the MANX Society of New Zealand
a Day at the Botanical Gardens
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On March 2,2025, a Sunday with lovely sunny weather, the Manx Society of NZ held its annual Picnic/Luncheon in café MIKO of the Manurewa Botanical Gardens.
It seemed that we Manxies were not the only people to visit the Gardens, the parking spaces were all taken by mid morning, so some people decided yo give it a miss. Those who managed to find a park were or lucky or illegally parked. Reason for the overwhelming crowd was that at the Gardens an exhibition of large sculptures was on display. Walking tours and a short train ride were offered and of course the glorious weather attracted a lot of people.
But, as said before, some Manx members did manage to find there way into the MIKO café and enjoyed the company and the lunch. The train ride, taken by some, was interesting and the sculptures impressive. It gave a good sense of the actual size of the Gardens ground, which is huge.
Hopefully we can use the same Gardens next year, but may have the event on a week day.
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April 14, 2024
It was a lovely sunny day, this April 14. Chris has reserved a “private” corner in the café MIKO of the Botanical Gardens in Manurewa. It was a busy morning at the Gardens, because there were several events going on, a children’s fancy fair amongst them. So, finding a parking space was a bit of an effort and a bit of having luck. But, as it turned out, the Miko corner was filling up with a good crowd of Manx Society members.
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All tables and chairs were occupied, as you can see on the photos, although some were having lunch in the “quiet corner”. At times it became a wee bit noisy, which was a bit of a problem for some members, but tuning up the hearing aids no doubt solved that problem.
The food and drink were of good standard and everyone enjoyed the gathering. It was good that the WBoP members made the journey over the Bombay’s and shared their presence with the Auckland Branch. Also a few new members, avid 1ZB listeners, showed up and put some fresh vibes into the annual Luncheon. We had the tables reserved for a limited time, so by 2.30 pm. the WBoPsies packed up in order to beat the afternoon traffic. It was the signal to bring the gathering to a close and thus by 3 pm. the tables were cleared and became available for the general public.
The Committee wishes to thank the Members who attended and made the occasion a solid success.
Café MIKO is back to normal and hopefully it can host a luncheon again next year.
All tables and chairs were occupied, as you can see on the photos, although some were having lunch in the “quiet corner”. At times it became a wee bit noisy, which was a bit of a problem for some members, but tuning up the hearing aids no doubt solved that problem.
The food and drink were of good standard and everyone enjoyed the gathering. It was good that the WBoP members made the journey over the Bombay’s and shared their presence with the Auckland Branch. Also a few new members, avid 1ZB listeners, showed up and put some fresh vibes into the annual Luncheon. We had the tables reserved for a limited time, so by 2.30 pm. the WBoPsies packed up in order to beat the afternoon traffic. It was the signal to bring the gathering to a close and thus by 3 pm. the tables were cleared and became available for the general public.
The Committee wishes to thank the Members who attended and made the occasion a solid success.
Café MIKO is back to normal and hopefully it can host a luncheon again next year.
It was a lovely sunny day, this April 14. Chris has reserved a “private” corner in the café MIKO of the Botanical Gardens in Manurewa. It was a busy morning at the Gardens, because there were several events going on, a children’s fancy fair amongst them. So, finding a parking space was a bit of an effort and a bit of having luck. But, as it turned out, the Miko corner was filling up with a good crowd of Manx Society members.
All tables and chairs were occupied, as you can see on the photos, although some were having lunch in the “quiet corner”. At times it became a wee bit noisy, which was a bit of a problem for some members, but tuning up the hearing aids no doubt solved that problem.
The food and drink were of good standard and everyone enjoyed the gathering. It was good that the WBoP members made the journey over the Bombay’s and shared their presence with the Auckland Branch. Also a few new members, avid 1ZB listeners, showed up and put some fresh vibes into the annual Luncheon. We had the tables reserved for a limited time, so by 2.30 pm. the WBoPsies packed up in order to beat the afternoon traffic. It was the signal to bring the gathering to a close and thus by 3 pm. the tables were cleared and became available for the general public.
The Committee wishes to thank the Members who attended and made the occasion a solid success.
Café MIKO is back to normal and hopefully it can host a luncheon again next year.
George Huybens
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Tynwald Day 2024
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The Manx Society of New Zealand celebrated this day at the usual venue of the Remuera Club in Ohinerau Street, Remuera in Auckland.
The annual get together this time was opened by the Secretary
Suzann, due to absence of the vice-President/Treasurer Chris.
She read out a short message from Chris - who is recovering
from surgery - about the happenings of the past year and a
summary of the financial state of the Society. The results were approved and carried by the members attending the AGM.
After the closure of the AGM, the members were invited to sing the Manx National Anthem. Which was belted out with enthusiasm and a little help from the BeeGee Robin Gibb.
Then it was time to tuck in and enjoy the lunch prepared by the catering of the Remuera Club.
As the attendance of the celebration was not
great, those who did
were able to sit on one table, making the event a cosy and closeknit affair.
The latest news of the Isle of Man was passed on and many memories shared by the members.
After the table was cleared the
members, and some friends, said their good-byes and wished each other well. The Committee members packed the
decorations and expressed their thanks to everybody making this Tynwald Day a most enjoyable day.