What's On, Events & More

The inaugural John Vance Memorial Day at Club Tamborine was cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic and narrowly missed being cancelled again this year because of the most recent outbreak in Brisbane.

However, on March 28 Dr Vance was finally honoured at the delayed event that was created in his memory and to help raise funds for Queensland Guide Dogs.

Dr Vance and his wife Dawn moved to Tamborine Mountain in 1996 just prior to his retiring because of his sight issues. It was also at this time that he joined the Tamborine Mountain Bowls Club, as he was already playing with Blind Bowlers.

Dr Vance was the president of Blind Bowlers Queensland and then became the president of Australian Blind Bowlers Association, taking the team to England in 2013 for a 10-nation competition in which Australia came second. It was clear that he touched many lives both in the bowling community and in the Tamborine Mountain local community with his kindness, generosity, and determination to leave behind a legacy.

He was an active member of Club Tamborine for 22 years. Barry Chatel was John’s bowling director for two-and-a- half years and in that time, he competed in two national championships with him as well as numerous other events.

John was an active member of the Guide Dogs community for 23 years and an incredible advocate for the blind and low vision community. He was elected as a Guide Dogs Board Director in August 2008 and was also the Chair of the Client Services Liaison Committee and a member of the Volunteer Peer Support Program. He passionately advocated on issues such as disability parking access for Queenslanders and accessibility issues on the Queensland Rail network.

He also assisted in the training of staff to ensure they could best help people with low or no vision. He was recognised for his enormous ongoing contribution by being awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in 2014 for services to the blind and vision impaired.

In November 2011, John was matched with Guide Dog Vogue who became his steadfast and loyal companion. The CEO of Queensland Guide Dogs who attended the Memorial Day, delighted everyone by bringing along the wonderful Vogue. In a touching moment, Vogue made a direct path towards Mrs Vance, something that brought tears to most of the onlookers.

We would like to thank our sponsors who donated prizes for the day: Club Tamborine, Mt Tamborine Vineyard and Winery, SParms, Lawn Bowls Sunscreen – Sunblessed Sunscreen, Queensland Guide Dogs, Thoroughbred Fix and Lance Cordingley Lawyers.