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Mar 10, 2020 6:30 PM
Helene will be speaking to us about her experiences of being Chinese in New Zealand.
Helene Wong is a third-generation Chinese and was born in Utuku then moved to Lower Hutt where her mother and father, a long time member of the Lower Hutt Rotary Club, had a fruit and vegetable shop.
Helene was a pupil at St Oran’s College and was Dux of the school in 1965. She attended Victoria University of Wellington and in 1972 graduated BAHons (First Class) in Sociology.
Her first post-university job was with the State Services Commission and in 1978 Helene was seconded to the Prime Minister’s Department for 2 ½ years as social policy adviser to Prime Minister Sir Robert Muldoon. She was the first woman to be appointed to the Advisory Group.
In 1986 Helene left the public service for a career in acting and directing for theatre, film and television. She worked for the New Zealand Film Commission as its first script development executive, and for New Zealand on Air as Programme Manager for Television.
In 1988 Helene worked as script and casting consultant on Illustrious Energy, Leon Narbey’s acclaimed 1988 feature about Chinese goldminers in Otago. In 1994 she directed the television documentary about Chinese in New Zealand, Footprints of the Dragon, for the series An Immigrant Nation. The episode was among the 10 top-rating documentaries of 1995.
From 2000-2006 Helene was a Board member of the New Zealand Film Commission, representing the Commission at the Shanghai-NZ Film Festival in 2004.
As an actor, Helene appeared in the Court Theatre’s 2012 production of Lynda Chanwai-Earle’s Man in a Suitcase, in Christchurch and Beijing.
Helene is now a full-time writer and occasional actor. She was film critic for the NZ Listener for twenty years between 1996 and 2016, and has written feature film screenplays.
Helene published her memoir, Being Chinese: A New Zealander’s Story, which made the long list for the Ockham Book Award in 2016, and in 2017 she collaborated with graphic artist Ant Sang to produce comic-book artworks for the Being Chinese in Aotearoa exhibition at Auckland War Memorial Museum during 2017.
In 2018 Helene became an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM).
Helene is married to Newmarket Rotary Club member Colin Knox, and in February 2020 they celebrated their 48th wedding anniversary.
I hope that you can attend this meeting as Helene has an interesting story to tell us.
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Jul 14, 2020 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM
Roger Partridge will talk at the Club's first evening meeting of the 2020/21 Rotary year about "How do we get out of this mess". Roger Partridge is chairman and a co-founder of The New Zealand Initiative and is a senior member of its research team. The NZ Initiative is New Zealand’s leading think tank. Its mission is to help create a competitive, open and dynamic economy and a free, prosperous, fair, and cohesive society. Its researchers conduct independent research on a wide range of policy issues. From education to economic policy, from poverty to housing, and from local government to immigration, it injects new ideas into New Zealand's political debates. The NZ Initiative is strictly non-partisan in its work and welcomes an open exchange of views and ideas. Roger was formerly Bell Gully executive chairman and a commercial litigation partner.
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Aug 11, 2020 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM
Our speaker will be Kiwi journalist Caralese Trayes who has written a book called “The Final Choice- End of life suffering: Is assisted dying the answer ?” Caralese will tell us about her journey and hunt for the truth about assisted dying and the End of Life Choice Act. She has many stories to tell of her interviews with lawyers, doctors, ethicists, clerics and many others from around New Zealand and across the world. The referendum will be upon us very soon, and this evening will give you the opportunity to get all the facts from both sides of the debate. Copies of her book will also be available on the night. This promising to be an interesting and informative evening. |
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Aug 23, 2020 4:30 PM - 7:00 PM
There will be a short piano recital featuring accomplished local pianist Gemma Lee, followed by a complimentary wine tasting with Jing Song of Crown Range Cellar. Born in South Korea and raised in New Zealand, pianist Gemma Lee holds a Master of Music with First Class Honours from the University of Auckland. Gemma has performed extensively in venues across the United Kingdom and Europe, including at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Vienna Musikverein. She is regularly seen working with talented students from Takapuna Grammar School (North Shore) and Opera Factory (Remuera). Gemma is planning the programme and advises she will include Debussy's Suite Bergamasque which features the very famous Clair de lune. A wonderful example of her playing is at https://www.gemmaleepianist.com/listen We anticipate the evening will end around 7pm. Tickets are $30 per person. If any member is able to help out with bringing a nibbles platter to the event please contact Debbie at burridgefamilynz@gmail.com Please register online below or email Debbie. |