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Update From Chairman Denys Boshier

As I write this Report to you, I am mindful of the classic duck sitting on the pond, with its visible parts seemingly serene, while its legs are paddling furiously be-neath the surface. The PNZI Council is very much in this state at the moment. All members of our PNZI family were deeply upset by the Toogood High Court Judge-ment of September 17, 2015, which judged that the Registrar of Incorporated Societies had erred in allowing PNZI and seven nominated incorporated clubs to continue the use of the word Probus in their club names. As a result, we embarked on a process of discontinuing the use of Probus as part of our naming system and began a re-branding

and re-naming process, while endeavouring to retain the principles of the Probus goals of Friendship, Fel-lowship and Fun.

We are now pursuing a new area of enquiry which may lead to a more satisfactory outcome to the liti-gation procedures, so beloved of PSPL and currently being undertaken by them against PNZI and its affil-iated clubs As the new approach to PSPL is only in its early stages, I cannot share the details with you; but “watch this space”.

In the meantime, the PNZI Council is continuing to work in your best interests and it is very gratifying to Council as we recognise the many letters being received which are affirming club support for the PNZI Council and the way it is responding to our challenges.

.There is still the major challenge that the Council, in its current form, cannot meet our club members' needs and, as affirmed at the recent AGM, clubs or organised District Associations are going to have to help in giving administrative and technical assistance to PNZI. This can only be to the benefit of us all. There is a need for strong District Associations to act as a link between Council and the clubs, to share ideas and care for each other, helping those clubs in decline, learning from successful clubs, many of which now have waiting lists There is no question at all that clubs will lose any of their autonomy, they will gain the strength of fellowship and unity.

Look for more Council activity here. Council itself is undergoing some changes. The foundation Treasurer, Russell Tether, has been re-

placed by Jim Taylor, Representative of District 10, as current Secretary/Treasurer, while Council itself for the moment, has changed its emphasis from developing a Support Centre within PNZI to anticipating other needs within our structure. As part of these developments, our Probus.nz website is developing into an attractive and useful site and will be open for business by the end of the month. We can all look for-ward to that.. PNZI is alive and well – the duck is swimming strongly.

Council District Representatives

Jim Taylor District 9910 09 9591022 Russell Tether District 9940 04 2981778

Denys Boshier District 9920 09 5285067 Graeme Pierson District 9970 03 3107434

Mike Healy District 9930 06 8438061 Lenore Townsend District 9980 03 4486414

Editors Notes

The Probus Name

You will note that, in view of the recent High Court Ruling, the word Probus has been removed from the club

names where they appear in headings to articles. It is considered prudent to do so at this stage. The word has

been left in the text of articles as they refer to historical events.

Contributions

Following an emailed request to clubs from Councillor Lenore Townsend asking for contributions for this newslet-

ter, she received an overwhelming response. The result is that it has not been possible to publish everyone’s con-

tributions without making the newsletter excessively long, and for this the editor apologises.

It is hoped that the selection of articles reported here will give the reader a balanced view of the various activites

of clubs and no doubt give ideas for one’s own club activities.

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Introducing Golden Bay Club

As a club we have been functioning for 10 yrs now, we have a very steady membership of 120 and our average

meeting attendance is between 80 and 90. Because already we have many other groups ie walking, cards, music,

acedemic studies etc, functioning in our country district,

we just stick to our monthly meetings with excellent

speakers from local and far afield sources. We do howev-

er organise regular trips to various parts of our own dis-

trict and further, afield covering history, industrial, scenic

spots of interest.

An example of one of our many trips over the years, we

explored first-hand the mussel farming activities in our

Golden Bay. We were taken from Port Tarakohe on a lo-

cal 20m twin-hulled aluminium mussel harvester to the

spat farms in Wainui Bay which supplies 25% of the Na-

tional spat supply. After watching the spat being harvested we were taken to the main growing area 5ks further out

in the Bay. We saw how the spat was attached to the down lines where they would grow for 2 years before the fi-

nal harvest. The boat was designed to be able to harvest spat and mussel in an area between the two hulls which

gave access to the lines without them being over the side of the boat at any stage. It was an interesting and informa-

tive trip for

Probarians about a local industry. It was a great trip.

Green Island Ladies Club Dunedin, 25th Annniversary

On the 12th September 2015 the Green Island Ladies Probus Club celebrated our 25th birthday.

To celebrate the occasion the committee organised a party morning tea for the members, with a birthday cake

and all the trimmings and some pretty good entertainment from the Dunedin 60+ entertainers.

