event is a great opportunity to indulge in the greatest card game there is and yet enjoy good Swiss food and have a chance to win one of the many great prizes sponsored by companies and individuals. The event is being organised by the Swiss Club of Victoria in conjunction with the Club Restaurant and various members of the Club, as well as in cooperation with other Swiss Clubs in Australia. It will be a much improved event in every respect, which hopefully will lure all those passionate card players to make the effort and come to the cosy Club to challenge the ‘Primo Calabresi Trophy’ and/or one of the many fabulous prizes. A modest, subsidised entry fee of $20.00 per participant is applicable, which includes the competition fee, a full meal around lunch-time with a glass of wine, afternoon sweets, free coffee & tea. Soft drinks and other alcoholic drinks will be available at reduced cost. All day car parking will also be available at a reduced fee of $10.00. Such opportunities to have a full day’s entertainment, together with culinary enjoyments are rarely on offer, and therefore we hope to get a record attendance for this occasion. Registration commences at 8.30am for a 9.00am game start, and the competition is expected to finish around 5.00pm, followed by the ‘Rangverkündung‘ and distribution of the exciting prizes. We hope that again many interstate Swiss members will make the journey to Melbourne for the Queen’s Birthday long weekend. For those interested, we can arrange accommodation in the Metro area at special weekend rates, but early advice as to the number of rooms and nights of the required accommodation, is essential. Bookings should either be emailed to: swissclub@hotmail.com or mailed to the Swiss Club of Victoria, 89 Flinders Lane, Melbourne 3000, or call Roger Moullet at the Club on 03/ 9650 1196. Booking forms can also be requested from the above contacts. The participants will be grouped into either those playing with the German cards or the French cards. Therefore the preference should be indicated on the registration form to assist in the planning of the event. We look forward to seeing you at the Club on 10 June! Swiss Club of Victoria. The Jass Committee: Hans Keller & Roger Moullet
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When asked by fellow Australians what Switzerland’s national sport is, what do you answer? Many might say soccer (www.football. ch) or skiing (www. swiss-ski.ch), maybe Schwingen (www.esv.ch) ch) or Ice Hockey (www.swissicehockey.ch), but my answer is Jassen. This card game, that can trace back its roots to the 14th century when it was most likely introduced by the Saracens to Europe, is usually played by four players with 36 cards mainly in the German speaking areas of Switzerland as well as Austria and the southern part of Germany. Saying that though, there are French, German and Italian cards and the game is equally popular in the Romandie (French speaking) and the canton of Ticino (Italian speaking). It seems to me that our favourite past time activity can count as a national sport, seeing that barely any other country takes its card game as seriously as the Swiss do. Proof to this statement is of course Swiss TV shows such as Donnschtig Jass (www.sendungen. sf.tv/donnschtig-jass) or Samschtig Jass (www.sendungen.sf.tv/ samschtig-jass), which are screened in prime time slots on a weekly basis on the national TV network (www.sf.tv). Most Australians would be familiar with Poker or Blackjack tournaments being shown on pay TV and the Swiss counterpart follows a similar concept, yet with its own unique twists. For example a referee is present who accounts for all points and watches over the correct proceedings. While during poker the TV audience can see everyone’s cards, in TV Jassen we can only see the deck of the phone contestant. This player joins the game via phone and his cards are held up by the host and appear on screen. To add appeal to a broader audience the game is usually joined by a Swiss celebrity. So whether it is the famous Swiss comedian Peach Weber (www. peachweber.ch) or a Motor Racing Bike Donnschtigs Jass in Dornach/Solothurn star Tom Lüthi (www. tomluethi.ch) you are likely to learn more about a person of interest from their more social side while playing a game of cards. To an outsider the rules can seem quite complicated and if you would like to learn how to Jass I highly recommend you join one of the classes that will be offered in the lead-up to the second Australian Jass Championship which will be held
