We have settled ourselves into the Pakuranga Tennis Club rooms very well, with some of our members enjoying a pre meeting drink and the welcome breeze on the lovely deck.
Again, thanks to our barmen John R and Barry N for doing such a great job, even if Bill Charkow did have issues with the removal of his bottle top! and to Jenny Richardson for her support of the caterers.
Jim Duckworth updated us on the Bakers’ oven project at the Howick Historical Village. The final touches i.e., bolting the actual oven to its foundation, will very soon complete the project. Special thanks must go to Jim who has spent countless hours experimenting with bread making recipes to ensure the dimension and design of the oven will actually be fit for purpose and bread will be able to be baked. Along with this Jim met all expenses ($4,000.00) incurred by this project, and has had a plaque made acknowledging The Rotary Club of Howick. A huge thank you Jim from all of us for your generous donation of time, expertise and financial support.
While not directly part of our Community Committee projects, several of our members are involved with the Village completing projects and carrying out maintenance. The latest project is the movement of the horse and cart (we have donated funds for maintenance for the horse in the past) to a position which will afford more protection from the elements. This work has been acknowledged by the Village click
the link to see attached email. I hope to see more liaison between our club and the HHV involving more club members in the coming year.
Our guest speaker for the evening was Raveen Jaduram, of CEO of Water Care fame. A very interesting entity, being owned by Auckland City Council, it can’t be sold and it receives no funding from the council relying on waste water charges and water rates for income. Raveen talked us through the history of processes and issues Auckland had and may well continue to have with water, finally coming to the Three Waters proposal. Interestingly not such a new idea, as a very similar proposal was looked at way back before Bill English became Minister of Finance. Major issues or questions for the Three Waters Proposal which have not yet been answered are who owns the assets, who will own the water and the issue of storm water are all still to be resolved. A very interesting and informative presentation, even though the financial implications were very complex for a lay person such as myself.
Our next speaker meeting will be 8th March and the speaker is Deidre Alderson from the Ministry of Education.
Our board meeting is on 15th February followed by a club night on the 22nd February at which Glenice Yeoman will present a thumbnail history.
Kia Tupato, Kia noho haumaru Take care, stay safe.
Madeleine East MNZM
President.
