Home Page | The Rotary Club of Pakuranga (Inc)

Covid-19 Lockdown

Mar 26, 2020 - Apr 22, 2020

Good Friday

Apr 10, 2020

Easter Monday

Apr 13, 2020

ANZAC Day

Apr 25, 2020

World Bee Day

May 20, 2020

International Day of UN Peacekeepers

May 29, 2020

Our daily lives are Different

Posted by Bart Signal on Apr 08, 2020

Our daily lives look very different right now as we hunker down to get on top of Covid-19. In our house online classes, telecommuting, family dog walks, video calls and virtual family dinners are the new norm. How many of you have started a new project or connected with friends differently?

Looking after ourselves and each other in a COVID-19 world is more important than ever. While Pakuranga Rotary has ceased face-to-face meetings until further notice – you can still stay in-touch and show you care with a telephone call or text message. Perhaps you’ve tried video calling using FaceTime or WhatsApp and had a virtual coffee or wine with friends – a smile makes a difference.

My thoughts go out to those dealing with Covid-19 work challenges or health concerns – Please reach out to someone for help. If you know someone that is working for an essential service, then please pass on our thanks and gratitude.

We recommend taking time to

Understand what New Zealand’s response to at Covid-19 (covid19.govt.nz)
Check out campaigns such as Getting Through Together allright.org.nz which shares ways that New Zealanders can cope with the stress of COVID-19.

The health, safety and well-being our community is our top priority. Above all else keep safe, reach out to friends and family and be kind.

Kind Regards

Bart Signal
President
Pakuranga Rotary

2021 Rotary Youth Exchange

Brett Meale – Police Sergeant based at Howick

Brett’s brief was to enlighten his listeners with the state of play relative to policing the Pakuranga area. We were certainly enlightened!

Howick station is part of the Counties Manukau East district, the main HQ of which is based in Ormiston. The district polices about 200,000 people comprising a huge range of ethnicities and a very large youth component. The Howick station has only 5 of the 137 sworn staff in the district, this low number reflecting the relatively small number of incidents requiring attention compared with areas further east and south. Brett made it clear though that it was no cake walk and the work load in each of the sub-areas under his supervision is still huge.

The Carnival Is Over

The Carnival Is Over and so goes the line from a famous song by the Seekers. What a successful Carnival it was, with the biggest attendance ever. 35 Rotarians and Auxiliary helped on the day along with Inner Wheel, and members of the Interact Club of Pakuranga College and 15 environmental students from Farm Cove Intermediate school who managed the waste steam and ensured the waste was separated into the correct bins

There was all the fun of the fair with a clown, bouncy castles, sausage sizzle and mussle fritters, animal rides, an animal farm with pets and ponies, face painting, a fire engine, coconut shie and much more. Mr Whippy. Coffee Guy and Snowiez shaved Ice all did a brisk business as the ques of people never seemed to get any shorter. We were entertained by a trio from Howick College who were very good.

Kayaks, and sail boats also added to the spectacle and made best use of the location of Farm Cove Reserve and the Pakuranga Sailing Club

A strong breeze was welcome as the weather was hot and sunny during the afternoon.

Interviews done on the day showed an overwhelming positive response and the marketing, and organisation of the Carnival was a great success.

Gary Barzilay

Though he could have given us all sorts of advice and insights into the running of small businesses and coping with all that this entails, Gary Barzilay chose to give details of family and life experiences which shaped an underlying philosophy instilled in his being.

With words and graphic actions Gary revealed the pain endured in the botched process of ex-foliation of leg hair, designed to reduce drag as a keen cyclist. As if one leg was not bad enough, he knew he had to endure the agony of a second.

In similar vein he told of his ambitions to be a cowboy, his life as a horse trainer designed to meet this end. Being tossed to the ground, not once but twice by a reluctant and rampant filly he was urged to get back in the saddle knowing full well the likely consequences. Third time lucky, the horse accepted the load and became compliant.

The Rotary Walkway - Building Community Assets

The Rotary walkway was built and laid in stages by members and volunteers of the Pakuranga Rotary with the assistance of Council and community sponsorship. It was completed in 2014 when some widening and replacing of older parts of the walkway also took place.

The Pakuranga Rotary shared pathway has become a very popular walk or ride stretching 9km from Prince Regent Drive in Farm Cove to the Panmure Bridge adjacent to the Pakuranga Town Centre. The path weaves past the Pakuranga Sailing Club and offers great views up and down the Tamaki River.

Top Schools - Working with Our Kids

Top Schools is held annually, generally on a Sunday at Edgewater College in Pakuranga, Auckland Organised and supervised by the Pakuranga Rotary, teams from the local schools take part in a range of sports type activities. The emphasis is on co-operation, teamwork as well as friendly inter-school competition. Teams are mixed with students from Year 3 - Year 6.

Rotary Dictionary Project - Furthering Education

In 2008 the Bill and Lorna Boyd Charitable Trust, in conjunction with Pakuranga Rotary, implemented a Rotary Dictionary Project for NZ. The intent was that Rotary clubs throughout NZ would supply Year 4 students (8 to 9 year olds), in low decile schools, with their own named copy of an illustrated dictionary. The dictionary chosen has proven to be superb with a huge uptake by Rotary clubs nationwide

Catch a Top Day Out - Make our Community Safer

Pakuranga Rotary has, for 21 years, run a Charity Fishing Competition with the major proceeds going to Coastguard. Named the “Catch a Top Day Out” it is held around March each year.

Pakuranga Rotary arranges for groups of corporate guests to go out on a launch fishing competition in the inner Hauraki Gulf. Each boat is supplied with fish bait, lunch and refreshments, with the day finishing in the evening with a meal on Motuihe Island and prize giving. We are always looking for more launch owners who would be interested in making their boat available for this fun and memorable fundraising event. If you have a launch and would be keen to help both Pakuranga Rotary and Coastguard, please get in touch with us on the contact us page.

Helping in the Pacific

The Fijian Pre-Schools projects are an ideal example of Auckland based Rotary clubs working together and matching up with an Island club to complete much needed and valuable multipurpose community assets.

In conjunction with the Taveuni Island Rotary, Pakuranga Rotary has been the lead and coordinator for building five preschools over the past 10 years, two in the village of Naselesele, one in the village of Bouma, both on the island of Tavueni plus one each on the islands of Rabi and Kioa. Pakuranga Rotary designed, arranged funding for and coordinated the construction of the preschool classrooms in those island villages. The design and specification work was completed by Stuart Thompson and the completed school rooms are multipurpose also being used as village meeting halls, housing and as refuge centres in cyclones.