2026 PROGRAM
(Please Note: This is a rolling program, each Series will be updated with the 2026 lectures as information becomes available)
This year’s program highlights including lectures, luncheons, trips, and special events
SERIES 1 – 2026
Series 1: EXTRAORDINARY NEW ZEALANDERS IN WW 1&2
February 19th A.G.M. & Lecture #1
Ettie Rout - safe sex pioneer in WW1, David Hodgson
February 26th Lecture #2
Harold Gillies - the father of modern plastic surgery, David Hodgson
March 5th Lecture #3
Keith Park - successful leader in battle in WW2, David Hodgson
March 12th Lecture #4
Nancy Wake - most decorated servicewoman in WW2, David Hodgson
March 19th Lecture #5
David Low - most influential cartoonist in the last century, David Hodgson
March 26th - Rest Day / Kaiapoi River Queen lunch & river cruise
SERIES 2 – 2026
Series 2: POT POURRI
April 2nd Lecture #1
Quail Island, Ian McLennan
April 9th Lecture #2
Saving the Awaroa Inlet Property, Adam Gard'ner
April 16th Lecture #3
TBA, Ross Gumbley
April 23rd Lecture #4
Johnny Cash, Reg Garters
April 30th Lecture #5
Why Grades Change - a look at NCEA, AI & the future of measurement, Nick Lahey
May 7th - Rest Day
SERIES 3 – 2026
Series 3: TRUMP'S TERRITORIAL THREATS
May 14th Lecture #1
Greenland, Frieda Looser
May 21st Lecture #2
Panama, Frieda Looser
May 28th Lecture #3
Canada, Frieda Looser
June 4th Lecture #4
Gaza, Frieda Looser
June 11th Lecture #5
Where next?, Frieda Looser
June 18th - Rest Day
SERIES 4 – 2026
Series 4: POT POURRI
June 25th Lecture #1
Some Environmental Initiatives on Banks Peninsula, Suky Thompson
July 2nd Lecture #2
The History & Development of Rehutai Museum, Menzies Bay, Banks Peninsula, Paddy Cotter
July 9th Lecture #3
Genetically Modified Organisms, Jack Heinemann
July 16th Lecture #4
Agriculture on the Tibetan Plateau, Sharon Lucock
July 23rd Lecture #5
The Human Use and Exploitation of New Zealand's Kauri Timber and Gum, Joanna Orwin
July 30th - Rest Day
SERIES 5 – 2025
Series 5: A VILLAGE CALLED CHRISTCHURCH AIRPORT
August 7th Lecture #1
My 30 Years in Airport Management, Rhys Boswell
August 14th Lecture #2
Airways Corporation - Air Traffic Control in New Zealand, Bill Graves
August 21st Lecture #3
My Aviation Challenges for over more than 56 years, Hans Nagelkerke
August 28th Lecture #4
1953 London to Christchurch Air Race, David Laughlin
September 4th Lecture #5
From the White Heron to Sudhima Hotel, Warren Barnes
September 11th - Rest Day
SERIES 6 – 2025
Series 6: POT POURRI
September 18th Lecture #1
Is our Agriculture already Regenerative? Professor Derrick Moot
September 25th Lecture #2
Roles & Experiences at Independent Provedoring Company & Polish Consul in ChCh, Winsome Dormer
October 2nd Lecture #3
Exotic Pine Forests - Their Future as a New Zealand Land Use, Dave Janett
October 9th Lecture #4
My 35+ Years in Journalism, Martyn Van Beynen
October 16th Lecture #5
The Life & Times of a Toxicologist in a Dangerous World, Professor Ian Shaw
October 23rd - Rest Day
SERIES 7 – 2025
Series 7 POT POURRI
October 30th Lecture #1
Robert Keable - utterly immoral WW1 Chaplain? Simon Keable-Elliot
November 6th Lecture #2
Architectural Model Making, Richard Gardiner
November 13th - Rest Day / Speaker Series Ends
November 20th
Christmas Lunch
Sample Topics
A sample of program topics covered in recent years includes:
- An Interesting Variety of Writers and Books
- Art
- Birds and Bees and Biodiversity
- Balance of Power
- Books and Print
- Books
- Catching the Wave
- Chocolate: Food of the Gods and Elixir of Empires
- Christchurch - The Garden City?
- Disabilities
- Eco Architecture
- Exploring the Cosmos
- From Gold Card to the Grave
- Getting Started in Canterbury
- Happenings in Canterbury
- Law and Disorder
- London: From the Romans to The Fire
- Matters of the Heart
- Medical Research Foundation
- Music
- Music, Music, Music
- People in Uniform
- Pills, Patients & Problems
- Pot Pourri
- History Through the Lens of a Political Scientist
- Travellers’ Tales
- Water Hotspots
- World Religions