photo thanks to Graham Craig Newsletter for June - July 2017 Next Meeting Wednesday 5 July 2017 9.30am Whitby Bowling Club Apologies please to Secretary Diana Paris Phone 234 7683 Committee Members President Derek McDonald Ph 234 6033 Membership Diana Paris Ph 234 7683 Past-President Julie McLagan Ph 237 9022 Newsletter Rae Denize Ph 238 1038 Vice-President Anthea Levy Ph 021 144 6293 Outings June Campbell-Tong Ph 234 7918 Secretary Diana Paris Ph 234 7683 Outings Margaret Faulkner Ph 235 7283 Treasurer Derek Oldershaw Ph 234 7733 Member John Antliff Ph 233 2215 Caring/Welfare Norma Withers Ph 238 4222 Member Colin Edwards Ph 234 1090

A reminder - all our monthly Newsletters can be found on our club website at http://probus.angnz.com

Please note that this newsletter is private and confidential for Probus use only and is not to be used for any other purpose.

June Meeting We were warmly welcomed by Anne Miller and Peter Cox

New Members

We welcomed two new members to our club.

From left to right, Jan Fleming was introduced by Derek McDonald and Shannon Pakura by Don Quirk.

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Farewell It is with sadness that we note the passing of Aureen Coshan and we send our deepest sympathy and kind thoughts to her family.

The Birthday Draw for June Our June arrivals…

and the winners are… George Bright, Peter Cox and Heather Smart.

Guest Speakers Speaker organiser, Graham Kelly, has an interesting line-up ahead for us … Thank you Graham! 5 July Wendy Betteridge – will talk about “De-Merits of Driving” 2 August Dr Deborah Stevens – her topic is Bioethics Education 6 September Ian Johnstone - will entertain us with “That Joker on the Telly”

Guest Speaker Our guest speaker in June was His Excellency Mr Mario Alzugaray Rodriguez, Ambassador of Cuba. He gave a very educational and thought provoking presentation on the history and present day conditions in Cuba. Here are some of the topics that he addressed.

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Time for a smile! A man was sitting reading his paper when his wife hit him round the head with a frying pan. 'What was that for?' the man asked. The wife replied, 'That was for the piece of paper with the name Betty on it that I found in your trouser pocket.’ The man then said 'When I was at the races last week, Betty was the name of the horse I bet on.' The wife apologised and went on with the housework. Three days later the man is watching TV when his wife bashes him on the head with an even bigger frying pan, knocking him unconscious. Upon re-gaining consciousness the man asked why she had hit him again. Wife replied, 'Your horse phoned!'

And continuing the racing theme…

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Club Activities Please note… If you are on our waiting list you are welcome to participate in any of our activities. We would love to get to know you while you wait to join …

Walking “Great to see numbers still keen to go walking on some of these cold and windy winter mornings. I must admit that Whitby Probus ladies (and one or two men) are certainly a hardy bunch of walkers But why not turn out when you know that you will be meeting up with others that you can exercise with and at the same time have a friendly chat and a coffee with afterwards.” The group meets every Tuesday 9am at Whitby Mall. All Welcome. Don Enquiries to Don Quirk Ph 234 7700

Winter Wines Sunday 9 July 4.00pm to 6.00pm. Host to provide crackers, guests supply the wine and cheese. Host will be notified on the Saturday and guests on the Sunday morning letting them know where to gather. A sheet will be available at the next meeting for those who wish to join the group. Gaye McGill on [email protected] phone 238 9904

Book Lovers “Our group of Book Lovers met at Gaye McGill’s house on Thursday 8th June and among the books discussed were Edna O’Brien’s memoir called ‘Country Girl’ recounting her journey from country girl to Chelsea girl and the family saga written by Jeffrey Archer entitled ‘The Clifton Chronicles’. The next meeting will be held on July 13th at 10.15 at Jacqui Campbell’s house at 16 Bodmin Terrace, Camborne. Come along and enjoy great conversation, really good coffee and perhaps even a piece of cake or a cup of tea. Everyone welcome.”

