Stokes Valley Christmas Parade
Special thanks to Robin Aitken, Mike Fackney, June Stratton and David Thompson
for your assistance with the successful Stokes Valley Christmas Parade.
Stories
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Rotary Christmas Raffle WinnersSpecial thanks to everyone for your help with the Christmas Trailer Raffle. It was great to deliver the prizes to two very worthy winners. Congratulations to them both.  1st prize winner: Paul Harding  2nd prize winner: Bianca Holden |
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Christmas Function Very proud Grandparents. Thank you so much to all who were able to attend our Christmas function. It was great to share time with members, partners and friends, and to enjoy fellowship and entertainment. Of course, a Christmas function just doesn’t happen! |
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President's Christmas Message“A fight is going on inside me,” said an old man to his son. “It is a terrible fight between two wolves. One wolf is evil. He is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other wolf is good. He is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith. The same fight is going on inside you.” The son thought about it for a minute and then asked, “Which wolf will win?” The old man replied simply, “The one you feed.”
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Christmas Trailer Raffle 2024 Congratulations to members involved in the setting up and delivery of the trailer raffle to Queensgate last Saturday. Thank you to everyone on the roster and giving of their time to sell the raffle tickets.
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President's Report to Assembly/AGM – 25 November 2024 Like every year, things have been very busy for Board members – overseeing the running of the Club. In my capacity as President, I have attended numerous meetings of the wider Rotary family.
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South Korea Travels with Jaye Howey On Monday night we enjoyed visiting the sights of South Korea – without the cost of an airfare!! Thanks to Jaye for sharing her travel experiences and photos taken while travelling through South Korea. South Korea is about the same size as our North Island but has a population of 51million. Jaye commenced her journey from the capital city Seoul. The first stop was the ‘Demilitarised Zone’ on the edge of the Han River. It is an area set up specifically for tourists and many of the visitors were using long-focus lenses to gain a glimpse of the other side – ‘North Korea’. We also saw the ‘Reunification Tower’ – the South Koreans would like to find a way of merging with North Korea, however that is not a sentiment shared by the North. Another highlight of Seoul was the ‘Lotte World Tower’ – the 5th highest building in the world is a 123 story, 555m skyscraper. You travel very quickly to the top in a whisper quiet lift at 10m/sec. The views over the city and surrounding areas are stunning.
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Guest Speaker Rozy Moar - ESR Senior Scientist On Monday night, ESR senior scientist Rosy Moar came and gave a talk about Forensic Toxicology in New Zealand. The Environmental & Scientific Research Institute is a Crown Entity, largely funded by payment for the work it does for governmental entities. She explained about the work ESR performed – in environmental, health and forensic sectors - and its role as a Crown Research Institute. The Forensic Toxicology unit is based out in Porirua, just below the Kenepuru Hospital. |
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Guest Speakers - Gary & June Stratton  “An amazing holiday – one of our best”, was how Gary and June Stratton described their “triple treat” of travel. On 14 May they departed from Auckland for 10 weeks, which would include a 12-day North Sea cruise on the liner Norwegian Star, a month self-driving in Scotland and England, and a 15-day European river cruise on the Emerald Destiny. During the sea cruise, the weather was often cold, despite it being early summer, and Gary’s photos of Norway and Iceland showed snow thick on the hills that surrounded the fiords -where their liner berthed for day visits.
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Guest Speaker - Gary Lawrence: Dental Aid Project to Taveuni Island, Fiji. Gary Lawrence, Rotary Club of Kapiti provided an update on the Rotary Volunteer Project to Taveuni and his recent visit in August this year. This project has been in place for a number of years, Gary has been visiting Taveuni since 2010, either as a team member or more latterly as team lead. The last visit in August saw a team of three dentists (including Gary); a chair-side assistant; hygienist; and an assistant. |
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Rotary Exchange to Woodstock, New Hampshire Tony & Jenny and Mike & Sandy during the rotary exchange at Woodstock, New Hampshire. |
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Patrick McKibbin - Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce Patrick McKibbin from the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce gave us an update and review of what business is up to in the Valley, both Upper and Lower Hutt. It was very refreshing to hear that there is a lot going on out there in business. As he quoted, "you don't know what's going on behind these roller doors around the Valley".
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Environment Committee Riverbank Cleanup Sunday 29th September  On a mild and sunny Sunday morning our group of thirteen collected an assortment of paper, plastic, bottles, cans, polystyrene (and a bike) lying on the banks of the Hutt River between Melling and Ava Railway Bridges. We finished (as is the tradition) with a get–together over a very fine morning tea. Thanks to everyone for their help with making this project a success once again. .
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Hamish Campbell - The Geological Shaping of Wellington Harbour Hamish is a Geologist and Emeritus Scientist at GNS Science with a continuing involvement with Geology and an interest in History. Born in Christchurch and brought up and educated in Dunedin with a scholarship to Cambridge he has had a distinguished career with GNS which included being seconded to Te Papa where he wrote the concept for the Awesome Forces exhibition (1998-2019), one of the highlights of the museum. Hamish now spends time at GNS and leads educational trips.
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Te Omanga Hospice - Vintners' Lunch  The Vintners' Lunch event is Te Omanga Hospice's biggest annual fundraiser. This is the first time that we, as a club, have assisted the Hospice with this event. Saturday was setting tables and decorating the venue in preparation for the big day on Sunday. We then returned late on Sunday afternoon to assist with packing everything away. Over time, we have given a helping hand to the hospice in a variety of ways and this was another opportunity to build on the relationship that we have developed with them. |
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Guest Speaker - Josh Briggs, CEO Vibe Kia ora Koutou - nau mai haere mai Josh Briggs apart from being a City Councillor, is the acting CEO of Vibe. Josh took over the role four months ago having previously served as Vibe's Business and Transformational Lead for a period of 12 months. Vibe proudly supports many areas of the community encompassing young people and their families. Having been in business since 1996 there are now many organisations in the city that support young people but Vibe is the only "one stop shop" for young people who face all manner of trauma and indecision in their lives. |
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Repair of Te Omanga Hospice Playhouse Barrie, Gary and Paul recently repaired the damaged roof on the children’s playhouse at Te Omanga Hospice. A big thank you to Annie Matthews for kindly providing the roofing materials by way of a donation from Placemakers. Rachel Brandt, Volunteers Manager at Te Omanga Hospice has written to say thank you so much for all your hard work and time, so very much appreciated.
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Taita College Music Showcase |
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Mike Keehan - Our South African Safari   This week we had the pleasure of hearing from our very own Mike Keehan. In May, Mike and his wife Jenny were part of a golf tour group that travelled to South Africa. They spent time in Johannesburg, played golf and did a safari tour in Kruger National Park. |
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Riverbank CleanupA reminder for those members taking part in the Hutt River clean up. Sunday 29th September - 10am. Where: Hutt riverbank carpark, Andrew’s Ave entrance Area covered: from Ava rail bridge to Melling Bridge (depending on volunteer numbers) The River Ranger will provide gloves, bags and some pick-up tools. If you want to assist please contact Paul on 021 673137 Morning tea will be provided, please bring your own hot drink.
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Lifting the Lid on Youth Mental Health Dave Appleyard, Jane Mitchell, David Shackleton, Bill Day This team of very experienced and distinguished Rotarians, Past Presidents all, introduced a new project to our club. It is regrettable but true that our national health service is over stretched and as a result there are long waiting lists, and therefore long waits, for almost all non-life-threatening conditions, especially in mental health. This is especially true for young people, where long delays in treatment can have permanent results both for them and for others. The "Lifting the Lid" programme recognises this reality and aims to bridge these gaps in our health system. The project is aimed at secondary schools and ultimately all schools. It is started by a group of Rotary Clubs in an area setting up a small committee and liaising with local schools.
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Deborah Olasoju: My Journey Through Innovative Young Minds  What was intended as one person’s journey through a Rotary organised course turned out to be a chapter in a much much larger journey. Deborah is a year 12 student at Naenae College. She was sponsored by our club to take part in the Innovation Challenge for Young Women. There were eighty participants, including three from Naenae College and Deborah described this residential course.
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Deborah Olasoju (IYM Participant) and her Parents, Olamide & Kenny  Last Monday evening we had the pleasure of hearing from the delightful Olasoju family. Deborah, eloquently told of her experience attending IYM, backed up with PowerPoint slides. She enthusiastically describing in detail the activities which she and other participants were involved in, while staying at the Silverstream Retreat. Visits included to Victoria University’s Ferrier Research Institute, Otago University at Wellington Hospital where the participants learnt suturing, CPR, and protein testing, Weta FX, and Parliament. |
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Guest Speaker Tony Heyward On Monday evening we had the pleasure of having Tony Heyward, Deputy Chair of Rotary Zone 8 Regional Council, talk about the new Regionalisation Pilot. There are only two regions carrying out this Pilot. The other region is UK & Ireland. The prime reason for the Pilot is “to reverse the decline in membership and increase the reach and impact of Rotary and Rotaract in Zone 8”. Zone 8 includes New Zealand, Australia, and other South Pacific nations. |
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Group Walk Whitireia Park Big Loop Track President Mike, John Cole, Jaye and Brian Klee with Probus friends setting out on their Whitireia Park 3 hour big loop walk recently. Great effort team.
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Ian Ferguson, A Sporting Life  Ian has a most amazing c.v. Four Gold Medals, NZ Olympian of the Century, M.B.E., National Surf Life Saving Champion, four times N Z Ironman et many als. Still very trim and fit at 72 Ian gave an outline of his achievements and his beliefs. Quiet spoken but very, very determined Ian has always been fiercely competitive, energetic and ambitious. |
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OLYMPIAN IAN FERGUSON SPEAKING TO CLUB - Monday 29 JulyTo coincide with the start of the Paris Olympics, we have been very fortunate, at short notice, to have Olympian Ian Ferguson, speak to Rotary this Monday evening, 29 July. Ian Ferguson, MBE - New Zealand's 2nd most successful Olympian, attending 5 Olympics, winning 4 golds, and 1 silver - NZ Sportsman of the Year -Multiple winner of Ironman, Surf Lifesaving, Surf Ski Consequently, Monday evening will be a family/friends meeting. Because of the likelihood of higher attendance numbers on Monday evening with Ian Ferguson, our caterers require earlier notice of numbers. Accordingly please would you inform Christine Meredith on 0210674592 or cam1548@yahoo.com, by Midday Friday if you will be attending, and the number of any family/friends who will be attending. If you are not attending, also let Christine know. |
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Wendy Hill - Guest Speaker Our guest speaker this week was Wendy Hill, Manager/Trustee of Greenstone Doors. Wendy established Greenstone Doors Charitable Trust, a safe place to talk 10 years ago when working in the sector and saw the need to provide support for women and their whanau through pregnancy. |
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Guest Speakers - Mike Jillings and Anne Schumacher: Dementia Wellington Most of us will know someone who suffers from dementia and Anne, Chief Executive and Mike, Hutt Dementia advisor, gave a brief but clear explanation of what it can be, and what can be done to help those suffering it. Dementia is "a decline in cognitive functions". Symptoms can include decline in: memory, reasoning, performing daily functions and a change in personality. |
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ChangeoverFrom the President It was great to experience our Changeover with members, partners and friends. A highlight was to see Absie receive his well-earned Paul Harris Award. We were entertained by a young talented guitarist (Theo Thompson), and were treated to a fabulous meal thanks to Chalet Catering, Graham and staff. Special thanks go to John and Ron for organizing such a great evening. We are also grateful for John’s leadership during the past year. Thank you, John, for your time and effort.   Absie Crook receiving his PHF Award |
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Club Forum On Monday evening we had the last Club Forum under my presidency. Each committee director read out their teams latest activities and highlights of the last 12 months. Where has that time gone? Here is a round up of the year's activities: |
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Dementia Garden at Woburn Presbyterian Home An updated photo of the Dementia Garden at the Woburn Presbyterian Home showing the autumn colours sent to us by Catharina & Andrew Fisher thanking our club members again and Mary Housten for their great work in establishing the garden last year in memory of Richard Housten.
