History & Major Milestones

The Rotary Club of Paraparaumu was chartered on 29 June 1953 and was the first outside Chicago No1 to form itself. It grew rapidly and soon started to establish other Clubs in the Kapiti Region:

In 1973 the Club sponsored the first Probus Club in New Zealand, and has set up several others in the area since then, including the Kapiti Women's Probus Club in 1993. It was also involved in the creation of Kapiti Inner Wheel in 1980.

At one of its first meetings in February 1953, it held the first airborne Rotary meeting in the world, aboard a Douglas DC3 Dakota.

In 1955 the Club set up a local trust for the care of the aged and, after fundraising and obtaining a matching grant from the Health Department, opened the Marire Home at Paraparaumu Beach in 1959. The Trust has continued to grow and now operates nearly $60,000,000 of assets including over 190 villas, 42 apartments and a 47-bed hospital. The Club maintains an interest in this enterprise with representation on the Trust Board.


Sevenoaks Retirement Village, Kapiti Road, Paraparaumu