We were privileged to have five of our founding members attending the function, and at the end of the morning

a lot of reminiscing had been achieved.

We are still a very strong club with a total of 78 members, and consider ourselves a pretty active, fun-loving

group, enjoying our meetings and monthly outings.

Pahiatua Club, Wearable Arts

Five members of Pahiatua Probus enjoyed their Saturday

matinee of World of Wearable Arts in Wellington recently.

After a short drive down to Masterton they joined with the

Tranzit Tour group on their bus to the fabulous WOW show.

This meant no parking hassle, as the coach dropped us off at

the venue and was waiting for us outside at the end. There

was time for lunch before the show at one of the many cafes

along the waterfront and the weather was perfect. “You can’t

beat Welling-

ton on a good

day...” In-

specting cos-

tumes from

previous

shows in the

area outside

the TSB Are-

na on the Wel-

lington water-

front are pic-

tured.

Strathallan Ladies Club, Timaru

The members of the Strathallan Ladies Pro-bus Club have enjoyed a variety of interesting and entertaining speakers. A true highlight was the ANZAC Tribute to 'Nurses at War'. Using extracts from letters and diaries of three South Canterbury women who were involved in either WWI or WWII, Shirley Piddington (back row - right) researched and compiled a moving and thought-provoking presentation, which affected all members.

Our President, Jo Thorpe, is second from right, front row.

Denise Galvin, Lorraine Nelson, Keitha

Somerville and Kay Ball.

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Combined Fielding Club On Wednesday 14 October, the Probus Club of

Feilding celebrated their 25th Anniversary with 78

members including 9 Past Presidents and invited

guests.

The Secretary read the minutes of the Inaugural

Meeting and the first General Meeting held in Octo-

ber 1990 followed by Founder members reminiscing

on some of the interesting speakers and visits in

those earlier times.

Russell Tether,

Councillor, District

9940 presented the

President with a Cer-

tificate of Achieve-

ment congratulating

the Club on the 25th

Anniversary.

Entertainment and

a finger-food lunch

concluded a great

morning of celebra-

tion.

Above are founder members Bill Meder and Mar-

lene Pearce cutting the cake.

Flagstaff Club, Hamilton 10th Anniversary

Flagstaff, Hamilton, is on the Waikato River, and is one of the City’s northern suburbs. This year is the 10th anni-versary of the Flagstaff Probus Club, still with a strong membership and a vibrant outlook. It has a particularly friendly meeting ethos and supports well-appreciated activ-ities. Of particular note is the monthly Lunch Club with varied venues and sparkling good humour.

In May there was a Gourmet Luncheon to celebrate the Club’s 10th anniversary and it was an occasion of very hap-py memories and a great chance to celebrate successes. The prospects for the next 10 years are excellent and the club and its membership look forward enthusiastically to the future.

PNZI was voted to be the preferred structure for the fu-ture and the Club looks forward to friendship and fellowship being re-harmonised between all clubs in New Zea-land. Flagstaff Probus has always believed in a free and easy, happy relationship with other Probus Clubs and fur-thermore believe these characteristics are re-flected worldwide.

Above are Past Presidents L to R: Ruth Hart, Kees de Bruin, Philippa Driver and Pauline Joblin

Howick Club Waiheke Trip

On the 21st October the Probus Club of Howick had a day trip to the lovely island of Waiheke.

42 members boarded the SeaLink Ferry from Half Moon Bay on a gloomy morning on the 21st October. The sea

was calm, there was no wind, and therefore the trip was very enjoyable (and cheap). We were met at Kennedy bay

by SeaLink’s own bus, and after a short journey we were dropped off at Oneroa shops for a quick stroll, cup of tea

and ice cream. Then off again on a trip around the main part of the island taking in the sights and sounds of the rich

and famous. We took in magnificent views of the outer gulf, Coromandel, Great Barrier and Little Barrier Islands

which looked great in the sunshine. The water shimmering in the sunlight, boats sailing along in the gentle breeze,

was a sight to make you want to stay there forever. However we had to move on to Onetangi where they have horse

racing on the beach every year since time began, around 120 years ago. Here the smallest oldest bach is valued at

over $3 million, nice if you can afford it. Then off to the local RSA for a very modest lunch and drinks. When we

caught the 3pm ferry back to Half Moon Bay, the wind started to pick up, but that did not deter us from enjoying our

journey home. A great day out, enjoyed by everyone.

Cliff Graves Secretary

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Alexandra and Districts Club members

picked up bowls, boules and mallets

This activity was part of the club’s ‘‘Have a Go

Day’’ recently.

