Welcome to our latest Newsletter. By the time we meet next week, Spring will have sprung! 🌷🐰💐
Contributions to our bulletin are welcome and if you have anything please send to Richard at nabbo_123@hotmail.com
And if you have any comments on the layout, content and information provided, let us know, because the Newsletter is yours.
Rotary Hutt City breakfast meetings
Meetings are held 7am to 8.30 am on the first and third Wednesday of the month at Boulcott's Farm Heritage Golf Club, Military Road, Lower Hutt.
Breakfast costs $25 per person, payable on arrival. Please RSVP to chrissi@roll.nz
NB: Check out below details of new arrangements on trial for 3 September 2025.
Members, please also check the Duties Roster (Meeting Responsibilities) below for your nominated duty for our next meeting on 3 September 2025. New positions have been added for Payment Takers.
Thank you Anna!
After five years, Anna Geremia-Young is stepping down from her role as Breakfast RSVP co-ordinator and meeting co-ordinator. At our Breakfast meeting on 20 August, President Katrina gave Anna a great send off: before Anna spoke about her Italian heritage - more below.
Stepping in to the role will be Chrissi Walker (welcome!), who has been filling in for Anna whilst she was on holiday in Italy.
You may have noticed already that instead of requiring an RSVP by email, Chrissi sends out a Calendar invitation where, with just one click, you can Accept or Decline. This is worked well in trial, so look out for repeats.
As at the last meeting, payment on 3 September will be taken from members upon arrival at Boulcotts, rather than at the kitchen/bar counter. This gives us more control of funds, and eliminates Boulcotts taking additional payments from people who don’t RSVP.
We will be using Barry’s and Gaylene's machines direct next week. Fingers crossed it all works!
NB: A reminder that if you want a fancy coffee, however, you will still need to purchase that separately from the kitchen/bar.
Hi, how are you? I'm currently in Brisbane at a conference all about cruising and enjoying 27 degree sunshine - jealous much??
A few of us made a mini club fundraiser and saw Cringeworthy the 90s at Circa last weekend. Social events are key ways to connect with each other and build relationships. The more connected we are and the friendships we build are an important way to ensure members stay involved and are then keen to commit to events.
Our next social event and fundraiser is the Downton Abbey 3 (The Grand Finale) movie on 11 September. Do register online to join us.
All five Hutt Rotary Clubs hosted the 4 Mayoral Candidates for a public meeting last week. It was a huge success, with approx 150 people in attendance. We'll host the Candidates again at our second September breakfast meeting on 17 September, so I do encourage you to attend and to bring a friend who might be a Hutt voter.
Next week along with our Kiwibank economist speaking we'll also have current Mayor Campbell Barry say a few words.
Lots on over the next few weeks. I look forward to seeing you at our meetings.
Ka kite ano.
Cheers,
Katrina
PS Last chance for the photo challenge for August: let’s compile photos based on this 30 day photo challenge I found (photo below). Feel free to choose a few ''days'' and send me through photos. I’d love to create a photo montage that shows our connections on the screen at each meeting.
Colonel Robert Logan led a 1400-strong expeditionary force to capture German Samoa in New Zealand’s first military action of the First World War. This was the second German territory, after Togoland in West Africa, to fall to the Allies in the war.
On 6 August, shortly after the outbreak of war, Britain asked New Zealand to capture a wireless station in German Samoa. The station, situated in the hills behind Apia, was strategically important because it was capable of sending signals to Berlin and the German fleet in the Pacific.
A small force of local constabulary protected the wireless station. They were no match for the Samoa Expeditionary Force, which achieved its objective without resistance.
New Zealand occupied the islands for the remainder of the war, then from 1920 until 1962 administered Western Samoa under mandates from the League of Nations and its successor, the United Nations. New Zealand’s rule was marred by its inept handling of the deadly influenza epidemic of 1918 and suppression of the Mau nationalist movement in the 1920s.This postcard titled ’'German War Flag captured at Samoa by New Zealand'' purports to have fabric from the first captured flag attached to it, but the Te Papa curators cannot verify this, believing that there were several flags captured at the time.
Mid winter present delivery to the Children's Ward at Hutt Hospital (along with the Women's Refuge and Birthright charities) with gifts left over from 2024's Tree of Joy.
Tania from Hutt Hospital said: ''Thanks Katrina, we've had a great afternoon on the ward giving out the gifts, lots of happy children''.
Thanks to Barry Carrruth and Linton Adams for help with sorting and delivery.
Looking Back 20 August (Very Busy!!)
After a short update on the status of the Pilot scheme from District Governor Carol Green, Anna Geremia-Young gave the three minute Who am I, majoring on her recent European holiday, Italian heritage and teaching Italian. Anna's parents, who were born close to Venice, moved to New Zealand in the 1950s.
Next up were the three IYM sponsored students who recently attended the Residential in July, which featured in our last Newsletter. Leanne (speaking), Caitlin and Katrina (how could she fail to be picked?!) who were all accompanied by proud parents, offered wonderful takeaways from the experience, with Leanne describing the event as the best school holiday she had ever had.
Road safety was the main theme of the Breakfast meeting and the first of two speakers, Lee Bell, from Youth Inspire based in Taita gave a short presentation on the benefits of providing volunteer driving mentoring, of one or two hours per week. The main gap was for young persons between school and the start of their careers, with many receiving driving infringements before they started work. Lower Hutt currently had the highest unlicensed numbers in the Wellington region. She reported on the sad case of a young woman who had been driving unlicensed from the age of 9 until 23, forced to drive becasue her mother was an alcoholic.
