Probus - FERRYMEAD SUMNER MENS PROBUS (M)

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Please join us for the next meeting on:

Thursday, 27 August 2026 at 10am

Main Speaker: John Rogers - “Quest for the North Pole”

“My first career was as a software developer, working mostly on Geographical Information Systems - helping people make their own maps. I retired in 2010. In 2001 I made a voyage to the Ross Sea as a tourist with local company Heritage Expeditions. I then joined the NZ Antarctic Society and have been an active member since. After retirement I enrolled as a student at the University of Canterbury for their Post Graduate Certificate in Antarctic Studies. PCAS is a full summer programme on all aspects of Antarctica, with a field trip to Scott Base and camping on the Ross Ice Shelf. This opened the door to working on cruise ships on voyages south - with my specialist area being history. My first guiding season was 2017. Since then, I have worked in Antarctica - in the Ross Sea and on the Antarctic Peninsula - in the Arctic and in Japan. During this time, I have developed a number of presentations on many aspects of the history of discovery and exploration and the diverse cultures of those places. I enjoy sharing my knowledge both with cruise passengers and with local groups.“

Mini Speaker: Phil Brodie.

The program for the following months:

Thursday, 24 September 2026 at 10am

Main Speaker: Kat Darry.

Kat is the dietician for the All Blacks.

Thursday, 29 October 2026 at 10am

Main Speaker: Clara Watson.

Clara is a principal archaeologist at Underground Overground Archaeology and was in charge of the archaeology work at the stadium project.

Thursday, 25 February 2027 at 10am

Main Speaker: Frank Endacott .

Thursday, 25 March 2027 at 10am

Main Speaker: Brian Wood - "The highs and lows of being a Company Director"

Brian has had considerable experience as a director of many companies (Lyttleton Ports Co, Dunedin Airport Co, Invercargill City Holdings, Mainpower, and others). He has been a consultant for the IMF, working in Poland to set up PAYE or GST(not sure which). He is well-travelled and has a good perspective on business. He was made a Distinguished Fellow of the Institute of Company Directors NZ in 2024. He was the District Commissioner for Taxes, Dunedin, and Chief Finance Manager of the Dunedin City Council, CEO of the Southland District Council.

Thursday, 29 April 2027 at 10am

Main Speaker: Pat Barrett - "So Long; South America - An Epic Kiwi Adventure".

Pat is a local author who has recently produced a new title.

Thursday, 27 May 2027 at 10am

Main Speaker: Mike Brown, author of "A Boy's Journey".

Mike Brown was born in a London council house in 1950. At the age of eight, his parents packed up their family of five children and migrated to Australia as Ten Pound Poms in search of a better life. Mike embraced the adventure, but his parents found life in the immigration hostel was the pits. After two sweltering Australian summers, they followed their dream and settled in Christchurch, New Zealand. Over the years, Mike tried his hand at a wide variety of occupations, ...succeeding in a few and failing in enough to collect a lifetime of stories. Together with his second wife, he moved to the Bay of Islands, where they spent ten winters sailing the South Pacific before eventually moving to what Mike jokingly calls a "lifestyle sentence" in Motueka. He is currently serving his fourth term as President of the Motueka Lions Club. He is the proud father of five grown children, has countless grandchildren scattered across Australasia, and by his own admission, can’t keep up with an ever-growing number of great-grandchildren. Today, Mike shares the remarkable journey behind his memoirs—a story of migration, adventure and self-inflicted stuff-ups that have shaped his life.

Also check out our Previous Meetings

The location is:

Redcliffs Mt Pleasant Bowling Club,
9 James St, Redcliffs, Christchurch 8081

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