Papakura Rotary  through the years - Year 41

 

During this year the first Probus Club in Papakura was formed, with 100 members. The major event of the year was the Club’s Fortieth Birthday which was held at the Papakura RSA, on Sunday, 9th April, 1989. A large crowd representing current and past members, as well as members of surrounding clubs, enjoyed an excellent luncheon, and celebration. We were second in the District for our attendance during the year.

 

Four members, Ray Wallace, Ian Massey, Ross Ferguson and Barry Hobman were named Paul Harris Fellows during the year.

 

During the mid 80’s little attention was paid to recording the Club history however Jim Innes has provided us with recollections over the years and I include this document for your interest and amusement. It is quite a long read but Jim was a very dedicated member over many years.

 

 

 

In the last 30 years there have been many characters in the Rotary Club of Papakura but perhaps two of the greatest were Ian Pryde and Bruce Henderson. “Prydie” was about knee high to a grasshopper but had an endless supply of energy. He had a habit of dropping boxes of shoes in for you to try on at your leisure. One time I substituted an old pair in one of the boxes and returned them.   It was not till several weeks later the Ian appeared at Rotary hooking for my blood. He had given the box to a customer in the shop, who had asked him what he was up to.

 

Bruce Henderson was a great party man and after Rotary events, we had a sauna at his place. Whilst we were cooking, someone detected a strange smell and we had to haul the inebriated member off the top of the sauna and get him medical attention for a burnt bum. Ian had a Jaguar that he was very proud of and at the Clevedon Carnival, one year, the rear end was tied to a tree. Pryde took off in his usual hectic manner and came to an abrupt stop. Vince Walters always used to take off one of Prydes shoes at any social function and place it out of Ian’s reach. Owen Henderson and Phil Pryde owe a lot to their respective fathers, but as individuals they had a lot and Owen showed it all one time out at Great Barrier. Whilst in swimming at the Kauri Dam, his clothes were “borrowed” and taken down the track for several miles and hung high in a tree. Owen had to chase the borrower in just his shoes and it was quite a sight to see him, running full tilt down the track. Eventually he got his clothes out of the tree with a large piece of manuka.

 

Jack Stormont owned a horse transporting business and used to travel at unusual hours. One time, he arrived home early in the morning and to save waking the house, crawled in the window. His mother thought it was a burglar so rang the Police who quickly arrived and Jack had a bit of explaining to do.   When the Sound Shell was being built in Central Park, there used to be a social hour at the end of each work day. Ken Bowskill was new to the Club and it only took a few beers to get Ken going.  

 

Ladies Night used to be held once a year and along with Changeover was a night for formal dress. Dinner suit was the absolute minimum.   When the Club met in the RSA, we never had a bar and those that wanted a drink before Rotary started, used to go downstairs to the RSA. At a minute to 6, there would be a frantic rush up the stairs and the cashier (no automatic payment then) would be deluged with the influx. After Rotary, the group used to retire back to the bar and many a pleasant “committee meeting” was spent there.   Eventually the more puritan side of the Club was outvoted, and we had a bar. This was initially run by Club members, especially Tom Ross, but then we hired a retiree, Mac, who did a great job for many years.

 

Religion was very strong in the Club, and as well as an invocation, or grace, each evening, there was an annual church parade. There were many debates on religion and on how everyone’s point of view must be respected. Great were the hypothetical cases offered ranging from Hebrew to Holy Roller.

 

The Classification system was very strong and at least one member had to resign because he lost his classification. There used to be an annual list published, of unfilled classifications. Bob Jolly was quite a character and used to run a defensive driving course. He was the only member that managed to hit the centre light standard in the Old Farmers Car Park. Arch Campbell was the Mayor of Papakura, but every so often would give a talk on current affairs, and explain why certain events were happening in the world. Such was our provinciality that we used to sit there in awe of Arch, and all his worldliness, that he probably leached from the NZ Herald or Time.

 

Ralph Du Faur had a great idea to start a dairy herd in Tonga so everyone in the Club was levied for a financial contribution. Some objected to this, so a scrap metal drive was held. We went around many business premises but it was a bit of a flop as all the places were so interesting that we usually ended up having a guided tour so not all that much scrap got collected. Laurie Sharp organised a great fund raiser, perhaps the best the Club has ever had, in the form of an Airstravaganza at Ardmore. The feature of the weekend was supposed to be a race over a figure of eight circuit. The advertising lead you to believe that planes would be avoiding each other at the crossover points. A large crowd turned out and a lot of money was raised. Ian Pryde arrived late, dashed up to Bob Ross and asked what he could do to help. Bob got him to sweep the area of small stones and fill up a 44 gallon drum with them. When Ian had got it filled, he asked Bob what he should do next. Bob told him he could empty it. For weeks after, Ian tried to get builders mix, manure or you name it, tipped on Bob’s drive but no one was game enough.

 

Over the years, there have been many trips away, to golf tournaments. We regularly used to go to Waihi, Thames, Cambridge, Titirangi and Huiapai usually not arriving back till the wee small hours. We had many avid golfers in the Club, but with the change in society, members felt they could no longer take time off from their business so the golf trips lapsed.

 

We also had fishing trips, and there was one really memorable one, on the Kaipara Harbour. It was really rough and most of the party spent the day lying down wanting to die. Those who did not succumb had some great fishing, but every time you took the catch inside to show those suffering from mal de mer, you were greeted by a concerted moan. All was not lost, however, as some of the group, who will remain nameless, visited the Pink Pussy Cat on the way home. This was considered the height of debauchery, especially when the identities of the revellers were revealed.   Changeover night used to be a lot of fun with the amusement being provided by members.   Once there was a male ballet with such graceful ballerinas as Allan Herkt, Eric Jerkovich, Carl Jensen et al. The District Governor was at the evening and he thought it such a success that he booked the act for the District Conference. This was big time and necessitated the consumption of a bottle of rum to get the joints mobile. We had practised for weeks for the event and even had a professional tutor.

 

For many years, the Club has had trips to the Barrier and coming home on one of these, we were inside playing cards. The weather was very rough and Carl Jensen was out on deck feeding the fishes when he suddenly started shouting that the game rod we had over the stem was running out at a fast rate of knots. We all thought Carl was hallucinating until someone had a look and then pandemonium broke loose. We eventually landed a monstrous fish on deck and lived off the story for months.

 

On another trip to the Barrier, Ted Lees and Rob Allen were doing the navigating. Both were intrepid sailors used to going from point A to B strictly on visual and a compass was akin to a sundial. We had only been going a couple of hours when the two of them came down into the cabin and proudly announced that we had made great time and that they could see Wellington Head on the Barrier. This did not seem right as it normally takes 8 hours to get to the Barrier. A quick check on the compass confirmed suspicions They had virtually gone through 180 degrees and were heading for Tiri.

 

Ted’s father, Rowley, was always meticulous on the boat and used to clean carefully, all the pots. One time he cleaned the wok we were using with Ajax, but forgot to wash it off entirely. Tony Tremewan, Papakura Police Prosecutor, was along on the trip and almost became a statistic when he ate a quantity of crayfish caked in Ajax from the affected wok.   On several occasions we went sailing on the Spirit of Adventure. On one trip, it was that rough that even the crew and the captain were sick. George Wilson was in the forward heads with his pants around his ankles when we shipped a large green one. The hatch above George was open and the next minute he staggered out on deck half drowned and struggling to return his trousers to the vertical. We used to have fun climbing the rigging but the midwinter swims were a bit tough.