Details and availability of most of the books mentioned here can be found on www.bookish.co.nz New members and waiting list folk welcome. Ph Anne Miller 234 6399.

Dine Out “Hi Folks, A nice lunch out at The Gear Homestead, so another venue to add to the list. I hope everyone enjoyed it. I know two did, enjoying a nice glass of wine out on the veranda. Lovely. Our next venue is a bit further away, but I know you will all enjoy this. Glenys Greaves kindly put me on to this one. It is Susie's Café at the Ten Pin Bowling, Kapiti. The address is 1 Te Tupe Road, Nikau Valley. Paraparaumu. Very easy to find as it is very well sign posted, but another car journey I'm afraid. Lunches can start at $5. The menus will be on the table at the next meeting. Lots of games to be played if you get bored! See you at the next meeting. Doreen” Contact Doreen Fleming Ph 233 2243

500 Cards “Six of us met at our place for a fun but serious morning. Playing 3 per team is always challenging having to remember who is on your team and a few times we trumped one another's trick (not the right thing to do for those unfamiliar with 500). We wish Kath all the best in her trip to UK and look forward to having Ian, Margaret and Shirleen back. Alan is still non persona so take care whatever you are up to.” July cards will be at Alan and Barbara Nichols’, 7 Portage Place - Wednesday, 19July at 10.00am. Any new players always welcome. Colin Edwards and Bev Marsden Allan Nichols Ph 234 8415 [email protected]

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Photography “We had a good turnout for this month’s photography outing, 7 or 8 (I can’t remember exactly) members visited Plimmerton on a fine but breezy day. We had a very interesting couple of hours wandering around the Heritage trail that has recently been signposted in Plimmerton. There are a lot of old buildings in the village and many now have plaques describing their history and they are quite fascinating. We all had a very interesting morning.”

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The next meeting will be on Monday, 10 July. Venue to be announced, but we always meet initially at 9.30 at the carpark in Browns Bay, near the entrance to Whitby. Contact Graham Craig Ph 234 7558

Genealogy “The Genealogy Group held its monthly meeting on Tuesday 6th June at the Public Library. In addition to our normal discussion on members` recent discoveries on their family history, we had a very interesting talk from Deirdre Dale on the development of the Plimmerton Heritage Trail. This is a joint project by the Plimmerton Residents Association and the Porirua City Council in identifying and marking with a plaque the various historic buildings, sites and events of the Plimmerton area.” The July meeting of the Group will be held at 1.30pm on Tuesday 4 July at the Porirua Public Library. Contact Lenora Jones Ph 234 1595 or e-mail [email protected]

Cinema We had an excellent turnout in June to see “Churchill”

The next film will be screened at 10.30 (meet from 10.00 am onwards for coffee/chat on Monday 24 July.) Note that cinema outings are on the fourth Monday of the month. Barb Nichols Ph 234 8415 [email protected]

Mah Jong Games will be at the Croquet Club at 1.30 pm on the first and third Mondays of each month Barb Nichols Ph 234 8415 [email protected]

Outings “On a beautiful day 14 members caught the train and bus to The NZ Film Archives cnr Taranaki and Ghuznee Street. There was coffee and biscuits provided to enable the members to socialise before our host Amanda led us into the large theatre to view Reel life in Rural NZ. There were around 20 short film clips ranging from new farming instruments in the early 1930s to life on hill country farms, shearing and dipping of sheep plus many more historical items of rural interest. Great memories for those with a farming background and of interest to all. Amanda answered questions at the conclusion of the film. The venue and concept is well worth considering for another outing as there are literally dozens of options on viewing a history of . For the 6 who were unable to make it, maybe next time.” June Campbell-Tong Ph 234 7918 and Margaret Faulkner Ph 235 7283

