2

YMCA Nelson
150 years of building strong kids,
strong families and strong
communities in the Nelson Region

1860 - 2010

R Bester

Me whakahangaia hangaia e mĀtou, i ngĀ

tamariki, i ngĀ whĀnau, i ngĀ hapori e
4

This book is copyright. No part of this publication may be reproduced or

transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

ISBN: 978-0-473-15185-0

© 2009 René Bester

Cover art by Andrea Howat

Cover design by Jabez Cho, Design Plus, 38A Wiltshire Pl, Auckland

First published in 2009

Published by YMCA Nelson, 156 Toi Toi Street, P.O. Box 355, Nelson
www.nelsonymca.org.nz

and History & More, P.O. Box 563, Nelson

www.historyandmore.co.nz

Printed by Anchor Press Ltd.

58 Collingwood Street
P.O. Box 977
Nelson, 7040

Printed in New Zealand

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Contents

Preface …………………………………………………………………………...page 7

Foreword by Paul LeGros ……………………………………………………….page 8

Introduction: 1860 - 1920

The first sixty years of the YMCA in Nelson …………..……………………….page 9

Chapter One: 1920 - 1987

Sport and the Bridge Street Stadium …………………………………………...page 21

Chapter Two:
The beliefs and values of the YMCA ………..…………………………………page 43

Chapter Three: 1965 - 1987

Accommodation, Camps and New Programmes……………………………….page 49

Chapter Four: 1988 - 2000

Hope for a struggling organisation ……………………………….…………….page 64

Chapter Five:
International links ………………………………………………………………page 69

Chapter Six: 2000 - 2008

The YMCA in the twenty-first century ………………………………………...page 73

Epilogue: 2009-2010
Approaching 150………………………………………………………………..page 87

Appendix:
Current Board members of the YMCA Nelson ………………………………...page 89

Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………….page 90

Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………page 91
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 7

PREFACE
It has been a great privilege for me, over the last few months, to gain an in-
sight into the work of the YMCA in the Nelson region over the last hundred
and fifty years, especially through the personal stories that people have shared
with me of their involvement with the YMCA over the last eight decades.
Through these stories, I have discovered that although the activities of the
YMCA in Nelson has been extremely varied - from gymnastics and axe
swinging to camps, education and social work - the impact of these YMCA
activities has been life-changing to many.
This booklet focuses largely on the history of the YMCA in the Nelson
Region in the last thirty years or so. But to fully understand the YMCA’s more
recent history, it is necessary to go to back to the very beginning. The intro-
duction gives an overview of the YMCA’s beginnings in Nelson, from 1860 to
1920. Chapter One focuses on the role of the well-known Bridge Street Sta-
dium, built in 1920 and demolished in 1987. Chapter Two takes a brief look at
the values of the YMCA from the very beginning right through to the present.
Chapter Three considers some of the events and programmes run by the
YMCA from 1965 through to the late 1980s, including the role of the Y’s
men’s club (service club to the YMCA). Chapter Four considers the changes
and new initiatives by the YMCA in the Nelson Region from 1987 through to
the year 2000. Chapter Five takes a look at how the YMCA in Nelson fits into
the international framework of the YMCA as an organisation, and Chapter Six
considers the role of the YMCA in Nelson in the twenty-first century. Finally,
the Epilogue reflects on the YMCA in Nelson as it approaches its one hundred
and fifty year anniversary.
As we approach the one hundred and fifty year anniversary of the
YMCA in Nelson and take some time to reflect on the organisation’s past, I
hope it will be recognised that the role of the organisation today, identifying
community needs and responding with appropriate programmes, is not a new
phenomenon, but in fact a 150 year old tradition.
René Bester, May 2009
 8

FOREWORD
By Paul LeGros, past President and current Board member of the YMCA Nelson

This booklet encapsulates a history of the YMCA as a perpetual part of Nel-

son’s community, recognising many of those who have contributed as staff,
volunteers and participants over the past 150 years. They have steered the
YMCA through various economic and social climates resulting in a YMCA of
today that is vibrant and actively involved in responding to community needs
by working with all sectors of the community, emphasising education and em-
powerment of youth and working towards a more equitable society, recognis-
ing the cultural identities of the Nelson community, and implementing pro-
grammes that encourage individual growth and development within a YMCA
values-based environment.

Paul LeGros, May 2009

 9

INTRODUCTION: 1860-1920
The first sixty years of the YMCA in Nelson

The formation of the YMCA in Nelson was lead by Robert Black,

Robert Lucas, J.M. Hill, H.C. Daniell and Henry Drew, who offi-
cially founded the Young Men’s Christian Association in Nelson
on 2 November 1860.

