Are you an established professional who wants to make positive changes in your community and the world? Our club members are dedicated people who share a passion for community service and friendship. Becoming a Rotarian connects you with a diverse group who share your drive to give back.

ART AUCTION 14TH OF APRIL 2026

Get ready for an unforgettable evening of local and national art talent and legendary stories!

Join us on 14th April at the stunning Arrowtown Lifestyle Village Lodge for an exclusive

Art Auction Fundraiser you won't want to miss.

THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EVENING ARE:

Special Guest Speaker: We are honoured to bring the legendary entrepreneur and motorsport mogul, Tony Quinn CNZM, to speak at this event!

Hear his incredible "Zero to 60" journey of resilience, success, and what it takes to win.

Silent Auctions: Bid on large and diverse range of investment pieces and stunning local artworks curated for every collection.

Exquisite Dining: Enjoy a welcome glass of bubbles and canapés, followed by a sumptuous 2-course dinner by Focus on Food.

Entertainment: Hosted by the highly entertaining and funny MC Jonathan Usher, with professional auctioneering by Chris Campbell (Bayleys Queenstown).

Art Catalogue: Available soon on our website and Humanitix site.

TICKETS ARE LIMITED. SECURE YOUR SEAT FOR A NIGHT OF FINE ART, GREAT FOOD, AND INSPIRING CONVERSATION.

Where: Arrowtown Lifestyle Village, Queenstown
When: 14th April | Doors open 5pm for Art Preview | Starts from 5.30pm

TICKETS & PACKAGES

Individual Ticket: $200.00 + fees

Book Your Tickets Now at Humanitix https://events.humanitix.com/the-rotary-club-of-queenstown-2026-art-auction-fundraiser

For any questions about the event, please email us at - queenstownrotary@gmail.com

We’re keeping it local. Your generosity goes straight to the heart of our district supporting our grassroots projects, our kids, and the natural spaces we all love.

We look forward to seeing you there!

DUCK RACE 2025 - Information for the 2nd of November

Duck Race 2025

THE FAMOUS DUCK RACE IS BACK IN 2025, AND IT'S JUST AROUND THE CORNER!

Join the Rotary Club of Queenstown at the Village Green (Queenstown) on the 2nd of November at 2.45 pm.

There are two races on the day. The Corporate Duck Race and the School/Public Race.

The Corporate Duck race has an added bonus this year. There will be five super ducks joining the race.

We also have three schools participating in our school category. Shotover Primary, Arrowtown Primary, and Queenstown Primary School.

The general public can purchase a duck on the day for $10. Eftpos is available.

There are some great prizes up for grabs in each race, as well as a prize for the best-dressed duck in the corporate and school categories.

This year's funds will be donated to the Southern Lakes Sanctuary and the Whakatipu Youth Trust.

A NOTE FOR OUR CORPORATE SPONSORS

Ducks will be delivered on the 17th of October. There will be two drop-off points once you have decorated your duck.

In Town - Beech Tree (After 12 pm)

Five Mile - Craig Investment Partners (36 Grant Road)

Your duck needs to be dropped off at one of the locations above by the 31st of October.

DUCK RACE 2024 - 3RD OF NOVEMBER

It was another successful Duck Race for 2024. The winner of the Corporate Race this year was Gantley's Tavern. Second place was awarded to Five Mile Pharmacy and third place to Todd and Walker.

We can honestly say we had the most creative ducks this year. Hence why we had two best dressed ducks. The Grinch and the Abacus Findex Duck.

We also had two of the Primary Schools in Queenstown join our new school category this year. Arrowtown Primary and Kawarau Primary School. Students took part in a colouring competition and

the winners of the competition had the opportunity to decorate a rubber duck. We had some fantastic entries. The winner of the race was Kawarau Primary School. They also placed second in

the race with Arrowtown Primary placing third. The best dressed duck was awarded to Kawarau Primary School. Congratulations to both schools.

Thank you to everyone who participated this year. All the profits raised will be donated to the Coastguard Queenstown and the Otago Southland Helicopter Trust.

See you all next year.

ROTARY ZONE 8 CONFERENCE - QUEENSTOWN

Zone 8 Conference 2024 – Dream, Dare, Deliver

1st to 3rd November 2024 in Queenstown, New Zealand

Rydges/QT Queenstown – 38-54 Lake Esplanade, 2 minute walk from Queenstown CBD

Times:

Friday: 1st November

Business session 2pm to 4pm
Official Opening at 5pm, followed by 7pm Class dinners around Queenstown restaurants.

Saturday: 2nd November

Institute Time: 9am to 4pm

Sunday: 3rd November

Institute Time: 9.30am to 1pm

Staying There

We are leaving the accommodation to everyone to book themselves.

We would recommend booking accommodation early, as Queenstown is very busy & places are already selling out. A good idea is to use the likes of Booking.com & book with a 100% refundable room rate, so if your plans change, you won’t be out of pocket, but at least a bed organised.

