South Wairarapa Rebus Club

By David Woodham

Some 34 Members from throughout the South Wairarapa attended a Rebus Club Christmas lunch on 25 November at the Carterton Golf Club to celebrate the end of an interesting, if testing, year.

In January we were checking vaccination certificates as members arrived for a meeting addressed by John Beijen, on being in China in 2019/20 during the onset of Covid 19. In February we launched our web site www.southwairaraparebus.com and held our AGM on Zoom. 

In April we heard from Joy Cooper, Chair of the Wharekaka Rest Home, on declining aged care facilities in NZ. We did a Fifth Friday trip to the Kohunui Marae native plant nursery, Lake Ferry Inn and Cape Palliser. In May we were fascinated by John Mansell, Chartered Master Mariner, who skippered the Interisland Ferry  for 20 years. 

In June we celebrated the new Matariki public holiday, on the day itself, with a lunch at Brac & Bow, Royal Hotel, Featherston. In July we learnt about the enquiry into adoption laws in NZ from Jills Angus Burney, adoptee and barrister, while our August speaker was Wayne Poutoa, Director of the Youth Village in Carterton, accommodating and providing community work for young men and women in need. 

In September we heard from Joseph Gillard, Co-Chair of the Cobblestones Museum in Greytown but our 5^th Friday group visit to Cobblestones was postponed for a week due to wet weather on the day. In October we had a return visit from Joe Howells of Green Jersey Cycle Tours introducing us to cycle-touring in France and we ended the year with our Christmas lunch. 

As has become traditional for the Club in recent years, at our Christmas lunch celebration, in place of anonymous “Santa presents” for distribution to members, we asked members to donate non-perishable food items to be given to the SW Food Bank. This year, in recognition of the Covid-related adversity suffered by many families, we did the same at our Matariki lunch.

We look forward to the coming year anticipating another lively round of notable Guest Speakers. The South Wairarapa Rebus Club <https://southwairaraparebus.com> meets in the South Wairarapa Working Men’s Club on the fourth Friday morning of each month and organises an outing in those months with a fifth Friday. Anyone in the retired age group who may be interested in SW Rebus Club is welcome to come along to a meeting as a visitor.  Please contact David Woodhams, Past President, 027 430 6988.