Sir Richard FAULL KNZM, BMedSc, MB, ChB, PhD, DSc, FRSNZ
Sir Richard Faull is a Distinguished Professor and Director of the Centre for Brain Research at the University of Auckland.
During his 45 years at the University, he has established an international reputation for his research studies on the normal and diseased human brain (Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s and epilepsy) and with the generous support of families, has established an international leading Human Brain Bank to promote worldwide research on human brain diseases. His research group has revolutionised our knowledge of the human brain by showing that contrary to dogma, stem cells are still present in the adult human brain and have the potential to make new brain cells and repair the brain throughout life.
His contributions to research on the human brain have been recognized by his appointment as a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand (1998) and he was awarded: the Liley Medal by the Health Research Council of New Zealand in 2005; New Zealand’s highest scientific award, the Rutherford Medal, in 2007 by the Royal Society of New Zealand for outstanding contributions in science; and, received the Supreme Award in the 2010 World Class New Zealand Awards.
In 2012 he was appointed Distinguished Professor at the University of Auckland and awarded a knighthood by the Queen in 2016 for his contributions to brain research.
Professor Thorne completed a PhD at the University of Auckland, followed by post-doctoral studies at the Kresge Hearing Research Institute, University of Michigan. He is a leading auditory neuroscientist with research interests focussed on mechanisms, diagnosis, and treatment of inner ear diseases and clinical and population health approaches to prevention and alleviation of hearing loss.
Professor Thorne’s work has been cited over 5000 times and he has held senior management positions at the University of Auckland, where he led the establishment of the Section of Audiology and the Master of Audiology degree programme. He is currently the Director of the Eisdell Moore Centre and co-lead of the Aotearoa Brain Project.
Professor Thorne also contributes substantially to the hearing-impaired community, serving as the President of the National Foundation for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and was one of the lead advocates for the establishment of Newborn Hearing Screening through Project Hearing Impairment and Early Detection and Intervention (HIEDI).
In 2009, he was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) for services to audiology and auditory neuroscience.
Our main speaker this month will be Sue Cooper from Remuera Heritage. She is going to speak of “The Great Maori Feast” at Remuera, 11th May, 1844. Here is a contemporary painting of this event by Joseph Jenner Merett 1816 – 1854. It seems such feasts were not unusual in those days. I am sure her talk will be fascinating.Out of interest I looked up the meaning of Remuera. This is what google has to say.The name Remu-wera comes from two words: remu meaning edge or hem and wera meaning burnt. It is said to relate to an incident when a visiting chieftainess was killed and put in an umu (oven), still in her piupiu (skirt).
Israel versus Hamas: An Update
Hamas’s brutal terrorist attack and Israel’s heavy military response are the latest episodes of a history of antagonism. This slideshow will sketch the causes and flare-ups prior to the current conflict, describe the current aims and tactics of the two sides, and assess the prospects for a stable Israeli-Palestinian coexistence.
Conflicts with Hezbollah, Houthis, and Iran, and relations with the Gulf emirates and the US, will be touched on.
Questions and comments will be welcome. For background reading the following link is recommended: https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/350113942/israel-winning-militarily-losing-political-war
Our December speaker was Dr Mels Barton
An environmental scientist turned coordinator, campaigner, organiser, networker and environmental advocate, Mels works with community organisations and not-for-profits including the Kauri Rescue Trust and The Tree Council.She is Chair of both the Titirangi Residents & Ratepayers Association and the Combined Waitākere Ranges R&R Group and is a former Trustee of Ecomatters Environment Trust and the Weedfree Trust.
Mels currently works as the Project Coordinator for Kauri Rescue and was the National and Auckland Coordinator of NZAEE Seaweek from 2011 to 2019. She was a leading member of the Waitākere Rāhui campaign working to support Te Kawerau ā Maki and has been campaigning for better management and awareness of kauri dieback disease since it was discovered in Piha in 2006.
Mels has a degree in Geology and Physical Geography and PhD in estuarine sediment transport processes. In the UK she worked for Environment Agency Wales for 9 years, culminating as the Water Quality Consents Manager for Wales.
Since arriving in NZ she has mostly been self employed but did spend 5 years working for Te Atatu Labour MP and Minister Phil Twyford as his Issues Assistant.
Mels runs her own consultancy business Subliminal Ltd, which enables her to work on many environmental projects including Seaweek, and the citizen science initiatives Kauri Rescue and Marine Metre Squared.
Mels has lived in Titirangi, west Auckland for 24 years since emigrating from Wales in 1999 & in her spare time she enjoys hanging out with her horses and walking her dogs.
