Stephen O'Connor - 1 of the 150 faces of the Y
Members are encouraged to visit the 150 Faces of the Y exhibition, which is open on Monday, 19 October, and Tuesday, 20 October, from 7am to 9pm at 77 Tay Street. Entry is free.
Pop in to discover the Y’s 150-year story, see if you can spot our Past President and Club Director, Stephen O’Connor, among the 150 faces, and members of our Club hard at work in 1935.
The 150 Faces of the Y is an exhibition showcasing 150 people and their connections with the organisation to celebrate its 150th Anniversary.
On Thursday, 15 October, at the exhibition launch event, Past President Stephen O’Connor shared the story of the Rotary Club of Invercargill’s connection with the Y (YMCA)—a relationship woven through much of the organisation’s 150-year history.
Presented in partnership with He Waka Tuia, the exhibition has been worked into a section of the community courts area at the Y on Tay Street, turning space normally associated with sport, fitness and play into a community archive.
Rotary Helps Revive the YMCA
The Invercargill YMCA was formally established in 1876. After membership declined during the 1920’s, the organisation went into recess in 1926.
In 1938, the YMCA’s National Office asked the Rotary Club of Invercargill to investigate the possibility of reviving the association. A public meeting was held on 10 May for citizens “interested in the welfare of youth”, and a resolution to revive the YMCA in Invercargill was carried unanimously. Trustees were appointed and committees established.
The Club’s connection continued over the decades. The Club’s presidential goblets still sit on a tray inscribed to commemorate the first YMCA Walkathon in 1972.
A Longstanding Commitment to Camp Omaui
The Club’s commitment to Omaui dates back to 1935, when one of its earliest projects involved clearing boulders from the Health Camp site. Rotarians later provided much of the material and labour needed to build facilities used for summer camps.
In 1974, as a 50th-anniversary project, the Club returned to Omaui to redecorate the building. In 2001, the Southland Children’s Health Camp gifted its campsite to the YMCA.
The community connection has continued, in 2024, the Club partnered with the YMCA on creating a new outdoor education area with a focus on environment at Camp Omaui as its centenary project. Across four working bees, volunteers laid an estimated 75 tonnes of gravel over matting to create 350 metres of new walking tracks, installed four wooden walkways across natural waterways, and added more than 200 plants to the pond area.
Connections Continue
Links between the Club and the YMCA remain strong. Most recently, YMCA Youth Development Coordinator Michael Gilbert was involved in the Southland Secondary School Rotary Speech Competition.