Our next event
The Mid-year luncheon and 38th Annual General Meeting is coming up and will be held on Wednesday 5 June. Please make a note of this on your calendars. At the AGM we will be considering a Rule Change proposed by your committee which will extend Associate membership to the Widows/Partners of deceased members and will also take the opportunity to reorganise and update the content. Full details of the rule changes and a draft of the proposed new rules will be included in the next (May) newsletter, as well as the application form. Any changes to Club Rules may only be carried out at an Annual General Meeting and must be approved by a majority, so please come along and support the running of your club while meeting up with and enjoying the company of your past colleagues.
Committee
The club committee is currently under strength and in need of new members. Have you considered joining the committee? If you feel you would like to make a contribution to your club, please contact the secretary. You can download a nomination form here.
Next planned Outing
Your committee are considering a Lunch at Waipuna Lodge in Panmure and the proposed date is Wednesday 28 August. Precise details are still to be worked out but all the information will be contained in a newsletter closer to the date. Pencil this onto your calendars.
Report on visit to to Chelsea Sugar refinery
On 6 March, a group of 19 retirees visited the Chelsea Sugar Refinery at Birkenhead and had a very interesting and informative tour led by our tour guide Elle. Before commencing and boarding the tour train we had to be fitted with a high visibility jacket and safety helmet.
The tour commenced at the wharf where every 6 weeks a boat arrives and unloads around 30,000 tonnes of raw sugar. This is then carried on a conveyor belt to a large shed where the sugar is stock piled to an approximate height of 7 metres awaiting processing. Following this we were shown the various processes that the sugar goes through to remove any contaminants that may be in it. From here the sugar goes through a series of processes that culminate in the different brands of sugar we see in the Supermarket, such as White, Brown, Soft brown sugar, Icing sugar and Coffee crystals. A by product of sugar that a lot of members were surprised to see was the wide range of various syrups, which we were allowed to sample.
At the conclusion of the tour, a vote of thanks was given to Elle and members expressed their appreciation for the tour.
News from Other Clubs
Following the tragic Mosque shootings in Christchurch, the following message was sent to our colleagues in the Southern Club:
To Diana and all your Club members,
On behalf of the Committee and Membership of the Air New Zealand Retired Staff Club (Northern), we wish to extend our love and support to all our Southern colleagues, our friends and their families who may have been affected by the tragic shooting which took place yesterday in your fair city.
It is unbelievable that this event took place in our country and doubly unfortunate that Christchurch City was the target, considering all you folks have gone through over recent years.
Our thoughts are with you and our hopes that you can remain safe over the coming months and years.
Kindest regards
Ian Steel
President Air New Zealand Retired Staff Club (Northern)
Almoner's Report
Since my January Almoner’s Report I can advise the following:
Firstly, we report that John Roscoe, one of our most effective committee members has recently spent some time in hospital to rectify a heart condition. John tells us that he is now recovering back home, where he remains actively involved in our Club activities.
Captain Peter Bryce Dawson, died at the North Shore Hospital on 14 February, aged 79. A gathering of Peter’s family and friends was held to celebrate Peter’s life at ”The Brigham” Whenuapai, on 19 February. (non member)
Robert George (Bob) Burbush, died in Auckland, aged 92. Bob is well remembered as an obliging, friendly, helpful, member of the Auckland Base composite workshop engineering team, from DC10 day, onwards. A remembrance service was held in Papatoetoe on 21 February. (non member)
Captain Paul Kelly died in Whitianga on 13 march, aged 75. After serving for 37 years Paul retired as a management pilot and B747 Flight Instructor. He became a very active Mercury Bay businessman and community leader. He was the Chairman of the Mercury Bay Community Board at the time of his death. Paul is deeply missed by his wife, Chris, and the wider local community. (non member)
Flight Engineer Laurence Clifford (Larry) Pope, beloved husband of Teresa and loved father of Mark, Amanda, and Hilary died in Auckland in his 91st year. A celebratory Mass for Larry was held in Parnell on Monday 18 March (non member)
Graham Lush, aged 93 the dearly loved husband of Jean for 71 years, passed away at home in the Lady Allum Retirement Village, Milford, on Sunday 10 March. Graham joined TEAL at Mechanic’s Bay and worked for many years in the Engine Shop in his early years. Graham’s funeral was held in Northcote on Tuesday 19 March (member – card sent)
Ian Hills passed away on Sunday 31 March in his 65th year. Ian originally joined Air New Zealand as an Avionics apprentice in 1973 and was Technical Manager within Engineering. He recently retired due to illness from the B757 RNZAF Technical Services Group. Our thoughts are with Ian's family, several of whom are also Air New Zealanders. (non member)
New Members
We extend a warm welcome to the following new members who have recently joined us and we look forward to meeting up with them at our regular functions:
Mrs Carol Conte who worked in Accounts and AKL Booking Office 1959 – 1969
Peter Hodgson who worked in Flight Operations 1979 – 2017
Mrs Annette Reeve who worked as a Purser at WLG Base 1989 – 2014
Mrs Bhana Ferguson who worked in Reservations, Smales Farm, 2005 – 2014
Hugh Bateman who worked as a Flight Attendant 1970 - 2014
Walter Rotherham who worked in Flight Operations 1964 - 1969
Lindsay Squire who worked as Team Manager CHC ramp 1975 - 2015
Heather Brown who worked in TEAL Pay office and accounts 1960 - 1963
Rosemary Chalmers who worked in Tauranga Holiday Shop 1988 - 2012
Company News
The headlines and excerpts from some of the most recent Company Media releases are listed below. The full text of these media releases is published on our website under the heading Links. New Media Releases are added almost daily, so visit the website to keep up to date.
26 February 2019
Air New Zealand shrinks some domestic fares by half.
28 February 2019
Air New Zealand announces interim profit of $211 million and maintains interim dividend of 11.0 cents per share.
7 March 2019
Help more Kiwi kids soar with Airpoints™ for Schools.
17 March 2019
Air New Zealand update on Christchurch services.
17 March 2019
Air New Zealand engineer confirmed among those killed in Friday’s shooting tragedy.
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