‘We trust that the young men of

Nelson will come forward and
join this Association, which is
formed for their social, literary
and religious improvement.’
Excerpt from The Colonist newspaper, November 1860.

The foundation of the YMCA in Nelson would not have been

possible without the foundation of the YMCA in London and its
subsequent spread all around the world.

Robert Lucas, one of the founders of the YMCA in Nelson. He

also established the Nelson Evening Mail in 1865.
 10

THE FOUNDATION OF THE YMCA IN LONDON

The Young Men’s Christian Association was founded in London by a group of

about twelve young men, headed by George Williams, on 6 June 1844. The
events in George’s life that led to this point, which have affected the lives of
millions of people worldwide since then, are fascinating.
George Williams was born in 1821 on a farm near Dulverton, England,
and left school at age thirteen to work on his family’s farm. Being declared
unsuitable for the farming business by his older brothers after a horse and cart
accident, George was sent to the town of Bridgwater, to work as an apprentice
in a drapery shop. Even though he had been brought up in the Church of Eng-
land, George described himself as ‘a careless, thoughtless, godless, swearing
young fellow.’ However, his apprenticeship contract included a clause requir-
ing his regular at-
tendance at the lo-
cal Zion Congrega-
tional Church.
Partly due to the
influence of his
more spiritual peers
and hearing a ser-
mon on the impor-
tance of a clean,
spiritual life given
by Reverend Evan
James, George Wil-
liams gave his life
to God in 1837
with a simple
prayer at the back
of the drapery shop
where he worked. © Claire Gregory, 2009
 11

He became a full member of the church on 14 February 1838, feeling that he

had received a special calling. He believed that life was about how much he
could do for others, and that he had to bring Christ to all with whom he came
into contact.
George finished his apprenticeship in Bridgwater aged 19, and worked
in his brother Fred’s shop for six months. In 1841, Fred took George to Lon-
don to get him a job with the large fabric manufacturing firm Hitchcock and
Rogers, who employed about 140 young men, in St. Paul’s Churchyard, where
George was able to get a job for a salary of £40 a year. As some relief from
the overcrowded living conditions, with two workers per bed in small rooms
holding two to three beds each, the workers frequently visited pubs, brothels
and gambling houses. The combination of living away from family, the
crowded living conditions and the long work hours of 7am to 9pm, created
loneliness and confusion amongst the young male workers at Hitchcock and
Ro
‘George Williams would never have started the
Association, could never have steered it through the
dangerous and troublesome years, unless he had
unbounded faith in the new generation, unshaken
confidence in the future which is in their hands.’
John Ernest Hodder-Williams, The Father of the Red Triangle, 1918, p.291.

Rogers. Armed with his new-found faith, George Williams asked himself what
he could do for these young men, and decided he wanted to change their lives
by sharing his faith with them. He did this by obtaining permission from Mr.
Hitchcock, the head of the firm, to hold monthly prayer and fellowship meet-
ings in one of the upper rooms of the building, their first meeting being on 30
June 1843. By their second meeting in July, about twenty young men were
coming along, this number increasing to twenty-seven by the end of 1843.
From these prayer meetings sprung the idea of forming a wider Chris-
tian association with the aim of helping young men in drapery firms all across
London. George Williams founded this association at a meeting on 6 June
 12

THE SFPRAMWYMEDOT? 1844, as part of a group of twelve

young men. In a letter to John C. Sy-
By the fifth meeting of George
mons (one of the founding members of
Williams’ association on 4 July
the YMCA who later moved to Austra-
1844, a name for the association
lia), Williams later claimed that he was
had not yet been decided on. The
not the founder of the YMCA, but that
first suggestion for a name was
God had used him to take the initial step
The Society for Promoting the
towards forming the association. While
Religious and Moral Welfare of
there were other religious societies set
Young Men Engaged in Drapery
up in England around the same time as
and Other Trades. While the
the foundation of the YMCA, with the
name they decided on in the end,
similar aim of helping young men, they
the Young Men’s Christian Asso-
were no match for the YMCA, whose
ciation, may not seem all that
success was attributed to its evangelical
relevant today, it is difficult to
focus and interdenominational structure.
imagine how relevant an acro-
Mr. James Smith was a personal friend
nym of SFPRAMWYMEDOT,
of George Williams and one of the
or something similar, might have
twelve founding members of the
been if the original suggestion
YMCA, and chaired the YMCA London
for the name of the association
committee. He later moved to Welling-
had been chosen. As Colin Tay-
ton, New Zealand, and established a
lor notes in his book, Body, Mind
branch of the YMCA there. By the late
and Spirit, ‘while it seems there
1840s, a man called Richard Barcham
was some initial uncertainty and
Shalders joined the YMCA in London
confusion as to what name the
and became a committee member, fre-
association adopted at the 4 July
quently associating with Williams. A
1844 meeting, it is certain that
few years later he immigrated to Auck-
the Young Men’s Christian As-
land, New Zealand, and founded the
sociation finally triumphed, con-
first YMCA in New Zealand.
tributing in no small measure to
the association’s survival to the
present day.’ (pp.25-26.)
 13