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Mike Fackney - Ethiopia Trip More Adventures from our Intrepid Rotarian In March 2022 Mike was planning to spend three weeks in Ethiopia and then move on to Uganda but then Covid hit. As a result we were shown around parts of a country none of the rest of us are ever likely to visit. Coffee is believed to have originated in Ethiopia, where they drink it thick and sweet and after such a coffee Mike's adventures began. |
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Healthy in the Hutt 2024  This year's Healthy in the Hutt was the best attended event since our rotary club has been running it. We had over 30 stands and lots of people coming through seeking information and taking the opportunity to have their health checked. Even the sun had the decency to shine! A massive thanks to Mike, Paul and Chris Giles, Robin, Absie, Tony and Jenny Cornelius, my Paul and Brian Klee. They enabled the event to run smoothly by helping in the lead up to the event plus being there and helping on the day. A further thanks to all of you who donated goods for the draw. I had enough products to fill 2 baskets so we had 2 draws! Thank you Jaye for popping in to take photos. Thanks to Julia Milne who made the delicious chunky vegetable soup and to Countdown Upper Hutt for the rolls and boxes of fruit. Lastly, thanks to the staff at Walter Nash who helped us with the set up and then had a major clean up job after the event. This event makes a huge difference to the community and it's exciting to see a number of people who now come regularly each year. The cost to run this event to the Club is minimal thanks to the support of Countdown, Julia and the Walter Nash Stadium who provides the venue for free. Healthy in the Hutt which is run annually at the Walter Nash Stadium is an outstanding success in the way it informs people about health providers, wellness and keeping safe. It makes a huge difference. |
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Presentation of Usborne DictionariesI recently presented Usborne Dictionaries to year 4 students at Taita Central School and St Michaels School. The dictionaries were very well received by the students.  Taita Central School with Principal Michelle Picard  St Michael's School
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Quiz/Auction FundraiserLast Friday’s quiz/auction evening raised nearly $6000 for the Wellington Free Ambulance and was regarded as a successful and entertaining event, with 103 people in attendance. There was spirited bidding for the auction items, led by Quiz master and Auctioneer, Ray Wallace. Prizes were awarded to the top two teams. Thanks to all who assisted and supported this fundraising project.  Winners - Bob Scott + 1  Runners Up - Westhill
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King's Birthday - No Meeting |
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Paul Swain - Life After Politics Paul was our Labour M.P. from 1990 to 2008 and a Cabinet Minister between 1999 and 2005. His address was on what he has been doing since his parliamentary career ended. It, his parliamentary career, ended on a high note, as he quoted John Major, Prime Minister of Britain, "Better to go when they want you to stay than to stay when they want you to go". Paul's address was in two parts. Part 1: "What I have done in my spare time". Part 2: "What I have been doing" since 2008." |
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Paul Littlefair - A Brief Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI) "The old order changeth, giving place to new..." The last visiting speaker we had was the son of one of our members and showed how very much technology had progressed in the space of one generation and this night we had another, similarly impressive example. Paul gave a very clear and comprehensible explanation of what AI is, and where it fits in the development of computers. |
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Te Omanga Hospice Collection at Queensgate I have received the following note from Rebecca Routhan from Te Omanga Hospice - "To the dream team of Rotary Club of Eastern Hutt Your support for us is incredible. Thank you for pulling a great crew together for our annual Te Omanga Hospice Street Appeal and managing them on the day. We know this takes a great deal of coordination and time and to have this support from you is appreciated. We are delighted to announce that in total we have raised $38,175.57! |
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The Local Real Estate Market We have all noticed the proliferation of newly built or building town houses all over Lower Hutt, and wondered who was buying them. John gave us the answer: no-one! Too many of them are being built too close together and are too small. No owner wants them built next door, cutting out their sun, and almost no one wants to buy them as they are too small, lack garages and gardens and often have too little sun themselves. Furthermore they often lack parking and being two or three storeys, are unsuitable for the retirement market. Many developers, having built or in the process of still building them are letting them, or turning them into BnBs and one Christchurch based developer which built many and once employed twenty agents in the Wellington area now employs only one.
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Ray Tomlinson - Guest Speaker Ray Tomlinson, JT Group, Site Solution Specialists Imagine being in at the birth of a world-wide success story. This is how we felt on the night. Our most senior member, Joe Tomlinson, coming from Glasgow to New Zealand sixty three years ago started a painting company. Known for its integrity, quality and value it grew over the years and later developed a house washing offshoot. Joe's son, Ray, joined that offshoot and has turned it into the largest commercial building cleanwashing company in New Zealand, and a company that literally leads the world in its revolutionary technology. |
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Fundraising Quiz Night Contact John Cole (021 495495) or Brian Clarke (021745388) for tickets. |
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Lower Hutt City Council Long Term Plan Councillor Simon Edwards - Lower Hutt's 10 Year Plan Because Lower Hutt residents are facing a 16.9% rates rise the councillors are attending every group and event and meeting that they can to explain the reasons. Simon was standing in for another councillor at short notice but gave a very clear and well explained exposition of the situation. All councils are required to have a ten year budget plan reviewed every three years. This is important as the city needs to plan for the future, particularly as the population is projected to grow from 113000 to over 140000. |
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Anzac Day 2024 Today I was a proud member of the thousands of people who stood together to remember and pay tribute to the men and women who fought for our country. Some of those brave soldiers gave their lives and some returned home to their loved ones never to forget what and who they had left behind. We were asked to give thought to the morning of the 25th April 1915 when Australian and New Zealand troops landed under fire at Gallipoli. It was then and in the battles that followed that the ANZAC tradition was formed.
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Spruce up of the Small Pavilion in Avalon Park On the 26th of July 2012 Eastern Hutt Rotary Club donated a small pavilion with a table and three solid wooden bench seats to Avalon Park. Over the last 12 years the pavilion had become a bit weather beaten and dirty so our Community and Environment Committee decided to give it a freshen up. Joe Tomlinson’s son Ray who owns a water blasting firm did a great job to clean the pavilion and surrounding concrete. Barrie Littlefair who convenes the committee is a member of the Days Bay Menz Shed so he volunteered to restore the furniture. In order to leave one seat in the pavilion for public use at all times it required three trips to Days Bay to transport the seats. This was done by Paul Giles and Annette Ruck’s partner Ian Dopson and stepson Ian McFadden. The pavilion is now back to its former glory and is being well used by members of the public both young and old who visit the park. It is a great example of rotary action in our local community. |
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Rotary Friendship Exchange Visit from District 6840 Last Monday evening we had the pleasure to meet members of Rotary District 6840 in the USA. This was a reciprocal visit, after Eastern Hutt Rotary members visited their district just prior to the onset of Covid. Karen Babin from the Rotary Club of Metairie, who is leading the group, introduced a pictorial slide show, and started by speaking about their District, then introducing the other members. Rotary District 6840, unites the diverse cultures of Southeast Louisiana and South Mississippi. The district includes communities from just west of the Mississippi River at New Orleans to the Mississippi/Alabama state line. |
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Fashion Parade to Raise Money for the Lower Hutt Foodbank On Tuesday 26 March several of our members and were models for our very successful fundraising event at Ballentynes in Lower Hutt to raise money for the Lower Hutt Foodbank. Thank you Jaye, Anne, Judy, June, Jenny and Robyn. You were all great. A special thank you too to Mike Keehan and his committee for arranging the event.
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Rebecca Routhan - Te Omanga Hospice Rebecca is the Community and Events Programme Manager at Te Omanga Hospice. Our club had worked with Rebecca as she organised the recent charity golf tournament and she gave an outline of what organising the tournament involved, of the wider work of Te Omanga and the need for funds. Rebecca was born in the Hutt Valley and was once a primary school teacher before she joined Te Omanga, and had an interest in the performing arts. In spite of this background she professed to be nervous as this was the first address of this nature she had given, but her concern was unmerited as she gave a very fluent and interesting account of the tournament's organisation and the wider issue of working with the community.
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Walk For Mental Health 2024 On March the 10th our fourth Walk for Mental Health was held. We had a stunning day for the walk, sunny and very little wind. Approximately 70 walkers turned up for the event, a similar amount to last year. We had good support from a couple of the other Rotary Clubs which is great to see plus attendance from members of the Tenths Trust and their families.
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Alps2Ocean Trail - Ride February 2024Several members recently rode the Alps2 Ocean Trail, a distance of over 300 kms. Congratulations Tony and Jenny Cornelius , Paul and Christine Giles, John Cole and Mike Fackney. Great effort team!  |
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Letter of thanks from Te Omanga Hospice The following is an extract from a letter received from Rebecca Routhan, Community and Events Programme Manager, Te Omanga Hospice - "To our fabulous 2024 Te Omanga Hospice Golf Tournament volunteers, We can’t thank you enough for the work you did for us to help pull off one big, successful tournament! Whether you were in the set up/pack down crew, working during the tournament or entertaining our players, the part everyone played was hugely important and immensely appreciated. What a fabulous team effort. As a result of your generosity, we have been able to minimise expenses, maximising our fundraising total. The total raised is now $73,530! It’s a record-breaking golf fundraiser for us which will make a huge difference to families we care for. I hope you enjoyed yourselves and got to meet some new people while volunteering for us. I look forward to working with you again soon." |
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Helping out at Yesterday's Te Omanga Hospice Golf Tournament Some of the workers. Thank you so much to all of the members who helped make this year's charity golf tournament such a success. There was a record amount raised.
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Mike Fackney: Antarctica Expedition "A huge experience in every way" was how Mike described both his experience and Antarctica itself. For example the South Pole is 2441 km South West of Tierra Del Fuego, the Southern tip of South America. Mike's trip was on a former Scandinavian ferry organised by G Adventures who proved most pleasant and efficient. Accommodation was in a four berth cabin with just one other person, even though he had paid for only a two berth cabin. The food was superb and the staff, largely Filipino crew with European officers very friendly and helpful. The trip from South America to the Weddell Sea took two and a half days. |
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Repeated - Colin Fenton - The Improvements in Cataract Surgery Over the Years "The devil is in the detail", but so is the interest. Most of us know someone who has had to get their cataracts "done" but few of us had appreciated how much modern surgery has advanced. Even fewer would have heard of Harold Wrigley and how he transformed the process of "doing". Before modern surgery nothing could be done when a person developed cataracts. As recently as 1950 cataract operations became possible but would still involve the patient (or victim) going to the hospital the day before surgery, fasting and then having a general anaesthetic the operation, and spending seven days lying on their back, blindfold and waiting a further three months before having appropriate glasses prescribed.
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Colin Fenton - The Improvements in Cataract Surgery Over the Years "The devil is in the detail", but so is the interest. Most of us know someone who has had to get their cataracts "done" but few of us had appreciated how much modern surgery has advanced. Even fewer would have heard of Harold Wrigley and how he transformed the process of "doing". Before modern surgery nothing could be done when a person developed cataracts. As recently as 1950 cataract operations became possible but would still involve the patient (or victim) going to the hospital the day before surgery, fasting and then having a general anaesthetic the operation, and spending seven days lying on their back, blindfold and waiting a further three months before having appropriate glasses prescribed.
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Christmas Raffle Winners Gabriel King-Turner - First Prize Winner  Jan Fraser - Second Prize Winner Congratulations to you both. |
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Last Meeting of the Year The workers Ron and Tony who organised the annual "fish & chip" night, with President John who wished everyone a safe and happy Christmas. John also warned everyone that 11 December was the day most people separate so could everyone please get on with family over the holiday period and please all agree to disagree.