Getting There

Air NZ are also offering a great discount to those travelling from anywhere in Australia to Queenstown during this period. More info to follow on this shortly.

For flights home, as conference finishes at 1pm Sunday, & airport is approximately 30 minutes away, recommendation is booking flights 2.30pm domestically & 3.30-4pm for International.

https://rotaryzone8.org/sitepage/2024-zone-8-conference-queenstown-nz

ROTARACT CENTRAL LAKES LAUNCH

The Rotaract Club of Central Lakes was formally chartered on 14 March 2024.

12 of the 17 signed up members were inducted and their executive officers were sworn in to office.

Their foundation Directors are:

President - Jess Pauling (Queenstown)

Secretary - Roselle O’Brien (Queenstown)

Treasurer - Adam Stobo-Wright (Cromwell)

Held at the Holiday Inn in Frankton Road, the event was well supported by Rotarians from the supporting Clubs - Queenstown, Wanaka, Alexandra and Cromwell. District 9999 representatives also attended, notably District Governor-Elect Dave McKissock of Invercargill.

The Directors are now working on their calendar and will be contacting Clubs to arrange a meeting visit. They will offer to help with club projects and fundraisers as well as establishing their direction and projects of their own.

ROTARACT NEWS

The Central Lakes Rotaract Club completed their 1st project last Sunday 26 May - delivering firewood to those in need in our community.

The wood was provided by Mana Tahuna. The amazing Michael Sly https://www.wilding.co/, and extra hands from the Kiwi Kit Community Trust, made this is a real collaboration of service.

Over 50 cubic meters was delivered to 11 households.

The next project is a working bee at Happiness House this coming weekend.

WHS HILLARY CHALLENGE TEAM GUEST SPEAKERS

Speaking at our 21 May meeting were the Wakatipu High School (WHS) ‘Hillary Challenge’ Team that competed in the annual multi-school event, held in the Tongariro National Park on the central plateau last October. 12 school teams competed, the winners being the experienced Motueka High School team.

The challenge, held over 5 days, involved teams of 8 in outdoor challenges that utilised teamwork and leadership whilst having fun.

The ‘Hillary Challenges’ involved individual team challenges (puzzles and problem solving), water activities, a 30km expedition tramp over 2 days, and a multi-sport race that comprised kayaking (8km), bike (28km), a run (10km) and a final 5km bike and run to the finish line.

To fundraise, the WHS team made and sold 4250 cheese rolls (with sponsored materials), held a Bingo Night, and carried out tree planting at Lake Hayes. Queenstown Rotary, Queenstown Lions and Tanoshi restaurant contributed.

The team expressed their thanks to Queenstown Rotary for our sponsorship.

DUCK RACE AN AWESOME FUNDRAISER EVENT

This year's event was a quacking triumph, and the real winners were the wonderful folks at Kiwi Harvest. Thanks to the generous supporters, we managed to raise an astonishing $8,000 for this fantastic charity. That's food on the table for countless Kiwis in need, and this event has a significant role in making that happen.

Now, let's talk about the ducks and their extraordinary achievements. The top honours in the Corporate Duck Race went to Queenstown Ice Arena, who managed to waddle their way to victory on a very interesting designed duck. Their prize is as cool as ice – a splendid stay at Hotel St Moritz along with a delectable dinner! Ice-tacular, right?

Novotel secured the second spot, and they're quacking with joy! Well done, team!

Designa Tiles showed their tiles-to-talent skills, earning themselves a well-deserved third place. Bravo!

And who could forget the dazzling fashionistas of the duck world? The award for the Best Dressed Duck went to Findex! Their duck's sense of style has won them a fantastic Millbrook Golf Voucher prize. Honourable mentions go to Pak N Save, whose runner-up duck was dressed to impress, and Future Hospitality Group, whose winged wonder, Earl, soared into third place. Fashion-forward ducks, indeed!

In total, we had 40 ducks in the race, all competing for glory and the greater good.

We have immense gratitude to all our sponsors and prize providers. Their unwavering support and generosity made the Queenstown Rotary Duck Race a truly quackers event.

The countdown is now on until the next duck race! The plan is to run it around the same time next year.

Let's keep the quacking spirit alive!

Note: The hard work was done for many months behind the scenes by Tim and Fiona Wilshire.

Photos of the day below...

April 2026

25-29 May 2024

https://convention.rotary.org/en-us/

Progress report: Partners for a Malaria-Free Zambia

Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai to speak at the Rotary Convention in Taipei

A Rotarian works to dispel myths about polio vaccines

JOIN A PROJECT

Change your community with us by volunteering on a local project.

PARTNER WITH US

We work with groups and organizations of all sizes to accomplish even more.

DISCOVER NEW CULTURES

Discover and celebrate diverse perspectives with a global organization.

Welcome to the The Rotary Club of Queenstown New Zealand