Mel related her journey to obtain the protection of the kauri forests in the Waitakeres and Hunuas. She told us about a phosphite which helps trees fight against the kauri dieback disease, which was very encouraging for the audience. She continues to advocate and support the ongoing fight for our native icon.
Michelle Brinsden, The Project Coordinator for the Eastern Bays Songbird Project, gave an intersting talk about protecting birds in the Eastern Bays. The project distributes rat and possum traps to residents so that they can trap in their own backyards. Protecting our biodiversity is essential. Michelle talked about what we can do to assist this project which has been very successful so far.
What does forced labour and migrant worker exploitation look like in New Zealand?
September 11th Speaker
Dr Christina Stringer is Associate Professor, Centre for Research on Modern Slavery, University of Auckland Business School.
Christina has been undertaking research into temporary migrant worker exploitation in New Zealand for over a decade. Her research began with colleagues investigating the use of forced labour on board foreign vessels fishing in New Zealand’s waters. This research led to a significant shift in government policy. She then undertook research into the exploitation of temporary migrant workers in New Zealand, firstly, for a coalition of NGOs and most recently for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). Christina is a member of the Government’s Modern Slavery Leadership Advisory Group.
Complaints matter: lessons from a public watchdog
Our speaker for August.
Ron Paterson has been a law professor, author, Health and Disability Commissioner, Ombudsman and chair of major inquiries and reviews in New Zealand and Australia.
In this talk, Ron will share lessons from 20 years plus of handling complaints and reviewing complaint systems – about doctors, hospitals, rest homes, local councillors, bureaucrats, lawyers, banks and power companies.
Our speaker for June will be Professor Stephen Hoadley. You will remember he gave us a fascinating talk last year about the Ukraine, how it came to be and some of the politics associated with its formation.
On June 12th he will be speaking to us again, the topic this time being “An American Political Update”
Jenny Lynch is a former editor of the NZ Woman’s Weekly, where she began her career in journalism. She also worked on the Weekly News, Sunday Herald, Thursday magazine, and in Australia and Canada. Although principally a feature writer, she gained wide experience in other magazine roles. At various times she was a columnist, fashion writer, theatre critic and layout designer.
In 1976 she returned to the NZ Woman’s Weekly, where she became assistant editor the following year and editor in 1987. She led the magazine for seven years.
Jenny is also the author of four non-fiction books including a memoir, “Under The Covers: Secrets of a Magazine Editor” and “Ready To Wear: The Changing Shape of New Zealand Fashion.” Her latest work, a novel, was recently accepted for publication.
Jenny was educated at Epsom Girls’ Grammar and in the United States.
Her talk to U3A on the history of (mainly) 20th century fashion is titled “You Must Remember This…”
Alan is a retired civil engineer and project manager who joined the embryonic Auckland East Men’s Shed group in 2016.
He is an enthusiast for the enhancement of wellbeing and mental health of the older generation. He has been a member of the Shed’s Board for
the last 5 years and was elected Chair in 2022.
Alan gave an engaging talk to our Remuera U3A April meeting, complete with slides illustrating the work he has been involved in. This has included an interior refit of the building the Auckland Council made available to them for the Men’s shed, beside the Remuera golf course on Abbott’s Way
His primary contributions to the Shed have been
• Planning and supervision of the Buildings Improvement Programme
• Development of environmental pest traps manufacture
• Encouragement of a welcoming inclusive culture for members.
He had many interesting tales to tell about the growth to over 200 members over the time he has been involved, including more latterly, women joining.
Over a million good reasons…
“There are 6.5 million dairy cows in New Zealand, each producing on average 27 kilograms
of dung a day. By the time you add in another 3.6 million beef cattle and 27.4 million sheep
that is over 100,000,000 tonnes of dung each year.”
Launched in 2014, Dung Beetle Innovations owes its existence to the combined efforts of cofounders Dr Shaun Forgie and Andrew Barber. These two formed the Dung Beetle Release
Strategy Group that campaigned since 2009 for the introduction of dung beetles to New Zealand. On behalf of the Group, Dr Forgie provided the science for the Environmental Protection Authority application to introduce exotic dung beetles to New Zealand.
The majority of the 6,000 species of dung beetles worldwide are tunnellers, with the remainder being either “ball-rollers” or “dwellers” that live within
the dung piles. Tunnellers dig extensive burrows in the soil beneath the manure. They make large numbers of dung balls in these tunnels resulting the
burial of most of the manure on the pasture surface which the adult beetles lay eggs in. All this buried manure is a rich source of nitrogen and other nutrients that are available for soil microbes, earthworms and plant roots when the new generations of dung beetles have emerged from them. All these tunnels and soil mixing vastly improves soil structure and with it improved infiltration of rain water rather than it running off into our waterways carrying with it the contaminants that lead to reduced water quality.