Club Speaker Our club speaker for June was Derek Oldershaw – here is his presentation. “I was born in Nelson in June 1940. My father was a second generation New Zealander, the youngest of seven children he was born in Nelson. My mother was born in Aberdeen the youngest of four daughters who migrated to New Zealand with her family and settled in Nelson when she was nine years old. I have one brother who is two years younger than I me. Soon after my fourth birthday my father was diagnosed with cancer and subsequently died in October 1944. I commenced school in Nelson the following year, and soon after my mother decided that we would move to Lower Hutt to be closer to other members of our extended family. Initially we lived with an uncle and aunt (and five cousins) in the house attached to their grocery shop on the corner of High and Boulcott Streets opposite the Hutt Hospital. A few months later we moved into a house nearby. At the beginning of 1946 I was enrolled at Boulcott Primary School and from 1954 to 1957 I attended Hutt Valley High School. In 1957 after a short period in Petone we moved to Pilcher Crescent in Naenae. After leaving high school I went to work at a small Wellington public accounting firm and attended night classes at Victoria University.

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The accounting firm was somewhat unusual, as most of the clients were audits. Businesses in Wellington and Hutt Valley in the late 1950s were very different from what they are today. There was full employment and school leavers had plenty of choice when choosing a career. At that time there was strict import licensing and overseas currency restrictions but there was also a wide range of manufacturers in the Hutt Valley including four factories that assembled motor vehicles. In addition there were companies which were fortunate enough to have licences to import a range of finished goods. The economy was strictly controlled but was vulnerable to the falling value of the NZ currency, and inflation. In 1962 I was admitted to the NZ Society of Accountants at the age of 21 and two years later I completed my B.Com degree in accounting at Victoria University. In October 1965 I went to the UK on my OE working at the international accounting firm Deloittes, in London. Like most young New Zealanders I had holidays in Britain and Europe. I was away from New Zealand for nearly three years and rejoined my old employer in Wellington which had in the meantime merged with other accounting firms situated in Auckland and Christchurch. Soon after returning to Wellington in 1968 I met Lou we were married in April 1970 and moved into our first home in Awarua Street, Ngaio. Whilst living in Ngaio our three daughters were born. The period from December 1975 to the following August was a very busy time for us. In December our youngest daughter was born and within a few days I had given notice that I was leaving the accounting firm which was then known as Hutchison Hull (and later as Deloittes). In early February I commenced work as a management accountant at the head office of ICINZ situated in Molesworth Street, Wellington. In June our eldest daughter commenced school. In July we sold our house in Ngaio and the following month we moved to Spinnaker Drive, Whitby where we have lived for the past 41 years. When I joined ICI, the group had a staff of over 2,300 throughout the country, and was listed on the NZ Stock Exchange. There was a wide range of importing and manufacturing businesses including industrial and agricultural chemicals, animal health, pharmaceuticals, plastics, industrial explosives, paint (Dulux). At about the time I joined ICI the newly elected Muldoon Government had introduced a price and wage freeze which continued for some years. My first role at ICI involved preparing price increase applications to be approved by the then Department of Trade and Industry. After two years with ICI, the importing activities were combined and I was appointed Group Accountant of those businesses. I had four years in this role before I was transferred to ICI Tasman (formerly Tasman Vaccine Laboratories) based at Upper Hutt to take up the position of Chief Accountant. The business manufactured and sold animal health products and agricultural chemicals. ICI Tasman benefited from the guaranteed prices that farmers received resulting in the national sheep numbers peaking at over 70 million plus generous incentives to manufacturers of exported products. In September 1984, ICI and The Wellcome Foundation formed a worldwide joint venture which merged the animal health businesses of both companies. I was appointed finance manager and company secretary of the New Zealand subsidiary Coopers Animal Health NZ. Just prior to the merger the Lange Government had come to power in New Zealand and over the next year or so, export incentives were withdrawn, import controls were phased out and the NZ dollar was floated. These changes plus the consequences of the 1987 share market crash had an adverse effect not only on the animal health business but on the total ICINZ Group. In September 1988 I was transferred back to ICINZ Head Office and appointed controller. Following a very difficult year there was a major reorganisation of the group including the disestablishment of the senior management roles in NZ and the subsequent alignment of businesses with their counterparts in Australia. I survived this reorganisation and was subsequently appointed company secretary in addition to the role of controller. The 1990s was a decade of change, the NZ Group became a 100% owned subsidiary of ICI Australia, the NZ head office was moved from Molesworth Street to Seaview and some businesses were sold whilst others were acquired. Properties including the former head office were sold. Over this period the number of employees was reduced substantially. Also during this period ICI UK sold it shares in ICI Australia and the group in Australia and New Zealand changed its name to Orica. During the 1990’s the NZ Group became more profitable and by 1999 the decision was made to transfer the head office accounting functions to Australia. I was asked to take early retirement at the end of that year. Whilst I was preparing to retire the Inland Revenue Department advised that they wished to commence a tax audit the following year. As a result I was contracted by the company to be the main contact with the IRD. The audit was completed by the end of 2000. In March 2003 I was approached regarding the possibility of working one day a week for Independent Schools of New Zealand. I accepted the role as accountant although the days worked per week increased. I finally retired in August 2011. Since 1997 Lou and I have travelled to the UK, Europe, and North America and had trips to Australia. In the year 2000 Lou and I joined Probus before joining Whitby Probus in 2015.