George Williams, c. 1845 © YMCA Archives, Sir George Williams in his later years.
University of Birmingham © National Portrait Gallery, London

THE WORLDWIDE SPREAD OF THE YMCA

The year 1849 saw the spread of the YMCA to countries outside of England,
starting with Ireland in May 1849. By 1850, there were 1,500 members of the
YMCA in London, and 2,700 across Great Britain. Between 1850 and 1855,
the YMCA spread right around the world, to Australia, Canada, America
(which included a special branch of the YMCA for black Americans by 1853),
Italy, France, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, India and New Zealand. The
spread of the YMCA was aided greatly by the Great Exhibition held in Lon-
don between May and October 1851, attended by six million people from
around the world, which allowed the early leaders of the YMCA to present
their message to the world, distributing about 362,000 tracts and brochures
and holding over 550 meetings with interested young men from around the
world. By the time the YMCA was established in New Zealand in 1855, the
World Conference of YMCAs had been held in Paris, establishing a confed-
eration that later turned into the World Alliance of YMCAs. The resolution
which later became known as the Paris Basis, which defined the YMCA mis-
sion was adopted at this Conference:
 14

‘The Young Men’s Christian Associations seek to

unite those young men who, regarding Jesus Christ
as their God and Saviour, according to the Holy
Scriptures, desire to be His disciples in their faith
and in their life, and to associate their efforts for
the extension of his Kingdom among young men.
Any differences of opinion on other subjects, how-
ever important in themselves, shall not interfere
with the harmonious relations of the constituent
members and associates of the World Alliance.’

THE GREAT EXHIBITION, LONDON, 1851:

The first Great Exhibition was organised by Prince Albert and took place in
Hyde Park, London from May to October, 1851. Its purpose was to showcase
the best manufactured goods in the world and to demonstrate Britain’s superi-
ority. The Great Exhibition took place in a specially designed glass and iron
structure known as the Crystal Palace. The Victoria and Albert Museum was
subsequently estab-
lished as a place to
permanently exhibit
the goods displayed at
the Great Exhibition.
The Great Exhibition
was attended by peo-
ple from all over the
world, and greatly
aided the worldwide
spread of the YMCA. The Opening of the Great Exhibition by Henry Selous
© V&A Museum, London, No. 329-1889
 15

THE YMCA IN NEW ZEALAND:

Unlike European countries, New Zealand was a very young colony when the
YMCA was established in London, and with large numbers of British citizens
migrating to New Zealand from 1840, the establishment of the YMCA in New
Zealand seemed like a natural part of the process of transplanting the British
home culture in the new colony. The New Zealand YMCA could claim a
strong connection to George Williams, being founded in Auckland by Richard
Shalders who had served on the YMCA London committee with Williams,
and in Wellington by James Smith, one of the twelve founding members of the
YMCA and a personal friend of George Williams.
Shalders had assisted the London YMCA during the Great Exhibition in
1851 by handing out
tracts, at least until
September 1851,
when he left London
to prepare for his
voyage to New Zea-
land in October 1851.
He and his wife ar-
rived in Auckland in
March 1852. Shalders
used the same
method of handing
out tracts to young
men on the streets to
invite them to meet-
ings at his home from
1853.

Shalders’ invitation to
young men in Auckland,
April 1853.
 16

In the same
way that
George Wil-
liams’ prayer
and fellowship
meetings led to
the founding of
the YMCA in
London, Shal-
ders’ scripture
conversational
classes for
youths led to
the establish-
ment of the
first YMCA in
New Zealand.
The reverse side of Shalders’ invitation, April 1853.
Six young men
showed up to his first ‘scripture conversational class’ in May 1853, and it soon
became known as the ‘Young Men’s Bible Class’, with the number of young
men attending increasing to thirty. It was suggested at a meeting of Wesleyan
Sunday School teachers in 1855, which Shalders attended, that meetings for
reading the published lectures of the YMCA should be organised. Shalders
volunteered to form an association for young men to fulfil this purpose. At the
first meeting of Shalders’ association, Shalders gave a lecture on ‘the rise, pro-
gress, and influence of the London Association’, and the Auckland YMCA
was officially established.
James Smith arrived in Wellington around the same time that Shalders
officially established the YMCA in Auckland, and established a YMCA in
Wellington soon afterwards.
 17

