Rotary Invercargill South

01/10/2026

Once a month our club does a social activity to connect with members in a different way and this month we went 10 pin bowling.....what a fun night out!

30/09/2026

Halloween fun community family event, free to all, all Invercargill Rotary clubs are hosting this annual event. Come see us at the bbq for a free sausage.

30/09/2026

Everyone is welcome to attend the gala dinner and auction, if interested let us know and we will send you the signup link. This will be a great event at a great location, with a great speaker and mc.

26/09/2026

Past District Governor Dave McKissock was introduced by Colin Anderson as our speaker this week. Dave spoke about his experience hiking the Camino de Santiago or Camino Frances (The French Way) with his son, Mark, in September 2025.

They walked 800km over the course of about a month, passing through France and Spain and crossing four mountain ranges. The trail varied greatly in style and ranged from paved roadway, to some very rough and rocky single trail which was quite treacherous.

They saw some amazing terrain, vegetation, architecture, and culture whilst walking through the countryside, small towns and larger cities.

The first couple of days were very challenging physically, including a strained calf muscle and a blister. However, by the end of the walk, Dave was feeling well-conditioned and noted that he lost a total of 9kg over the course of the journey. He completely wore out a pair of shoes, and after a mishap with the backup pair he planned to start wearing halfway through, he was forced to carry out running repairs on his original pair of shoes to help see him through.

The hike is often described as having three stages — the physical stage, the mental stage, and the spiritual stage. The mental stage is the middle third of the hike which features a 217km-long walk across a plateau (the Meseta) which is very flat and boring and a real mental challenge. But Dave found that this stage gave him time to reflect and meditate while walking and think about what the really meaningful things in life are.

The last third of the hike was definitely the spiritual stage. At the highest point on the trail at the Iron Cross, he dedicated stones in memory of his late mother-in-law and his grandchildren, which was a very emotional moment. The arrival in Santiago and attending mass in the cathedral was a very uplifting experience. Dave was thanked by Colin for providing a very enlightening presentation.

12/09/2026

With this year bringing up the 70th edition of the Tour of Southland this week our club was lucky enough to have Julian Ineson along to speak about it. Chris Thomas introduced Julian who advised that many of the past winners and participants coming to mark this very special event.

1956 was the very first Tour of Southland which started outside the old Main Post Office on Dee Street as a three-day event and has now ended up as a week-long event with participants from all over the world coming to Southland. As part of being an international event, referees asked for sunroof vehicles to get better vision. However, that did not work with Southland due to our variable climate which has played havoc over the years.

Julian’s father was a very successful rider, referee and now, Patron of the club, and, of course, his love of the sport trickled down the family as Julian himself also rode (1995/96), coached and now he does commentary, editing for television and helping with the traffic management side so he is heavily involved in Southland cycling, all while holding down a day job.

The Southland terrain is very popular with the riders due to the many variances throughout the tour from Queenstown to Bluff and is great to promote the province and what it has to offer with many riders keen to keep coming back. There are some interesting moments for the riders with cattle wanting to take part and horses who can startle due to the speeds of the cyclists and, of course, on occasions, even the building of snowmen! Then there’s good old Bluff Hill which was introduced in 1982 and can make or break careers with most riders collapsing with exhaustion at the top.

A lot of the riders end up with success globally at Commonwealth Games and Tour de France and many other events and, believe it or not, Tour of Southland is ranked the fourth best Tour in the world, which is something to be proud of. Julian talked about various legends of cycling and memorable moments over the years.

This year is a big year as it’s the first time they have organised the tour twice in one year due to the postponement last year after our severe weather. A secret to success is to have a great team of people and to have the tactical ability to win. Lastly, it takes a lot of people to organise the event with over 50 support vehicles from emergency staff for accidents etc., traffic management to spare bike parts and team staff for support. The cyclists love the energy they get when kids and adults alike line the streets to cheer them on!

06/09/2026

This week our club was lucky enough to have Jo Hutton, General Manager of ILT Stadium Southland along to our meeting.

Jo came to Southland from North Wales 34 years ago, when communicating with family back home was by aerogrammes; now Facetime is so much easier. Jo has always worked in the customer service field that at one stage involved a flight on the Concord. With husband, Richard, they have two daughters; one lives in New Zealand and one in Wales.

Jo has always been sports oriented and finds it a great way to meet people. As an artistic roller skater she represented New Zealand and won the competition.

The stadium opened in 2000 thanks to the incredible drive of the local community, with the velodrome opening on 26th May 2006. After the collapse of the stadium roof in 2010, the stadium was rebuilt to a very high standard and is now an outstanding multifunctional facility.

It is the most utilised arena in New Zealand with ten times the population of Invercargill visiting each year. As the seasons change, the sports using the stadium change along with some major events. The recent Quarry Conference brought an estimated $1.54 million into the local economy. Programmes such as the Lego Show, Boat Show and the Christmas Show are a huge growth area for the stadium.

Funding is always a major issue for the stadium with a shortfall of a dollar for every dollar earned by the stadium. The stadium relies on its major funders to ensure it is maintained in top condition e.g. funding initiatives like Take a Seat, Southland. Many sports have their headquarters at the stadium and it is also the Civil Defence Headquarters. After answering some questions from members, Jo was thanked by Wayne.

05/09/2026

05/09/2026

If you get the chance pop in to Stadium Southland and check out the Brick Show on from 10.00am to 4.00pm today.....People are so creative!

28/08/2026

If you are out and about today you might see some of our club members at New World Elles Road collecting for the Cancer Society.....we all know someone affected by cancer so please give what you can

21/08/2026

Next Saturday our club will be out collecting at New World Elles Road for this great cause....we might see you there