Dung Beetle Innovations is dedicated to rebalancing New Zealand’s pastoral farming systems – improving water quality and soil health – through the establishment of tunneling dung beetles as a sustainable farm management practice by introducing 11 exotic pastoral dung beetles to New Zealand. The objective is to provide NZ an innovative, environmentally beneficial, self sustainable means to clean up its livestock pastures, reduce surface runoff and improve soil health.
Jenny Lynch, our first speaker of 2023, is a former editor of the NZ Woman’s Weekly, where she began her career in journalism. She also
worked on the Weekly News, Sunday Herald, Thursday magazine, and in Australia and Canada. Although principally a feature writer, she gained
wide experience in other magazine roles. At various times she was a columnist, fashion writer, theatre critic and layout designer.
In 1976 she returned to the NZ Woman’s Weekly, where she became assistant editor the following year and editor in 1987. She led the magazine for seven years.
Jenny is also the author of four non-fiction books including a memoir, “Under The Covers: Secrets of a Magazine Editor” and “Ready To Wear: The Changing Shape of New Zealand Fashion.” Her latest work, a novel, was recently accepted for publication.
Jenny was educated at Epsom Girls’ Grammar and in the United States.
Her talk to U3A on the history of (mainly) 20th century fashion is titled “You Must Remember This…”
Jenny Lynch is a former editor of the NZ Woman’s Weekly, where she began her career in journalism. She also worked on the Weekly News, Sunday Herald, Thursday magazine, and in Australia and Canada. Although principally a feature writer, she gained wide experience in other magazine roles. At various times she was a columnist, fashion writer, theatre critic and layout designer.
In 1976 she returned to the NZ Woman’s Weekly, where she became assistant editor the following year and editor in 1987. She led the magazine for seven years.
Jenny is also the author of four non-fiction books including a memoir, “Under The Covers: Secrets of a Magazine Editor” and “Ready To Wear: The Changing Shape of New Zealand Fashion.” Her latest work, a novel, was recently accepted for publication.
Jenny was educated at Epsom Girls’ Grammar and in the United States.
Her talk to U3A on the history of (mainly) 20th century fashion is titled “You Must Remember This…”
Rev Dr Richard Waugh QSM was our speaker in December.
Richard Waugh delivered a very informative and entertaining talk to us on “Pioneering Domestic Airlines that changed New Zealand and Auckland.”
Richard provided an overview of domestic airline development within New Zealand including interesting photos of early aircraft and where they flew. It was fascinating to learn that the earliest airline started on the West Coast, followed by the East Coast, both the more remote parts of the country where air travel would provide most benefit.
With specialist training and interest in New Zealand history, and especially transport related, Richard has authored or co-authored 16 books, many on aviation topics. His latest book, ‘Classic Jaguars in New Zealand’ is his first motoring book. He continues in local voluntary leadership as founding chairman of the Auckland Brit & Euro Classic Car Show at Pakuranga’s Lloyd Elsmore Park, and as chairman of the Howick & Districts 175th anniversary community work this year of 2022.
Richard had several of his books for sale which several members were pleased to purchase.
Dr Gavin Ellis was our speaker in November,
Gavin Ellis holds a PhD in political studies.He is a media consultant and researcher. A former editor-in-chief of the New Zealand Herald, he has a background in journalism and communications that spans more than half a century. His editorship of the Herald coincided with a period of major redevelopment of the broadsheet weekday newspaper, the launch of the Weekend Herald, and the creation of the newspapers’ Internet presence. A strong advocate of freedom of speech, he was chairman of the New Zealand Media Freedom Committee and was recipient of the British Commonwealth Astor Press Freedom Award in 2005. He was created an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to journalism. He has been a university lecturer in politics and media studies and a regular commentator on radio. As a consultant, he has advised on significant developments in media in New Zealand. He is the author of Trust Ownership and the Future of News: Media Moguls and White Knights (London, Palgrave) and Complacent Nation (Wellington, Bridget Williams Books).
Gavin Ellis gave a very lively presentation drawn from his research on important aspects of the trial of the perpetrator of the Christchurch mosque attacks:
The care taken by the NZ media ensured that the focus following the attack was almost entirely on the victims and their plight. Keeping attention on them and what they suffered, their communities and the bravery of certain citizens, ensured that the perpetrator had no platform for his white supremacist and racist views and messages. Nor was the spotlight ever on him. The media, Government, and Justice focus was to thwart his purpose to become ‘somebody’ through this extreme crime.
