Home Page | The Rotary Club of Queenstown New Zealand

Join us at our next Club Gathering

TUESDAY 17th November 2026

VENUE: The Sudima, 5 Mile

TIME: 5.30pm

GUEST SPEAKER: Greg Turner - Kiwi Golf Legend ⛳

REGISTRATION ESSENTIAL:

Call Lee-Ann on 021 343 506

or Email queenstownrotary@gmail.com

The Annual Rotary Duck Race

What a Quacking Good Family Day Out it was on Sunday 3rd November!

This was the best Duck Race Event EVER!

A huge thanks to the members of the public who came and brought a Duck, and followed it down Horne Creek to the Lake. It was a lot of fun.

Thanks also to our incredible and generous sponsors of the corporate duck category. We appreciate your support a lot!

Thanks also the the main organisors - Tim and Fiona Wilshire and also to the members of the Rotary Club who turned up with their waders and prodding sticks.

All funds raised goes to our Volunteer Fire Brigade Hero's at the Queenstown, Frankton and Arrowtown Stations.

Over $10,000 was raised

Melbourne Cup Fundraiser held 3rd November

A HUGE thanks to our corporate sponsors, the local schools and the public who supported this fundraiser for the Queenstown and Arrowtown Volunteer Fire Brigade

Over $1,800 was raised for local projects we support.

@Mamolade

Thursday 26 November 2026

Drop in anytime from 7am-8.30am

Meet for a coffee or breakfast and connect with other community minded locals.

More info: queenstownrotary@gmail.com

Are you looking to make a difference in your community but can't make our regular evening meetings? We have the perfect solution for you.

What to Expect

Monthly Gathering: A regular monthly slot to start your day right.
Casual Networking: Connect and form genuine new friendships.
Community Focus: Discover how to get involved in local projects.
Who Is This For?
Busy Professionals
Local Tradies
Anyone Interested: Open to all community-minded individuals.

If you want to be involved in Rotary but lack the time for traditional dinner meetings, this breakfast is designed for your busy schedule. Just turn up! Come along, expand your network, and find out how you can give back to your community.

Click for Betting Rules and more Info

RYLA (The Rotary Young Leadership Awards)

Applications NOW OPEN (click link)

Queenstown

Venue - Lakeland Park Christian Camp, kelvin Heights

31st January - 5th February 2027

Cost - $1,175 (GST exc for Rotary Clubs and Charities, otherwise add GST)

Click Me!

OUR BBQ FUNDRAISER AT MEGA MITRE 10 ON SATURDAY 10TH OCTOBER

$425 was raised for our local projects we support.

Thank you to the volunteers on the day and to everyone who brought a sausage!

SOMETHING PAWSOME IS COMING TO QUEENSTOWN

QUEENSTOWN, SOMETHING PAWSOME IS COMING!

Four paws, wagging tails and plenty of surprises! Get ready for the largest local Dog Parade in Queenstown.

A day where our furry friends take centre stage and the community comes together for some unforgettable fun.

50% of profits raised will be donated to the Mobility Dog Trust.

The Rotary Dog Parade

📅 14 March 2027
📍 Recreational Reserve, Queenstown

Save the date – the countdown is on!

More details coming soon…

Head to our website for further details at: www.thedogparade.co.nz

THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EVENING WERE:

The Special Guest Speaker was the legendary entrepreneur and motorsport mogul, Tony Quinn CNZM and the MC was Jonathan Ussher who is a local comedic and magician and local legend, who kept the night lively and made sure we were all entertained.

There were Live and Silent Auctions, providing a great range of diverse art pieces to bid on.

It was a fantastic effort by the whole committee and club members, raising $8,000 for local causes.

DUCK RACE 2025

On the 2nd November 2025, the Club Held the annual Duck Race

$10,000 was raised with all the funds going to The Whakatipu Youth Trust and the Southern Lakes Sanctuary Wildlife Trust.

It was a quacking great day as the ducks bobbed and tousled their way down Horn Creek to the finish line.

The Corporate Duck winners were:

Standard Corporate Duck Race - Beech Tree Craft Beer Bar ad Sport Venue

Super Duck Race - Gantleys Tavern, Arthurs Point

A massive quacking thank you to the sponsors and all the participants who helped make this such a successful fundraiser.

Join us this year on 1st November for the 2026 Duck Race.

To become a Corporate Sponsor, please get in touch with Tim tim@ctbs.net.au or Fiona trailblazerdigitalagency@gmail.com to find out how to get involved.

Duck Race 2025 - now completed

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!