Inner Wheel of South Wairarapa

Our monthly dinner was held at the offering on 20th July  as usual a lovely meal was supplied by Bevan.

The evening was attended by Sue Jameson the District Chairman and member of Inner Wheel club of New Plymouth.

Sue gave an interesting talk about herself and what she hopes to achieve in her District and Inner Wheel family.

The three objects of Inner Wheel of true friendship, personal service, and international understanding are as relevant today as they were 98 years ago.

Sue’s goals for the year are to help Inner Wheel grow in strength, members and clubs to be brave and learn new things with grit and perseverance. To show my friends they are important to me.

Sue enjoyed her visit to South Wairarapa and thanked our club for all our efforts and help we give to our community.

New members are very welcome.    Maureen Mortensen

South Wairarapa Tramping Club – Keith George Memorial Park

The almost hidden entrance to the track.

We have all driven along the Hutt River Road hundreds of times, past the under-utilised Keith George Memorial Park, and haven’t realised that tracks exist, hidden in the bush. Access is from the river track just upstream of the Silverstream bridge, and a subway under the highway.

We last did this trip in June 2019. This time, after coming through the subway we took the right hand route up the Keith George Loop. While steep and tricky in places, the track eventually levelled slightly to a more reasonable gradient, and the River Road traffic noise receded into the distance. Gradually we curved around so we were heading back the way we had come, but at a much higher level. At the top of a rise, marked by two timber posts, was our right hand turn, and a couple of minutes later we were out in the sunshine at the foot of a pylon.

We turned downhill, past a much more photogenic pylon with a great Hutt Valley view, only to be faced with a “Private Property, Turn Back” sign. Hoping it was an aberration we kept on going, only to be told in the next sign “You are now Trespassing”! And there in front of us was a large gate and high fence, with pigs, cattle and goats on the other side.  … Continue Reading

Library News

Conservation Week 5 – 11 September

Support the Department of Conservation and celebrate nature by participating in fun activities throughout the week. There’s a colouring competition for children – pick up your copies from the library or the DOC office in Masterton. You can also sign up for a pest- trapping workshop in Martinborough (email swbg@xtra.co.nz). And don’t forget to come in and check out our selection of books about conservation heroes and their efforts. For a complete list of activities and events please visit conservationweek.org.nz.

Library website

Have you seen the new Chat feature on our website? When you open wls.org.nz you’ll see the Chat box on the bottom right-hand side of your screen. If you have a quick question (for example, ‘Is Brick Club on this week?’) and don’t want the hassle of emailing or waiting for a reply, then use Chat for real-time assistance. 

Another cool feature can be found on our online catalogue. Next time you read a book that you love (or loathe!), you can leave a review and share your thoughts. In the search bar, type in the title of the book, click on the title, and you’ll be taken to the page where you can add your review. While you’re there, you can also find similar titles, subjects and/or authors to further pique your interest.

FIRE BRIGADE REPORT

Spring is here, and soon it will be daylight savings, you can get a jump on your Smoke alarm checks now, and get ahead of the change of daylight time. Another quick tip as you might run out of firewood and switch to electric heating is to ensure you don’t overload plugs, multiboards or your switchboard.

Congratulations to Melissa O’Brien for completing her Qualified Firefighter (QFF) Course, and Simon Daly, Brett Townsend and Hamish Rees have all successfully completed their Senior Firefighters (SFF) Course so you will start to see them in the Officers seat to gain experience.

Our Medical First Response unit clocked up its 100th call for the year this month, and the Brigade has been keeping well occupied with both fire and medical responses with over 150 calls

Occasionally struggle with crewing our fire appliance during the day and are still looking for people who may be available daytimes to join the brigade, keep an eye out for our Open Day happening in the next couple of months, even if you can do it just while the kids are at school, you don’t have to be available all the time, you will be fully equipped with really cool gear, fully trained and get to work in a fantastic team..

The really good news is as we grow, we are needing to expand our locker space to accommodate the team, and plans are in hand to start this off.

If you are interesrted please contact our Chief Jake Hawkins directly by emailing – Jacob.hawkins@fireandemergency.nz. or better still pop on down and have a chat on Tuesday Training nights or keep an eye out for our Open Day where you can meet us and maybe even try out some of our equipment.