Gavin described the careful and detailed lengths to which the Justice system went to ensure that the focus remained on the victims. That they could tell their stories and be heard. This emphasis was vindicated in the increase in numbers who felt confident to come forward to have their stories heard at the sentencing hearing. Over 100 such stories were told, after Brendon Tarrant pleaded guilty to all the charges of murder and attempted murder that he faced. His face was pixillated when published in the NZ media.
In contrast the Australian media (Tarrant was an Australian) published his photo on the front page and featured his story rather than the focus taken in New Zealand.
Gavin Ellis presentation was riveting, very well researched and well received by the U3A members
At our October meeting, Mike McRoberts delivered a very interesting and inspiring talk on his decades as a journalist and of his experiences in some of the world’s hotspots.
Mike started his career as a cadet in Radio NZ at the age of 17 years in 1984. From the 1985 Springbok Tour through to the events in the USA of 11 September 2001 and how that event changed the world, Mike has been in the thick of presenting and reporting on major local and international events.
His international reporting from war zones included Afghanistan and Iraq, both of which he talked about in detail. We gained a sense of how he operated in the field – how he focussed his reporting on things that his audience could relate to so as to establish the connection that all good stories have with their audience.
A major aim of his reporting from war zones is to shine a light on what is happening on the ground so as to bring pressure to end conflicts.
Mike has won numerous journalism awards.
Brett Murray was our September 2022 speaker.
Brett gave an interesting account of his eco-tourism trip to Siberia, to see Siberian Tigers. Brett and his son Andrew and two others spent 14 days learning about Siberian tigers as they traversed their territories in a remote Siberian Forest, a 4 1/2 hour 4-wheel drive from Khabarovsk the major city in northern Siberia. Each day, guided by a world-renowned Siberian tiger scientist, Alexander Batalov, the four tourists set camera traps and each night viewed the findings.
The Siberian tigers all have their own route, which they traverse continually taking 8-10 days to do a full circuit. They are very elusive and stay out of sight of humans. They are also very large, with an explosive speed which they use for catching deer and bear prey. The tigers have a 13 ft reach up trees, which they scratch as part of marking their territory.
The eco-tourist group were hosted by 11 Russians in a camp in the forest, and also visited a local indigenous village, where the women and children put on a dance performance for them. They also visited a tiger rehabilitation camp, where they saw a tiger which had received surgery after a fight with another tiger. The Siberian tigers have been rescued from near extinction. Only 40 tigers remained when efforts to save them got under way. There are now 380, thanks largely to the efforts of Alexander Batalov, the tiger scientist who guided Brett and his eco-tour.
Brett’s talk sparked many questions from the fascinated audience.
David Smith gave an excellent photographic presentation of his time in Antarctica. David spent two summers during the eighties as a PHD student, studying aspects of the geology at Cape Bird. He had restored his early photographs and presented a comprehensive picture of the geography of Scott Base and its surroundings. Encounters with the Antarctic wildlife – Adele and Emperor penguins, seals, and skuas and their interactions were interesting features of his slides. A fascinating and very able presentation that members thoroughly enjoyed.
David has had an interesting and multifaceted career before taking up photography as a retirement hobby in 2013. He has a natural aptitude for this and is a Fellow of the Photographic Society of New Zealand and an accredited judge at local, national and international photographic events.
Professor Mick Clout spoke at our meeting on 11 July. He is Professor of Conservation Ecology at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland. He is a long-standing member of the Kakapo Recovery Group and chaired it from 1995 to 2021.
Mick Clout took us on a journey of the rescue from extinction of the kakapo. Thought to be extinct, a small population of kakapo were discovered in Fiordland in 1947. Studies of the Fiordland kakapo population in the 1990s found they had been ravaged by stoats which had killed all females and young. Only an aging group of around 50 males remained. Fortunately another population of kakapo including females was discovered on Rakiura (Stewart Is). Kakapo breed usually only once every 3-4 years, coinciding with a rimu mast season. A captive breeding programme was established. Alongside this, careful monitoring and supplementary feeding of the wild population enabled their numbers to grow to currently around 250. Establishment of kakapo populations on possum and stoat-free islands including Codfish and Little Barrier islands has further strengthened their survival chances.
Professor Clout has also carried out considerable research into invasive predators. He is one of those spearheading efforts to make New Zealand predator free by 2040.
Bruce Pilbrow, CEO of the Spirit of Adventure Trust, gave a lively talk about the work of the Trust. We will all have seen the tall ships owned by the trust on the Waitemata Harbour and in the Hauraki Gulf. Bruce outlined the history of the Trust, with pictures of the original Spirit of Adventure sailing ship and its current replacement, the black Spirit of New Zealand.