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at the Swiss Club (www.swissclubvic.com) during the Queens Birthday long weekend (see previous page). But to give you a small introduction (which you can also find on Wikipedia http:// de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jass) it should be mentioned that most variants of Jassen are played by deciding ahead of the game which colour should be trumps. Of this particular colour the ‘Under’ (also known as ‘Bauer’ or ‘Puur’, in English called Jack) counts for 20 points while the card with the number 9 (called ‘Nell’ or ‘Näll’) is worth 14 points. All four players put down one card in term and the aim is to ‘stechen’ (to win or better sticking it) those four cards. Once all cards are played the points are tallied (a total of 157 points are in each game) and a winner for the round is declared. For more information on rules visit www.jassregeln.ch. There are a many different variants to Jassen and this is apparent in that the fact that there is no ruling put forward by any organisation that would count as ‘the common rule’. Only for the variant called ‘Differenzler’ (the difference) is there a Federal-Differenzler-Jass-Council (www.edjv.ch). While most people are familiar with the variant ‘Schieber’ (to shove) which can be played ‘undenufe’ (from bottom to top) and ‘obenabe’ (from top to bottom) as well as slalom (changing between the two versions ongoing) there are quite a few that carry unfamiliar names such as ‘Butzer’ (the cleaner), ‘Coiffeur’ (the hairdresser), ‘Königsjass’ (the kings version), ‘Molotow’ or ‘Oh Shit’ (no english translation required!). www.jassonkel.ch has an extensive list of all the variants which I recommend you visit. Seeing that the Swiss are among the few to play Jass, but more importantly insist on playing with their own particular set of cards, it is not surprising that Switzerland designs, manufactures and exports playing cards. AGM AGMüller (www. agm.ch) from Schaffhausen has to be the best known producer of Jass cards which has been in existence since 1828. Now belonging to the Spanish Cartamundi corporation they still adhere to Swiss values and produce all their playing cards in an ecofriendly way using sustainable products and materials for the cards, the printing and packaging. In the age of computers, smartphones and iPads Jassen has also found its way into many applications and software programs. You can play the TV version of Samschtig-Jass online as a single player (http://www2. jass.sf.tv/?uid=gast) or in a multiplayer arena (https://jass.sf.tv/ login_jass1.php). Since 2001 Swiss Jass (www.swissjass.ch) offers you the possibility to take part in the game either online or offline against players in Switzerland and overseas. For the iPhone and iPad you can download the Jass application by Yminds (http://itunes.apple.com/au/ app/jass/id310558966?mt=8), get the app from Optobyte called Stoeck Wyys Stich mobile (http://itunes.apple. com/au/app/stock-wyys-stich-mobile/ id359670368?mt=8) or get a virtual Jass Swiss Club of Victoria
Tafel (http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/jass/id310558966?mt=8), an essential tool made from slate to add up the scores. The Victorian Jass team has recently returned from the 23rd Queensland Swiss Club Jass Championship (http://www.swiss. org.au/event.php?ID=1216). Congratulations on their stellar performance! We are very much looking forward to welcome you at the 2012 Australian Jass Championship (http://www. swiss.org.au/event.php?ID=1399) which will be held on Sunday 10th June at the Swiss Club of Victoria. See page 19 for more information.
Test your Swiss Knowledge 8
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Damian Schaller - Marketing Manager 5
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It’s your Club. Get Involved!
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1st Swiss Club Jass Night Results – 17 March Singles
1. Robin Martin .........................................2965 2. Rene Zeller ............................................2849 3. Fritz Hochuli ..........................................2831
Doubles
1. Sylvia & Fritz Hochuli .............................5418 2. Hans Keller & Doris Conrad ...................5254 3. Trudy & Marcel Theiler ...........................5042
Upcoming Jass Nights - 2012 2nd 3rd 3rd Final
2 June 7 July 11 August 15 September
Swiss Club Swiss Club Matterhorn Horticulture Centre, Jolimont Road, Forest Hill, 8.00pm
Information supplied by Paul Eisenegger 9544 4681
Support those that support your Club. Consider our Advertisers
Across 1. Swiss cheese. 4. CERN is in which city? 5. First name of Swiss visual artist who works with video, film and moving images. 7. Switzerland’s three main geographical regions are the Jura, the Alps and the….? 9. What is the name of the large science centre in Winterthur? 10. The biggest lake, which lies wholly within Switzerland, is Lake…? 13. Surname of General that finished the ‘Sonderbund’ war quick and almost bloodless in 1847. 2. 3. 5. 6. 8. 11. 12. 14. 15. 16.
Down Surname of Swiss expressionist/surrealist painter. Swiss sausage. Which organisation issues the 1. August badges? Mountain near Luzern. Which event is held on 12 May? In which canton is the ‘Kartause Ittingen’? Switzerland is one of 23 federal states worldwide. Which one is the oldest? Which canton was the last one to join the confederation? Famous Swiss Biscuit brand. River flowing through Zürich.
