Jeremy Ward is the Managing Director of East-West Ferries, which has operated two ferries on Wellington Harbour since 1989.

 

Jeremy spoke at a meeting of the club on 4 November on the future of harbour ferry travel, which will be fully electric ferries developed by the Wellington Electric Boat Building Company Ltd.

 

Two years ago, in partnership with Meridien Energy, the company began the process of manufacturing New Zealand's first all-electric, carbon fibre, zero emission passenger ferry and the first in the Southern Hemisphere.

 

The new ferry is expected to go into service in 2021. It will be 18.5 metre 20 knot catamaran and will carry 135 passengers, substantially more than the current East-West ferries.

 

The future is exciting. The company is receiving significant interest from other NZ ferry operators and will shortly expand to a significantly larger boat building warehouse in the next few months.

 

The company aims to develop a new ferry route from Queens Wharf to Miramar Wharf with a run time of 10 minutes, linking with an electric shuttle bus from the wharf to the airport terminal.

 

 

Though Covid has since June put some limitations on our usual community outreach, Rotary Hutt City is enjoying a successful year, based around three elements. 

 

First, where Covid allows, we are continuing to support our community through our effort and resources. In July, we provided collectors for the Womens' Refuge annual street collection, In August, we donated a dishwasher to the Hutt Hospital Childrens' Ward for the use of the nursing staff. We are also continuing to work with the Regional Council in support of the ongoing development of the Hutt River Trail, which by 2021 should comprise 54 kms of walking and cycling trails in the Hutt Valley - a phenomenal local asset.

 

Second, our partnership with the Hutt City Council is driving forward the Innovative Young Minds initiative, which goes from strength to strength. While it was not possible this year to deliver a residential learning programme, IYM delivered in July an online programme to 70 young women in years 11 and 12, exposing them to research and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and high-tech manufacturing. 

 

 

 

 

Third, as an active group of committed individuals, we are growing our numbers and exploring new opportunities to serve community needs in Wainuiomata, a rapidly growing suburb of Hutt City but with no current Rotary presence. Alongside this growth strategy, we aim to provide our members with a range of networking and social opportunities and the opportunity to hear top-notch speakers at our fortnightly breakfast meetings.