The aim of the Trust is ‘to empower you New Zealanders to reach their full potential’. A diverse range of 40 16-18 years olds embark for a 10-day trip on the sailing ship. Each crew of young people is drawn from all over the country, all from different schools and from all socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds. They are nominated by schools, Trusts, Rotary clubs and other groups, many of whom provide scholarships for the $3500 fees for each participant. The young poeple learn to sail the ship, to come together as a team, to trust themselves and others, and in the process build confidence, relationship skills, bond and grow through the experience.
It was impressive to see a picture the Spirit of New Zealand with all the whole crew of 40 young people up in the riggings, hanging out high above the ship and the water.
As well the Trust brings three areas of focus to their work. Daily the crew impart environmental values, through such actions as stopping to pick up any floating rubbish and cleaning all the beaches they stop at. The next focus is on diversity, reflected in the wide range of young people that participate, as well as in ;the permanent crew and volunteers who support this work. Mental health is the third focus. The ship and the sea are stressful environments, so special attention is paid to see that participants are coping well and are being well supported in this lifetime adventure.
Thank you Bruce, for the wonderful talk and the inspiring work of the Spirit of Adventure Trust.
Rich Easton, CEO of The Neurological Foundation and Taylor Stevenson, one of the researchers funded by the Foundation gave us an outstanding presentation on 9 May 2022.
Rich started the presentation by outlining the activities of The Foundation. It is funded by donations from the public. There is no funding from the Government.
He spoke about the things we can do as individuals to keep our brains healthy in a general way – regular exercise, care with alcohol, avoiding tobacco, a good balanced diet, doing puzzles and socialising.
A large number of research projects are supported: the Foundation is a very active participant in this.
The Foundation funds a Chair of Clinical Neurology and the work around stroke and stroke recovery. If a person suffering a stroke reaches a specialist hospital within an hour endovascular clot retrieval from the affected cerebral artery can be achievable with a good clinical outcome. Most, but not the more remote, parts of New Zealand are accessible within this time by helicopter. The hospitals involved are Auckland, Waikato, Wellington and Christchurch.
Another fascinating project is the Human Brain Bank. In 1994 the Neurological Foundation granted the university funds to purchase a minus 80 degree chest freezer, which became the cornerstone of the only human brain bank in New Zealand.
Since then, with funding from the Neurological Foundation, the human brain bank has grown to encompass several staff and multiple freezers with one of the most valuable and extensive collections of human brain tissue in the world. The brain tissue stored in the bank’s freezers provide vital clues in the study of neurological conditions and is a fundamental resource for the researchers working towards managing, treating and curing these conditions.
Taylor Stevenson is a post-doc researcher funded by the Foundation. His particular interest is Parkinson’s disease (PD) and he uses tissue from the Human Brain Bank to pursue his research. He described the pathological clumping of certain proteins in PD and how this spreads from cell to cell. This research focuses on non-neuronal cell types in the human brain, particularly those involved in the blood vessel network. His experiments investigate how non-neuronal cells cope with the pathological protein in Parkinson’s disease and specialises in early detection of Parkinson’s disease in the olfactory bulb, one of the first areas of the brain to be affected in cases of Parkinson’s disease. PD is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer’s disease and affects approximately 11,000 people in New Zealand – and growing. Taylor’s presentation was well illustrated.
The session concluded with a lively question and answer session.
We were left with the impression that there is a great deal more to learn of the work and activities of the Foundation and indeed Rich offered speak to us again. It is clear our members would very much appreciate this.
Stephen Hoadley is our speaker at our general meeting on 11 April. He will talk to via Zoom. His topic is “Putin’s War”. He is a highly regarded speaker. He is an associate professor at the University of Auckland whose current research includes
· Foreign and security policies of New Zealand, Asia, the United States, Europe and Middle East,
· Politics and Trade
· International human rights institutions.
Within the broad field of International Relations, Stephen Hoadley works primarily in the sub-discipline of Foreign Policy Analysis. It entails exploration of why particular governments pursue particular foreign policies, considering not only international opportunities and threats but also the domestic institutions and political influences that shape policies. He treats foreign policies as encompassing not only diplomacy, security, and trade but also aid, cultural exchange, and advocacy of arms control, human rights and environmental protection.
Chris Pilone is our March speaker. He has asked that we poll members for topics of a sporting nature which they would like him to address.