THE YMCA IN NELSON:

With the YMCA Auckland already established in New Zealand, Robert Black,
Robert Lucas, J.M. Hill, H.C. Daniell and Henry Drew started meeting to-
gether in Nelson from August 1860 to explore the possibility of establishing a
YMCA in Nelson. They put a note in the local paper, The Colonist, declaring
their intention to form a Young Men’s Christian Association in Nelson, with
the hope that it would ‘meet with the approbation, co-operation, and support
of all persons who feel interested in the mental, moral, and spiritual condition
of the young men of Nelson.’ By September 1860 they had held ‘the first de-
votional meeting’ of the YMCA, with additional Bible classes being held on
Sunday afternoons. Reverend Biss, a Baptist Minister in Nelson, was invited
to attend one of these early meetings to explain the workings of the YMCA
Auckland, and on 2 November 1860 the YMCA was officially formed in Nel-
son, with about thirty people enrolled as members. They intended to open a
reading room and a library, which people who were not members of the
YMCA could use for a small quarterly fee. They also intended to continue
with the Sunday afternoon Bible classes and the devotional meetings during
the week. An announcement of the formation of the YMCA in Nelson in The
Colonist expressed the wish that ‘the young men of Nelson will come forward
and join this Association, which is formed for their social, literary and reli-
gious improvement.’
A new hall for the YMCA in Nelson was formally opened in Bridge
Street in September 1861, and by June 1862 the YMCA Nelson opened read-
ing rooms and a library in their new hall for use by the public. The hall was
also used for meetings and lectures in Nelson throughout the 1860s, but by
1869 the YMCA hall was for sale. It is thought that the YMCA Nelson estab-
lished their headquarters elsewhere in Nelson, from where the association con-
tinued to develop. While not much is known about the YMCA in Nelson be-
tween the late 1860s and the mid-1910s, there were two newsworthy events
which occurred during that time. One was a visit to Nelson by a well-known
evangelist, Dr. Somerville, who gave a lecture in Nelson on the topic of “The
 18

Bible for the World” in 1878. After his lecture, he addressed 100 young men
on the objectives of the YMCA. The other newsworthy YMCA event was the
YMCA Nelson’s eighth annual Christian conference on New Year’s Day,
1881.

INTO THE 20th CENTURY: THE YMCA NELSON CONTINUES

While details of most of the YMCA events that occurred in Nelson in the late
nineteenth century and early twentieth century are unfortunately no longer
available, the following photo from Kelvin Gay’s collection gives us an inter-
esting insight into the types of events organised by the YMCA in Nelson. The
photo, dated 4 March 1916, captures a garden party which took place in Nel-
son’s botanic gardens – one of the more cheerful events during the dismal
First World War years, when quite a number of men from Nelson were serv-
ing overseas.

Y.M.C.A. Garden Party, Nelson, New Zealand, 4 March 1916.

By the end of World War One, it was thought that the role of the YMCA in
Nelson was far different than before the war. It was hoped that the YMCA
would meet the needs of soldiers who returned from the war. This change in
 19

direction for the YMCA marked the start of an aspect of the YMCA Nelson
that would continue throughout the twentieth and into the twenty-first century
– the process of continually assessing needs in society and adapting accord-
ingly.
In July 1919 a YMCA Nelson provisional committee was set up, which
attracted one hundred and thirty charter members by August. The purpose of
the YMCA was to produce good character in boys and young men. At a public
meeting in Nelson on 21 July 1919, it was pointed out that not much was done
for boys and young men up to the age of 26, and the YMCA would fill this
gap. The first meeting of the charter members of the Nelson branch of the
YMCA was held at the City Council Chambers on 14 August 1919. At this
meeting a constitution was adopted and a Board of Directors appointed. It was
proposed that a property should be purchased in the town centre on which to
build a YMCA building to house a library, writing room, billiard room and
gymnasium. Because of the costs involved (approximately £9,000) a building
campaign would be necessary to raise the funds. The first Board of Directors
meeting took place on 26 August 1919,
at which it was decided that a building By September 1919, the YMCA
Nelson had three branches:
campaign would be launched in Octo-
1) Nelson
ber. A special committee was set to 2) Richmond
oversee the property and building 3) Wakefield
plans. The YMCA Nelson became in- These three branches met to-
corporated, opened a bank account with gether regularly and shared
BNZ and became affiliated with the their profits and expenses.
National Committee of the YMCA.
The YMCA had done much for soldiers overseas during World War
One, and the work of the YMCA was well known among soldiers. At the first
official meeting of the YMCA in Nelson in August 1919, it was decided that
free YMCA membership would be extended to returning soldiers in Nelson to
show them that the YMCA continued to be interested in their wellbeing. A
memorial to fallen World War One soldiers was secured, and the building
 20

