Masterton Rotary Breakfast Supports Pink Ribbon on 29 May - join in

A leading community presence in Masterton is holding a special breakfast in support of Pink Ribbon Day for breast cancer.  Full details are at: http://www.pinkribbonbreakfast.co.nz/page/mastertonrotaryshostpage

Please come join us at our

yearly PINK RIBBON

fund- and awareness-raising

BREAKFAST

@ SOLWAY COPTHORNE RESTAURANT (Masterton)

Thursday 29 May 2014

from 7:15 for 7:30 start

Bring along a friend

Or if you can’t make it,

send a work colleague/staff in your place

High Visibility Means Safer Students

As part of the continuing commitment of Cromwell Rotary to road safety, all primary age pupils in Cromwell will be given high visibility vests

 

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At Cromwell Primary School’s assembly on 9 May, Rotarian Craig Lunn explained to pupils the reason behind wearing the vests, and the pupils thanked those involved for their generosity.

The funding for the vests was supported by Contact Energy, the Otago Motor Club Trust and the Rotary Club of Cromwell.

For more information: www.cromwell.rotarysouthpacific.org

Honouring PDG Ross Craig

 

PDG Ross passed away peacefully at home on Monday 5 May, aged 82. Ross made a huge contribution to Rotary in Auckland over his 48 years of service. He chaired three Trusts with many Rotary clubs and organisations across New Zealand benefiting from their funds.

As the Rotary District Foundation Chairman for Polio, Ross was known as Mr Polio. A Testimonial Dinner held for Ross in 2010 raised over $30,000 for Polio. This year, he supported the Polio Plus Challenge for an Auckland Rotary Clubs’ competition. Ross and the Trustees of the Chenery and June Gray Memorial Trusts offered $15,000 as incentive for clubs to raise funds for Polio.

Polio eradication was Ross’ top priority and is a task that certainly needs completing. We know Ross would loved to have been around for the day when it is finally purged from the world. Everyone’s donations however big or small are important and will, in the end, make the difference.

We invite all Rotarians to recognise the efforts of Ross over the years, and to make a meaningful donation to their District Polio Fund in his honour.

PLEASE SEND POLIO PLUS DONATIONS TO:
Rotary Foundation Committee 9920 c/o Peter Wilcock 44 Atrana Drive, RD2, Drury, Auckland 2578 (please ask if you would like a tax receipt)

A SERVICE TO CELEBRATE ROSS’ LIFE WILL BE HELD:
11:00am Monday 12 May Iona Presbytarian Church 38 Donovan Street Blockhouse Bay Auckland

May magazine delights

Articles featuring New Zealand and the Pacific in the May issue of Rotary Down Under magazine include:

(RDU, p7) Otahuhu Health Expo draws a crowd

(7) Tahiti Fundraiser makes fashionable appearance

(8) Walking for Polio

(16) How much is a child’s life worth?

(35) Dawnbreakers team joins fight against cancer

(36) Vanuatu school project inspires big dreamers

(38) Practical help for Fiji

(49) Oral language program targets literacy

(50) Rotary projects make a difference in Vanuatu

(Life & Leisure, pp53-55) Kiwi trio hitting right notes

(58) Sol3 Mio

There is also a feature article about Sydney Convention 

Read the magazine on-line via www.rotarydownunder.org and / or download the free App by going to the App store on your device and searching for "Rotary Down Under" - download and enjoy.

New Winton Rotary Trail enthusiastically supported

The Winton Rotary Trail is a fantastic community asset for current and future generations to enjoy using. It was officially opened jointly by Minister of Parliament Bill English and landowner Joan Hodges on April 12. An enthusiastic crowd of approximately 300 joined in the celebrations at the culmination of three years and more than one thousand man hours of work by Rotary Club of Winton members.

The nine kilometre trail encircles the whole Winton township and includes native bush, the Winton Stream to meander by, rural farm land, built up housing areas, and grounds beside Central Southland College.

The different seasons of the year provide extra aspects of nature for people to admire, ranging from daffodils flowering in a woodland bush setting, to coloured autumn leaves, plus bird life in the native bush and animals grazing peacefully on the nearby farmland.

It all started with the simple idea that Winton’s population would benefit from a walking and cycling trail that was safe for everybody to utilize. It was immediately welcomed by Rotarians and supporters.

The appropriate consents were granted and work started with great enthusiasm from local businesses and government-based organisations. The physical work was in the hands of Winton Rotarians, all of whom were eager to help. Winton Rotarian Lachlan McGregor was awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship in December 2013 for his outstanding contribution of instigating this community walkway and his motivational work.