Sarah Parkinson from RYDA (Rotary Youth Driver Awareness) was our main speaker, and Sarah presented a very comprehensive summary of RYDA's work. She had so far offered the program to 6 schools in the area, with a further three in the pipelne.
There were some very informative slides, such as:
getting behind the wheel is one of the most dangerous events in our lives;
restricted licence holders are likely to have the most accidents, because they are inexperienced and at a vulnerable age.
If there was any ever doubts as to the value of the course, the statistics wrapped up. Pre course 37% answered questions correctly, but afterwards, the average more than doubled to 79%. The real litmus test was that three months after the course, the success rate in answering was still above 70%.
Finally, and completing the driver safety theme, Craig Deadman provided the Quizzlet. A series of driver related questions followed, including the real life drama experience of how much the fine is for parking in the Burger King carpark adjacent to Wellington Airport when you are there to pick up the boss. Get the bus next time, eh?
Looking Back 21 August - Prospective Mayoral Question Time
The five Valley clubs came together to host the mayoral "hustings'' at Boulcott, with an excellent turnout from the public, as there were more than 130 present. There were some inventive questions as well as the obvious (rate increases, water, Melling Link, etc).
And it doesn't stop there! Outgoing Mayor Cambell Barry will be at our meeting on 3 September, followed by our own session with the candidates on 17 September (see below).
Next Week's Speaker 3 September (1) Sabrina Delgado - Kiwibank An Economist's View
“We’re at an interesting point in the economic cycle. The war on inflation has been won, and rapid rate relief is in progress. Domestically the outlook is improving, with the economy set to recover over 2025 and into 2026. That said, risks are still abound. Between trade disruptions and geopolitical tensions, the global landscape has become weaker and more uncertain. Join Kiwibank Economist Sabrina Delgado for an insightful update on the Kiwi economy and what lies ahead.”
Sabrina Delgado joined the Kiwibank economics team in 2023. Sabrina has a passion for exploring trends in the macroeconomic environment and how these impact New Zealand businesses and households. She values communicating New Zealands key economic issues in a manner that is relevant to diverse audiences. Sabrina brings a well-rounded academic background to the role with a conjoint BBus/BA in economics and social policy from Massey University, and is currently completing her masters degree in economics part time.
Next Week's Speaker 3 September (2) Campbell Barry
Mayor Campbell Barry will share his thoughts on where Lower Hutt currently stands, and discuss the opportunities he sees for the city’s future.
Clearly there may be pointers for the mayoral candidates who will be attending our Breakfast Meeting 17 September. Great synergy!!
Born in 1991, Campbell attended Wainuiomata High School and in 2013, aged 22, became the youngest person ever to serve on Hutt City Council. He surpassed that feat in 2019 when aged 28, he became the youngest ever mayor of a New Zealand city, succeeding Hutt City incumbent, Ray Wallace. Re-elected in 2022, Campbell has decided not to seek re-election.
Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce Not-for-Profit Members
From the link below, you can find HVCC's snapshot of a number of not-for-profit members doing vital work in the community, of which we are one. We already have connections with some, like the Salvation Army, and would be able to reach out to others......
Our club is a member of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, (HVCC) which entitles each of us to access chamber member discounts. Each month, HVCC put together a number of special offers from its members. There are some household names too, like Bunnings, Air New Zealand, 2Degrees, as well as many local businesses of course.
HVCC's Chief Executive Patrick McKibbin therefore has provided us with the following details:
Get Discounts and Offers from the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce network
Being part of a business that is a member of the HVCC gives you access to a range of discounts and offers from their partners locally and around New Zealand.
Chamber App - Your HVCCutt membership also entitles you to get the Chamber App. This includes a range of offers from local and national businesses. If you would like to download the App, please use the QR code on the flyer, complete the short form, and we will send you the download instructions with your unique code.
To access these details, you need the relevant app. and Rotarians can access this by sending an email topatrick@hvchamber.org.nz stating your name and that as a member of Hutt City Rotary you want to sign up for the HVCC app. They will then come back to you with an explanation of the process to be followed.
(Editor: I have signed up with the app, following clear instructions from Patrick).
- Join us for a fund raising movie, Downton Abbey Three(The Grand Finale) on Thursday 11th September at 515pm. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased here
Remember to bring some loose change along to the meeting so you can contribute if you answer a Quizlett question incorrectly :), or wish to "Buy The Box".
If you should have any interesting stories about fellow Rotarians then please pass them onto Craig so he can share them at the meeting. Email: craig@packprod.co.nz
Payment is also now available by Eftpos onsite - no excuses!
Last Edition, I asked: By when do Clubs that are registered under the Incorporated Societies Act 1908 have to reregister, under the new Incorporated Societies Act 2022, to maintain their incorporated status?
All incorporated societies in New Zealand must re-register under the Incorporated Societies Act 2022 by 5 April 2026. This is to remain registered as an incorporated society. The re-registration process involves several steps, including updating the society's constitution to comply with the new Act and submitting an application online.
This week: Where is the fictional country seat of Downton Abbey situated in England?
This postcard titled ’'German War Flag captured at Samoa by New Zealand'' purports to have fabric from the first captured flag attached to it, but the Te Papa curators cannot verify this, believing that there were several flags captured at the time.
A hand in mouth moment..............................
