A BRIEF HISTORY OF PROBUS

The Probus movement had its genesis in two ancestors – both in the U.K. and both established by Rotary clubs. The first was known as the Campus club. It was formed in 1965 by the Rotary Club of Welwyn Garden City, 20 miles north of London. The second was formed by the Rotary Club of Caterham in 1966 and was named the Probus Club, for the ‘PRO’ in professional and the ‘BUS’ in business, which also made up the Latin word from which the word ‘probity’ is derived.

Both were formed to meet the need for companionship of their peers and mental stimulation for retired business and professional men. Today there are clubs for male, female and combined gender. Probus has spread around the world; it moved first to other European countries, then to New Zealand and Australia – and then South Africa, and more recently, to North America, Africa, India, Asia, Cyprus, South America and Japan.

The first club in Australia was the Probus Club of Hunters Hill, N.S.W., sponsored by the Rotary Club of Hunters Hill in 1976 with the help of the Rotary Club of Dumbarton, Scotland.

Probus is a world-wide movement in twenty three countries. Probus South Pacific Limited (PSPL) [the independent support service for Probus clubs in this region] administers almost 50% of the world number of Probus clubs.

(Probus Club Handbook 2015/16: p. 9, www.probussouthpacific.org)