May 2025
- lovebytenz
- May 17
- 6 min read
Updated: May 30
WELCOME
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our members for their valued support of the Club, and invite you all to connect with other retirees and stay engaged with the Air New Zealand Retirees community. Our Newsletters are the source of upcoming events and activities, as well as the many wonderful suggestions by our web lady Sandie.
We would also like to invite all Club members to SHARE YOUR STORY. Along with your airline work stories, you may wish to include your hobbies and interests. SHARE YOUR STORY will commence in our next Newsletter, so we welcome any stories from our club members you wish to share. Please email these to airnzretirees@gmail.com We look forward to some great reading.
Committee News
All clubs are run by members volunteering their time and with 454 members in our Air NZ Retired Staff Club Northern, we know there will be some of you who would like to help the club by joining the committee. There are six meetings a year, two club lunches & a small number of events/trips (organised by committee members, but not mandatory to attend as a committee member), so the time commitment is not too demanding.
Members considering joining our thriving committee are invited to contact either Antoinette Nelson or Gaye Mears. Please email airnzretirees@gmail.com
We will also accept nominations on the day, at the lunch. AGM documents and committee nomination forms are available below.
Air NZ unveils new uniforms
Seventeen months after the company announced its collaboration with the London-based Kiwi designer Emilia Wickstead, the latest Air NZ uniform has finally been unveiled. Wickstead left New Zealand when she was 14, and her business - best known for outfitting the likes of everyone from Queen Rania of Jordan and the Duchesses of Cambridge and Sussex, to celebrities like Emma Watson, Gwyneth Paltrow and Lady Gaga - is based in London. Working with tā moko artist Te Rangitu Netana, who hand drew every single print design, was “incredible”. Wickstead says she knew when she started the project that she wanted him involved. “We didn't say, oh, we're going to do a kōwhai print.
“It was more ‘what do we want represented through the print?’ and so that was going back to empowerment, talking about our ancestors.”
That print, Kōwhai o te rangi, is inspired by the story of Ngatoro-i-Rangi, and represents protection, responsibility and belonging. Others include the geometric Purapura Whetu (flounders and stars), the Tāniko motif of the Pepeha pattern, and prints after kākā and kiwi feathers. The uniform range spans 125 pieces, the biggest range to date. “Being able to give people options within that collection is really important,” explains Grace Blewitt, who leads brand and marketing for Air New Zealand. “It also has to cater to a really broad range of body types and individual preferences.” Versatility, comfort and functionality were top of mind throughout the design process.
UPCOMING EVENT
AGM and Mid-Year Lunch
Date: Wednesday 18 June 2025
Location: Remuera Club, 27-33 Ohinerau Street, Remuera
Time: The bar will open from 11:30am / AGM 12 noon / Lunch 12.30 pm Lunch Cost: $45.00 per person, includes buffet lunch and one complimentary drink
Bookings Close: 11 June 2025
Our next event is the AGM and mid-winter Christmas Lunch, held at the Remuera Club. The bar opens at 11:30am, and the AGM starts at 12 noon, with lunch being served at 12.30 p.m. The lunch cost includes a 2 course buffet meal, tea and coffee, and one drink coupon per person for a glass of wine, beer or soft drink. Any further drinks can be purchased from the bar. A carafe of free orange juice and water will still be placed on the table. Once again there will be a raffle for wines and chocolates. Please click on the links below in Download AGM documents for a committee nomination form.
Note: You will receive two coupons at the door: one for a free drink, the other for the raffle. You must be a paid up member in order to vote at the AGM, and please remember to wear your name badge.
DOWNLOAD AGM DOCUMENTS
Please click on the links below, to download each document
PAST EVENT The Jane Gifford
Approximately 20 members boarded the Jane Gifford scow at Warkworth on a beautiful afternoon Sunday 23rd March and had an enjoyable one-hour trip down the Mahurangi river. It was an opportunity to view the native bush, the old Cement factory and boat yards down the river. Overall an interesting afternoon and it gave us an opportunity to finish with a drink at the old (1876) Warkworth Hotel across the road from the wharf.
Thank you. we had a wonderful trip
Just back from a most enjoyable outing on the Jane Gifford plus an unexpected pleasure of meeting one of my staff from the mid ’60’s !
