Rotary came to New Zealand in 1921 with the founding of clubs in Auckland and Wellington.   The Rotary Club of Christchurch followed soon after, in 1922.   There were 43 members on the Charter  list when it closed on 22^nd April 1922, which the club regards as its founding date Early meetings were held at the Beresford Tearooms. The charter was signed by Rotary International on 6^th July 1922 and on 2^nd August the Board of Rotary International  approved its admission to membership as Club No. 1250.  The club was much indebted in its early days to the assistance and advice from the Wellington and Auckland  clubs.

The charter officers were:    President  J A Frostick, Vice President O.T.J.Alpers, Secretary-Treasurer Denys Hoare, Directors A.W.Beaven, F.T.Boys, L.M.Isitt, B.E.H.Whitcombe and E.H.Wyles.  

Early club projects included support for the Y.M.C.A. Boys’ camp, Crichton Cobbers Boys’ club, children in city orphanages and prison visiting which continued

until the 1950’s.   Annual Street appeals and band concerts raised monies to assist orphans and during the years of the Great Depression, provided food hampers for needy families.    The Annual Street Appeal continues to this day, the emphasis now being on assisting organisations which help young people.  Cholmondeley Children’s Home, a home which provided respite care for children of families under stress, has also received continuing support from the mid 1920’s until the present day.   The Rotary sponsored movement, The Crippled Children’s Society was established in New Zealand in 1935 and the club was involved in the founding of the local branch.   A member, J.R.McKenzie, donated £500 to ensure the new Society was established on a sound basis.   In 1937/38 the club launched and assisted in carrying out an appeal which raised over £6000 for the Karitane Hospital, a hospital for sick babies.  

In August 1944, the club promoted a public meeting which resulted in the formation of the South Island Tuberculosis Association (Northern Group) Inc. to provide for the care and after-care of tuberculosis patients .  

To mark its 25^th anniversary, the club provided play equipment and a paddling pool in the city’s Botanic Gardens and to recognise  the 50^th anniversary the club rebuilt and upgraded  this playground.   Over many years visiting Rotary International presidents have planted commemorative trees near the playground area in the Gardens. Paul Harris planted a tree when he visited the city in 1935. In "Peregrinations, Volume II" copyright Jean Harris, Paul describes his stop in Christchurch.

     "While New Zealand is very Scotch, Christ Church is an exception; it is in fact quite English. I think that I should have know it even if I have not been told in advance. Having been thrown in with many Scotch and many English, I think that I may fairly consider myself a judge. There is undoubtedly a difference; just what the difference is will not be for me to relate. I might find myself treading on dangerous ground.

      During the afternoon we visited an excellent art gallery, the gift of a Rotarian; also a boy's school and a university. In the library of the latter I discovered a copy of the Readers Digest and was glad to think of it as a form of cultural contact. The National Geographic magazine is much read in Australia and New Zealand and its influence in the promotion of understanding and good will doubtless is effective." Paul P. Harris

In 1955, to recognise the 50^th anniversary of the Founding of Rotary, the club undertook a major project to raise funds for the establishment of a Home for the Aged.   Many fundraising efforts were undertaken. Land was given by former member, Ernest Adams and as a result Windsor House Home for the Elderly was built.     The commemoration stone was laid by R.I. President Clifford Randall when he visited Christchurch on 6^th October 1958 and the building was officially opened by the Governor General, Lord Cobham, in November 1959.   Today the Home has 98 residents in cottages, residential & hospital accommodation.   It is administered by an independent Board, which includes Rotarian representatives.

Charles H. Taylor, who joined the club in 1934, served as a Director of Rotary International from 1958-1960. 

In 1983 the club organised a very successful Special Olympics for intellectually disabled children in the community which was very popular with the participants.

In the early nineties the Child Cancer Foundation approached the Club regarding fundraising  to establish a Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at Christchurch Hospital.  The club agreed to assist with the Appeal and fundraising included a Telephone Appeal to the citizens of the city, an Auction, sale of the miniature rose “Jennifer”, etc.

More recently, a major annual event is the Rotary Ball which raises funds for children’s charities.    This was the brainchild of the 1996/97 President, Dave Sutton, with the first event being held in August 1997. The name chosen was KIDS SHOULD HAVE A BALL.  A hardworking committee chaired by current President Elect Ian Dunn has successfully staged five Balls which have raised $240,783.   Organisations which have benefited from the Ball  include The Canterbury Neo Natal Unit, Canterbury Plunket Society, Child Cancer – Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, Heart monitors for children’s ward at Christchurch Hospital, specialised equipment for children with asthma and hearing disabilities, Books in Homes, Life Education Trust, equipment and fit-out of the New “KIDZONE” playground for the children’s ward at Christchurch Hospital, vehicles for the Children’s Outreach Nursing Service at Christchurch Hospital   The Christchurch Rotary Club Charitable Trust  has also received funds for children’s charities. The next  Ball will be held on 31 August 2002.

On the international scene in recent years the club has been involved in projects which attracted Rotary Foundation Matching Grants.   A joint project with the University Club of Seattle, U.S.A. provided a Toyota van and books to the Department of Education in Tonga and last year the club combined with another Rotary Club in a water project in Arusha, Tanzania.

From its beginnings in 1922, Rotary expanded to Timaru in 1926, Ashburton (1937) and during the 1940’s several more clubs were established in the province of Canterbury and on the West Coast.   From the 1950’s onward there  was steady growth in the city until at the present day there are now 16 clubs in Christchurch.