I thought we had a great evening with our colleagues from Karori Lions. There was a good social buzz and an excellent presentation from marine archeologist Mary O'Keeffe. Most importantly it reminded us of the opportunities that exist for us to work with other organisations for the good of the community.
The rest of the year is looking busy. The club has sponsered 2 young people for RYPEN. We will have the Karori Youth Awards on Monday 21 October at the Baptist Church and we need to start searching for potential RYLA candidates to attend their event in January. Further details are contained elsewhere in this bulletin.
On Saturday 5 October we will be doing a garden cleanup at the Marsden club. This is an activity that ticks all the Rotary boxes. Volunteers and family members are most welcome. The work is light and convivial and morning tea is provided. Please bring some gardening tools and put in some time between 9:30 and 12:30.
I have repeated the advertisement for 'A Grand Night Out'. This is a fundraiser for Lifting The Lid, our most important regional project. The event will be held at the Wellington Club on Wednesday 23 October.
As Christmas approaches we are ramping up our efforts to sell Rotary Christmas Puddings. Please read the article later in this bulletin and start drawing up a prospect list. This is a key fund raiser for the club, we need to sell as many as possible. There will be opportunities to sell in the Karori Mall and at the Carol Service on Saturday 7 December and Saturday 14 December.
Our last function for the year is our Christmas function at Marsden on Saturday 14 December.
Finally, remember the timing for apologies has changed. Any apologies must be with David by 5pm on the Friday prior to our meetings.
We had a most enjoyable dinner evening with members of the Karori Lions Club at Marsden School on 24 September. Adding to that enjoyment was a great presentation on maritime archaeology from a highly respected consultant archaeologist Mary O’Keeffe, called Wellington’s ‘Indiana Jones’ by her friends and observers in the capital.
Our guest speaker is 4th from the left in this pic of combined Rotary and Lions members.
Mary’s work has taken her far and wide to some exciting places, digging around in the depths of historic buildings, unearthing all sorts of treasures and past pieces of history including from a former capital Lunatic Asylum, now Government House, next door to Wellington College. Her digging about has found all sorts of things in the grounds and under buildings in early settler cottages in the central city that tell us how people lived back in the 19th and early 20th century.
Her contract assignments have also included looking for artifacts beneath the land which is now the Kapiti Expressway and wearing her maritime hat, diving on wrecks in lakes and off our southern Wellington coastline.
Her diving experiences were the special topic for our evening with our Lions friends. It was fascinating seeing pictures of an early wreck in deep water in Lake Waikaremoana, going back to when Te Kooti was on the run in the Māori Land Wars. This Lake is a very special spiritual place.
Mary talked about how John Plimmer’s boat the Inconstant from the early 1840s came to be housed in the depths of the Old BNZ Building in Lambton Quay, about the wreck of the Defender in Wellington Harbour in 1904, the Tui back in 1886, the SS Penguin heading to Wellington from Picton which was wrecked in a storm in Cook Strait in February 1909. Only 30 of the 102 people on board including crew survived. This was a major maritime tragedy in New Zealand.
Mary described the numerous shipwreck sites which qualified divers, including herself have had the opportunity to explore. Her message to us was ‘it is the small things we find that tell big stories.’
It is all go, the Rotary Club of Karori is again acting as the District clearing house for Rotary Christmas puddings which will be with us by the time you receive this bulletin. Our Rotary friends in Auckland have arranged an initial shipment of 2 pallets to us. Last year was a good year for sales, hopefully all Clubs in our District will support this important fund raiser and keep us strong in our commitments to Rotary’s strategic goals. Messages will go out shortly seeking Club orders.
The most effective way for our club to sell puddings is, in bulk, to larger organisations. We have excellent promotional material and document templates that can be used to approach prospects. This material will be available at our next meeting. Please put on your thinking cap and see if you can draw up a prospect list. Our sell price is $25 per pudding but higher prices are possible by dressing them up with a miniature bottle of brandy and some wrapping paper.
This is an important fund raiser for the club and for projects that are coming up on us.
This month our key focus is helping to advance opportunities for youth through training courses, and to celebrate the achievements of young people.
The Rotary Club of Karori has sponsored two secondary school students, Jayathi Jaiganesh and Issy Chamberlain to attend RYPEN at the Kawhatau Outdoor Education Centre in Mangaweka from 4-6 October. We look forward to hearing from both of them later how this course went.
We are on the lookout now to support a suitable applicant for Rotary’s RYLA course in January, to be held at Forest Lakes near Otaki. The Rotary Club of Kapiti is organising this event and has put out a lot of publicity.
We are searching our Rotary catchment area for a nominee we can support for RYLA. We ask all members and friends of Rotary to help us support this special programme aimed at leadership development for those aged 18-24.
On Monday 21 October, the Karori Youth Awards will be held at the Baptist Church in Karori. We have funded this programme along with other organisationas for many years. This a real showcase evening celebrating leadership through schools, sport, education, and other organisations in our community. A solid Rotary turnout is another way to show our support for these young people.
Saturday 5 October, A Working Bee At The Marsden Club
Please diary this event from 9:30 to 12:30. We are looking for volunteers to help, invite your friends and neighbours.
Tuesday 8 October, Projects And Planning At Marsden Cultural Centre: 6pm. A short format meeting focussing on the club's plans. Drinks and snacks in lieu of dinner.
Monday 21 October, Karori Youth Awards
At Baptist Church Karori 7pm.
Tuesday 22 October, Guest Speak Sophie Williams, Regional Programmes Coordinator, Wellington Star Jam
At Marsden Cultural Centre: 6pm. Dinner meeting.
Monday 28 October to 17 November, Wellington Regional Heritage Festival
Tuesday 12 November, Projects And Planning
At Marsden Cultural Centre: 6pm. A short format meeting focussing on the club's plans. Drinks and snacks in lieu of dinner.
Tuesday 26 November, Visitors DG Jocelyn Hogg And The Mt Victoria Club
At Marsden Cultural Centre: 6pm. Dinner meeting with guest speaker D9940 DG Jocelyn Hogg addressing both clubs.
Saturday 7 December, Christmas Pudding Sales
Selling in the Karori Mall and at Christmas Carols in Ben Burn park.
Sunday 8 December, Khandallah Fair
Organised by the Wellington North club.
Tuesday 10 December, Karori Rotary AGM
At Marsden Cultural Centre: 6pm. Dinner meeting.
Saturday 14 December, Christmas Pudding Sales
Selling in the Karori Mall.
Saturday 14 December, Rotary Christmas Function
At Marsden Cultural Centre, details to come
Tuesday 28 January, Social Event With Rotary Club Of Tawa