He is an experienced coach of tri-athletes. He has coached four New Zealand Olympians (Hamish Carter, Nathan Richmond, Kris Gemmell, 2012 and Ryan Sissons.) He coached Hamish Carter to Olympic gold in 2004. He also coached Nikki Hamblin, one of NZ’s best middle-distance athletes.
He is a former distance runner with a 2.16hrs marathon PB. His best for 10km is 29.32min and for 5km, 14.07min. During the mid-1980s he trained with the likes of John Walker, Dick Quax and Peter Pfitzinger.
Chris has been a professional coach since 1997. As well as being a successful triathlon coach, he is also a very successful running coach. Of men he has coached a 2.12hr marathon runner, a 13.32min 5km runner and a 3.38min 1500m runner. Of women he has coached a 4.05min 1500m runner and a 1.59min 800m runner. At longer distances a 32.41min 10km runner and a 73.08min half-marathon runner.
He is now a keen cyclist and recreational fisherman. Chris is an excellent raconteur and can talk knowledgably about nearly every aspect of sport: e.g. elite training camps, stories of NZ international athletic success, drug testing, recognising potential in young athletes, differences in training needs of male and female athletes, and many more.
Please let John Malcolmson know what topics you would most like Chris to address. Contact John: email JohnGMalc@gmail.com or Tel 021 499581 or 09 535 8919.
MIck Clout will address us later in the year, as he prefers to speak to us in person. Mick Clout is Professor of Conservation Ecology at the University of Auckland. He is a scientist who studies the Kakapo and efforts to bring it back from the edge of extinction. He is one of those spearheading efforts to make New Zealand predator free by 2040.
Jan Beaumont was our February 2022 speaker. She gave a lively talk to us about her poetry, how it started, how it was attributed to Pam Ayres, and much more of the adventures she’s had along her poetry journey.
When New Zealand entered its first COVID lockdown in March 2020 Jan wrote her first poem “Let’s All Drink to Lockdown”, a light hearted verse about how older people coped with being locked down for 4 weeks. She posted it on Facebook and, within hours, it went viral, resulting in an interview on the BBC, a growing list of followers from every continent and publications, including her own book of poems. Jan frequently posts poems on Facebook. Her recent works include Sundays, booster shots, Princes Harry and Andrew, along with Boris and Novak.
For a taster, visit her website: http://www.jbpoetry.com/. Jan also had her book of poems, “Let’s All Drink to Lockdown and other Poems” for sale.
David Smith FPSNZ is an avid amateur photographer. David talks about his love of photography linking to his love of travel. ‘I’m a traveller at heart and most of my photography is ’on the road’. I set off from home as a tourist but soon become immersed in the life around me. Inevitably I am changed forever by the warmth and hospitality of the people I meet along the way, their rich history and culture and the wonderful places where they live. It seems entirely natural to me that I would want to tell stories about their daily lives.’
David has won numerous awards and honours for his photography including in 2018 being awarded Fellowship Honours by the PSNZ. In 2019 he gained PSNZ accreditation as a judge, and that year also contributed prints to the Chinese government’s 70th anniversary exhibition in Wellington. David was also awarded two trophies for photojournalism at NATEX. He has participated on various photographic judging panels including as a panel judge in the First International Salon Fortuna Digital Circuit 2021. We look forward to David’s presentation about the art of photography.
John Berridge introduced us to the fascinating world of genealogy. He talked about how he explored his own family connections through using Ancestry.com. He traced his family connections through Britain and New Zealand and expanded out to North America. John demonstrated features of the website including different ways to set up data. Having his DNA with Ancestry.com helped him in searches that the website does regularly to establish link to matches several degrees removed, such as third, fourth and fifth cousins. A very absorbing and time-consuming passion! John encouraged those who want to learn more to join him in the Genealogy study group.
Olly Newland‘s lifelong passion for antiques was very apparent throughout his presentation. Olly presented 6 of his treasures from different time periods and art forms. These included a pair of very attractive porcelain Buddhas which were exact copies of Meissen models from around 1730. His dated from around 1880. He then showed a delicate silver taper holder, a little over the size of a matchbox. This was a tiny candle-holder that would have been used for guiding someone to bed or such uses. Olly also showed us a delicate painted porcelain plate from the Arts and Crafts movement period. The plate displayed a painting in a delicate range of pastel colours typical of that period, of a sprite sitting above a frog pond. His other treasures included a wonderful curiosities chest with turtleshell and ivory inlay from the 17th century, probably Flemish or northern Italian, which he had carefully restored. Olly is a member of the ‘Art & Artists, Antiques & Architecture’ study group.
Wallis, one of our members, former president and current Director of Studies, gave a very interesting talk entitled ” The Great South Road to War”. She illustrated the talk with photos and illustrations of the time.