The extra assets on the trail include four car parks, two shelter sheds, and six seats for rest areas. There are many access points to conveniently hop on/ hop off certain parts of the trail. The most satisfying aspect is now watching young and old using this great community facility while walking, cycling or walking the dog.

The Winton Rotary Trail has come from the community for the community and it is owned by the community. Prior to the official opening, Winton Rotary Club hosted a thank you lunch for the landowners who had donated their land and for the business community who also donated time and materials.

 

-By Rotary Club of Winton President Winston Gill

 

For more about this club: www.winton.rotarysouthpacific.org  

Newmarket and St Johns Rotary Clubs take on Motutapu Bridge Project

Newmarket and St Johns Rotary Clubs have been working together recently to further the Motutapu Bridge Project.

In partnership with Motutapu Restoration Trust, DOC, local Iwi and Auckland Tourism there is the potential to create the equivalent of another Tiritiri Matangi on Rangitoto – Motutapu Islands.

To achieve this and to complete the Motutapu Loop Track, the Motutapu Stream Bridge needs to be built. The bridge is a key element to opening up public access to the tracks on the Island.

Consent to build the bridge has been received from Auckland City Council.  $10,000 has been committed by Newmarket and St Johns Rotary Clubs. We believe this important environmental project represents a great opportunity for Districts 9920 and 9910 to invest in their local community.

The following is an extract from the St Johns Rotary club bulletin of April 2014:

This week we were graced with the presence of the Honorable Christine Fletcher. Christine gave us some insight on the Motutapu Restoration project with which she has worked since its inception. Having worked Rotary since the start of the project, Christine was all compliments on the consistent contributions provided to the project by the Newmarket Rotary Club and numerous other Rotary clubs.

Since its creation, Motutapu has accounted for over 500,000 trees being propagated and planted on the island. Although some initial discouragement occurred with some stakeholders suggesting Aucklanders look to further locations for their recreation, this has been pursued as the closest sanctuary to Auckland.

Motutapu is an Island within eyesight of Auckland and therefore an ideal location for both conservation and recreation. They are currently pursuing regular Ferry transport to the island, an attribute that would certainly lend itself to increased numbers of visitors and therefore funding. 

The conservation potential of Motutapu is beyond any other location near Auckland. The island serves as a habitat for Takahe of which there are only a few hundred in existence as well as the Coromandel Kiwi. These rare birds are not cheap to introduce to the island with the kiwi costing about $35,000 each. These are but two of the 61 birds that contribute to the island’s impressive bird chorus.

Motutapu functions as a farm with all proceeds going to the Department of Conservations’ central funding pool for all its efforts nationwide. For this reason, alternative funding specific to Motutapu must be pursued. One source of funding is a mountain biking event with raised between 40 and 50 thousand dollars thanks in part to the efforts of over 500 volunteers (Rotarians included).

 

The history of Motutapu is as interesting as its diverse current uses. As Auckland’s largest farm it also served as a defense asset with its numerous tunnels. These tunnels could possibly provide additional tourist attraction if the funding to make them suitable is made available.

The uses and benefits of Motutapu Island are numerous and include both conservation and recreation. Christine made a note regarding the lack of government funding and the complete reliance on private funding to provide these valuable resources. As the walkway project goes forward we must consider why we are left to fund these efforts privately given their public benefits. Additional efforts will continue to be made in an attempt to acquire a regular ferry service.

Let us thank the Honorable Christine Fletcher for her work with the Motutapu Restoration Project as well as her insight into the future success of the project. We look forward to continuing to contribute to this project and to take advantage of the numerous conservation and recreation benefits that it provides.

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To read an earlier article about the Motutapu Restoration Project go to: http://rotarystories-nzandpacific.blogspot.com/2013/03/rotary-saved-largest-pohutukawa-forest.html

Rotary donates dictionaries to Pentecost Primary Schools

The Rotary Club of Vanuatu Grassroots (RCVGR) based in Port Vila have donated dictionaries to two primary schools on the island of Pentecost in a recent visit to that part of the island by its club member, Pastor Shem Tema.

Pangi primary school on the south of Pentecost and Ranwas primary school on the eastern part of Pentecost. In receiving a dictionary each, both the Head Mistress of Pangi Primary School and Head Master of Ranwas Primary School were delighted for the generous assistance, and thank the Rotary Club of Vanuatu Grassroots for choosing their school as recipient of these dictionaries.