campaign was postponed until March 1920 because of the efforts involved
with the returned soldiers. Early in 1920 a property was secured in Bridge
Street with a £200 deposit from Mr. H.E. Nightingale, who was on the Board
of Directors. The building campaign included a ‘Campaign Week’ from 10-20
September 1920, and through the fundraising efforts of the campaign, the
Bridge Street property was paid for by the end of November 1920. Although a
site for the YMCA was secured, the building of the hall continued until 1922,
and the YMCA Nelson Grand Opening took place on Friday, 29 September
1922.

References:

Colin Taylor, Body, Mind and Spirit: YMCA Auckland, Celebrating 150
years, 1855-2005, Auckland, 2005, Chapters 1-4.

J.E. Hodder Williams, The Father of the Red Triangle: The life of Sir George
Williams, founder of the YMCA, London, 1918 (first published as The Life of
Sir George Williams in 1906).

Sharron Smith, The Nelson YMCA Story, 1860-1985, pp.1-9.

YMCA Archives, Nelson Provincial Museum, AG 362 A1.

 21

CHAPTER ONE: 1920-1987

Sport and the Bridge Street Stadium

‘Over the years I’ve felt it filled a gap in young people’s lives, or
children’s lives, to give themselves confidence and ability to do
physical things, that helped them be equipped for life.’
- Graeme Todd

‘It was fantastic, you were just busy all the time. You went there
all the time, every day virtually.’ - Jill Powrie

‘The Y.M.C.A. [in the 1960s] was a nursery for various sporting
activities.’ - Alan Turley

‘Friday night basketball was something else, in the little gym that
we had in Nelson City. It was really I suppose the birthplace of
basketball in Nelson.’ - Brian Coulter

‘The YMCA during the 1980s was a rather large recreation club-
based facility in Bridge Street…when my children were young we
all used to play badminton and volleyball at the YMCA, so it was
a family recreational period of time.’ - Paul LeGros
 22

THE FOCUS ON SPORT AT THE YMCA IN THE 1920s

Although the YMCA hall had been built and officially opened in 1922, by
1925 much of the rest of the building was still incomplete. This was seen as a
potential disadvantage, since the only activities the YMCA could facilitate
were sporting and physical activities. Between 1923 and 1924, however, the
YMCA hall was in strong demand by sporting bodies, church groups and the
local boy scouts. By 1924 the Boy
Scouts Association and the YMCA In 1924 the Governor General paid
had agreed to joint control of the a visit to Nelson. The YMCA Ladies
hall. The focus on physical activity Auxiliary organised a Father and
at the YMCA hall in Bridge Street Son Banquet for the occasion.
quickly became a strength of the
YMCA in Nelson. The YMCA Nelson had two Physical Directors from the
mid-1920s, Miss Berry instructing physical classes for women and children,
and Mr. Scott instructing physical classes for men. In conjunction with the
YMCA National Office, they put on a physical display in 1925, which was
held at the Nelson School of Music and attracted thirty-five new applicants for
YMCA gym classes. The Nelson Basketball League was also formed in 1925,
with fourteen teams participating at the YMCA every Thursday.
Although sport was a strong focus of the YMCA in Nelson from the
mid-1920s, there was also a keen awareness of needs in the community. As

A gymnastic display on the tennis courts outside the YMCA Bridge Street hall (now the Mont-
gomery car park), c.1925-1926.
 23

the result of a meeting in 1925, it was decided that an employment advisory

board would be set up to help boys who were part of the YMCA Cadets Club
find employment in trades or other occupations.
Club rooms were opened at the YMCA Bridge Street premises in 1926,
with fundraising providing furnishings for the room, including a piano. This
allowed the YMCA in Nelson to expand the range of activities it provided,
although the focus was still very much on sport and physical activity. By
1926, rugby, hockey and basketball were all popular sports at the YMCA Nel-
son. While experiencing a bit of financial trouble in 1926, the formation of the
Young Men’s Cabinet as part of the YMCA in the same year turned out to be
of great benefit to the YMCA as an organisation. The Young Men’s Cabinet
increased their activities in 1927 and raised an income for the YMCA that
meant the organisation was more stable. By 1928, clubs, lectures, entertain-
ment and social functions were key parts of the YMCA, along with sport,
which remained a focal aspect of the organisation.