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Dylan Davey - Science & Technology Forum Candidate Last Monday Robin Aitken and I attended the Rotary Club of Upper Hutt Christmas dinner and had a chance to meet Dylan Davey (the student we are co-sponsoring to the Rotary National Science and Technology Forum, being held in Auckland in January). We also met his parents and brother. Dylan did a great presentation, telling us how he moved to New Zealand from South Africa when he was nine and went to Silverstream Primary school, Ferguson Intermediate and is now a student at St Patrick's Silverstream. He spoke about how he became interested in sport (in particular rugby) and then in Year 9 at school he developed a passion for science. Dylan has recently been appointed as Deputy Head Boy for 2024 at school. I think Dylan will be a fantastic candidate to represent us at the forum and we look forward to hearing from him after he has attended. |
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President John's Christmas WishesPresident John welcomed members and guests to our Christmas function and provided "food for thought" with his speech at the end of the evening - "2023 will go down as the year of the 'Cost of Living Crisis'. But we need to remember the grass is not greener on the other side. Many many countries around the world are experiencing the same situation. The UK inflation rate is currently 4.6% (down from 11% in January) Aussie is 5.4% (down from 8%) The US is currently 3.2% (down from 7%) And NZ is 5.6% at the moment. (Down from a 7.8% high) Mortgage repayments for many are the big struggle with some experiencing hundreds of dollars increase per week as interest rates have risen continuously.
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Stokes Valley Santa ParadeA group of our members assisted River Valley Rotary Club with traffic management at the Stokes Valley Santa Parade last Saturday.  Santa's helpers - missing are June & Gary Stratton.  Santa  Santa's float broke down and had to be pushed by two burly firemen!
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Oranga Tamariki and Children's Rights Proceedings Laura Barry and her business partner Samantha Brennan gave us an insight into the complex issue, fraught with political issues, of the care of children at risk. Both have been involved in this field for some time and their firm, Tiaki Family Law, has the priorities of care, conserve and protect in disputes involving the care and protection of children. |
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Sustainable Development and helping Nepal As well as being a wife, mother, Deputy Mayor of Upper Hutt and Co-ordinator of the Jackson Street programme, our guest speaker, Helen Swales is also a member of the Business and Professional Women's Association, which has 130 clubs worldwide, but has flown under the radar for most of us. BPW believes in the 17 goals of the United Nations and is particularly concerned with the rights and welfare of women and children who are so often the ones who suffer most in a human crisis. She gave the case of the massive 2015 earthquake in Nepal as an example of their community projects. After the earthquake of Saturday, 25 April there were 9000 dead, 22000 badly injured.
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Zone 8 Regional Council Election Results
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Committees Met |
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Janice Swan - Sort Out Service - Guest Speaker Janice learned the hard way, from experience. After living in different countries and moving homes several times, including once just after her husband had been killed in a motorcycle accident just ten days after they had moved into a new home Janice knew the problems and difficulties of moving, particularly for people in a vulnerable situation. She used her experience to help friends and others informally for seven years and then decided to do it professionally and started her own company, Sort Out Service.
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Enliven Garden in Memory of Richard Housten The garden project undertaken by our club at The Enliven Retirement Village Dementia Unit on behalf of a generous grant by Mary Housten in memory of her late husband Richard who was a member of our club is now complete. Three colourful Totem poles and a sign which says Richards' Garden are now in place. I have been told by several people that the garden is really very much enjoyed by residents, staff and visitors. A big thank you to all of the people who helped with this very successful project. |
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Youth Committee Fundraiser   The Youth Committee held a fundraising dinner at Forbidden City last Tuesday, 24 October. A great time was had by all. Congratulations to Christine and Errol, the raffle winners. Thank you Eve and her team for your hard work in arranging this very successful event. |
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Guest Speakers - Brian Kirtian and Mark Nicholson - Riverlink Project Included in the photograph is Campbell Barry, Mayor of Lower Hutt and Hellen Swales, Deputy Mayor of Upper Hutt. The River Link is a major project with three aims: to protect the Hutt from a 400 year flood, to improve the traffic flow into Lower Hutt and to re-orientate the Central Hutt to make more of its river frontage. It involves an area from the Ewen Bridge to the Kennedy-Good Bridge. Brian Kirtian and Mark Nicholson explained some of the major issues in the scheme which involves Taranaki Atiawa, Ngati Toa, Hutt City, Wellington Regional Council and Waka Kotahi. |
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Guest Speaker - Brock Shute, Mortgage Advice Company Although born in Australia Brock is not a 501 but a good New Zealand citizen with a wife and three children. After taking a B.Com. at Victoria University he had a career in finance before becoming self-employed and starting his own company. He now employs four more mortgage advisers and some ancilliary staff. In Australia 70% of mortgages are arranged through a broker and he is sure the same will soon apply here.
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Committees Met |
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Chase the Candidates Election Quiz President John ran a quiz to see how much we knew about the upcoming election. The answer sheet above shows some people have a way to go. Congratulations to Kathy Bryant who achieved the highest score.
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Function at Te Omanga Hospice Last evening President John attended a function at the Te Omanga Hospice to thank all those people and organisations for their generosity over the last couple of years in giving donations and their time to the Hospice. There was a great turn out and a good networking opportunity for everyone in attendance. |
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Mike Fackney - Guest Speaker Mike Fackney: Much Travelled Man Mike had wanted to go to Malawi but a planned eight day tour had been cancelled because of Covid, and so, after two days in Kampala he eventually joined a tour party that went through Rwanda, Zambia, Tanzania, Columbia and Uganda. With excellent photographs Mike took us on the tour. |
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Hutt Riverbank Clean Up   Last weekend a group from our club took part in our annual Hutt City river bank cleanup. Despite the strong wind challenges and the Hutt Valley annual marathon adding some interest we managed to clear between the Melling bridge and the Ava railway bridge. The rubbish collected included everything from small pieces of paper to a partially buried suitcase. We finished with a very social morning tea which included sausage rolls, small meat pies, buttered loaf, muffins and cake. It was another successful river bank cleanup and thanks go to all who were able to come and help. |
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Guest Speaker - Ava Szabo - Montessori School Ava gave us a thought provoking insight into a type of school very different to the current standard system. Certain it is that many of our students are failing under the present state system as evidenced by alarming truancy statistics and falling standards in international standardised tests. Ava started a Montessori School in Waddington Drive/Rata Street earlier this century and it has now grown to 270 students, 160 primary, 110 secondary. Overall 17% of students are Maori, 60% European, and there are very few Pacifica, but there are now higher figures for Maori, Asian and Pacifica among the younger students, reflecting the changing demography of the area. |
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Jan's trip to her son's wedding  The day I arrived in London I acted as witness to my son Jordan and Liz's wedding at the Hackney Town Hall. This was the official ceremony. Two days later we headed to Santorini in Greece for the second ceremony.
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Local Triumph over Adversity St Bernards First XI Football Still keeping it in the family, sort of, this week's address was by Paul Olsthoorn, the son-in-law of Paddy Wells, one of our distinguished members. Paul, with his wife Melissa, coach the St Bernard's First X1 Football Team. (It could also be termed the last St Bernards football X1 as it is the one and only). Last year it triumphed over enormous odds. Paul has always been keen on football. He started playing at age eleven, played 100 games for Petone, and was Player of the Year for the Central League in 1992. After retiring from playing he turned to refereeing and then to coaching at St Bernards. In 2022 St Bernards won the National Schools Football Tournament, by penalty shoot-out, even though it was ranked only ninth of the nineteen teams competing. In itself this was remarkable, but to do it after overcoming three major challenges was inspiring. |
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Te Omanga Hospice recent newsletter photoThis photo appeared in a recent Te Omanga Hospice newsletter under the heading "Shout Out To Our Community" The caption read - "Our beautifully painted fence at the hospice! Thanks to the team from Eastern Hutt Rotary for your amazing work and on-going support." Great work team!!  |
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June Stratton - Guest Speaker The New Zealand Company Never has the truism that many of our best addresses have come from our own members been more applicable. June gave us a fascinating account of Wellington's founding by the New Zealand Company and corrected many of the inacuracies still perpetuated in current history books. While in UK recently June and Gary undertook original research in museums, churches and cemeteries in London, Somerset and Edinburgh as well as their own family records. From these sources June gave some illuminating details not only of Gary's family but also of the conditions in England in the 1830s. Gary's family history goes back six generations from when one Thomas Stratton came out on a NZC emigrant ship landing in Wellington in 15 March, 1841. |
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IYM FeedbackThe following email has been received from Monique Waring from IYM - "On behalf of IYM, I'd like to sincerely thank your Rotary Club for supporting the work of IYM once again through sponsoring a student. The programme was highly successful with participants going away inspired by what their future career in STEMM could look like. We'll be sending you a full programme report in mid-August, in the meantime I've attached a small sample of the feedback we've received from this year's participants. You can see the positive impact IYM has on them, not just for future career planning, but also on their self-confidence and self-belief". Click on the link below to read the feedback from some of the participants. |
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Emergency Response Kits Stuart Batty, Executive Director, RNZWCS reports that as we move forward to yet another Cyclone Season across the pacific, rotary has updated the Emergency Response Kit Brochure notably including that the activity has run more than 45 years and since 2009 some 10,886 Kits have been distributed. This activity continues with support of Rotary Clubs, Rotarians and supporters. |
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Honorary Membership presented to Brian Klee by President John Brian has been a member of Eastern Hutt Rotary since February 2018. Prior to that he was a member and Past President of Courtney Place Rotary, from 1997. So Brian has committed a huge amount of time and energy over 26 years of being a Rotarian. His relentless efforts attempting to get the Satellite Club group up and running was greatly appreciated - a lot of challenging work with all sorts of barriers, not the least the Covid lockdowns. His contribution while at Eastern Hutt has included all things focused on our Club's image, i.e. the Website, weekly Bulletin, Club Duties, and so much more. Brian's contribution to this Club has been immense and very much appreciated by us all. It is with great pleasure that I present this certificate and congratulate you on the position of Honorary Member of Eastern Hutt Rotary Club. Huge congratulations to you Brian. |
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Women's Refuge CollectionMany thanks to those members who assisted with the Women's Refuge collection last Friday at Countdown.
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Charlie Fleury and Rio Salisbury-Metcalf - Guest Speakers This week, we had the pleasure of hearing from two young women, whom we had sponsored on two Rotary youth programmes. Charlie Fleury RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) Charlie comes from Naenae. She previously attended IYM in 2018, sponsored by our Club whilst still attending Naenae College. She is now in the workforce, cleaning windows. Not any ordinary windows but those requiring her to use her abseiling skills! She is very involved in the Scouting movement, is a Queen's Scout and leads a local Scout group. She has attended an Outward Bound Course at Anakiwa, and her ultimate ambition is to become an instructor at Outward Bound. |
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Presentation of Usborne Dictionaries to Taita Central School by Robin & Eve |
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Innovative Young Minds Open to young women in Year 11 and 12 at schools in the Greater Wellington Region, IYM (Innovative Young Minds). This year IYM was a 6 day residential programme that exposes participants to the many research and career opportunities in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mechanics) in the most engaging and hands-on way possible. During the first week of July this year's IYM held it’s annual live-in program for young women students in years 11 and 12 who are interested in STEM subjects. The course has a number of sponsors and the young women are sponsored by their local rotary clubs. Our club sponsored Rio Salisbury-Metcalfe from Hutt Valley High School. She lives in Wainuiomata and hopes to go to Otago University to study genetics. She will come and tell us about her experience of the course this coming Monday. |
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Rotary Project in Vanuatu Vanuatu is a cluster of around 82 islands and has a population of about 21000. It is estimated that the population before the arrival of Europeans was close to 1million before dropping to 55,000 by World War Two. Now over 55% of the population are under 15 and only 2% over 60. This population explosion is putting a great strain on the medical and education services, but fortunately the islanders can grow most of the food that they need. There is minimal health support in the rural villages and the literacy rate is 74%. Only78% of children complete their primary education for which the government pays only teachers salaries, leaving the villages and parents to fund the remaining school costs.