For answers go to page 23 The Organisation of the Swiss Abroad has launched a petition calling on the Federal Council to introduce e-voting as quickly as possible for all Swiss. You can sign this petition! www.petition.aso.ch w w w.s w i s sc lu bv i c .co m.au
Follow the Swiss Club on Social Media! You can find us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ Swissclubvic, on Twitter @SwissClubVic or on YouTube http:// www.youtube.com/SwissClubVictoria
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As always, carnival started late in Basel Carnival is something typical of Catholic, not Protestant Europe. Yet in Basel, famed as a bastion of the Reformation, they celebrate a carnival with a difference. For one thing, it is held a week after the traditional Catholic carnival, which culminates in Mardi Gras and ends at dawn on Ash Wednesday, which this year was 22 February. The Basel carnival opens with the ‘Morgestraich’ (reveille) at 4am on the Monday after Ash Wednesday (27 February) and goes on for three days. While the participants wear grotesque masques and colourful costumes, the music is mostly fifes and drums, reminiscent of military tattoos. In fact, carnival was suppressed in Basel during the Reformation; the present version is a 19th century revival. It borrows its military music from that played by the young trade guild members historically charged with organising a militia to defend the city in times of war. Somehow this local tradition came together with a desire to imitate celebrations in the neighbouring Catholic areas – resulting in what appears to be the only genuine Protestant carnival in this part of the world. Alongside the fife-and-drum bands you now see ‘Guggenbands’, the brass groups that play off-key and are a feature of other Swiss carnivals. Chequered history Local historian Peter Habicht has written a book about the Basel carnival or ‘Fasnacht’, as it is called. Fasnacht or Fastnacht means ‘fast-eve’ and was originally the word for Shrove Tuesday, but it is also used in German-speaking Switzerland for the carnival itself. Habicht draws attention to the Protestant character of the Basel Fasnacht, which makes it different from an orgy of drunkenness and licence. So how did the Protestants of Basel get the idea of reviving carnival? “It’s not easy to find a single answer,” says Habicht. “First, there is the basic question as to why there was a revival of the mediaeval carnival”, which fell victim not only to the zeal of the Reformers but to Catholic efforts at suppressing it during the 16th and 17th centuries because of its subversive potential. “Why carnival got a new lease of life towards the end of the 18th century is an open question among specialists.” Habicht is clear that the original Basel carnival was suppressed for religious reasons. “Although the mediaeval carnival in Basel was banned just after the Reformation in 1529, the term lived on as the name of a feast day”, he says, just as some Catholic saints’ days were still referred to by Protestants. “That’s why the name ‘Fasnacht’ keeps coming up in the historical sources even after the Reformation. It just means the date. But it has often been mistakenly interpreted as evidence of an unbroken tradition of carnival.” Habicht sees the modern Basel carnival as the result of very gradual and varied development. “After the Reformation, the freed-up Shrovetide date was used for the weapons inspection of the city guilds, associated with a military parade, and the big guild banquet was still held that evening. These events had precious little to do with carnival as we know it today. But they became a vehicle for the development of a carnival in the 19th century.”
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The new event had the support of immigrants from southern Germany, Alsace, and other parts of Switzerland, who brought along their own carnival traditions and added them to the military parades, taking over the fifes and drums from the latter. There remains the mystery of why the Basel carnival begins when Lent has already started. Is it, as some have said, because of Protestant aversion to Lent or a desire to provoke neighbouring Catholics who are already fasting at this stage? Habicht believes otherwise. He points out that, even before the Reformation, the Basel carnival began a half-week after Ash Wednesday. “The reason lies in different calculations of the dates of Lent,” he explains. In some places like Basel, Lent did not begin until the following week because people there fasted on the Sundays as well to make up the prescribed 40 fast days before Easter. Magic in the air The brilliant fancy dress and music of the Basel carnival are put on by carnival societies. Lanterns are an important feature, too. At the Morgestraich, the participants wear not only masks but also coloured lanterns on their heads, while the city streets are plunged into darkness. In addition there are large lanterns depicting current topics to be satirised. Meanwhile, satirical poets and songsters compose verse commentary on current affairs which they recite and sometimes distribute in printed form, and there is generally plenty of coarse humour. This is all done in the Basel dialect, not in standard German, and the in-jokes ensure it is just for local consumption. Daytime parades featuring marching bands and festival floats are televised for a national audience. About 20,000 people are actively involved in making carnival happen, and the crowds lining the streets are in the hundreds of thousands. The atmosphere is magical. This is so especially at night, whether at Morgestraich – which always draws a huge crowd even at such an ungodly hour – or on the following nights of strolling the city streets (‘gässle’), where citizens and costumed players mingle to enjoy the fun. But the Basel carnival is more orderly than it is riotous, and wild behaviour is frowned upon. The emphasis is on aesthetic enjoyment of the colours and sounds. Many people familiar with the rowdier celebrations elsewhere find the atmosphere of the Basel carnival to be poetic and even somewhat melancholy. Swiss Club of Victoria
There are only three more Luncheons to go for this year, so please Ladies, get your pens out and mark these dates in your calendar:
• Wednesday, 4 July • Wednesday, 5 September • Wednesday, 7 November Price $22 pp for members, $25 pp for non-members. Includes 2-course meal, wine, soft drinks and coffee.