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Since 2001 I have been a member of SeniorNet Wellington, serving as chairman for three years and treasurer for six. I have been a member of the Rotary Club of Plimmerton since 2001 serving as secretary for three years and treasurer for another three. Our three daughters all live locally. Our eldest daughter with her husband and three children live in Spyglass Lane, Whitby. Our other two daughters work in Wellington and live in Tawa.”

Duty Roster for July Meeting

If you cannot be present to undertake your duty, then please arrange a substitute. Room Set Up Jim Dearsly, Dianna Roberts, Margaret Baird. Please meet 8.45am. Meeters and Greeters Jim Dearsly 9.05am. Mark the attendance roll, check for apologies, sort the counters for the birthday draw. Morning Tea Valerie Hellberg and Bev Lillico - to assist the co-ordinators set up and at morning tea time. Club Speaker Derek McDonald Guest Speaker Wendy Betteridge Introduced by Graham Kelly Thank Speaker Norma Withers

Diary Dates July 2017

Monday, 3 July Mah Jong Plimmerton Croquet Club 1.30pm Tuesday, 4 July Walking Group Tuesdays Whitby Lake 9.00am Tuesday, 4 July Genealogy Genealogy section Porirua Public Library 1.30pm Wednesday, 5 July Probus Club Meeting Whitby Bowling Club 9.30am Sunday 9 July Winter wines Monday, 10 July Photography Wednesday, 12 July Dine-Out Susie’s Café, Ten Pin Bowling Alley, Paraparaumu Thursday, 13 July Book Lovers 16 Bodmin Terrace, Camborne 10:15am Monday, 17 July Mah Jong Plimmerton Croquet Club 1.30pm Wednesday, 19 July 500 7 The Portage Whitby 10.00am Thursday, 20 July Outing Monday, 24 July Cinema Lighthouse 10.00am for 10.30am movie Wednesday, 2 August Probus Club Meeting Whitby Bowling Club 9.30am

More smiles An Englishman, Welshman, Scotsman and Irishman are captured while fighting in a far off foreign land and the leader of the captors says "We're going to line you up in front of a firing squad and shoot you all in turn. But first, you can each make a final request." The Scotsman says "I'd like to hear Flower of Scotland played on the bagpipes by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards just one more time to remind me of the auld country." The Irishman says "I'd like to hear Danny Boy by Daniel O'Donnell with the Riverdance dancers skipping gaily to the tune just one more time to remind me of the Emerald Isle." The Welshman says "I'd like to hear Men of Harlech sung by the Aberavon Male Voice Choir just one more time to remind me of the Welsh Valleys." The Englishman says "I'd like to be shot first."

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And finally…

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