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Jaye's Trip to Canada & the USA  A visit from a (genuine) retired Canadian Mounted Police
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Mike K's Holiday PicsThe Hubbard Glacier is one of only two that are advancing! The Prince Rupert Rotary Centennial Monument in British Columbia   |
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Presentation of Usborne Dictionaries We have recently presented Usborne ILLUSTRATED dictionaries to year 4 students at the following schools - Pomare, St Michaels and Naenae. Robin will present to Taita Central students early in the new term. I emphasize Illustrated as these books are more like an Encyclopaedia than a Dictionary. This is our 15th year of this project and we are told that teachers and students find these just as useful and enjoyable as they did in 2009. |
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Glenda's Opening Words at ChangeoverTena Koutou katoa, he mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa When I was looking for an appropriate quote to open tonight’s proceedings, I looked for something that offered a message of encouragement, reminding people they have the power to control their own destinies, make their own choices and ultimately lead others to the same path. As an avid reader I favour those quotes that make me think of my role not only as a Rotarian but as a human being in everyday life. |
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Changeover 2023 Our 2023 changeover began with a performance from the Taita College Chorus who sang the two songs they had performed for the recent regional barbershop competitions where they placed second. As usual we had a beautiful meal provided by Chalet Caterers before we moved onto the awards part of our evening. Shelley Bryant was awarded a Paul Harris Fellow. Not only has Shelley contributed amazing service through our Rotary Club, but we also heard of the service that Shelley has given the community throughout her life. Such a well-deserved and worthy recipient of this award. It was lovely that Shelley’s sons were able to be there for this presentation. David Thompson was presented with a Paul Harris Fellow sapphire pin to acknowledge his continued service to the club, most recently in the role of secretary of both the club and the Trust. |
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Club ForumThe club held it's Club Forum in which the directors presented their reports for the year. President Kathy presented her final report for her presidential year.
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President Kathy's Final ReportPresidents report for 2022/2023 The new Rotary year got off to a wonderful start with the celebration of the Clubs 60th anniversary with a dinner held at the Boulcott Heritage Farm Golf Club on 29th June. What a wonderful evening of reminiscing. John Prendergast (Past District Governor of District 9980 and current President of Petone Rotary Club) was a highly entertaining MC and had us laughing for most of the evening. It was a real pleasure to award the latest of Paul Harris fellowships to an ex-member of our club Sir John Clarke and to present Jenny Jameson a Rotary Foundation Major Donor pin and crystal, in recognition of Michael’s generous gift to the Foundation. |
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Shelley's Report on Healthy in the Hutt A big thanks to our helpers - Mike, Paul, Kathy, Absie, Jan, Glenda, Christine, Tony, Jenny and Brian Klee. A huge thanks to Mike and Paul who spent hours in the kitchen heating up the soup. Thanks to everyone who donated goods for the draw. The winners were a family who really appreciated the prize. Further thanks to Kathy and John Matthews for printing out the flyers, John Vile for the signage and Mike and Paul for putting the sign up and taking it down. A special thank you must go to Julia Milne and her team from the He Puawai Trust who made the delicious chunky vegetable soup and to Countdown for the rolls and boxes of fruit. Finally a big thank you to the staff at Walter Nash Stadium who helped us with the set up and then had a major clean up job at the end as the bread rolls were super crusty and crumbs were everywhere. |
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Jaye's Trip to Puglia, Amalfi and The Med “Puglia, Amalfi and The Med” This was the name of my recent 19 day tour and cruise package with TripaDeal. (an on-line travel company) “Why Italy” was the question asked by family and friends. The answer was simple: To use up the NZ$5,499 credit my friend Joyce, and I, had each been holding since a pre-Covid trip was cancelled. No refunds!. Quite simply, we looked for, and found, a trip which would use up all our credit! Absolutely amazing value for money! It included all flights, from and back to Auckland, an 8 day guided tour - Rome, up to Sorrento, Positano and Amalfi, before exploring the ruins of Pompeii and then travelling on to the area of Puglia. |
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Guest Speaker - Linda Hoogenboom On Monday night we had an excellent presentation from Linda Hoogenboom, Managing Director of Quality Life. Linda is a Qualified Diversional Therapist who has been working in the Aged Care industry since 1995 as an Activities Professional. However, her interests are diverse and encompass Dementia, Disability and Mental Health and have recently seen Linda working with Early Onset Dementia. Basically, Linda is interested in anyone who has a special need. Passionate about using non-pharmacological therapy to improve the lives of those who require it, Linda firmly believes that Diversional Therapy is one such critical solution. But, having worked in the industry for so long she is also aware of the issues and constraints experienced in the role. |
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RCEH Charitable Trust GrantsThe club’s trust board has recently concluded decision bringing year to date total grants and commitments to $36,950. We also resolved to make further modest-sized grants to local schools and charities to an aggregate of $5,000; and decided to give club members an opportunity to make recommendations. If you would like to participate, please email your suggestion to the Trust Secretary, June Stratton ljstratton12@gmail.com strictly by 30 June. Please specify recipient formal name, contact details, description of what they do/why you think an award is appropriate, and suggested amount. Richard Perry.(Trust Board Chair) |
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Guest Speaker - Alaister Henshaw - Predator Free Wellington All in the Family Recently we heard an address from our President's father, today we heard from our Treasurer's son-in-law, Alaister Henshaw. After his degree Alaister was a primary school teacher for a number of years. When he became a house husband he gained his M.A. in Education but then decided he preferred an outdoors job and joined Predator Free Wellington. This was eminently suitable for a person who enjoyed 100km runs and had a passionate interest in conservation. For four years Alaister has been the Community Officer for Predator Free Wellington. He is proud of New Zealand's record in creating predator - free sanctuaries for our native wild life. In other parts of New Zealand DOC has cleared several islands of predators, and Wellington is proud of founding Zealandia, the first "inland island". (many years ago our club donated money for the first fence posts for it). New Zealand is now leading the world in clearing both islands and mainland areas of predators to allow the native flora and fauna to flourish. |
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Judith Gardiner - History of Hutt Valley High School Hutt Valley High School has for many years been an important feature of Lower Hutt, and Judith Gardiner gave a brief but most interesting account of its history, with historical photographs. Judith is in a particularly good position to recount the history as she has completed a number of family histories, has been a teacher aide there for 22 years and is also the school's archivist.  |
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What Members do in their "Spare Time"After retiring following 52 years in the public service in 2017 it was a change of pace I was looking forward to: a mix of physical work on our property in Mount Marua, church leadership, Rotary and of course overseas travel in the mix. Within a couple of years that dream began to change as Mary and I downsized and moved into our new home in Silverstream; Mary retired March 2020 when Covid and subsequent lockdowns came along. So the question is “do we have spare time”?? The short answer is ‘we don’t seem to have much.” |
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What Members do in their Spare TimeWhat spare time I ask? Life is very busy in the Palmer household. With Doug still working a lot of the household chores fall to me although he does do the cooking which is a huge help. We have been running a bnb for the last 5/6 years and with occupancy running at around 70% it keeps me extremely busy with new guests arriving every two days on average. I have been delivering meals on wheels for the last 15 years and am often called on if they are a driver short on any particular day. |
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International Committee - Fundraising Dinner On Wednesday evening the International Committee held a fundraising dinner at First Choice Restaurant in Petone. Over forty club members, partners and friends attended and had a most enjoyable meal. I am sure nobody would have needed supper when they got home. All who attended generously supported a raffle which contributed to the evening raising $510.00 towards an International project. Thanks must go to Linda Goss-Wallace and Errol Tong for their efforts in arranging a most enjoyable evening and to friends who supported the event. Thank you all. |
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Bill Boyd - Guest Speaker Tonight we heard an address by Bill Boyd, Magazine Distribution, well known as father of our President Cathy Bryant, former rugby referee and playmate of Jan Alford at primary school. Bill is also known as former President of Rotary International 2006/7, Queens Service Order for Community Service and Companion of New Zealand Order of Merit. The list of Rotary positions Bill has held is too long to list here, but notably after retiring from many senior positions in the administration, Bill has dedicated his time to the Rotary Peace Programme, setting up Rotary Peace Centres around the world. This was his subject tonight.
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Enliven Home Dementia Garden - Final Working Bee   Today we did our last working bee at the Enliven Home Dementia Garden. Mary Housten kindly provided the money for this garden to be redone in memory of her late husband Richard who was a member of our club. Working bees have included deck and planter box water blasting by Joe Tomlinson's firm, two deck and planter staining sessions, seat repair and replacement by the Menz Shed at Days Bay, gravel replacement in the messy north east corner and two planting bees. A great effort by all those involved. |
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What Members do in their "Spare Time"My first career as a teacher and school principal was fulfilling and rewarding, but there was a downside, albeit, necessary. In my second career, ‘Retirement’, when apparently you have ‘heaps of spare time’, I have attempted to avoid some of my first career downside, such as timetables, routines, meetings, etc. Consequently my ‘spare time’ varies on any one day, as does the activities which take place, often because that is what I feel like doing - and not because I have to! Indeed, I wonder whether I do in fact have any ‘spare time’, as I choose to ‘fill up’ my time, because life is too short to waste! Although, sometimes I do wonder whether I should retire from Retirement!
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Jane Gillingham - Guest Speaker Jane is a member of the School Attendance Team Lower Hutt Valley. There has been a growing problem of poor attendance at school for several years, aggravated by the tribulations of Covid. Jane is in charge of a team of three set up by the Ministry to address the problem in the Hutt Valley. In many ways Jane is ideally suited to the role. Born in the Hutt, educated at Otago University with a law degree and happily married for 28 years with four of her own children. Jane and her surgeon husband have been fostering children for many years, with a special concern for pregnant teenagers. |
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What Members do in their "Spare Time"The question was “What do you do in your spare time”? the real answer is I’m actually trying to decide if I have any. In the hours that I don’t work or are not involved in community events or Council meetings I try to relax with a good book with an Author I love, such as JD Robb or Nora Roberts. Unfortunately I’ve read most of their books so have to wait for a new release to happen. I’m not good at being patient so will generally resort to buying magazines to pass the time.
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Quiz with a DifferenceCongratulations to the first and second prize winners at our recent "Quiz with a Difference" First Prize Winners  Second Prize Winners  Thank you must go to Richard Perry, Jaye Howey and the Youth Committee for arranging such a successful event which raised $1968 for youth projects. |
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Walk for Mental Health 2023Shelley advised that this year's Walk for Mental Health raised $3000 for Youthline. A brilliant effort by all those involved.
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Committees Met |
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Glenda Laying a Wreath on behalf of Eastern Hutt Rotary Thank you Glenda for laying a wreath on behalf of the Club at the Taita Cemetery on Anzac Day.
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Visit to New Zealand Campus for Innovation on Sport. Our Tour Guides - Aaron Portland & Jamie Tout "We had no idea all this existed. Astounding!" was the common reaction on our visit to NZCIS. We knew the buildings had been created for the Central Institute of Technology in the 1970s, and had lain barely used and unwanted for years. Few of us knew that Malcolm Gillies and Kevin Melville purchased the site in 2016 and have invested over $30 million in developing it. It now has accommodation for 500, conference facilities and canteens and a state of the art sport facility, the largest in New Zealand.