About 75 members took to the bowling green, the

petanque pitch and the golf croquet field to try out the

sport and see whether they enjoyed it.

Probus Club of Alexandra and Districts secretary Le-

nore Townsend said members had a chance to have a

turn at two of the three sports, with an hour spent playing

each.

The club had held its ordinary meeting before the

‘‘Have a Go’’ session. It had been attended by members

of the sports clubs, who stayed on to tutor the Probus

club members. Probus club treasurer Betty Perry said

Bill Godsall, from Sport Otago, had been the guest

speaker at the meeting. ‘‘This is the first time we’ve

done something like this [have a go day] . . . we will see

what the verdict is from the day to see if we hold another

one. Probus is all about fellowship and they have all

thoroughly enjoyed themselves.’’

If people were interested in becoming a member of

our club, they could contact Mrs Perry on 449›2210.

Photo, Nicole Sharp

The Fitzherbert Club visits Government House, Wellington

The Fitzherbert Probus Club of Palmerston North

enjoyed a bus trip to Wellington on 15 September to

visit Government House. On arrival we were met by

two tour guides in the Visitors’ Centre, divided into

two groups and shown the downstairs public areas

including the first squash court to be built in NZ.

We saw the ballroom which is used for investitures,

the room where Prince George played with Plunket

friends, the conservatory, the dining room and other

reception rooms, as well as the impressive foyer

which houses the Coats of Arms for all the past Gov-

ernors General.

From Government House we moved to the Do-

minion Museum and Pukeahu National Memorial.

We were able to take our time to visit Peter Jack-

son’s displays and the refurbished memorial. We

were amazed at the detail on the people and the

scenes in the museum and appreciated the thought

and planning that went into Pukeahu. It was a great

day.

Written by Pam Fawcett, editor of our club news-

Some of the Fitzherbert Probus Club members on the steps of

The Old Dominion Museum after viewing the Great War Ex-

hibition, Wellington, 15 September 2015

Line it up . . Probus secretary Lenore Townsend sets her

first shot with her mallet in golf croquet.

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October Outing Waterloo Club, visit to Parliament

On Friday 9th October, a group of 30 members took a trip around Parliament, including Bowen House, the Bee-

hive and Library. There was special emphasis on historical works of art, statues and photographs, as well as an array

of perspectives of Parliament grounds. It was very timely that we saw the beautiful coloured glass art of Bob Rowell,

and works by Malcolm Harrison & Malcolm Day, among others. What an amazing place to visit! We were divided

into two groups for the tour and were led by helpful and friendly guides.

Bowen House has 22 stories. it was the temporary home of Parliament between 1992 and 1996, and today pro-

vides office space for members of Parliament and support staff. The Beehive is the executive wing for the Prime

Minister’s and Cabinet Ministers’ offices and their staff. The

Parliament Library is a working library for MP’s and staff,

and has a reading room for customers.

Each of the buildings have classical selections of art-

works and historic photographs, which were both stunning

to view and historically significant.

Our High Tea lunch at Bellamys provided a massive se-

lection of sandwiches, profiteroles, sausage rolls, tiramisu,

meringue pies, cupcakes, scones, cream, tea, coffee and

champagne, which seemed to satisfy completely all in at-

tendance.

Sir Donald McIntyre visits his portrait by Malcolm Day

Omokoroa, Tauranga

Our Probus Club is located in a small

community on the outskirts of Tauranga.

We have approximately 90 active members

in the club and we have several activity

groups. Every month we have a trip some-

where interesting and after we always go to

lunch. Last month a few of us visited a

large bakery in Tauranga where this photo

was taken. Because it was an hygienic area

all jewellery was to be removed and we all

had to gown up, heads covered and even

gumboots. The men had to cover their

beards. We thought the photo was so hi-

larious we have enlarged it and will show it at our next meeting .The challenge will be to identify the individuals in

the group. The person who identifies the most will receive a prize. Dianne Arlidge ( Secretary )

Hillcrest Club, Hamilton

To The Chateau

We welcomed spring with a weekend trip to the Chateau in

September. 25 members travelled to National Park on the

Northern Explorer scenic train, staying overnight at the Cha-

teau and returning on the train the following day. Perfect

weather and wonderful vistas of the mountains covered in

snow, after a heavy snow fall the night before we arrived, had

members commenting they had now ticked another item off

their Bucket List

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Torbay Combined Club’s Excursion to Butterfly Creek

The Torbay Combined Probus Club provides an outing

once a month, thanks to our excellent convenors, Meg and

Jack Norton. We go to a variety of places: museums, art

galleries, gardens, ferry trips to Waiheke and Pine Harbour.