YMCA NELSON IN THE 1930s

While the YMCA board of directors were grateful for the energetic Young
Men’s Cabinet who greatly relieved the financial burdens of the organisation,
their efforts were not enough to protect the YMCA from the 1930s Depres-
sion, known at the time as “The Slump”. As Sharron Smith points out, fami-
lies were struggling to pay their basic expenses and could not afford to sup-
port the YMCA. In May 1930, the board considered selling the YMCA tennis
courts. A miniature golf course was set up outside the YMCA in November
1930 as a fundraiser, but thefts over December meant that this venture was a
further financial burden on the organisation, and the golf course closed in
January 1931.
Two major natural disasters which occurred around this time, however,
proved that the YMCA was always ready to help out, in spite of its own finan-
cial situation. The Murchison earthquake of 17 June 1929, which caused ma-
jor geographical changes, including the creation of the Maruia Falls and Lake
 24

Matiri, led to a stream of refugees coming into Nelson. Assisted by the

YMCA Optimist Clubs, the YMCA Nelson offered assistance in the aftermath
of the quake in a manner that ‘showed the splendid spirit of the young men of
the YMCA.’ (Minutes from the 11th Annual Meeting of the YMCA, 29 May
1930.) The YMCA Nelson also offered assistance in response to the Hawke’s
Bay earthquake of 3 February 1931.

The Depression continued to take its toll, and unem-

ployed men’s camps became common. YMCA mem-
bers assisted at these camps, providing the men
there with food and organising sing-songs for them.

In spite of the economic difficulties of the 1930s, however, the YMCA Nelson
actively continued to offer physical and sporting activities, including tennis,
cricket, hockey, soccer and badminton. It also continued in religious, social
and educational work, along with running the following groups:

• Optimists Club • Boys Work

• Business Girls Club • Big Brother Movement
• Employed Boys Club • YMCA Conventions
• Young Men’s Cabinet • Youth Employment Bureau
• Ladies Auxiliary

YMCA girls marching team, c.1935

 25

Physical activity outside the YMCA Bridge Street Stadium

The YMCA Nelson went into a brief period of recess from 1935 to 1938, al-
though several activities continued at the YMCA stadium. Geoff Gilbert, who
was involved in gymnastics at the YMCA during this time described the
1930s as a tough period: ‘We had nothing...and we certainly had no money to
spend….but we weren’t interested in money. We just used to get into that gym
and enjoy ourselves.’
By 1939, there was strong doubt about whether the YMCA had a future
in Nelson. It was thought that the people of Nelson no longer wanted a
YMCA and that the Bridge Street building should be sold. Efforts to sell the
property were unsuccessful, however, and
Kelvin Gay, Miss Chennells
by late 1939 a management committee was
and Mr. Mellsop received
set up to re-establish the physical activities
special recognition in 1939
at the YMCA and purchase new equipment.
By the time many of the region’s men went for their efforts to re-
to war in 1940, the YMCA activities were establish physical activity at
well established and able to continue the YMCA as part of the
throughout the war years. management committee.
 26

GEOFF GILBERT: GYMNASTICS AT THE YMCA IN THE 1930s

Geoff Gilbert’s involvement with the YMCA in Nelson started because of his
interest and skill in gymnastics. Geoff’s interest in gymnastics came from his
involvement in the sport at Nelson College, where he discovered that not only
did he enjoy the sport, he also had a talent for it. Gymnastics at the College
was traditionally an activity for borders, and Geoff was only the second day-
boy to get involved in the sport (Avon Tatton, who was also involved in the
YMCA, was the first). After leaving college in 1934, the YMCA in Nelson
was the only place where he could pursue gymnastics. The others in his team
had also been involved in gymnastics at the College: ‘We had all been in-
volved in gymnastics at Nelson College, and we wanted to carry it on.’
There were about a dozen men who formed
the men’s gymnastics team that met up once a
week, but Geoff was part of a group of five young
men who met up almost every night of the week
during the winter months of 1937 and 1938 to train
for the New Zealand championships. Their commit-
ment and dedication to training paid off in 1937,
when they won the New Zealand Gymnastic Cham-
pionship. Geoff’s team-mate Ron Muncaster won
Geoff Gilbert, late 1930s.
the individual title that year.
Geoff’s gymnastics team at the YMCA did
not have the benefit of instructors during the mid-
late 1930s. They learned from books and from each
other: ‘If one of us knew how to do something, we
taught the other.’ While pursuing their interest in
gymnastics at the YMCA, Geoff and two others
trained the gymnastics team at Nelson College,
bringing gymnastics as a sport at the College up to
New Zealand standard.
Geoff Gilbert at his home, 2009.
 27

