First, induction of New Member, Deeanah Winders: a very warm welcome to Deeanah who, way back, was a Rotary Exchange Student in Argentina. Deeanah is now a lawyer and comes to us from Tauranga where she was with the firm of Cooney Lees. She intends setting up practice in Remuera - Deeanah, again, welcome to Rotary!
Our Speaker last Monday, Andrew Jeffs, Professor of Marine Science at Auckland University, gave us a very thorough overview of the Hauraki Gulf. How the Gulf once was was, teeming with a remarkable variety of fish, virtually unique in the World, what sustained it and, then, how it has deteriorated due to a number of causes to it's present depleted state. He explained how necessary the undisturbed sea floor is to sustain fish breeding and how this has been destroyed by bottom trawling. This trawling has devastated the sea bed of much of the Gulf and is one of the major causes of the situation today.
A most interesting and enlightening presentation which drew a number of very relevant questions which Prof. Jeffs answered in detail.
Wine Auction - as previously advised, thanks to the wonderful generosity of so many attending the Auction, just over the necessary $15,000 was raised. The fund for the paediatric shower hoist will be presented to Starship Hospital on Thursday, 26 October.
World Cups: what a remarkable feast of sport to watch at present - GO THE ALL BLACKS & GO THE BLACK CAPS. At the time of writing both are doing amazingly well - may they progress to and win their respective Finals!
Next Meeting Monday 30 October when we will be joined by our District Governor, Vineeta Nand. Vineeta is with the Suva Club, a Rotarian since 2004. For some 26 years to 2019 she was Head of Political Affairs and Communication at the British High Commission in Suva and then had a year long contract as Manager Communications at the University of the South Pacific. Vineeta's visit to us is very relevant in view of our hugely successful Oxygen Project which was so timely and invaluable to Fiji through the Covid period.
Bryan 19 October 2023