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What Members Do In their "Spare" TimeAs a relief driver for Meals on Wheels I deliver meals anywhere from Petone to Stokes Valley up to five days a week. I get to meet lots of amazing people and see both the good and sad sides of Lower Hutt. I am a volunteer for the Science in Primary Schools program including both Lower and Upper Hutt run by the Hutt City Council. With over 90 kits covering more than 40 topics there is always plenty of replenishing and repairing to do. These hands-on kits cover topics such as Rockets (yes they have been known to land on the school roof), Bones (10 small skeletons can certainly get muddled up), Plants, Bees, Magnets, Electricity, Recycling and many more subjects. I am a member of the Waterloo Probus Club and U3A (University of the Third Age). I enjoy the great speakers at these meetings. I really enjoy my Rotary meetings too. Walking by the sea and gardening are my hobbies. My greatest pleasure is my big extended family. Lots of fun and laughter and sharing and occasional head shaking. My children and grandchildren are very special to me. |
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Comments made by Christine's grandchildren.Today as I was driving my grandsons to the airport this was discussed in the car. Kipp Worsley ' Rotary is great! They are so friendly and they do so much good works in the community .' Wow! And his brother Monty said, ' I hope Rotary is still going when we are old enough to join'. Definitely two prospective members of Rotary! |
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Painting of the Fence at Te Omanga HospiceA Letter of Thanks "Thank you so much Paul and your team. We are so grateful, had a walk around this morning and it looks fantastic all to be finished and so clean and tidy. Please pass on our sincere thanks from us all." Rachel Brandt Volunteer Manager Te Omanga Hospice |
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Committees Met |
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Te Omanga Hospice Bird Avery Update Te Omanga Bird Aviary Relocation – An Environment & Amenities Committee Project The relocation of the bird aviary at Te Omanga Hospice was one of the major projects for the Environment and Amenities Committee in 2021 – 2022. Whilst the hospice originally envisaged a new aviary being built, the cost and the logistics of this concept seemed rather daunting. |
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Guest Speaker - Dr Bob Maxwell "Eat, ski, sleep, repeat." Bob has led an amazing life that even the most adventurous of us can only dream of. He did not have much of an outdoor education at school (too naughty to be allowed) but after a course at Outward Bound, he developed a taste for adventure and has lived his dream. He has climbed Mt Everest from the China side, completed the "Seven Summits" - one in each continent, and been on five expeditions in Antarctica. |
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2023 Walk for Mental Health On Sunday, approximately 70 walkers turned up for the event. The support from other Rotary Clubs was great and the intention is to have them more involved in the next walk. It was lovely seeing the purple clothes, purple hair, and purple balloons. Even a dog was dressed in a purple harness with a purple lead. The band “Quite Some Company” were great and gave the event a really festive atmosphere. |
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Tidying up of the Native Planting on the Hutt Riverbank Last Saturday morning a group of young men on a special home detention rehabilitation scheme and their supervisor formed a volunteer working party and came to clear away weeds from our club's grove of native planting on the riverbank at Taita. They cleared weeds from the edge of the planted area facing the river trail and it looks so much tidier now. The original grove of trees was planted in 2018 under the leadership of the late David Comparini who was a member of our club.
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Guest Speaker Judith O'Byrne - Salvation Army Judith O'Byrne, Community Ministries Manager, Salvation Army, Lower Hutt Judith came to New Zealand four years ago from Germany, for a nine-week holiday and stayed here. Judith is married with two children and has studied theology. A member of the Salvation Army, she has a passion for helping people, a passion for helping to meet people's basic needs and a strong sense of social justice. She spoke about the work of the Army's Lower Hutt Food Bank. |
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Painting the Fence at Te Omanga Hospice  While painting the aviary at Te Omanga I was chatting with Rachel Brandt, Manager of Voluntary Services at the hospice. She explained that a corporate group had volunteered to do some fence painting but due to lower numbers coming on the day the work had not been completed. Rachel wondered whether Eastern Hutt Rotary were willing to consider completing the fence painting project. Mitre 10 Petone had donated all of the paint, brushes, rollers etc and so it was just manpower that was required to complete the task. |
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Fashion Parade Fundraiser On Tuesday 14 March, the International Committee held a fashion parade at Ballantynes, Lower Hutt to raise money for the victims of Cyclone Gabrielle. It was a very successful event raising more than $1800. Special thanks must go to Jaye, Eve, Glenda, Linda and Linda's friend Virginia for modelling the many outfits on display. They have definitely all missed their vocation. |
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Guest Speaker - David Taylor David has enjoyed, and is still enjoying a very distinguished career. From Otago Boys High School, he graduated with first class honours in History at Otago University in1981 and proceeded to complete a law degree in 1984. After a spell in the Prime Minister's Department he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade where he is now leading the Russia Sanctions Taskforce. He gave us a full, if discreet account of his career.
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Induction of June Stratton June Stratton (nee Hyslop) was born on 12 June 1948 and grew up in the suburb of Northland, Wellington. She attended Northland School, Wellington Girls' College and then, in 1965 at age 16yrs, she enrolled at Victoria University and Wellington Teachers' College. Over the next four years she completed a Science degree majoring in mathematics and chemistry, graduated with a Diploma in Teaching and gained a Trained Teachers' Certificate. |
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Celebrating 40 Years of Repairing Bodies & Rebuilding Lives
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An Evening With Barrie and Diane Littlefair, John and Lynne Cole, Jaye Howey (and Richard Perry) recently attended the very successful "Evening with Past Rotary International President Ian Riseley and Past District Governor Juliet Riseley".
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Te Omanga Hospice Golf TournamentThe Te Omanga Hospice Golf Tournament organising committee held a debrief yesterday and were generally pleased with the way the day went. The amount raised on the day has almost reached $69,000. This is the largest amount ever raised at their previous golf tournaments and they have advised this would not have been possible without the assistance of our club members. They added they would not have been able to run the tournament without our assistance. The committee is confident improvements can be made to next year's event. Brian Clarke and I wish to thank everyone who assisted on the day in the Fine Dining Tent, selling of paddle raffles, welcomers, spotters at the auction. Special thanks must go to Tony, Mike, Paul & Brian Klee who were charged with putting up and taking down 9 gazebos around the course on the day. It was a tough job! Special thanks must also go to Brian & Kaye Lummis who provided yummy prawn cocktails, chicken cocktails in the Fine Dining Tent. They proved very popular with the players. Brian Clarke and I wish to thank all of the members who helped make this such a successful event.
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Colin and Jan Alford's 56th Wedding AnniversaryClub members surprised Colin by displaying his wedding photo and the wonderful post by daughter Jeanine.  Happy Wedding Anniversary to my wonderful Parents .. they met and married in the Bahamas .. 💕💕c1967💕💕 Dad proposed whilst mum was holidaying in Canada 🍁 with 11 red roses … .. on every anniversary there after he gave her 11 🌹 roses plus one ..❤️❤️❤️ I think he came to his senses after about 40 years married as mum didn’t have enough vases to put the 51 roses in ❤️
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Members trip to the West Coast of the South Island On Monday we enjoyed the vicarious pleasure of seeing some of the highlights of our South Island's West Coast. Jaye, John, Paul, and Tony took us on a series of day walks around the top of the western south. For the audience it was the next best thing to being there. |
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Te Omanga Hospice Golf DayEastern Hutt Rotary were immensely proud to be one the major supporters of this year's Te Omanga Hospice Golf Day today. Held at Boulcott's Farm Heritage Golf Club, 38 enthusiastic teams entered in support of this amazing Lower Hutt organisation. Raising a sum of around $65,000, this event was only possible through the very generous support of all its supporters and a successful auction - thanks to the bidders and our auctioneer, Doug Palmer. Look at this pre-event build-up HERE, that was posted on Te Omanga's website.  Special thanks for the great work Jan Palmer and Brian Clarke in smoothly leading this valued relationship for this event. |
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Yasmin Nouri - Malagan Institute Yasmin gave a brilliantly clear explanation of the work she has been involved in at the Malaghan Institute on some of the latest developments in immunology. She gave a brief background. She is a post graduate research student who has very nearly completed her PHD. The Malaghan Institute is an independent research organisation specialising in medical research. Based at Victoria University's Kelburn site it was originally called The Wellington Medical Research Institute but after a massive donation from Glen Malaghan, who founded Tip Top Ice cream it was renamed. It currently has 130 staff comprising 90 scientists and 40 support staff. |
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Taita College Students Trip to Great Barrier IslandPresident Kathy showed the meeting a video of Taita College students visit to Great Barrier Island recently. She provided the following report. On Saturday night 15 October 2022 a group of 18 Year 10 Taita College students met at school to start their week-long trip to the Hillary Outdoors Centre at Great Barrier Island. The students were dropped at Wellington Railway Station to catch the overnight bus to Auckland. Arriving at Auckland Airport early on the Sunday morning the students then flew in 2 separate small planes across to Great Barrier Island.  |
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Club Members at Punakaiki recently |
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Eastern Hutt Rotary International Committee Fashion Parade Fundraiser
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Linda & Ray's 10th Wedding Anniversary Celebration Ray & Linda celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary at the Edgewater Resort in Rarotanga recently. Congratulations to you both.
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Committees Met |
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Te Omanga Hospice Golf TournamentI am working on the allocation of duties for the TOMH golf tournament next Friday 24 February and will contact members who will be assisting on the day shortly. Thank you to all those members who have offered to assist. It will be a great day. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact either Brian or Jan. |
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Simon Clark - Winner of the Christmas Trailer Raffle |
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Informal First Meeting for 2023We had our first meeting for the year. It was an opportunity to catch up with friends and for President Kathy to talk to us about upcoming events. These included the Te Omanga Hospice Golf Tournament on Friday 24 February (tee off at midday) and the Walk for Mental Health on Sunday 26 March at 11am when the involvement of members will be required.
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2023 Walk for Mental HealthSadly, last year's wasn't possible due to Covid but we are hoping this year will be a momentous success. All funds raised will go to Youthline Wellington again. It is being shared on both Facebook and Instagram, so if you use either or both of these social media accounts, please share this with your friends, community pages, other contacts, etc. You can REGISTER NOW by clicking on this Link HERE. |
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Colin & Aileen Fenton 70 years married  Colin & Aileen reminiscing with their bridesmaid Wendy Cooper (Colin's sister) This article written by Nicholas Boyack appeared in Stuff on 12 Jan 2023 Congratulations to Colin & Aileen - 70 years married! All Black nearly scared off would-be son-in-law as couple celebrate 70 years Colin Fenton was a worried man when he decided he wanted to marry Aileen Perry. The future eye doctor met Aileen on a Dunedin tennis court and straight away knew she was the one for him. His biggest fear was her dad – one-game All Black Arnold Perry. He was ensconced in Dunedin rugby culture and Colin was not sure how he would view a non-rugby playing son-in-law. “I had a bit of a problem, everything the family did revolved around rugby and I was a bit of a scruffy lad that played hockey.” Looking for advice, he went to his own father. |
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Christine Surprising her FamilyThe grandchildren did not realise Christine was joining them on their overseas trip - priceless  |
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New Year Message from President KathyHappy New Year everyone and welcome back to another year of Rotary. I hope all of you have managed to have some time to relax over the last few weeks and that you have managed to catch some sunshine despite the not so good weather a lot of the country has experienced. It is a bit of a slow start into the year, having an informal meeting on 16 January and then a week off (Wellington Anniversary Day), a committee meeting on 30 January and then another week off with Waitangi Day. We have a few things to look forward to:
I will prepare a full report on the Christmas raffle once I have confirmed all the figures with Tony. The winner has got in touch this week (he had been away and only just got the messages). He is going to arrange to get the 1st prize from Mike hopefully sometime this weekend. A big thank you to Mike Fackney for storing the trailer and contents in his garage. It was a delight to see the article in Stuff today about Colin and Aileen Fenton. A huge congratulations from all of us on your 70th wedding anniversary. A wonderful milestone. Also, Colin 32 years in Rotary on 18 January. Congratulations on an incredible feat! Looking forward to seeing you all on Monday night. Kathy |
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Last Meeting for 2022The last meeting for 2022 held on 12 December was a very relaxed "Fish & Chips" meeting which everyone who attended enjoyed. It was a pleasant way to end what was a very busy year.
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Club's Christmas Celebration |
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June & Gary Stratton Entertained Us June & Gary Stratton provided entertainment which was very well received.
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Glenda Barratt's Opening Words Tonight's opening words do not come from a textbook, or a quote or famous authors or humanitarians. Instead they come from all we've learnt and heard over the past year from everyone who has graced these four walls. All of you have spoken about how grateful you are to have "done something or meet someone". |
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Aunty Gladys Latest EpisodeUpdate with Aunt Gladys's (very) Personal Diary: Dear Diary, I had a normal Christmas day with the lovely Hunter Family. My favourite nephew, Ronald, was there, with his brother Dav. |
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Update on the Memorial Garden at Enliven   Good progress with the Memorial Garden at Enliven. Congratulations to all involved.
