Edition 05, September 2020

Rebranding Equals Our New Look BRANCH OFFICERS

Thanks to the hard work of our new CEO, Gwyn Thurlow and all Rob Howey
our National Executive Officers both past and present, the President
NZDA has undergone rebranding! We have a new logo, which
m: 027 4972672
also inspired me to give our newsletter a spruce up. We look
forward to how our organization will evolve as we traverse into
a new era of uncertainty with this looming pandemic over our Graeme Blanchard
heads. Vice-President
Branch Meeting m: 027 4285843

Save the date! Tuesday, October 20, 1930H, is the date of our David Roache
next branch meeting. It will be held at our National Secretary
Headquarters at 3 Collina Terrace, Thorndon. So come along,
put a name to some of those faces and names.
m: 027 6718143
Highlights of our last Branch Meeting
Jaymi Singson
We had a club meeting at the new National Headquarters in Treasurer
Wellington. What an impressive building. Our representatives m: 022 1560893
have done an awesome job of seeing the project to completion.
Inspiring to see the Nitz head again. It really is huge!! I
encourage anyone who has yet to make the trip into COMMITTEE MEMBERS
headquarters to consider it.
 Dave Roache
Membership:
 Dan Driscoll
 We have a new member! Tamati Matenga (Ritchie’s son)  Jun Hernandez
 Current membership is at 47!  Nick Collins
Events:  Patrick Harsvelt
 Range shooting and competition
 Wellington Branch Range in Owhiro Valley is preferred but
restricted to Sundays only.
Newsletter:
 Graeme stressed the usefulness of a branch newsletter as
the primary resource for events as not all members are able
to attend the branch meetings.
 There was a consensus for a bi-monthly newsletter to be
put out. So please send all your content to Jaymi
(singson.j@gmail.com) for them to be published.
 There is also an option to send your content to the Hunting
and Wildlife editor for publishing, remember that there is
some cash in return for your story being published.

Book offer!!! See page 2

Events
HUNTS Courses
 After a brief stint as National Treasurer, Rob has now taken up to be the National HUNTS
Coordinator.
 The HUNTS programme is a good lever to joining the NZDA, there is an active list of inter-
ested parties, but Rob said he will restrict the course to 12 people at a time.
 Likely venues shall be Collina Tce., Waikapu Lodge at the Aorangi Ranges and Wharekau-
hau Campsites.
Taupo Branch Prize Shoot, Saturday 7th November, 2020
This event will be held at the Jack Dillon Memorial Range (off Napier/ Taupo Highway at the foot of Mt.
Tauhara)
Registrations: 0830H (until last detail on mound)
0930H Shoot commences
TAUPO Graded Shoot
TAUPO “Big Balls Hunter Class”
Entry Fees: $30.00 per event (Seniors)
$15.00 per event (Juniors 18 and Under)
Format: PRIZE SHOOT
100 metre Centrefire or Rimfire
Four positions, 20 Shots, Graded A — D
Three minutes, unlimited sighters.
BIG BALLS HUNTER CLASS
TAUPO Branch Rules Apply
CAMPING: Camping shall be free on the range. There will be no site power points. There will be
plenty of room with kitchen and toilet facilities. No Dogs Allowed. Free morning and
afternoon tea. Free hot pork, venison or hogget sandwiches after the shoot.
For enquiries please phone or email:
KATH KEELY at 021 0354455/ 07 3780150 / kathkeeley@xtra.co.nz
ALAN GORDON at 021 1549511 / kcgawg@hotmail.com
Taupo Branch Vice President KRIS LYALL at 027 3071324

Exclusive NZDA Book Offer

John is Chairman of Rakiura Hunter Camp Trust and a Life member of
Southland Branch NZDA. This book is the result of forty years & well in
excess of one hundred trips hunting Stewart Island. The book documents
many of those hunts as well as the history of many of the hunting blocks.
There are 41 chapters, 256 pages, full colour throughout and the spine is
stitched. It also covers the history of whitetail on the Island and some of
the research projects John has been involved in and includes habits of
the animals and some hunting hints. A review of the book can be seen
here.
The book is $40 plus post. Up to three books can be sent on one pack.
Autographed on request. To order contact John DeLury
wtd243@gmail.com or 0276925338

Range Officer Course

For those interested in gaining a qualification for becoming a Range Officer, a course will be
run on the weekend of 7-8 November. For more information, contact Rob Howey at
nzda.porirua@gmail.com.
Member Activities
Makowhai Station
A group of 6 members headed up to Makowhai
Station again late July hoping to bag a deer for
the freezer. We had good weather but, judging by
the amount of mud around, there had been plenty
of rain in the days before our arrival.
We were off to a good start when a good size pig
was spotted from the house. A rare sight appar-
ently. The hunters split up in pairs and headed off
in search of game.
A lot of really good fallow bucks were seen. So
many in fact that it was hard to find what we were
really after, hinds and spikers. For some, it was a long day. Finally locating shootable deer just
before dark. When the dust settled, the day ended with a group tally of 2 pigs and 2 deer.
On another adventure, Dan scored two deer by 10:30am. Not bad for arriving at the hunting
area at 9am. Later that evening his hunting buddy had the opportunity to select a fallow hind
from a mob of four. Another great day in the hills.
The 2020 Sika Show in Taupo, was unfortunately cancelled, instead we have a trip planned
back to Makowhai Station on the 26th of September. Contact Graeme at 027-4825843 to re-
serve a slot.
Dave took a quick solo
trip up the Tararuas, on-
ly to be disappointed
not to sight any deer.
There were lots of deer
sign but all in the upper
900m. He advises that
summer would be a
great time to stalk deer
in the ranges.

PLB Battery Replacement

One of the most important pieces of equipment a hunter can have is a Personal Locator Bea-
con. They are quite handy when you get into a sticky situation in the bush, especially for those
who love to hunt solo. The batteries are good for an odd 10 years, but our very own Nick Col-
lins can help you breath more life into those PLB’s by replacing the batteries for an odd sum of
$20.00 plus beverages. So if you are interested, drop a line to Nick here.

Do you have friends wanting to become Members?

We are seriously wanting to build up our membership, to share the joy of filling the freezer us-
ing our own skills and effort. Having such a great reason to get out into the fresh air and natu-
ral environment that makes New Zealand so special just has to be shared.
Tell them to join NZDA via the deerstalkers.org.nz website and navigate to join a North Island
Branch, then select Porirua Branch. From there, Les, our Membership officer, will make contact
with them and tell them what to do.