• David Pluck MNZN

    Congratulations to Whakatū Rotary member David Pluck, who was acknowledged for his services to education with a New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM), presented by the Governor General, Dame Cindy Kiro, at an investiture ceremony at Government House in Wellington.

    His citation reads:

    ‘Mr David Pluck, who was born moderately to severely deaf, advocates for the rights of disabled children to learn in their community schools. He trained as a primary school teacher and psychologist before establishing the Rainbow Reading programme with his wife, donating more than 100,000 books to low-decile schools.

    He helped to establish Whakatū Kōhanga and whānau classes in Nelson. As the Minister’s appointee on the New Zealand Psychologists Board, he developed a programme to promote the training of female psychologists. He developed guidelines for the use of Māori cultural advisors in the Family Court. Mr Pluck established the Ministry of Education’s Intensive Wraparound Service Te Kahu Tōī.’

    Congratulations Plucky!

  • Adding Colour to the Back Country

    Trampers in Mt Richmond Forest Park, in the eastern ranges of Nelson-Tasman, will be staying in a freshly painted and refreshed Hunter’s Hut thanks to the efforts of Whakatū Rotary over Anzac weekend.

    The club partnered with Dulux Group and the Department of Conservation to carry out maintenance work on Hunter’s, an eight-bunk backcountry hut located on the well-travelled Te Araroa Trail.

    A Whakatū Rotary team of members and friends was flown to the remote site by helicopter—an efficient way to transport paint and equipment, with the added bonus of some spectacular views of the surrounding ranges.

    Over two days, the team scraped and cleaned both the exterior and interior of the tired-looking hut, before applying multiple coats of paint in the DOC colour scheme.

    Alongside plenty of banter, good food, and time in the great outdoors, the team successfully refreshed the hut, helping ensure it will continue to serve backcountry users for years to come.

    A big thank you to Dulux New Zealand for generously supplying the paint, and to the Department of Conservation for its support and collaboration in making this project a success. What a great way to have impact in our beautiful New Zealand backcountry.

  • A new district leadership role

    Congratulations to our very own Karen Stade, who has just been appointed to the leadership role of District Governor Nominee for our South Island-wide Rotary District 9999. She will be District Governor in the 2027-2028 year.

    Karen is pictured flanked by club co-president Julie Bryant and past district governor Phil Gully. The club is proud to have two District Governors within the space of five years.

    Karen has been a member of Whakatū Rotary in Nelson for 14 years. She has twice served as Club President and was Assistant Governor for the Top of the South Clubs (Nelson, Tasman, Marlborough, and Buller) between 2021 and 2024. During that period of leadership, Karen was awarded a Paul Harris Sapphire Pin by DG Nick Courtney for her work in rallying Rotary support of the Westport floods and the District Governor’s Medal by DG Jan Boustead. Her last year as Assistant Governor was spent working with DG Phil Gully a fellow Whakatū member. She was also part of that year’s planning team for the District conference, which hosted former Rotary International President Jennifer Jones.

    Karen is currently a member of the District’s Growing Rotary team, with particular focus on the Top of the South, and is our club’s Rotary Foundation and End Polio Now Chair. She also runs the Whakatū website and Facebook and Instagram pages.

    A former journalist, Karen works as a historian, researching and writing commissioned history books. In 2017, she received a Queen’s Service Medal for services to the community, primarily for historical research and the community, with special acknowledgement of her End Polio Now work.

    Her husband, Martin de Ruyter is a club member and former president, and their son Troy Stade will be club president for the coming 2026-2027 Rotary year.

  • Whakatū Rotary Member Volunteers

    With the end of New Zealand daylight saving just around the corner, we decided to end this month’s projects planning session with a club photograph.

    This shows about three quarters of club members and was taken by our very own photographer, club member Martin de Ruyter. Our newest ‘member’, wee Novie, is in the front with her mum Deliese, and our soon-to-be member Brian, is at the very back.

    We’ve got a lot of great projects coming up, so keep an eye out for updates and ways you can help us out by volunteering your time or joining us.