Wonderful sail on a beautiful day
SAVE THE DATE
03 December 2025 Christmas Lunch
PROPOSED EVENTS
Exact dates to be advised in July Newsletter
Kelly Tarltons Midweek Aug '25
Howick Historical Village Victorian high tea with free entry visit Midweek Sep '25
Sculpture on the Shore Midweek 8 to 23 Nov '25
Get Inspired
CREATIVE ESCAPES & WINTER OUTINGS
Cirque de Soleil Corteo
October 30, 2025 - November 2, 2025 Mauro, a dreamer clown, imagines his funeral as a festive carnival with angels. Corteo is a celebration of life. This show blends grandeur with intimacy, humor with sorrow, and celebrates the clown's strength, vulnerability, wisdom, and humanity, all set to whimsical, poetic music.
Taruna Winter Warmers
July 26, 2025
Underpinned by a deep belief in the Rudolf Steiner philosophy of education, Taruna College in Havelock North has grown to become a vibrant centre for adult learning. Winter Warmers Crafts Workshops foster creativity and connection, where you can choose from one day courses in Linocut Printmaking, Stone Carving, Flax weaving, wool felting, dried flower arranging and macrame.
Cost: $120 includes morning tea and tuition. Materials costs are extra dependent on the workshop, and are payable directly to your tutor on the day. All workshops require minimum numbers to run.
The Creative Hub
Have you ever contemplated writing a memoir? John Cranna, Winner of the Commonwealth Writers Prize, was voted Best Post-Graduate Teacher by students at AUT University, and this 30 week course is offered both online and in the classroom. As a student, you receive one-on-one guidance by an experienced tutor, and internationally published author. In the last three years, thirty Creative Hub graduates have published novels or won prizes in national or international writing awards. The main feature of the classroom course is a weekly three hour group meeting, in which student work is discussed and critiqued in an informal but supportive environment. Craft and technical issues arise organically from discussion of this work. Students on both versions of the course keep a reading and writing journal, which helps chart their development.
NEW MEMBERS
For those interested, you can now keep in touch via our Facebook Groups page. If you have friends or know of anyone that might wish to join the club, please invite them along to an event so they can see the camaraderie club members enjoy.
Kevin Wright 1990-2025 AKL QA Materials Inspector
Greg Fletcher 1978-2025 AKL Materials QA, Supply Chain
Maureen Dowers 2002-2024 Credit services & Data Processing
Mark Thompson 1999-2020 Engineering
Grant Fausett 1978-2025 Line Maint/ Pilot - Flight OPs B777 Captain
OBITUARIES
SAUNDERS, Audrey Passed away on 25 April 2025, at the grand age of 99. A private cremation was held. Audrey was a Committee member for some years
TORRANCE, Barbara Her daughters have announced with heavy hearts Barbara’s peaceful passing on 14 May 2025 in North Shore Hospital after a short illness. She will be remembered by her very dear Folded Wings friends. Barb was a highly valued volunteer on the Air New Zealand 75th Anniversary Project and appeared on Page 90 of the Air New Zealand 75th Anniversary Book in her Dior uniform.
YOUR COMMITTEE
President / Treasurer Gaye Mears gayemears45@gmail.com
Secretary Antoinette Nelson antoinette@outlook.co.nz
Past President Jo Foged jonjosie.foged@xtra.co.nz
Committee Peter Elmsly, Jo Foged, Tanya Somerville, Maggie Willis,
Margaret Holden, Peter Burn
Contact us airnzretirees@gmail.com
Patron Richard Thomson | CFO at Air New Zealand
NAME BADGES
We encourage you to wear name badges at lunches and on any trips. It makes it so much easier when you know a face but can't quite remember the name that goes with it so please order yours now if you plan to attend any of the events coming up. Cost is $15 for pin-on badge and $20 for magnetic type. Please note that badges will be handed out at the next event you attend.
CURRENT PAYMENT OPTIONS
You must be a fully paid up member to attend club events.
Annual membership fees are $ 15.00 per person. You can pay into our bank account online banking (direct debit or direct credit), by phone banking, or at a Smart ATM.
Air NZ Retirees Club
Account: 06-0222-0851695-00
Particulars: Your Surname
Code: SUBS
Reference: Your phone number
Payee Name: Air New Zealand Retired Staff Club Nthn
COMPANY NEWS
Regular media releases are published online by Air New Zealand and you can access these from our website under the heading Links.
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