A Day That Swung Big and Gave Even Bigger

This year’s Robert Allenby Golf Day and Gala felt like one bright thread running from the fairways of Yarra Yarra to the lights of Crown’s Palladium. The day began with morning and afternoon rounds, the Melbourne rain drifting in and out without troubling anyone. Guests played on as if the weather were just background scenery, fuelled by toasties, barbecues, and the kind of shared moments that make golf feel less like a game and more like a small community in motion.

That warmth followed us into the Gala at Crown’s Palladium, hosted by the ever-brilliant Tom Gleisner. We opened the evening by celebrating our prize winners: ALH in third, Action Aluminium in second, and our 2025 champions, Yarra Yarra Golf Club, who proved that home ground advantage is not just real but occasionally unstoppable. Each team was recognised with well deserved prizes and the kind of smiles that surface when hard work and happiness finally catch up to each other.

The room settled into its usual mix of glamour and ease, and one of the night’s standout moments followed soon after: honouring Robert Allenby’s induction into the Victorian Golf Hall of Fame, a recognition that felt both deserved and inevitable.

But the most touching moment was not found on the leaderboard. It came when auctioneer Michael Wood took the stage and rallied the room into a kind of joyful generosity, the kind that stretches beyond competition or celebration and lands somewhere closer to the heart. As bids climbed for fabulous prizes, you could feel the deeper reason people were raising their paddles: a cause that matters, a community they believe in.

This thread of meaning echoed the words our CEO David Rogers shared, reminding us that this event is not simply a fundraiser or a golf day but a living expression of compassion meeting consistency. It has grown across decades and is held together by trust, effort, and a sincerity that never feels performed. The care in the room is both visible and quietly enduring.

For us as an organisation, this commitment means more than applause or attendance ever could. It is a quiet record of time, built by people who continue to show up for families they may never meet. Their loyalty, carried across decades, reassures us that the heart of this work is shared. That continuity touches us more than words can say.

And then, because no night should end without a little joyful chaos, Diamonds Live hit the stage. Within minutes the dancefloor was alive: hips swaying, shoes abandoned, and dance circles forming with the sort of irresistible momentum that takes over when people suddenly remember they used to be fun. It rolled through the room in a wonderful and unruly way, the perfect ending to a day worth celebrating.

Thank you to everyone who joined us, supported us, sponsored us, played with us, and danced with us. You helped create another unforgettable chapter in an event that continues to mean so much to so many, with generosity that carries through families, programs, and moments of care long after the final putt drops.