The construction of the Great South Road from Drury to Rangiriri in 1862-3 was for the ready movement of troops southward. The settler government pushed Maori off their lands and forced them from their pas and marae, in order to satisfy the settler demand for land. Maori had begun refusing to sell land, and this was the government’s illegal and unjust retaliation. October 28th is the day commemorating our NZ Land Wars.
Over 40 members attended this meeting via Zoom.
Barbara Smith, one of our members, former president and current almoner gave a fascinating presentation on Edward Costley (1794-1883). Edward immigrated from Ireland and little is known about his life. He made a fortune by investing in land on the then outskirts of early Auckland. On his death he was found to have amassed £93,000, the equivalent today would be over $20 million!
In his will he bequeathed his money to several different Auckland institutions including a Training School for Boys in Grey Lynn, a property now owned by the Tongan church; a Sailors’ Home on the corner of Albert and Queen streets; the St Stephen’s Orphanage in Parnell, later moved to Papatoetoe; the Auckland Institute in Princes St, which later joined with the Auckland museum, and the Costley Home at Green Lane.
The Costley Home for Older Poor had several dormitories and a chapel and was built on 21 acres of land. It had a venerable history including having many TB shelters built around it during the TB epidemic of the early twentieth century. In 1924 its name was changed to Auckland Infirmary.
A Cardio- thoracic unit was started there in the 1930s and in 1942 it was renamed Green Lane hospital. Little remains now of the Costley origins although some signs lingered on wards for many years. There is a small monument to Edward Costley in Auckland hospital grounds facing Starship Hospital. Edward Costley’s grave is in the Symonds St cemetery.
This meeting was held as a Zoom session.
One of our members, art historian and curator Mary Kisler gave a fascinating talk for our October 11 Zoom branch meeting.
Mary talked about the Villa I Tatti in Florence. For almost 60 years Villa I Tatti was the home of Bernard Berenson, a noted connoisseur who funded, led and guided scholarship and the collecting of art. The Villa is now owned by Harvard University’s Center for Italian Renaissance Studies where it continues to lead art scholarship.
Mary led us through the lives of the people, the landscape, the buildings and some of the art, including her determining the provenance of a Madonna and Child painting.
Among the many takeaways from Mary’s excellent presentation was the importance of patronage and volunteers, from those who fund and encourage art and its history, and those who volunteer, especially the “mud angels” who came to help rescue material damaged by the 1966 flood in Florence.
All members will receive an emailed link to the Zoom session.
Our second branch meeting held on Zoom on Monday 27 September again proved popular.
John Malcolmson gave a fascinating presentation on the Renaissance mathematician Fibonacci (1170-1250) from Genoa. A mathematical formula that Fibonacci worked out is found in nature, art and much else of the world around us. A thoroughly enjoyable, educational and entertaining presentation.
All members will receive an emailed link to the Zoom session.
Our notified speaker Jan Beaumont has been rescheduled for a later date, because of the Covid lockdown.
Instead we are holding a Zoom branch meeting. One of our members, Michael Littlewood will present his current research on his family history. He is using this research in preparation for a novel he is planning.
All members will receive an emailed link to the Zoom session.
J
February’s speaker is Jan Beaumont, who was originally scheduled to speak to us last September. When New Zealand entered its first COVID lockdown in
March 2020 Jan wrote her first poem “Let’s All Drink to Lockdown”, a light hearted verse
about how older people coped with being locked down for 4 weeks. She posted it on Facebook
and, within hours, it went viral, resulting in an interview on the BBC, a growing list of followers
from every continent and publications, including her own book of poems. We look forward to what the last lockdown has done for Jan’s poetic skills.
J
Professor Thor Besier works at the University of Auckland’s Bioengineering Institute. Professor Besier gave a very interesting and well-presented talk on bio-engineering as it is applied to the bones in our bodies. He outlined several current research projects that are investigating how technology can assist and indeed take over from doctors in identifying the problems and appropriate responses needed, to many skeletal afflictions people are born with or develop as we age. It was fascinating to learn about how technology will help medics with their diagnoses and remedies. So relevant for us all.
J
Hannah Jackson, a Clinical Exercise Physiologist gave a very interesting and engaging presentation on the changes in our physiology as we continue to mature, and the benefits of exercise for this period of our lives. Hannah has an MSc, majoring in exercise science, aging, cardiovascular disease, and exercise rehabilitation, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Exercise Physiology (University of Auckland). Hannah works at Optimize Health, based in a gym in the Eastridge Shopping Centre.
