Members are encouraged to attend Thursday lunch meetings whenever they can. They are an opportunity for fellowship, to hear interesting speakers, and to catch up with our Club activities.
Remember that if you are unable to join our lunch meetings in person, we can still provide a Zoom option. Please contact President Fiona for details of the link to use.
Meal Orders - Update April 2023
The café has noted that many of our Rotary members and guests are now ordering on arrival. This makes it difficult for them to manage staffing levels and keep up the level of service for us, as well as their other guests.
As a club, we appreciate the use of the venue facilities free of charge.
To maintain this it is appreciated if you would please remember to pre-order your food and drink from the lunch menu ahead of time!
This very special event will be held at Toitu, starting at 6.30pm on Sat 29th April. Tickets $100 per person includes pre-dinner drink, entertainment, a sit down meal catered by Vault 21 and our guest speaker, former Governor General and Rotarian, Sir Anand Satyanand.
Please RSVP to your invitation to the Anniversary Dinner on 29 April by 15 April to Fiona at
As part of our club’s centenary celebrations Craig Radford has written a history of the last 100 years of Rotary in Dunedin.
While Craig’s book nods to the past 100 years, it really takes off from where Gordon Parry’s 75-year history ended to highlight the last 25 years of our club.
It is a rollicking good read that you won’t want to miss, we are taking pre orders now for $30 per copy or you can purchase on the night of our centenary dinner and after for $35 per copy.
Cloud forests take their name from their very literal nature. Often taking the form of fog, low-hanging clouds hover around the upper canopy of the forest before condensing onto the leaves of trees and dripping onto the plants below. Orokonui Ecosanctuary lived up to its reputation when 26 club members and friends met there on Thursday 13th April, and enjoyed not just the special misty cloud forest environment, but wonderful hospitality and food from the staff at Horopito café and a warm welcome from General Manager Amanda Symons. Elton Smith, the chief ranger, treated us to an insightful and close to the heart run down on the many challenges of managing a large ecosanctuary to keep it predator free. The object of all their hard work and effort is to provide a safe natural environment for threatened and precious taonga such as the Tuatara, Haast Toeka Kiwi, Takahe, South Island Robin, Kaka and Jewelled Gecko’s and more in the future. The Rotary Club of Dunedin along with the four other Dunedin Rotary clubs (St Kilda Sunrise, Dunedin South, Dunedin Harbour and Dunedin Central), committed to support the ecosanctuary by fundraising $14,140 (the costs of the materials) to construct a new soft release aviary. Its function is to enhance the success of future releases of threatened native species into the Ecosanctuary, in particular, the Tieke South Island Saddleback. For example, the aviary will hold up to 30 birds for a short period of time before their release and this will help to anchor up to 100 new birds, which will improve the birds chances of establishing a successful breeding population within the Ecosanctuary. Each of the other four local Rotary clubs contributed $1000, Rotary District Grants funded $6000 and our club raised the balance (with $2500 in reserve for signage and plants). A successful "Art Incognito" sale, and sponsorship from generous donors (Polson Higgs, First Choice Roslyn and Ross Dowling Marquet and Griffin, as well as several individual sponsors ), all helped to meet the club’s financial commitment.
We have been asked, by the Salvation Army, to assist with this years "Red Shield Appeal" Since 1883, The Salvation Army has fought poverty and social and spiritual distress in New Zealand. The Community Projects group has agreed to support this appeal and provide collectors for one collection point for one day (tentatively Friday 12 May - to be confirmed) but we will need assistance from the wider club. If you can help, please advise Bruce Collier brucec3210@gmail.com
Circus Quirkus - May 15
Contact Bruce Cowan if you know a family that would like (free) tickets.
With an interest in books starting “in the age before TV” Donald Kerr ended up with his "dream job" - special collections librarian at the University of Otago library, a position he held for 18 years.
Rotary Dunedin Centennial Dinner
We have been asked, by the Salvation Army, to assist with this years "Red Shield Appeal"
Contact Bruce Cowan if you know a family that would like (free) tickets.
