U3A PONSONBY

Ponsonby U3A members were delighted to meet again in person at the July meeting – the first since the Covid-19 lockdown.

A highlight of the meeting was the awarding of life membership to Noeline Creighton, who has been involved in every activity of U3A, including being president, since she joined 18 years ago.

“I read about U3A in the Ponsonby News and a month after my retirement I attended my first U3A meeting. And apart from travel I have hardly missed a meeting since,” she said. ”There is just so much intellectual stimulation from amazing speakers and I have made great friendships in the special interest groups where we follow our interests. The ten-minute talks given by members show what an interesting group U3A is.”

In presenting the award, President Christine Hart commented that Noeline has supported and nurtured new members and set her stamp on the culture that endures to this day. For a number of years Noeline wrote the newsletter and the monthly article for the Ponsonby News, which often attracts potential new members. She also organised the ten-minute speakers for the monthly general meetings.

Guest speaker at the July meeting, Auckland Plastic Surgeon Mr Michael Klaassen, spoke about advances in plastic surgery since 1950. His talk was adapted from a lecture he gave at an international meeting of plastic surgeons held in Beijing in November 2019, shortly before the Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan, Central China. He gave us answers to the questions what plastic surgery was about, when it started, and who the key figures were in its early beginnings.

“Plastic surgery is a branch of surgery that had its origins in war surgery. It is a surgical field over-represented by Kiwi surgeon pioneers, who responded to the significant demands of war surgery in the last century. The legendary role of young New Zealand men, and later women, began with Gillies and Pickerill in the First World War followed by civilian plastic surgery between the wars, when the second generation were trained (McIndoe, Mowlem and Kilner). During the second World War large numbers of the third generation were trained, including Bill Manchester (later Sir William), Joe Brownlee, Frank Hutter, John Barron, Pat Clarkson and John Roy, to name a few. In 1950 Bill Manchester returned from England to start a plastic surgery department at the new Middlemore Hospital.”

Mr Klaassen described in detail what plastic surgery is, illustrated with clinical examples of trauma care, burns and microsurgery as well as craniofacial surgery, facial transplantation, aesthetic surgery and facial skin cancer.

U3A member Dr Ian Smith, Volcanologist and Research Scientist, entitled his talk ‘Adventure Science’. From his early fascination with science, to studying geology at university and deciding on volcanology, hoping for a position in a volcano observatory in Hawaii, but being directed to Papua, New Guinea, it was soon evident that his story and the topic were fascinating.

He said, “I have experienced the adventure of working to understand how volcanoes work and why that is important for society. I am fortunate to have worked on volcanoes and volcanic rocks encompassing most of the Earth in both time and space and worked in laboratories that provide amazing insights into the processes that drive the planet. Alongside this physical adventure I have experienced the intellectual adventure of seeing the evolution of geology into perhaps the most significant science for the current world.”

Guests are welcome to attend a U3A meeting after first checking with Christine Hart, M: 027 289 5514.

The August guest speaker will be renowned Auckland Architect Pete Bossley, whose exhibition “Forty Years Drawn” is currently being held at Objectspace. (PHILIPPA TAIT)  PN

NEXT MEETING: 10am, Friday 14 August at St Columba Centre, 40 Vermont Street.

ENQUIRIES: Christine Hart, President Ponsonby U3A, M: 027 289 5514, www.u3a.nz