2023 Guest Speakers

February 2023    Meeting cancelled due to Cyclone damage to hall

John Rougham

March 2023 Guest Speaker: John Rougham 

Are news media today better or worse than they used to be?   This is the question he posed.
John described the changing ways in which journalists work today, the changes in the training and personnel of news media and the changed social environment in which they work, as well as the influence of the internet and social media on the content and financial sustainability of newspapers and on the role of opinion in news media today. At the meeting there was a free-ranging discussion on aspects of the media.



Sara Russ

April 2023  Guest Speaker: Sara Russ

 Formerly a preschool teacher, she realised that children were fascinated by bees when they brought hives to school. Sara started as a Swarm Catcher and this was a hobby. Now she is a full time educator on Bees and works for Lion Apiaries producing interactive presentations using video, sculptures and real bees.   

Stu Russell U3A Browns Bay speaker 2023

May 2023  Guest Speaker: Stu Russell

Something Interesting he discovered i Australia

Peter Thomson Guest Peaker U3A Browns Bay June 2023

June 2023   Guest Speaker:  Peter Thomson

Peter did one of the first student internships in the early days of The Icehouse which sparked his interest in innovation and entrepreneurship. He started out his formal career as a corporate lawyer at Russell McVeagh before moving to NZTE to help launch the Better by Design programme.

Peter's interest in technology and digital innovation led to working with a variety of advertising agencies and design firms in London, before heading to New York to work for an online investment startup.

When he returned to NZ in 2016, Peter worked for Snowball Effect, helping raise capital for Kiwi SME's before re-joining The Icehouse in 2019. 

Professor Stephen Hoadley

July 2023  Guest Speaker    China as a New Oceanic Power and the US Response

Stephen Hoadley, PhD University of California, is a veteran academic, author, media commentator, and public speaker. His teaching and research subjects at the University of Auckland included New Zealand foreign policies, trade, and security, Asia-Pacific issues, great power relations, and international human rights. He is an enthusiastic speaker to U3A groups, especially Browns Bay!

China as a New Oceanic Power and the US Response Professor Stephen Hoadley's talk traces China's historical evolution from a land power to a sea power. Now, China challenges the US-led post-World War II order in the Asia-Pacific, and poses dilemmas for New Zealand, too. The Biden Administration is attempting to manage a rising China by rallying Western and Asian partners to firm up militarily and compete better economically. This talk will assess these US policies.


Creative Audio Visual Group

August 2023   Creative Audio Visual Presentation 

Browns Bay U3A has a very large community area extending from Okura to Coatesville, and all along
the East Coast Bays from Long Bay to Castor Bay.

The Browns Bay Special Interest Group have put together a video journey all around the catchment area of Browns Bay U3A. You may learn a few things about
this area.

Auckland's Volcanic Field - Okura - Long Bay - Torbay - Waiake - Browns Bay - Caster Bay to Rothsay Bay - Coatesville - Albany

Production team: Lois Painton, Fay Weatherly, Val Lloyd, Eric Haslam, Geoff Haycock and Lucy Casey

Carol Herbert

 September 2023  Community Fund Raising Specialist

Carol Herbert, Community Fundraising Specialist with Auckland City Mission: Carol has worked in the charity sector for many, many years, both in London and New Zealand. She has worked in a number of fundraising roles, but has found that she really enjoys working as a Community Fundraiser, where she is always working with enthusiastic people who are looking to make a positive difference. It also gives her the opportunity to talk to the public about the important work that is being done by charities. Over the years she has found her passion is working for charities who are supporting some of our country’s most vulnerable people. She has worked with Hospice, Shine (domestic violence) and Variety – the Children’s Charity, before moving to Auckland City Mission in February this year. Carol lives on the North Shore with her husband and teenage son

Richard Adams

----CANCELLED------  October 2023  Richard Adams - Taskforce Kiwi  

Richard Adams is the Founder, and National Operations Director, of Taskforce Kiwi, a veteran-led, not-for-profit New Zealand disaster relief organisation consisting primarily of former armed service, police and emergency service members.

Richard will briefly discuss the history of Taskforce Kiwi before focusing on how Taskforce Kiwi has assisted in disaster relief and recovery responses to the recent Auckland and Hawkes Bay flooding. Mission-focussed, task-oriented, Taskforce Kiwi provides a skilled, and motivated, resource pool to emergency management authorities while also working directly with communities to understand and address the community's needs in order to help them get back on their feet sooner.

Born and raised in New Zealand, Richard is a British Army veteran whose leadership during the Australian Black Summer Fires culminated in him being awarded the National Emergency Medal by the Australian Government

November 2023 


December 2023