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Welcome to our new member - Mike Keehan Mike was born in Invercargill and completed his schooling there. He joined State Insurance direct from school and spent 36 years with the company, transferring around the country (to Wellington, Nelson, Oamaru, New Plymouth and Greymouth) in various management roles before ultimately being appointed to the company’s head office in Wellington, where he led a number of major projects, including the development of a bespoke IT general insurance information system. |
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Directors' Reports to Club Forum - 2022 The various Committee Chairs spoke about their activities since the 1st July. Here is a summary of their activities.... |
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The Children's Hospital and the Wellington Hospitals Foundation . Bill Day is a very successful businessman and philanthropist. Among many achievements he is well known for co-founding Wellington's Life Flight Trust. He is the Chair of the Wellington Hospitals Foundation which was founded in 2005 as the official charity to support the hospitals operated by the former Capital and Coast District Health Board. He saw the need for a new Children's hospital as the old one was old fashioned, had no air conditioning, and was difficult for staff and patients, but the DHB and Ministry had no plans to replace it. |
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Committees Met |
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Ralph Stewart - Lifetime Retirement Income After a distinguished career in finance: CEO of ACC and AXA, GM Marketing and Strategy at Tower etc. Ralph, MBA Manchester Business School, has founded Lifetime Retirement Income. He realised that 40% of New Zealanders have no retirement income when they retire than the government superannuation. |
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Mike at Victoria Falls |
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Mike meeting Elephants |
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Guest Speaker - Sir Anand Satyanand, Former Governor-General of NZ Our distinguished guest arrived in the car park just as I arrived. Former Governor-general, District Court Judge, Ombudsman, Chancellor of Waikato University with numerous other achievements, Sir Anand Satyanand was dressed not "in a scarlet robe trimmed with vermin" but in a charcoal suit. Somewhat nervously I asked how I should address him. "Just call me Anand" came the reply. "And I'm Susan," said his wife. He was our guest speaker for the night. |
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Hutt Riverbank Clean up Thank you to everyone who assisted with the clean up of the Hutt Riverbank last Sunday. We covered from the Ava rail bridge to the Melling bridge which was an excellent effort. Included the team were Ian McFadden and Susie Dopson, Ian's daughter and son-in-law. Thank you so much team.
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Thanks to Colin White & Lindsay Richardson Guests attending our Monday 17th October meeting were Colin White and Lindsay Richardson. Their attendance provided an opportunity to formally thank them for the invaluable assistance they have given to the club. |
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Eastern Hutt Inner Wheel FundraiserClick on the link for details
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Guest Speaker - Josh Krakosky Josh Krakosky. What is chiropractic care? Born and razed in Lower Hutt and educated at Naenae College, Josh spent five years in Auckland training to be a chiropractor. He now lives and practises in Lower Hutt. |
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Committees met |
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Matt Claridge - Te Araroa TrailMatt is the Executive Director of the Te Araroa Trail. Married with four children, he has always been keen on sports and the outdoors. Born in Invercargill he has played sport professionally, including a stint in the Balmain Tigers. Later he worked for Water Safety New Zealand. Then in 2021 he became the Director of the Te Araroa Trust. He gave a brief outline of how the Trust started. The New Zealand Walkways Commission was formed in 1975, and then folded into D.O.C. in 1987. The concept of a walking trail from Cape Reinga to the Bluff was born. The Trust was formed in 1994 with one full-time employee, and the first section, from Kerikeri to Waitangi was developed in 1995. In 1998 Geoff Chappell walked the entire North Island and the concept gained momentum. Matt has written several books about the trail. The then Governor General, Sir Gerry Mataparae officially opened Te Araroa Trail in 2011. |
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Colin Alford's Lexophiles"Lexophile" describes those that have a love for words, such as "you can tune a piano, but you can't tuna fish", or "To write with a broken pencil is pointless." An annual competition is held by the New York Times to see who can create the best original Lexophile. This year's winning submission is posted at the very end. |
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Mike meeting the Chimpanzees Mike letting the chimp pass in Kibale National Park Uganda It doesn't get any closer with a wild chimpanzee!
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Matt Claridge - Guest Speaker Matt is the Executive Director of the Te Araroa Trail. Married with four children, he has always been keen on sports and the outdoors. Born in Invercargill he has played sport professionally, including a stint in the Balmain Tigers. Later he worked for Water Safety New Zealand. Then in 2021 he became the Director of the Te Araroa Trust. He gave a brief outline of how the Trust started.
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David Ruscoe - Demystifying Cryptocurrency Background. "Crypto currency is a digital currency maintained on a decentralised system (or block chain) using cryptography" - Dave Ruscoe. A dollar is just a concept. In the old days you were guaranteed by the government that you could exchange it for gold (the "gold standard") but that ceased in the 1930s. The supply of dollars is regulated by arms of the New Zealand government which has its own discipline, otherwise it could make everyone seem richer by just printing more. Our currency is now heavily regulated, as is its use. |
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President's Report to September Board Meeting The highlight for August must be the successful wine tasting evening. It was once again a fun evening, and we cannot thank the 8 vineyards that came along enough for the evening. The International committee under Brian Clarke did a great job organizing and a big thanks must go to Annette Ruck and her catering corps who organized all the food. |
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Visit by District Governor Marilyn Stevens Marilyn joined the Rotary Club of Hutt Valley in 1993 and is now a member of Kapiti Rotary. She has experience in managing several businesses and is presently a member of the Otaki Community Board and a business mentor. Marilyn quoted World Rotary President Jennifer Jones "Imagine the possibility of changing the world." and emphasised the need to engage all our members by giving them some personal responsibility. |
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Glenda wearing a onesie to work to raise money for Wellington Free Ambulance Great effort Glenda!
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Extract from latest RYDA Newsletter August 2022May – August update  A rotary volunteer helping students check the tyre tread depth It has been another rather interesting second half of the year with Orange light settings and Omicron disruptions to our programme days. Schools around the country have had fluctuating numbers and often they could only confirm actual numbers the day before attending RYDA. It was great to see their commitment to our workshops in these trying times.
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Wine Tasting Fundraiser to Raise Funds for Wellington Children's Hospital Last Friday evening Rotarians together with work colleagues, family members and friends gathered to enjoy an evening of wine tasting, food and of course great fellowship to raise funds for medical equipment for the Wellington Regional Children’s Hospital. |
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Wayne Gordon - District Governor Elect - Creating Tomorrow We were joined by members of Upper Hutt Rotary for the evening. President Kathy Bryant and Phyllis Strachan, President Upper Hutt Rotary welcomed District Governor Elect Wayne Gordon. After twenty years in the army and a stint as a chef at Scott Base, Wayne is now in the residential construction business in Fielding. As District Governor Elect, he is very conscious of the fact that Rotary membership in our area has declined by 24% in the past few years. Halfway through visiting all the clubs in District 9940, he sees a need for change, but does not wish to see the baby thrown out with the bathwater. "If a person does away with their traditional way of living and throws away their good customs, they had better first make sure that they have something of value to replace them." |
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From The President's DeskPresident’s Report to August Board meeting. Well, the year got off to a fantastic start with a great evening celebrating the Clubs 60th anniversary. Thanks must go to John Cole, Anne Abbott and Ron Hunter for their efforts in putting together the evening along with David Thompson and Tony Cornelius who did the important in the background jobs of recording attendees and the $ of the evening and to Mike Fackney who looked after the technical presentations on the night. A big thank you to John Prendergast (Past District Governor District 9980 and current President Rotary Club of Petone) who did a magnificent job as MC for the evening. |
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Four Club Members Speak to ClubAs our guest speaker for the evening could not attend because he had Covid, four of our club members spoke to us - Eve Bao, Tony Cornelius, Ron Hunter and President Kathy Bryant. Each member made 4 statements about themselves and each table had to guess which statement was not true. We all learned a little about each of them including what was not true. The prize for the winning table of a trip to the Islands fell through so we all received a chocolate bar. It was a lot of fun.
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Wine Tasting Evening Friday 19 August This event is primarily to enable the Club to raise funds for new medical equipment for the Regional Children's Hospital in Wellington. It is also a time for fellowship and fun for members and friends. During the evening there will be an opportunity to taste a range of great Wairarapa wines from the 8 vintners present; eat some finger food; buy a raffle or two and bid in an auction. To make this a successful evening for all involved the organising committee needs your help. Tickets to attend need to be sold, we have constraints on numbers so first in first served. If you require tickets, please contact Linda Goss-Wallace. Entry is by ticket only. Payment for tickets is to the Eastern Hutt Rotary Trust account. |
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IYM Participant Speaks to Club |
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Ray Tomlinson - World Beater from Lower Hutt We may well have another world-beating technology in Lower Hutt thanks to our very own Joe Tomlinson and son. Joe started his painting business in Lower Hutt in the 1960s, shortly after arriving from Scotland. He built it up very successfully and it grew and still continues to grow under his old second-in-command after his retirement. |
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Karen Morgan - Principal Taita College Karen Morgan has been Principal at Taita College for six years. It opened 1957 and currently has 374 students and it's Moto is: "Pride through success, honour through service." |
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IYM Reception at Parliament's Grand Hall Annette and I enjoyed meeting Naenae College student Fiona Varun (whom the club has sponsored) during the Parliamentary Reception for the 40 inspirational women attending the Innovative Young Minds course last week. |
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Stephen Cross - Are we in safe hands |
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Sir John Clarke This evening our rotary club is awarding a Paul Harris Fellow recognition to Sir John Clarke, an outstanding New Zealander, and a member of our community. Sir John was born in Te Araroa on the East Coast, one of 12 children in the family. His father was Ngā Puhi and his mother Ngati Porou. |
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60th Anniversary Introduction E nga mana E nga reo E nga whanau o Eastern Hutt Rotary Club Tena koto, tena koto, tena tato katoa Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and a very warm welcome to what is a very special night, as we come together to celebrate 60 years of the Eastern Hutt Rotary Club. My name is John Prendergast, I am a recent refugee from Invercargill and it is my privilege to be your MC for tonight’s celebration. Like many of you, I am a Rotarian; and like the Eastern Hutt Rotary Club I too am 60 years old - so I feel part of a very good vintage! |
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60th Anniversary Absent FriendsOur second toast tonight is to absent friends. In proposing this toast, I want us to think in particular about the many hundreds of Rotarians who have been members of the Eastern Hutt Rotary Club over the past 60 years.  And to get our minds thinking about past members and friends of this Club, I think a little bit of history might be in order: |
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60th Anniversary Toast to Rotary InternationalWe’re now going to have two toasts, one to Rotary International; and the second to absent friends. Let’s start with Rotary International.  |
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Christine Meredith, Director of Community Health & Welfare |
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John Cole, Director of International |
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Membership ReportMembership Report to the Club Forum – 20th June 2022 First and foremost, we are delighted to have Eve Boa join us recently, having transferred from the Rotary Club of Levin. It’s also very pleasing to witness the way a few of our members have gone out of their way to make her feel welcomed – thank you, it’s a collective duty. We found a champion to lead the establishment of a Satellite Club, i.e. Vanessa Koening. She introduced herself to the potential candidates. It’s my vision that having a young and enthusiastic group actively working with us is the way forward. As we all age, we cannot do some of the activities we once did, but we can help them with those causes their generation are passionate about. With an average age over 70, this is how Eastern Hutt Rotary will survive longer – let’s ‘pass the baton’ and let them lead the way into the future. |
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Environment & Amenities Committee While Covid considerations limited our ability to get a programme under way during 2021, I can report that we have been successful in moving forward with two very worthwhile projects in 2022. |
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A Job Well DoneOn Saturday 7th May, when we were mulching the plantings on the riverbank, Barrie Littlefair commented to me that the memorial seat looked rather tired and in need of some TLC. |
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New Rotary Peace Centre The Rotary Peace Centres fall into two groups. The Masters’ Programme gives scholarships to the specific Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies at our Partner Universities, which are Duke/UNC [who share the 10 awardees in a joint programme], ICU in Japan, University of Queensland, Uppsala in Sweden, and Bradford in UK. |
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Hollyford Experience (part two)
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2021 Scholarship Recipient - Makalya Elliot Makalya Elliot - Scholarship Recipient 2021 We received a message via Naenae College from the 2021 Eastern Hutt Rotary Scholarship winner, Makalya Elliot. |
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Hollyford Experience (part one) The ‘Hollyford Wilderness Experience’ is a 4-day and 3-night 43-kilometer adventure into the remote Hollyford Valley.