En Wonderbare Morge
Looking forward to your company. New-comers most welcome. For information and bookings ring me on 9889 9321 or Roger at the Club on 9650 1196. Bookings are essential! Heidy Giger
Kä Wölkli rings am Himmel. S ganz Ländli goldig grüe. De Säntis volle Freud ond d Sonn scho ase früe. Wie Diamante glitzered hüt s Tau of Grääs ond Halm. S isch äm, mer ghöri singe vom Himmel her en Psalm. Gell Herz, do tueds der wohle. Säg selb, wie wärischt draa; wenn d chönntischt i dim Gwösse en derige Morge haa.
Inge Kulmanis was the guest speaker at the last Luncheon. She entertained us wonderfully with stories from her childhood in Basel and the many adventures as an immigrant in Australia.
“Poor things! Not only do they see their best land turned into stinking bogs...but they have to move around the streets of their towns in boats. An upstairs window has to serve as the front door to their homes.” Hans Konrad Escher (1767-1823), writing of the inhabitants of the villages around Lake Walen before the Linth correction
Test your Swiss Knowledge - Answers Across: 1. SPRINZ; 4. GENEVA; 5. PIPILOTTI; 7. PLATEAU; 9. TECHNORAMA; 10. NEUCHATEL; 13. DUFOUR Down: 2. KLEE; 3. CERVELAT; 5. PROPATRIA; 6. PILATUS; 8. UNTERHALTUNGSABEND; 11. THURGAU; 12. USA; 14. JURA; 15. KAMBLY; 16. LIMMAT w w w.s w i s sc lu bv i c .co m.au
Corpus Christi, Appenzell Inner-Rhodes Corpus Christi is celebrated in Roman Catholic areas on the second Thursday after Whitsunday (Thursday, 7 June 2012). It consists of a procession in honour of the holy sacrament. In Catholic Appenzell Inner-Rhodes the end of the official procession is taken up by women dressed in their magnificent traditional festive costumes. This costume is worn only on a few specified religious occasions.
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Spring Assembly Report of the
Council of the Swiss Abroad Bern – Saturday, 24 March 2012 1. The President of the ASO, Jacques-Simon Eggly, stressed in his report the following points: • Electronic voting on Federal matters for the Swiss Abroad: four Cantons offered electronic voting for the Swiss Abroad for the 2011 elections. The Assembly approved of a decision to urge the Federal Government to expedite electronic voting on a national level, in the form of a petition. • Drafting of a law for the Swiss Abroad, which is being discussed at all parliamentary levels. The Swiss Abroad are being asked to comment. In my comments, I did ask the Council to consider the question of direct representation of the Swiss Abroad in the Federal Parliament, as the Council had not had the opportunity to discuss that. At committee level, however, the idea was rejected. Further subjects were discussed as follows: 2. Swiss Banks and the Swiss Abroad: Many delegates complained that their countrymen in the various countries have difficulties with their Swiss Banks, the accounts either being closed or being loaded with heavy costs. The Swiss in the US are particularly badly affected. The meeting approved of a resolution to ask the Federal Government to look into solutions as to how to service the Swiss Abroad with adequate bank account facilities in Switzerland.
