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History The first officially chartered Rotaract Club was in North Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1968. The first Rotaract Club chartered in New Zealand was The Rotaract Club of Mount Albert in Auckland on 19 February 1969. Charter President Graham Allan encapsulated why many young people join Rotaract - “Youth has always dreamed of bettering the society in which it lives. We view our present society with a harshly critical eye, dissatisfied with its tendency towards selfishness. We can now do something about it!” The Rotaract programme spread rapidly throughout New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. In 1970, just two years after the programme started, there were 50 clubs and by 1982, approximately 80 clubs. Unfortunately in the late 1980s and early 1990s Rotaract entered a phase of decline in New Zealand with most clubs terminating. That is until 1998 when the Rotaract Club of Somerville in Auckland was chartered with many of its members coming from another Rotary youth programme, RYLA. This club serviced the whole of the Auckland region until early 2003 when the Rotaract clubs of Pakuranga and The University of Auckland were chartered. Pakuranga Rotaract is predominately made up of past Interactors (school based 14-18 year old Rotarians). In addition, the Pacific Island Rotaract Clubs of Suva, Nadi, Lautoka, Apia and Rarotonga were rediscovered. Many of these clubs were chartered in the early 1970s. The Rotaract Club of The Fiji Institute of Technology was chartered in 2003. The “Rotaract Revival” has continued with the charter in mid 2004 of the Rotaract Clubs of Frankton (Hamilton) and Christchurch Central. Rotaract Clubs planned in the immediate future (2010 webm) include clubs in Helensville, Auckland CBD, Tauranga, and Lower Hutt. Districts |
District 9920 is the sole district allocated to cater for the 14 Rotaract clubs in the whole of New Zealand as well as the nearby nations of Fiji, Tahiti, Samoa and the Cook Islands, details of which are given on their respective pages. In the north island of New Zealand there are 5 clubs in Auckland  and 1 each in Wellington
 and Hamilton
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while in the south island, there is 1 club in Christchurch. Clubs | As noted above, the first club in New Zealand was the Rotaract Club of Mount Albert in Auckland which was formed on 19 February 1969. The club however, was one of many that were disbanded in the 1980s and was never reformed. One of the first Rotaract clubs to be formed in what might be termed "the new era" when many clubs were reignited, was Rotaract Club of Somerville in Auckland. A serious revival of Rotaract has occurred since 1998 and claims many community service projects which have benefited communities all over New Zealand. In early 2003 the Rotaract clubs of Pakuranga and The University of Auckland were chartered. Pakuranga Rotaract is predominately made up of past Interactors In mid 2004 the Rotaract Clubs of Frankton (Hamilton) and Christchurch Central were chartered in the process of continuing revival. 
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acknowledgements to the webmaster and
committees of District 9920 |
researched and posted by RGHF webmaster Greg Barlow, Malaysia. August 2011.
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Organizations within Rotary and/or associated with Rotarians
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