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2021 Christmas Raffle Well, the winner was drawn last night and congratulations go to the two prize winners! A huge thanks to everyone who bought tickets this year. The winning ticket was #13742 Karen from Tawa, and 2nd Prize was #16668 Roxy from Taita. |
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AlfredtonRon Hunter's Aunt Gladys has allowed us to publish an excerpt from her diary.
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Two Moments in History I Played a Part in I started working in the Post Office in 1967 straight from college. During my career I was involved in two significant events in New Zealand history. |
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Hearts for Hutt City Covid cancellations are happening all around us and many people I have spoken to are feeling “flat” and like they have lost their ‘mojo’. So Rotary Hutt City are solving that problem: |
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Environment & Amenities Committee Hutt Riverbank Clean-up Sunday 31st October 2021  An enthusiastic and willing group of club members (and partners) spent the Sunday morning picking up an assortment of paper, plastic, polystyrene, bottles, cans, bicycle parts and other items of rubbish lying on the riverbank area of Te Awa Kairangi/Hutt River. |
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Going South About a year ago Robyn (well Robyn) and I decided to plan a holiday down south along the lines of “Don’t leave home till you’ve seen the country”, as if we were going anywhere! “Where” I said, not really wanting to go as I spend a lot of time in Te Tau Ihu. Everywhere was the answer and so the planning began. |
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Another Snippet from Bill Boyd Bill Boyd has provided us with some Rotary news about covid and India. |
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Polio and TalibanTaliban have children too The situation in Afghanistan has escalated since a zoom meeting of RI END POLIO NOW Coordinators last week but several messages with great impact were delivered by our senior leaders during that meeting.
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“In the Heights” - a Movie Fund Raiser.
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What has influenced your lifeOtahuhu, South Auckland where I grew up attending Otahuhu Primary School & Otahuhu College was a vastly different place to what we have today with very few if any other ethnic groups other than a few Maoris or Chinese market gardeners.   |
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Exploring New Zealand One of my interests leading up to my teenage years was scouting. It got me fascinated in the outdoors as I began working towards the Queen’s Scout award. To walk as much of our beautiful country as I can, still happens.   In those early days I lived in Palmerston North, hiking most of the Tararuas and a little of the Ruahine range. I had one near death experience while walking up the Mangahoa stream near Shannon doing a trip to the Ohau gorge. |
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2021 Changeover Tonight was another annual occasion to celebrate the past 12 months and to welcome in Eastern Hutt's new President for 2021-22, Anne Abbott. It was a yet again a little unusual, as Wellington was still under Level Two Covid restrictions but it still didn't spoil a memorable evening those who attended. |
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Mike Fackney - Paul Harris Fellow As is often traditional, one or more Members are recognised for their Club & Rotary service and at the President's Changeover evening and this year it was Mike Fackney. He became our Club's newest Paul Harris Fellow. |
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Healthy in the Hutt – 19 June 2021
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Wine Tasting Evening A very interesting evening was enjoyed by members and their guests at Avalon Pavilion on Friday 4th June. Even though it was leading up to Queens Birthday, this fundraising event for the Wellington Children's Hospital raised nearly $5,000. |
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International Committee Chinese luncheon fundraiser |
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Fridges to Hutt Hospital In early October I received a call from Margaret McIver asking if our club would consider raising money for two fridges for the medical ward family rooms at Hutt Hospital. |
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Travels in New Zealand
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2021 Walk for Mental Health Around 300 walkers gathered in the grounds of the Wellington Tenths Trust (supporters of the Walk), many of them students from schools around the Hutt Valley. They completed the recent 3-kms walk from Petone’s Hikoikoi Reserve, to the Petone Wharf. |
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Rotarians Out and About Rotary has been very active the past few days. Thanks to Jaye's enthusiastic encouragement, we once again turned out to serve the breakfast for the Weetbix TRYathlon at the Hutt Recreational Ground. It's a great children's event and our efforts were certainly appreciated by the organisers. Thanks to everyone for putting aside the time for what was a brilliantly fine Lower Hutt day. |
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Home on the Farm I grew up in a large homestead (pictured) on a farm at 'Mahunga' in Masterton with my Mum Olive, Dad George, Twin Sister Janet, and younger Sister Margaret (who was also a twin, but her brother died at twenty-one months) along with sheep, cows, cats, possums, chooks, and horses. |
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Dave Comparini's Memorial Seat Something that was not clear was what the Wellington Regional Council's intended programme was around maintaining their plots like this. So last night, led by Richard Perry, members of the Environment Committee and others, started a weeding programme in front of Dave Comparini's chair. |
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My Thai Experience It was 2001 and my brother had just married a Thai woman from the rural outback’s of Bangkok. A bachelor for many years he had decided to cut out the dating scene and choose a ‘Mail order Bride' instead.
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Undies for Africa Last year, Ross Barber spoke about the tragic truth around what women are subjected to when they do not have underwear. Thanks to donations from members and friends, we were able to send over a couple of suitcases of both new and pre-owned items. |
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What does the acronym PETS mean? For a long time, PETS has been the acronym for 'Presidents Elect Training Seminar'. For us, the new Presidents Elect, this first training was over a weekend held at Massey University on 21st and 22nd November. |
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Introducing our 2021 RYLA Candidate We are proud to nominate this year's RYLA candidate, Madi Arps. Here is her introduction: Kia Ora! I am 17 years old (at time of writing), and I am just completing Year 13 at Naenae College. |
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Naenae College Prizegiving - 2020 Last Thursday, President Jan attended the senior Prizegiving at Naenae College to present our annual scholarship. |
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TV Consumer Advocacy I helped set up NZ’s oldest TV consumer advocacy group Media Matters in NZ, (viewers.org.nz) 27 years ago, a stimulating but often frustrating activity. Pity that so much that is worthwhile on telly is impossible to watch because of the continuous interruption of commercials. |
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Compost Bins For Te Omanga Hospice The Hospice had been looking for support to provide it with two sets of 3 compost bins, for the processing of the large amount of leaves grass and other compostable waste generated in their grounds. |
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Riding the Trains to End Polio - 2020 Last Friday, 24th October, a party 14 Eastern Hutt Rotarians and partners rode up and down each of Wellington’s train routes, to raise money for the End Polio Campaign. |
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RYDA - 2020 RYDA (Rotary Youth Driver Awareness) was a successful event with 78 students from Naenae College participating at the Ricoh Centre on the 13th October. |
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US Ambassador - Scott Brown On Monday 19th October, Eastern Hutt Rotary will be proud to host the United States Ambassador to NZ as our guest speaker. This will be a partner's night and also an opportunity to meet some of our future Satellite Club candidates. |
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Focus on New Zealand A few days ago I was looking through our bookcase and deciding what should stay and what could go - things you do in retirement! Anyway, I came upon ‘Focus on New Zealand'. |
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Michael Jameson Retires Haere Ra, Michael Jameson, PHF. As one who exemplifies all that is best about Eastern Hutt Rotary, it was Michael's last formal attendance as a Member this week. |
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Life & Times of Robin Aitken A most interesting "Life and Times". Robin Aitken was born in Glasgow but has spent much of his life at sea. |
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Hutt River Bank Clean Up An enthusiastic and willing group of club members (and partners) spent Sunday morning picking up an assortment of paper, plastic and other items of rubbish lying on the banks of Te Awa Kairangi/Hutt River. |
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A Life of Learning At the beginning of this year, a trip to Brisbane to see family and life seemed normal. Little did I know that Covid19 was looming. Online I had seen that there was an unusual flu virus in China, with no idea of the impact it would have on me, my family, friends and country. |
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Quiz Par Excellence Linda and husband Ray Wallace organised a quiz night based on questions largely about our own Club. |
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Purchasing a New Vehicle update On Purchasing a new vehicle, a letter to John Cole. EE lad, you don't know how lucky you were. I went to buy a new (to me) vehicle in 1962. |
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Introducing Barry Littlefair Barry's was meant to be a small "life and times" on "Why I joined Rotary", but when the planned main speaker did not arrive Barry's turned out to be the main, indeed only, talk. |
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2020 Usborne Dictionary Presentations Recent presentations to Year 4 students at Naenae School to 52 very happy recipients receiving their Usborne dictionaries. Proudly presented by Jaye Howey and Glenda Barratt. |
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Purchasing a New Vehicle 1975 versus 2020  Last month I took delivery of a new company vehicle. It made me reminisce about buying a vehicle in the “old days”. |
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Richard Perry's 40+ Rotary Years This month, Eastern Hutt Rotary are very proud to honour our Past President Richard Perry for over 40 years of serving Rotary. |
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Jenny Thompson, MNZM It was a proud family moment, especially for Secretary David Thompson when his wife Jenny became a Member Of The New Zealand Order Of Merit (MNZM). |
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Southward's Wurlitzer The Wurlitzer theatre organ was developed to accompany silent movies. Although expensive, they replaced the various theatre groups of musicians in the larger theatres. They were very popular in Britain and a very few made it to NZ. |
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Innovated Young Minds - 2020IYM Online was a great success! Innovative Young Minds Charitable Trust would like to thank Eastern Hutt Rotary for your financial contribution to our IYM Online programme – you made it possible for us to offer a Covid-19 alternative to our students. |
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Welcome to 2020-21 Board Jan Palmer was very proud to became the 2020-21 President of Eastern Hutt Rotary and proudly announced her incoming Board of Directors. |
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Welcome to Gwen Hoople Originally from the Scottish border town of Jedburgh, Gwen was raised in Hamilton and went to Sacred Heart Girl’s College. |
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2020 Changeover Eastern Hutt's 2020 Changeover Evening  What a very memorable evening! Led in by President, Robert Sinclair, a Scottish cord piped in the Haggis. This was superbly orchestrated by Kevin Nelson, who then recited Robbie Burns' famous poem. |
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Update from China Former Member, Richard, and Jocelyn, visited the club during a holiday back in NZ on 18 July 2018. Courtesy of Facebook, here is an interesting update from him while travelling within China since Covid-19. |
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Welcome to Robin Aitken
President Robert and members warmly welcomed Robin Aitken at the end of June, as our newest Member. He said his memory of Graeme Blick's mantra, “Rotarians are good people, doing good things”, was still fresh in his mind. |
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Welcome Barry Littlefair Tonight we welcomed Barry Littlefair as a new member. Barry and Diane emigrated to New Zealand in November 2019 and they now live in Eastbourne. They have 2 sons, one married to a Kiwi, with two children, also living in Eastbourne. The other one is married and lives in Hong Kong. |
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Des Darby - Honorary Membership Status President Robert Sinclair and the Board had much pleasure in awarding Des Darby Honorary Membership at tonight's meeting. |
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The Rotary World Out There
The Rotary International Board, The Rotary Foundation Trustees, and all their committees will meet online at least till the end of 2020. The Board has recommended that all Institutes and training of incoming officers also be virtual. The ban on the funding of Rotary travel continues. |
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Peace Scholarship Foundation Many Rotarians support the concept of Peace [though there is no clear definition of what Peace is]. While the decision to establish a Peace Endowment was made in 2005, it was 2008 before work to fund the endowment began and by 2017 the gifts as at 30th September 2017 are $156,321,477.