Kelvin and Zena Gay were an integral part of the YMCA at this stage, and
remained prominent in the YMCA as an organisation for many decades. Al-
though a bit older than the other young men in the gymnastics team, Kelvin
Gay, who had been in previous championship teams, joined them for the 1938
New Zealand championships, and his wife Zena usually organised and pro-
duced the annual combined gymnastics show. Geoff Gilbert remembers them
both as being ‘a big help
to the YMCA.’
When the war
broke out in 1939, the
national gymnastic
championship was can-
celled and the YMCA
Nelson gymnastics team
dispersed, most of them
being in the armed
forces by 1940.
YMCA men’s gymnastics team, late 1930s.

Winners of the N.Z. Gymnastic

Championship, 1937. Picture frame Men’s gymnastics at the YMCA, 1934.
in Geoff Gilbert’s home.
 28

YMCA NELSON DURING WORLD WAR TWO

While many members of the board were away at war in the early 1940s, ac-
tivities at the YMCA continued almost as normal. Dick Vining, who was later
very influential in the YMCA Nelson, was a teenager during the World War
Two years, and commented that the gym and sporting activities at the YMCA
continued just as normal during the war years. The success and high standard
of the sporting activities at the YMCA Nelson was largely attributed to Kelvin
and Zena Gay, who put a huge voluntary effort into the YMCA at this time.
As well as continuing their sporting activities, the YMCA Nelson also
responded to the community needs that the outbreak of war created. They pro-
vided canteens for men involved in the war effort, as well as free recreational
activities at the YMCA building for men on leave from the war.
By the end of the war, the YMCA Nelson was not in a good financial
position, and the sale of the YMCA building was again recommended. It was
recognised that the appointment of a full-time General Secretary was neces-
sary to keep the organisation running, and by 1946 Kelvin Gay was appointed
as the full-time Physical Director. His salary of £400 per annum was paid for
through fundraising, and was well deserved after his years of commitment to
the YMCA as a volunteer.
The year 1947 was a year of high
achievement for the YMCA Nelson. Its
sporting teams excelled in gymnastics, bas-
ketball, marching and badminton on both
regional and national levels. Galas which
were held by the YMCA Nelson in the late
1940s greatly assisted the organisation fi-
nancially during this period. The YMCA
Nelson clubs continued to do well and in
1948 YMCA Nelson gymnast Alex
McNabb won the title of all-round Gym
Champion. He went on to win the New
YMCA gymnast Alex McNabb.
 29

YMCA Nelson Junior Girls Gym Class, 1949. Kelvin Gay, physical director of the
YMCA, is on the far right in the back row, and his daughter Jill is on the far right in the
front row.

Zealand Men’s title several times during the 1950s and 1960s. By the late
1940s the extension of the Bridge Street stadium, in particular the extension of
the gym, was a frequent topic of discussion.

INTO THE 1950s

The popularity of YMCA activities in the 1950s required not only the exten-
sion of the gym, but also additional club rooms and reading rooms. The exten-
sion of the YMCA building commenced in 1953, and required a huge finan-
cial commitment from the YMCA Nelson. In 1950 they sold their tennis
courts to start the fund for the building extension project. By 1952 they had
£2,567 out of the £7,000 they needed. A combination of a government grant
and further fundraising meant that the building extensions could commence
by the end of 1953. While the building extensions were in its early stages, the
1953/1954 Royal Visit to New Zealand was announced. Queen Elizabeth II
and Prince Phillip arrived in New Zealand in December 1953, and passed
 30

through Nelson in mid-January 1954. The YMCA Nelson organised a float for
the Royal procession and opened up their building as a rest room while crowds
gathered to see the Queen. They also ran a mobile canteen for the occasion.

The YMCA float for the Royal procession in Nelson, January 1954.

YMCA NELSON BOARD OF DIRECTORS

With the bad financial situation that the YMCA was in after the war, a new
Board of Directors was appointed, with representatives from the City Council,
the Ministers Association, the Employers Association and the Rotary Club.
Women were not able to join the board at this stage, even though they were
the ones who kept the organisation going during the war years. The board
members put a huge amount of volunteer effort into running the organisation.

YMCA Board of Directors, 1954.