RCVGR is considering more donations to other rural schools in the future, particularly to assist students with their learning and, most significantly, to assist in the development of literacy in Vanuatu. A one dictionary per school is the beginning and RCVGR, based on monitoring and evaluating success of these dictionaries, may consider increasing quantity of dictionaries per school to suit where there is demand.

The Usborne Illustrated Dictionaries is a project developed in partnership with the Rotary International to support its goal to development of literacy worldwide. These dictionaries contain over 1000 superb color illustrations, friendly and simple English language making it easier to understand.

website: www.vanuatugrassroots.rotarysouthpacific.org

Rotary donates $100,000 from Carisbrook seat sales

Project follow up from the Otago Daily Times.  

 

Original project article at: http://rotarystories-nzandpacific.blogspot.com/2013/09/carisbrook-fundraiser-stripped-rugby.html

From the remains of Carisbrook, dozens of Rotary volunteers removed 23,000 seats fixed by 42,347 nuts and sold them to hundreds of people and organisations from all over New Zealand.

That Carisbrook Rotary Project culminated in a $100,000 cheque being presented to Southern District Health Board chief executive Carole Heatly on Saturday.

Ms Heatly said the money had gone towards the children's ward facility, which now ''sets the bar for the rest of the hospital, and we want the rest of Dunedin Hospital to look as good as the Rotary Children's Ward''. Dunedin Rotary clubs, alongside those from Milton, Taieri and Mosgiel, worked on the project, which was expected to raise about $290,000 at its conclusion. In addition to selling seats, organisers were also inundated with people wanting to buy chopping blocks salvaged from the former ground's seats.

A $12,000 Weekend!

- By President Sue Gunn, Rotary Club of Rotorua Sunrise, NZ

Rotorua Rotarians and friends were out in force the weekend of February 22-23 for the annual Rotorua Lakeside Concert and the Rotary Global Swimarathon. The generosity of the community was evident with $12,000 being collected in one weekend!

The Lakeside Concert, held annually since 1997, has become the Rotorua community’s eagerly anticipated big night out together. On February 22 the free outdoor concert featured the best of Maori, classical and contemporary music, in a format accessible to every citizen of the region.

Rotorua Sunrisers and friends with their collection buckets at the Lakeside Concert, Village Green, Rotorua.

 

The concert appeals to just about everyone from the young to the old, from the classical buff to the swinging popsters to the romantic.

Rotorua is a breeding ground for talented singers and musicians. With its rich history of hospitality, Rotorua really knows how to turn on a party. This medium size New Zealand city punches way above its weight and loves to celebrate the diversity of its citizens.

Every year the Lakeside Charitable Trustees and Rotary Rotorua Sunrise select a worth charity for the annual ‘gold coin’ collection, and this year’s proceeds went to Te Whakaponu Trust to purchase a badly needed dialysis machine at Rotorua Public Hospital. Rotary Club of Rotorua Sunrise President Sue Gunn presented Philippa Wills of the Te Whakaponu Trust with a cheque for $8,140.

Then, on Rotary’s 109^th anniversary February 23, Rotorua Sunrise Rotary held the Rotary Global Swimarathon, a community event at the Rotorua Aquatic Centre from noon to 2pm.

19 swimmers participated and they swam anything from 6 to 100 lengths each, achieving a grand total of 545 lengths with each length sponsored, that raised just over $3,000 for the End Polio Now! fund.

Swimmers included Rotorua MP Todd McClay and two of his children, along with Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick, Rotorua Sunrise members and other local swimmers.

We generated great publicity in Rotorua’s Daily Post pre and post event, promoted the Rotary Global Swimarathon on our website, community radio notice boards, Facebook posts, along with uploaded photo files to individual Facebook pages, likes and comments to get it out amongst members’ friends and networks. The event was a great success!

Wanaka Rotary put the Action in Rotary over Easter Weekend

As always, Easter was a busy time for Cromwell Rotary with Rotarians and friends contributing more than 1000 volunteer hours to local community events.

President Murray Kennedy prepares to enter the runway to guide a visiting aircraft after a departing Hercules
 

Activities ranged from selling High Country Salmon to locals in preparation for Easter; parking visiting aircraft at Warbirds over Wanaka; helping with gate duties at Highlands MotorSport Park; and showing people through Brewery Creek Tunnel DR560 in the Cromwell Gorge.

Bruce McMillan explains some of the instrumentation in the Tunnel

 

Thanks to the support of locals and visitors, Cromwell Rotary raised more than $8,000 for community projects.

Website: www.cromwell.rotarysouthpacific.org