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Classifications in Rotary The classification principle goes back to the start of Rotary in 1905 when Paul Harris and his friends decided that members should come from different classifications so as to represent a cross section of society and not become another focused self interest group. |
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Tribute to Dave Comparini“Service Above Self” - the Rotary International motto is epitomized by Past President Dave Comparini.  Dave joined the Rotary Club of Eastern Hutt in September 1998. His background was in Construction Management having started his working life as a carpenter in Nelson. |
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Mum's Virtual 90th Birthday Party As many of you know, I am from a very large family. On 2nd May, along with a niece, I arranged via zoom to have a virtual birthday party for my Mum’s 90th birthday. Family members dialed-in from all over NZ, plus Australia, Sweden, and Singapore. |
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The Positives of My Covid-19 Lockdown Over the past few weeks, here are some positives I have enjoyed during the past few weeks of the Lockdown: |
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Trentham Memorial Park Paul and I have been so lucky to live next door to the most beautiful park in the Hutt Valley – Trentham Memorial Park. It is wonderful to have it so close and has been a godsend during these past 4 weeks of isolation. We walk to the park twice a day – a long walk without the elderly dog and a short walk with the elderly dog. |
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Our Past Stressful Time Over the last 4 weeks of isolation, I have reflected on how fortunate I am and how I am so pleased that I never experienced a pandemic during my working life. I can only imagine what many people are having to deal with. For some families worried about whether they will still have a job, how will they cope financially and, in some cases, living under less than ideal conditions. |
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LIFE IN LOCKDOWN 14-4-20 It’s all happening around me but not to me, which is fine by me. People are behaving badly , but I’m not among them, such a relief. The long arm of the law has reached out to grab a number of people trying to make a run for freedom from Lockdown. I sneakily admire such high jinx but is it really worth the bother? I mean hiring lawyers and ruining your CV? |
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The Politics of Covid19 The politics of the Covid19 response have cost a lot of lives internationally. Sadly, in the early days it became a US/China issue and this delayed the preparations for what was inevitably going to happen. I read yesterday that US agencies took two months to issue their purchase orders for items such as ventilators and protective clothing and have since struggled to catch up. |
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Polio Update As at 8 April, Afghanistan had 3 cases this year as again 29 for the full year last year. In the month of February there were 6.7 million children vaccinated but 1.9 million children were missed as they were in areas that were inaccessible. They have 19 cross border posts which vaccinated 1.8 million children as the amount of movement between Afghanistan and Pakistan is considerable. In their country they have 2926 social mobilisers, who organise and vaccinate.
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Coronavirus Blues – Flight from Ethiopia
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Rotary International Membership I saw a comment the other day that a Rotarian was querying what was happening at Rotary International level. RI staff are working from home till at least 30th April and there will be no funded RI travel before May 31st. The April meetings of the RI Board and the Foundation Trustees were both held virtually. Not simple because of time zones! All Peace Fellows were asked to return home if possible and somewhere in excess of 1000 Rotary Youth Exchangees returned home early. |
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Weetbix Tryathalon - 2020 Inspired by the community buzz we'd enjoyed in previous years, our team of enthusiastic Rotarians once again volunteered in supporting the Weetbix Tryathalon at the Hutt Recretional grounds. Once again, it was so enjoyable. The weather played it's part but sadly, a Hutt Valley power cut brought a new challenge! |
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A Favourite Pastime Lawn Bowls is the anglicised variant of a family of sports in which several larger balls or biased bowls are rolled or thrown at a smaller target ball.
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WFMH Report
On March the 1st our inaugural Walk for Mental Health was held. The weather was stunning, the harbour was flat, no wind – everything we could have possibly asked for. |
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Patons Rock and Surrounds My Xmas holiday destination of Paton Rock was once again the place to go in 2019. Over the past 20 years the opportunity to Holiday with my good friends at “The Look out“ on the beach is always a delightful experience. |
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Simple Music Player Members may recall that Eastern Hutt Rotary, supported by a Regional grant, contributed to a “Music for Life” project in which Rani Allan (therapist) introduced people with early- stage dementia to a radio look-alike named a “Simple Music Player”. |
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Walk for Mental Health A dedicated few have been working hard during the holiday period to present this inaugural event. Make it a family event and please share this information with your friends too - especially if you're on Facebook! |
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Community Health Monitor Last year, Eastern Hutt Rotary approved a donation towards the salary of a Community Health Monitor. The photo above and others below have been received along with their thanks from Dharamvir Singh in India. |
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Pre-Christmas Thoughts 2019 is fast coming to a close and for a lot of us his year has seen many changes in our lives. |
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Community & Health Committee report.jpg) Over the past 6 months the Community & Health Committee are proud of their collective activities. Here are some of those we are proud to be involved in: |
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Parkinson Collection - 2019 The numbers are in. The collection at Pak’N’Save, Lower Hutt netted a total of $1,516.40. A great achievement, only possible with your support. |
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A family affair On 'End Polio Now' day, Ray and I were heading to Brisbane Airport after a short break in Surfers Paradise. We took the opportunity to stop at SouthBank and meet my oldest brother David Goss. He's a member of The Greater Springfield Rotary Club in District 9630 in Brisbane and they were also participating in an event that evening, "Riding The Train to End Polio" - as you can see by his t-shirt. |
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Ride the trains to End Polio Now day I’m pleased to say that a good group of Easter Hutt Rotary members participated in the day’s activities. Five members or associates (of all ages) stood collecting from the public at Naenae Station during this day, in shifts from 6am onwards. |
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Russian Delight Ever thought of visiting to Russia? Well, I’ll try and change your mind. Mary and I booked Trafalgar’s Wonders of St. Petersburg and Moscow in July and we can’t stop sharing our experience…. |
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Wim Julicher - Paul Harris Fellowship award What better occasion to honour someone, than when the District Governor visits. Accompanied by his family, Wim Julicher was presented the Paul Harris Fellowship tonight. It was a huge surprise and there was the odd tear in the eye I believe! |
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Duffy Books in Schools - Rata Street School At Rata Street School last week, Eastern Hutt Rotary was once again present to promote 'Books in Homes' and of course Duffy Books. Those included were Annette Ruck, John Cole, Linda Goss-Wallace and myself. |
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Strange but True Our first grandchild is due mid-November. The prospect of her arrival would have turned her late granddad into a puddle of unbridled excitement. |
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Welcome to Linda Goss-Wallace A very big welcome back in Rotary to Linda Goss-Wallace! Linda joined Eastern Hutt Rotaract in 1985, then a year later moved back to Wainuiomata and joined Wainuiomata Rotaract. Over the next 7 years she held all the board directorships and was President for two years. |
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Celebration of Duffy Books Last evening Jaye Howey and myself had the honour to attend Government House to celebrate 25 years of Duffy books in Homes and receive acknowledgment of Eastern Hutt's contribution to such a wonderful cause. |
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Healthy Homes - update.JPG) BETWEEN 2015 AND 2017 a dedicated team of footsloggers from the club, supported by HCC and the Health Board, visited about 3000 low income rented tenancies, both private and HCNZ, in the Hutt, to establish which qualified for the Government programme of free or subsidised home insulation. |
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Soap Box "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." ~ Edmund Burke and quoted by J.F. Kennedy Please imagine that there has just been a violent bank robbery in Lower Hutt. |
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Innovative Young Minds 2019The Innovative Young Minds (IYM) program is run by the Hutt City Council and Hutt City Rotary with some help from other local Rotary Clubs, including us at Eastern Hutt. It provides young women in years 11 and 12 (the old 5th and 6th forms) with exposure beyond the school gates to the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Manufacturing - the STEMM subjects. Traditionally these have tended to be male dominated fields but they are now accessible and available to women if they know about them. Des Darby and I had previously interviewed three Naenae College students, Alaa Loulou, Cindy Zhu and Ilma Aminudeen, all of whom gained places on the course, with our club sponsoring two of them. One of them, Ilma, was in the first cohort and Jaye Howey had the pleasure of hearing her speak on behalf of them all at the Grand Hall of Parliament.   Ilma Aminudeen at the Grand Hall of Parliament, and Cindy Zhu with Alaa Loulou at the Innovation Dragons Den This year the program ran over two weeks and involved eighty students in total. Each week, 20 of the students were local and 20 were from other parts of New Zealand. I had the privilege of being a volunteer on seven of the ten week days. |
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Mind the GapIn a little over one year we will be voting in the next general election, and of equal importance, also in the referendum on Drug Reform that will include the legal status of Cannabis in this country. While thinking about this recently, my thoughts went back to my early days at Medical School and to one of our lecturers involved in research of the synapse. This is the microscopic anatomical gap between two nerves and between the end of a nerve and either a gland or a muscle, and one of the unanswered medical mysteries at that time was how does a nervous impulse jump the gap?
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The Auckland Marathon The Auckland Marathon generally attracts over 10,000 participants, all running or walking over the harbour bridge early in the morning. In preparation for this, marathons are held at least five times in different locations on five weekends. It used to be coupled with short distance runs, children’s events and so on, lasting three to four hours. The first practice marathon is usually held at Unitec, and then the others are in different locations around Auckland. The Rotary Club of Western Springs, my former club, has over the last 6 to 7 years been volunteering the marshalling activity for this event.
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Tuesday mornings. Term time.
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President Pat Heffernan's Review of his Year Well where did that year go. Richard said to me at the start of my year that it will go fast and he wasn’t wrong. I have really enjoyed my year as your President, maybe not the first 3 months though, but once I knew what I was doing things were great. It is full on and I was glad I retired to do the job. Dean McMillian told me about 5 years ago not to do the Presidents job while you are still working and that was great advice. |
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Serving Rotary
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Outcome of Healthy in the Hutt 2019 This proved to be a very successful day with 20 exhibitors attending. Feedback from the exhibitors is that they really enjoyed the day and would love to come again next year. Feedback from the people who came was that they benefited from the day and would like the event to be run again. |
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More support for Te Omanga Hospice At this evening's meeting President Pat Heffernan was pleased to present Biddy Harford, CEO of Te Omanga Hospice, with a cheque for $16,500. Two thirds of this will be used by the Hospice to purchase items for patient care and the remainder will be added to its current need for capital expenditure. The larger part of these funds were raised at our annual Te Omanga Golf Tournament.
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Are we like Janesville?
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My International Exchanges I was invited to join Rotary in 1990 (that’s how it was in those days) and my first committee was International, and this side of Rotary became a huge part of our lives. My Gisborne club, in District 9930, was very active in hosting both GSE (Group Study Exchange) and RFE (Rotary Friendship Exchange). |
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What an Experience Some members and friends may remember the year I was District 9940 District Governor (2001-2002). I had a project to raise funds to support the Sewa Sadan Eye Hospital in Bhopal, India. |
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Osborne House - Isle of Wight When Mary and I went cruising last year we were based out of Southampton. We had a couple of days on shore between the Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth cruises so together with our travelling companions we headed for the ferry to travel across to the Isle of Wight for an afternoon of exploring. |
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Te Omanga Gardening
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My Favourite Food At a recent meeting we had Rachel Taulelai visit and speak to us. She very entertainingly walked us through the 10 foods that represented her and the important memories and things in her life. This got me thinking about what they would be for me.... |
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Pink Ribbon Breakfast - Update Thanks to everyone involved in our Pink Ribbon Breakfast, this was an outstanding success! In fact, we had to turn people away as we couldn't accommodate more than 100 people! |
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Welcome to Dr. Gregory De Costa Gregory was born and grew up in Colombo, Sri Lanka. After completing a Civil Engineering degree, he went to Japan to do a Masters in Environmental Engineering and PhD in Hydraulics and Hydrology. |
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Proud Moments |
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A Tribute to Dr. Milne Dr. Graham Milne, OBE Aged 100, Dr. Milne passed away on 19th April 2019 at Golden Bay Community Health. |
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Pink Ribbon Breakfast Come along and support this worthy cause and listen to the renowned breast surgeon, Mr. Burton King who we know will give a very enlightening and interesting talk.
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2019 Pride of Workmanship Award On Monday, CEO Justine Tupara of JT Property Wash, was awarded Eastern Hutt Rotary's Pride of Workmanship Award, selected from a group of nominees at an eventful Rotary meeting. |
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I'm A Storyteller Unlike others, I don’t have an amazing adventure overseas to tell you about (Well I do, but that’s another story), or a foray into something that will hold you spellbound as you read. Rather I would like to share with you a piece of self-discovery that took one person, one sentence, to help me make complete sense of my life. |
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2019 Quiz Evening The recent Quiz Night was a great success, with lots of fun identifying strange objects and substances in the quirky-question sections. Over $ 1,000 was raised for the Duffy Books in Homes programme, thanks to everyone who participated. |
