Meetings are held at the Te Awa Lifecare Woolshed, 1866 Cambridge Road, Cambridge, from 10am for 10.30 until 12.00 noon on the second Friday of each month.
Friday August 22nd, 2025 - SPECIAL PARTNERSHIP HISTORY LECTURE - Craig Hoyle - Excommunicated: Two centuries of complicated family history
Craig Hoyle was born in Kirikiriroa Hamilton into the Exclusive Brethren, an isolationist sect that shuns social contact with the outside world. After facing interrogations and conversion therapy for his sexuality, Craig was excommunicated from the Brethren and lost his family in 2009.
Today he is chief news director for the Sunday Star-Times. His book, Excommunicated, is a multigenerational memoir tracing 200 years of his family’s history, using letters, records and interviews to explore how his forebears became associated with the Brethren movement, and the subsequent impact over seven generations. Craig lives in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.
Friday 12th September 2025 - Dr Luke Harrington - How extreme weather will respond to a warming world in Aotearoa
“Dr Luke Harrington is a Senior Lecturer in Climate Change at the University of Waikato and leads the Climate Extremes and Societal Impacts (CLESI) research group. His team uses state-of-the-art climate models to understand how climate change influences observed extreme weather events around the world, with a focus on why some communities experience more significant changes than others. Work led by Harrington was the first to quantify the attributable role of climate change for the 2012/13 NZ drought, the extreme rainfall associated with Cyclone Gabrielle, as well as several studies focusing on extreme heat in NZ and globally.
In its 2022 edition, Harrington was the first New Zealander to feature in the ‘Healthcare and Science’ section of Forbes 30 under 30 Asia. He was a lead author on a 2021 OECD report examining losses and damages from climate change. He was also the 2023 recipient of the New Zealand Meteorological Society's Kidson Medal and Winner of the Emerging Scientist Award at the 2023 KuDos Awards.”
Rescheduled - Friday September 26th - NOTE DIFFERENT VENUE - Bridges Church Auditorium - Sir Richard Faull - The marvels of the human brain and the challenges of Alzheimers and the Ageing brain
Sir Richard FAULL KNZM, BMedSc, MB, ChB, PhD, DSc, FRSNZ
Sir Richard Faull (Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Rāhiri) is a Distinguished Professor and Director of the Centre for Brain Research at the University of Auckland.
During his 46 years at the University he has established an international reputation for his research studies on the normal and diseased human brain (Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s and epilepsy) and has established an international leading Human Brain Bank with the generous support of families to promote worldwide research on human brain diseases. His research group has revolutionised our knowledge on the human brain by showing that, contrary to dogma, stem cells are still present in the adult human brain and have the potential to make new brain cells and repair the brain throughout life.
His contributions to research on the human brain have been recognized by appointment as a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand (1998) and he was awarded: the Liley Medal by the Health Research Council of New Zealand in 2005; New Zealand’s highest scientific award, the Rutherford Medal, in 2007 by the Royal Society of New Zealand for outstanding contributions in science; and, received the Supreme Award in the 2010 World Class New Zealand Awards.
In 2012 he was appointed Distinguished Professor at the University of Auckland and awarded a knighthood by the Queen in 2017 for his contributions to brain research.
In the 2023 international ranking of neuroscientists he is ranked #1 in New Zealand #347 in the world https://research.com/
Friday October 10th, 2025 - Simon Keable-Elliott - Utterly immoral, WW1 chaplain Robert Keable and his scandalous novel
After 25 years as a Politics teacher Simon now works as a writer and lecturer living in London, UK. He has written for The Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, The Church Times, The History News Network and Genealogy Today and published his first book, Utterly Immoral last year.
He is an accredited lecturer for the Arts Society and also a regular speaker at events run by the Western Front Association, U3As and Family History Societies. Simon is Robert Keable’s grandson.
Friday November 14th, 2025 - Dr Adrian Macey - New Zealand as a small state – how do we deal with the big ones?
Adrian Macey is an Adjunct Professor, New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute (School of Geography and Earth Sciences), Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington. He is also a fellow of the Institute of Advanced Studies, Nantes, France, where he was resident in 2019.
He previously served in various positions in the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in New Zealand, France, Samoa (responsible for Tokelau) and Switzerland. His roles have included Chief Trade Negotiator, ambassador to Thailand and to France, permanent representative to the OECD, and New Zealand’s first climate change ambassador. He was vice-chair, then chair of the United Nations Kyoto Protocol climate change negotiations in 2010-2011.
He has served on a number of GATT and WTO dispute settlement panels, most recently as Chair in a dispute between the European Union and China involving intellectual property.
His research interests include climate change policy, the science-policy connections, international governance, and trade.
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Title of talk
New Zealand as a small state – how do we deal with the big ones?
One often hears the comment that New Zealand ‘punches above its weight’. This suggest that New Zealand manages to have an influence in the world out of proportion to its size. But is this really so? And to the extent that it may be true, how do we do it?
How we deal with countries which dwarf us in importance is a key to defending our own interests in the world. The talk will focus on New Zealand ’s relations with China, the United States and Europe, both bilaterally (country to country issues like trade) , regionally in the South Pacific, and on the international stage, over global issues like climate change.
Friday December 12th, 2025 - Andrea Leask - Deputy CEO Netsafe - Get set up for safety
Andrea is Netsafe's Deputy CEO and Chief Digital Harms Officer. Andrea and her team provide New Zealand's primary response service to individuals and communities impacted by online harms. They also provide education, support and advice to prevent and deter online harm.
Netsafe is New Zealand's independent, non-profit online safety organization dedicated to helping individuals navigate the digital world safely. Established in 1998, Netsafe has been at the forefront of providing free support, advice, and education to people of all ages across the country. Netsafe collaborates with government agencies, law enforcement, industry partners, academics, and community organizations to promote safe and positive online experiences. Netsafe's services include assisting individuals facing online abuse, scams, or other digital challenges, and offering guidance on a wide range of online safety topics.
Andrea has led transformational initiatives that enhance protections for individuals and communities. From developing and implementing national frameworks to managing high-stakes relationships with government, law enforcement, and global technology firms, Andrea has been instrumental in shaping policy, and industry best practices to reduce digital harm at a systemic level.
A driving force for change, Andrea has successfully influenced regulatory reform, multi-sector collaboration, and cross-border policy initiatives, ensuring that online safety remains a priority in an increasingly complex digital world. Her ability to translate insights into action has led to the development of proactive strategies, crisis response protocols, and victim-centered interventions, helping to minimize harm while empowering individuals and organizations with the tools to navigate online risks.
Balancing strategic leadership, financial stewardship, and operational execution, Andrea ensures that Netsafe remains agile and resilient in the face of evolving threats.