Papanui Club Chat Snippets
03 May 2022
 
 
The Southern Hemisphere Proving Grounds
 
This week we were privileged to hear from popular club member Neville Digby relating his experiences as a guest at the SHPG facilities in the Pisa Range near Cardrona.
 
Southern Hemisphere Proving Grounds is an award winning international automotive proving ground located in the South Island of New Zealand, offering winter testing from June to September.
 
SHPG is a global leader in winter testing facilities for automotive, component and tyre manufacturers. It was established in the early 1990s, after Japanese motor companies Toyota and Sumitomo began inquiring for a suitable site for testing new engines and tyres in the southern snow. 
 
It covers 400ha of private land and usually operates during southern winter months. Global car manufacturers seek to test new models during the Northern Hemisphere summer. The facility operates under strict discretion for other clients and employs stringent efforts to keep out of the public eye.
 
There are 16 testing areas with each being self-contained with full facilities and exclusive. No site is visible from any other. Vehicle testing areas cover all aspects of winter vehicle requirements which include the following facilities:
 
 
Snow Flats:
ABS 7 brake system development; Esc, ESP, VSC and Chassis handling development.
 
Snow and Ice Circles:
Load testing, snow dust ingress testing and engine cooling development.
 
 
Ice Flats: AWD chassis and electronic traction control development, HVEV/PHEV motor control and electrical system development.
 
Hill Gradients: TRC and drive train development, drive force distribution and differential development.
 
SHPG takes pride in their business core values of safety, security, confidentiality, efficiency, and customer service. Customers are their utmost priority.
 
Neville’s presentation was liberally illustrated with a great series of photos.   After some interesting questions, Tony Taylor thanked Neville for his excellent and informative talk to us.
 
For more info & pictures you can access their website here.
 
 
Centurion Update from Jim
 
A warm ‘thank you’ for all those who have contributed to the Centurion Fund so far. We need another 15 Centurions if we are to reach our target of US$1,500 from the club.
 
This is what is being asked of us if Rotary is to reach its goal of US$50 million this Rotary year. Many clubs will not reach that figure, many will exceed it, but that is the average across all clubs to achieve it. 
 
Being a Centurion doesn’t qualify us for a Certificate or a Lapel badge (though it used to).  But it does give us the satisfaction of contributing towards the elimination of polio through an organization committed to achieving just that. 
 
The ongoing costs of organizing Immunisation Days (over 110 million Indian children were immunized over 3 days in January 2021) and vaccine research are immense. 
 
Please do your bit by forwarding your contribution to the Rotary Club of Papanui Charitable Trust, account no:  03-1355-0661945-00, ref. Polio and Deryn will send a receipt. 
 
Thanking you: Jim
 
 
Christchurch Club Celebration
 
We are with the Mayor Lianne Dalziel, President of the Christchurch Rotary Club Charlie Rattray and his wife Gay to help celebrate their 100th year.  They are the 3rd local club to reach this milestone.  Thanks to Simon Forsyth who joined us for this and took all the official photos. 
 
We thoroughly enjoyed the event where 80 people were present including past and present members.
 
Kind regards Liz
 
 
 
This Thursday we will hear from our own Club member Jenny Haworth who will share her experiences on a trip to the Ukraine and what she came away with in terms of its culture and history.
 
The week after (May the 12th) we welcome Peter Moore, the Chief Fire Officer & Manager Airfield Operations of Christchurch International Airport who will share his interesting role with us.
 
Please remember to make sure you email Deryn via rcpapologies@gmail.com if you are not coming to our weekly meetings. 
 
Also, a gentle reminder that if you are rostered on to a job for the night and can’t make it, please see if you can find a replacement as your 1st step.  If you are having difficulty finding someone then please get in touch with a Board member for assistance.
 
 
A Sad Loss
 
Sadly we have to report the passing of long time member and current Honorary Member of our club, John Gimblett. John died peacefully on Sunday morning.
 
His death notice will appear in The Press tomorrow morning with full details of a Memorial service to be held next Monday 9th May at the Charteris Bay Golf Club. 
 
Tony Tizard
 
 
Food for Thought