We use our gold cards, car pooling and hired buses. One

outing that stands out this year was our trip to Rescue Heli-

copters at Mechanics Bay. Bruce, the paramedic, gave us an

interesting talk about the helicopter and what equipment

was necessary to take on an emergency call-out. Then guess

what, an alarm went off and we all watched while the oper-

ation took place to get the helicopter ready to go and collect

the patients. We also went next door to the Coastguards and

learned what an amazing service they offer.

The excursion in October was to Butterfly Creek near

Auckland Airport. We were driven down in a small bus for

twenty and enjoyed seeing the beautiful butterflies flying around and landing on our heads, and brightly coloured

fish in the aquarium. There were also turtles and water dragons.

Tree Town Combined Club, Cambridge, 10th Anniversary Waipa Mayor, Jim Mylchreest was guest of honour at the

recent Probus 10th Birthday Celebrations. There was much

reminiscing as members recalled the beginning and events

over the years.

President Ann McClure honoured foundation President

Thelma Hubbard with a Certificate acknowledging the part

she played in 2005 in starting the club. Thelma had a plan to

form a branch of Probus for retired men and women in Cam-

bridge and placed a small ad in the local paper which attracted

30 folk to the first meeting. Many of the original attendees are

still regular participants in the club. Thelma is justly proud of

how the club has grown, prospered and provided a wide range

of interests such as a walking group, Ten Pin Bowling, Mahjong, a Reading group and a Memoir writing group,

along with other activities. Each month members are treated to very interesting speakers covering a wide range of

topics. The current members are very grateful to Thelma for having the courage and foresight to make her dream a

reality.

At our recent birthday celebration meeting this August, past Probus Presidents were acknowledged and thanked

for their efforts over the years. This was followed by an ensemble of very talented students from St Peters Faculty of

Music.

Kumeu Combined Club, Daffodil Day

The Cancer Society Daffodil day was celebrated at our Kumeu Combined Probus

Club meeting in August. Everybody joined in the fun, all wearing something yellow,

and there was a prize for the best yellow item or outfit. The hall was decorated with yel-

low balloons, streamers and of course daffodils, thanks to the Cancer Society.

We had a fast-moving quiz with just about everyone joining in with answers from the

floor. All answers had a yellow theme of course. Our morning tea was not our usual

biscuits but a sumptuous spread of yellow, big cakes, little cakes and slices, all with yel-

low icing.

Our guest speaker was Janice Chandler who entertained us with a wonderful variety

of colourful clothing from ancient Persia and modern Iran. As she talked, Janice dressed

in outfit after outfit, explaining the significance of the clothing for culture, marital status

and so on.

We raised $400 on the day for the Daffodil Day Appeal.

Jill Warren, President

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30th AnniversaryCelebration

Belfast Redwood Combined Club

On 10th September, 2015 the Belfast Redwood Combined Probus

Club celebrated our 30th birthday with a special morning tea and

musical entertainment. Our three life members, Harry and Mavis

Vincent and Peter Patti shared the honour of cutting of the cake.

We were delighted with a visit from Rosemarie Shaw (Secretary

NSIPA) and Pat Aitken (Area Rep. NSIPA). It was a most enjoy-

able special celebration.

Waimakariri, Woodend & Rangiora

Ladies Clubs on Pacific Cruise

Twenty three members from these clubs flew

to Sydney to join the Sun Princess on a 10 day

cruise to New Caledonia and Vanuatu. The first

call after 2 days sailing was the Isle of Pines

where we saw the ruins of the penal colony, beau-

tiful beaches, tropical vegetation and clear blue

water.

Next stop was Noumea with numerous local

trips around the city and further afield.

Arriving at Port Vila there was also the oppor-

tunity to take ship-organised tours or to just do

your own thing.

Our final stop was at the island of Mare where

we were tendered ashore and taken by coach to

another pristine beach.

Our group arrived back keen to go again, with

a cruise around the top of Australia next Septem-

ber already reserved.

Papatoetoe Combined Club, 32nd Birthday

Just a short note to let you know that the Pa-

patoetoe Combined Probus Club held its 32nd

Birthday on Thursday 8th October 2015.

There were 45 members in attendance and 4

visitors from other invited clubs.

Doug Tanner, our President, welcomed those

present and cut the cake. We were enter-

tained by the Eno Sisters and what a delight-

ful performance that was as they brought

back many old memories of yesteryear to the

pleasure of all present.

Ray Strong QSM. Secretary Doug cutting cake