3. Swiss Community www.swisscommunity.org: this is a very valuable internet platform for all Swiss Abroad, about their activities abroad and their relationship back to Switzerland. 4. Pro Helvetia: The CEO, Mr. Knuesel, gave a brief outline of the framework within which they promote Swiss culture abroad and work with Swiss organisations abroad to promote Swiss artists in general. See their website www. prohelvetia.ch 5. Swiss Review: You will remember that previously six issues were published every year, before budget cuts forced a reduction to only four issues per year. The intervention of the ASO has succeeded, this year there will be five and next year again six issues. The Review is an important link between Switzerland and the Swiss Abroad. In order to get a copy you will need to be registered with the Consulate General. You can choose either paper or electronic version by visiting www.swissabroad.ch. 6. 2013: The current delegates (including the 4 delegates from Australia) to the Council of the Swiss Abroad have their mandate until 13 August 2013. In October/November 2012, the Secretariat of the Swiss Abroad in Bern will organise elections for members of the Council for the years 2013 2017. It is foreseen that the coming elections are held with the old system, i.e. the Swiss Clubs getting to vote. Once the new law has been approved, only those Swiss Abroad will be allowed to vote having registered themselves to vote in Switzerland. There is still time for you to register. 7. The introduction of the biometric Swiss passport was again discussed and also the difficulty for many Swiss Abroad to access the Swiss Consular Service. The suggestion was made that beside this passport the Swiss Abroad should have the possibility to get an ID card without the necessity of biometrical data. 8. The 90th Congress of the Swiss Abroad will be held on 17-19 August in Lausanne. The spring session 2013 will be held in the Bern town hall on 16 March. Beat Knoblauch - Council of the Swiss Abroad
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Swiss Club of Victoria
Swiss Abroad prefer not to stay put Over 700,000 Swiss live outside the country, most of them in Europe, but increasingly their move abroad is only temporary as part of their professional careers. But even if they are only staying away for a short time, they are still interested in exercising their political rights, making the introduction of e-voting a necessity for the Swiss Abroad. The Swiss Abroad statistics supplied by the foreign ministry detail exactly how many citizens live abroad and where. But these numbers provide little in the way of information as to why people have moved to another country or for how long. “We assume that many people move abroad for professional reasons,” said Ariane Rustichelli, spokeswoman for the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA). “For the past decade, there has been a clear trend towards people moving away for a few years and then coming back, mainly for professional reasons or for further education.” Drawn to Asia Asian countries have attracted higher numbers of Swiss citizens in recent years, even if the overall figures remain relatively low. “I can imagine that people are moving to work in countries where the economy has been growing rapidly,” Rustichelli said.
SWISS CLUB MOVIE ‘Polizischt Wäckerli’
“Of course, there are retired people moving to Asia, but around three quarters of the Swiss abroad are still of working age, between 18 and 65. The idea that Swiss living outside the country are mainly pensioners is wrong,” she added. The foreign ministry agrees that more and more Swiss are heading abroad only for a short time. “Many people emigrate for six months to a year for further education or to pursue their careers, but not with the idea of making a permanent move,” said the ministry’s delegate for the Swiss abroad, Jean-François Lichtenstern. According to the statistics, 30,000 Swiss on average leave the country annually, while another 25,000 return home. Last year, the number of Swiss abroad increased by 8,517, up 1.23%. A more significant rise was the additional 5.5% of Swiss abroad who registered to vote, taking the total to 143,288. E-voting Because of this figure, the OSA has demanded the faster introduction of e-voting, which has been tested in a number of cantons. “Postal voting often doesn’t work properly,” said the OSA in a statement. “The introduction of e-voting is from the OSA’s point of view… in the interest of all voters, and constitutes an essential instrument for the application of direct democracy.” For the organisation, communes and cantons would also benefit since it would reduce their administrative workload. Counting votes would be automated and results published faster, cutting costs. The largest Swiss abroad community lives in France, with over 180,000 people, ahead of Germany with around 79,000. At the other end of the scale, São Tomé and Principe, Kiribati and Micronesia are home to just one Swiss citizen.
The Swiss Club Restaurant. It’s where you meet your friends.
Wednesday, 18 July 2012, 8pm Swiss Club, 2nd floor CH/1956, 104 min Swiss German/German subtitles Director: Kurt Früh with Schaggi Streuli, Ruedi Walter, Margrit Rainer, Stephanie Glaser, Eva Haefeli, Peter Brogle, Emil Hegetschweiler Wäckerli, policeman in the small Swiss village of Allenwil, is in trouble. His son Ruedi is unhappy in his apprenticeship and spends way too much money. And now 10’000 francs have been stolen from the borough’s community fund. Join us down memory lane for this classic Swiss movie with many well known and loved actors. It wonderfully depicts Swiss life in the 1950. Free for members, non-members gold coin donation. Enjoy dinner at the club, before or after the movie. Please book with the restaurant on 9650 1196.