June’s speaker is Hilary Arrowsmith, who has worked for Auckland Public Libraries for 20 years, mostly at Remuera Library. She is their Senior Librarian, looking after Programmes and Events, meaning that she organises daytime talks, evening author events, and runs book clubs within the library and in St Vincent Residential Village. Hilary has spent a large part of her career running mobile device classes (with Jane), helping people to learn the ins and outs of their phones and iPads, taking people through the databases that the Library offers as well as troubleshooting problems that people encounter along the way. Hilary’s talk will be of particular interest to U3A members, given the importance of electronic devices to us during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
It was a pleasure to hear David Ross frankly outlining the business challenges and the technical developments of the cinema industry in the digital age. All of us remember our childhood Saturday afternoon matinee at the local cinema for sixpence and can only marvel at the quality of the films we can now watch on our TV/iPad/phone streamed over the internet at our leisure at home.
At the April meeting Olga and John Hawkes spoke on the experience of White Russians. John provided an overview of the effects of the Russian revolution and what it meant for Russians. He also told us a little of writing a book with Olga, integrating historical information with the personal story of Olga’s parents, based on Olga’s conversations with her mother and on her mother’s diaries. Olga described her parents’ lives before and during the revolution, and their escape from Russia to Shanghai in the 1920s where they lived on the fringes for over 20 years and where their status and livelihood were always uncertain. She illustrated her talk with images, one of which showed her mother, Sonechka, in traditional dress that Olga had closely replicated and wore during her talk. The same photograph also appears of the front cover of their book, “Russian at Heart”.
Ross Blair, president presented an interesting talk on a somewhat eccentric NZ identity ‘Geoffrey Potoki of Montalk’, whom he once met in a Hamilton bookshop. Potoki was of Polish aristocratic descent and his parents had come to this country following World War I. Potoki grew up in Auckland, led a rather Bohemian life, wrote poetry and was friends with several writers including Rex Fairburn. He lived for a time in London where he had his writings published, was known for dressing flamboyantly and was a member of the literary set there and laid claims to the Polish throne. A very interesting character.
Professor Suzanne Purdy, Head of the School of Psychology, University of Auckland, and Principal Investigator in the University of Auckland Centre for Brain Research, and the Brain Research New Zealand Centre of Research Excellence gave an excellent address on ‘Beethoven’s Deafness’. It appears that Beethoven lost much of his hearing quite early in his musical career. He would have listened to with his head pressed to the piano so that he could better hear the music. Some of his most famous compositions were written not long before his death, which makes them all the more remarkable, given his very limited ability to hear what he was creating.
Rob Elliott, our guest speaker on Monday 9th November, shared with us his experience in the motor industry and establishing the assembly of a number of well- known models, including the Fiat Bambino, and finally the Honda cars, along with his appreciation of Japanese culture. After the death of his talented Japanese wife, Reiko, he must have achieved some solace from his writing. I certainly enjoyed reading ‘Don’t Come Back’, a record of Reiko’s early life in Japan and then their nearly 30 years together. His latest book ‘Murder Comes to the U3A’ was also an intriguing read.
Sir Don McKinnon a politician and diplomat known to us all gave an excellent address to our October meeting on ‘Where do we go from here?’. Sir Don was Commonwealth Secretary General and Deputy Prime Minister of NZ. He is currently Chair of the NZ China Council and Chair of the NZ War Memorial Museum Trust, Le Quesnoy, France.
His talk was wide-ranging, covering the world political scene. In particular, he spoke of the sphere of influence that New Zealand enjoys in the south Pacific and how strategically important it is that New Zealand fosters and cares for its relationship with our Pacific neighbours. Sir Don also spoke of our trade relationships with China, Australis and the United States and offered his perspective on how these world powers are shaping the world of tomorrow.
Our guest speaker for our first post-COVD meeting is Gaye Stratton who is the Community Liaison Educator with Macular Degeneration New Zealand.
Gaye will bring us up to date on the advances in the management of this troublesome condition which occurs in our age group. During the COVID-19 Lockdown period, reading and use of our electronic devices to communicate with friends and family have been so important to us. However, good sight is necessary to enjoy these pleasures and cope, hence our fear of losing our sight at this time in our lives.
John Street spoke on ‘The Rescue of the Daring’. John established the Classic Yachts Trust in Auckland and is responsible for bringing back to New Zealand ‘Thelma’ (from St. Tropez) and ‘Waitangi’ (from Melbourne), pre-1900 Logan yachts. The Daring, built at Mangawhai Heads in 1863 and beached on Muriwai Beach 1864, was covered by the sand, and exposed in 2018. John was closely involved in the rescue of this important historic wreck.