Our Events

Six times a year we meet for lunch on the first Thursday of the month. Our wonderful home-cooked lunches are enjoyed in the Penthouse Suite at New Zealand House where many of London’s landmarks can be seen from the terrace on the 18th floor. We also have a Christmas lunch for members only, a hugely popular event with delicious New Zealand wine and food, reminding us of our homeland.

There is a guest speaker, usually with a New Zealand background, and in the past we have had many interesting and well known people come and talk to us. Some of our recent speakers include Katherine Dienes-Williams from Wellington who is Organist and Master of the Choristers at Guildford Cathedral – the first woman to have this role in an Anglican cathedral in England; Charlotte Potts, also from Wellington, who is doing her PhD on Roman History at Oxford; and Oke Blaikie, a retired New Zealand Family Court Judge who entertained us with amusing stories of his life as a Judge in New Zealand.

Twice a year we hold an evening drinks party in the Penthouse. The first, in April, is aimed especially at working women (with partners and friends) who cannot attend our lunches, and the second, in September, is for all members, their families and friends.

We celebrate Waitangi Day in February by attending a special church service at St Lawrence Jewry in the City of London followed by a reception at the Girdlers Hall. This is by invitation from the New Zealand Society. The Worshipful Company of Girdlers has a strong link with New Zealand and provides scholarships for young New Zealanders to study at Oxford and Cambridge.

Our events

For the more energetic, City walks are organised throughout the year, as well as visits to interesting London landmarks such as the Royal Courts of Justice, Admiralty House and the Royal Opera House. We also organise a summer out-of-town outing in July. Recent outings have included Clandon Place in Surrey with its own Maori meeting house, transported over here following the Tarawera Disaster in 1886 and rebuilt in the grounds in 1892, Highclere Castle in Berkshire and Penshurst Place in Kent.