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Our first performance this year was at the SWISS FESTIVAL at the Austrian Club. It went very well and we all had a great time. The next adventure will be in Hepburn Springs at the SWISS AND ITALIAN FESTA. We are always looking forward to perform at this events together with the other Swiss groups. The practise sessions are in full swing but we are always looking for new members. If you like to sing, give us a try. We welcome back Brigitte Bohren to the choir. For more information phone the Convenor, Heidy Giger on 9889 9321.
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Swiss Events & Functions Please note that this calendar also list events other than those organised by the Swiss Club of Victoria and its subgroups. Please book all Swiss Club functions (bold entries) with Roger, phone 9650 1196 or fax 9650 3104 and check website for latest information and details of upcoming events. For all other events please contact the relevant organisation (see page 3 for contact details).
JUNE
Saturday Saturday Thursday Sunday Friday Thursday
02 02 07 10 15 21
SwissKids Jass Night - Swiss Club Kapelle Grüezi Mitenand entertains Australian Jass Championship Billiard Competition - Bernard Sandoz Trophy Second Floor Club Social: Movie Afternoon - ‘La Cage aux Folles’
JULY
Wednesday Thursday Saturday Saturday Wednesday Tuesday
04 05 07 07 18 31
Ladies’ Luncheon Kapelle Grüezi Mitenand entertains SwissKids Jass Night - Swiss Club Swiss Movie Night - ‘Polizischt Wäckerli’ National Day Senior Members Luncheon
AUGUST
Wednesday 01 Saturday Sunday Saturday Thursday
04 05 11 16
National Day Lantern Procession, Federation Square Swiss Club National Day Dinner SwissKids National Day Family Picnic, Gembrook - Matterhorn Jass Night - Matterhorn Second Floor Club Social: TBA
OTHER REGULAR SWISS CLUB MEETINGS: Committee Meetings: every 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month
Advance Notice:
Swiss Folk Dance Group Alpenrose: practice every Tuesday evening at 8.15pm Swiss Companion Singers: practice and social gathering every 2nd and 3rd Thursday of each month at 8pm SwissKids: meet on the 1st Saturday of every month, from 2pm to 4pm The Swiss Diners Club: dates for get-together can be found on www.swiss.org.au or on our Yahoo group http://groups. yahoo.com/group/YoungSwissMelbourne
Kaffeeklatsch Kaffeeklatsch (Coffee, Cakes and a Chat) will be on
Sunday, 9 September All our Senior Citizens over sixty will be welcome. Mark this date in your diary. More information in the next newsletter. SWISS NEWS, WORLD WIDE
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Swiss Club of Victoria
CBD FUNCTION AND MEETING ROOM WITH A DIFFERENCE The Second Floor at the Swiss Club
BUSINESS FUNCTIONS, CONFERENCES, SMALL MEETINGS
• • • • • •
Theatre style seating for up to 90 Work shop seating for up to 55 Cocktail set up for up to 120 Private meeting room for up to 16 Architect designed space Choice of catering from the Swiss Club Restaurant or Terra Rossa • Modern amenities
• Basic coffee making facilities • Parking close by • 5 minutes walk to Flinders Street or Parliament Station • 2 minutes walk to Tram 75/70/48 • Friendly venue with Swiss history • Competitive rates
OR DINNER/ DANCE FUNCTIONS, LAUNCHES, PRIVATE EVENTS
• • • • • • •
Unbeatable location Ample parking close by Train, tram and bus close by Dinner seating for up to 80 Cocktail set up to 120 Dance floor Architect designed modern space with lots of ambience
• Modern amenities • Choice of catering from the Swiss Club Restaurant or Terra Rossa • Choice of BYO caterer • Catering kitchen with 4 ovens, microwave and industrial dishwasher • Friendly venue with Swiss history • Competitive rates
AT THE PERFECT VENUE – THE SWISS CLUB OF VICTORIA Contact us on E: thesecondfloor@swissclubvic.com.au T: 1300 893 968 to check for availability, more information or a quote
Annual General Meeting
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Swiss Festival
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Ladies Lunche
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Ambassador’s Fa
