Last week, the Inner Wheel club’s Swan Valley chapter celebrated their 10th birthday at Stewart’s Restaurant in Upper Swan.

The cake was cut by six original charter members who are still in the club: Felicity Bailey, Helen Meng, Dana Tarsakis-Tebbutt, chapter president Lorraine Reed, Pauline Uhe, and Pam Hall.

The club aims to promote friendship, foster international understanding, and encourage community and personal service.

Swan Valley secretary Felicity Bailey said the friendship found through the club was one of the most common reasons for women to join, and a big part of why many stayed members for multiple years.

Membership includes a monthly meeting where members catch up for a cup of tea or coffee, lunch, and listen to a guest speaker from a Perth business or organisation.

Ms Bailey said guest speakers have always been varied, and in the past year included representatives from Stitches of Hope, People of WA’s Ghost Towns, Bendigo Bank, and Mondo Nougat.

Outings affectionately called ‘friendship days’ are also included in the club’s program, where members head out to visit locations around Perth, including the Perth Mint and Swan Valley wineries for wine tastings.

The club also runs fundraising events like fashion parades and food drives for charities including cord blood research, Koolkuna women’s refuge, the royal flying doctor’s service, Perth Ascension church, and doctors without borders.

The Inner Wheel club was originally formed in the UK, in January 1924, and was formed and attended by the wives of Rotary Club members.

The first Australian version of the club started in Ballarat in 1931, and the organisation has only grown from there, becoming the largest women’s service voluntary organisation in the world.

Around the world, there are more than 120,000 members belonging to more than 4000 clubs.

This year, the Inner Wheel reached its centenary milestone, and members around the world celebrated a century of friendship and service.