Rotary’s bountiful legacy

• Published date: 11 April 2024
• Publication title: Mountain Scene

QUEENSTOWN’S oldest and most prominent service club celebrates its 80th birthday this weekend

The resort’s Rotary Club boasts many great achievements over the years, mostly in the local community but also abroad.

It’s continued to be relevant by changing with the times, including belatedly admitting women.

Oddly, the then all-male club opened during World War 2, on the initiative of several Invercargill Rotarians who had cribs here.

Applying for Rotary International membership, the sponsoring Rotary Club of Invercargill said ‘‘a preliminary survey showed there are available men of Rotary character and Rotary temperament representing various classifications’’ — members once all had to have a unique vocation.

Eighteen members met at Scotty’s Tea Rooms for the ‘charter presentation meeting’ on September 23, 1944 — among a population of about 800, that was a high per capita membership.

The charter president was grocer John Royds — the president for the club’s 50th anniversary was his son John; both, incidentally, were also...