 31

SPORT AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AT THE YMCA IN THE 1950s

During the 1950s, the YMCA ran physical culture classes which were at-
tended by about 300 boys and girls. The YMCA Swimming Club, formed in
1948, had about 100 members by 1951 and met one evening per week at the
Council’s Municipal Baths. Basketball, badminton, weightlifting and boxing
were popular sports at the YMCA in the early 1950s.
Kelvin Gay resigned as Physical Director of the YMCA Nelson in
1951. The position was filled by Mr. Wrankmore for about six months, but he
emigrated from New Zealand and was replaced by Douglas Harris in 1953.
When the board could no longer afford to pay Mr. Harris, the role was taken
over by several part time volunteer instructors, including Kelvin and Zena
Gay. When the first stage of the building extensions were
finished in August 1954, Jack Hanna took up the position
of Physical Director at the YMCA, and the role was com-
bined with the role of General Secretary. Jack Hanna
proved to be a great asset to the YMCA Nelson and stayed
in his role there for about fourteen years.
The 1950s saw the advent of the popular Friday night
basketball league which ran during the winter months at the Jack Hanna, 1954
YMCA Nelson. Gymnastics continued to
Friday Night Basketball at the
be a dominant part of the YMCA pro-
YMCA:
gramme, with gym classes and clubs for
‘Every Friday night nearly
men and women of all ages, including a
every kid from ten to eighteen
married ladies gym class.
went to the YMCA and played
indoor basketball.’ - Jill Powrie
‘Lots and lots and lots of peo-
ple talk with great fondness
about their time in the Friday
night basketball.’ - Brian Coulter Boys and girls Friday night basketball teams in
the late 1950s.
 32

The YMCA Nelson also regularly participated in gymnastic championships.

One of the main events that Jack Hanna was known for during his time at the
YMCA was the Gym Frolics production, which he instituted in 1955 and ran
for twelve consecutive years.
GYM FROLICS

Gym Frolics was an annual production put on by the YMCA between 1955
and 1966 involving gymnastics, skating, dancing, music and singing. For
most of the years that Jack Hanna put the productions on in the late 1950s and
early 1960s it was a great success for the YMCA, not only financially, but
also in terms of being a high standard production. As well as the weeks of
rehearsals to prepare for the Gym Frolics productions, there were weeks of
behind the scenes preparations, involving many volunteer working bees. In
1960 the theme for the Gym Frolics
production was Luxury Cruise, with
the YMCA hall transformed into a Pa-
cific Island with palm trees, a native
hut, a waterfall and a luxury liner.
Rehearsals for Gym Frolics
Productions, c. 1959-1960.

The Gym Frolics productions

were not only highly successful
in the years they were run, but
also left a legacy in the YMCA
Nelson long after Jack Hanna
left. Although large productions
on the same scale as Gym Frol-
ics were not common after the mid-1960s, the YMCA and the Gymnastics
Club associated with the YMCA continued to put on gymnastic displays and
shows during the 1970s, like the ‘Gymnastics Circus’ in 1976.
 33

Other activities introduced at the YMCA during the 1950s included mother
and daughter banquets, Square Dancing, which ran on Saturday nights from
1951 to 1952, and Friday night skating sessions which ran in the summer
months from 1954. Bible classes associated with the YMCA also organised
various social activities during the 1950s. From the late 1950s the YMCA
Nelson started to get involved in local holiday programmes, contributing to
events like the Big Holiday Programme at Tahuna Beach in 1958.

YMCA IN RICHMOND AND STOKE, 1958 - 1959

As Nelson was expanding and its population increased, the YMCA Nelson
recognised that there were community needs not only in the Nelson city area,
but also in Richmond and Stoke. Some parents living in Richmond and Stoke
could not bring their children into the YMCA stadium in Nelson for the vari-
ous programmes that were run there because of transport difficulties. A
branch of the YMCA was formed in Richmond in 1958, with classes held for
children over nine years old one night a week at the Richmond sports hall.
The popularity of those classes led to further classes being held after school,
along with basketball coaching sessions during the winter months at the A&P
show-grounds.
A branch of the YMCA was formed in Stoke in June 1959, and planned
to build a YMCA hall next to the Stoke Hall. Both the Stoke and Richmond
branches of the YMCA continued to expand, and held their activities at vari-
ous locations, including the hall at Waimea Intermediate School until the long
process of planning and building YMCA stadiums in both Stoke and Rich-
mond was completed in May 1968.

Construction of the Richmond stadium, 1968 Plan for the Stoke stadium, 1968
 34

YMCA NELSON IN THE 1960s AND 1970s

Friday night basketball in Nelson and the combined Stoke/Richmond Friday

Night Basketball continued to be popular during the 1960s, with over 300 par-
ticipants in Nelson alone in some years. Badminton, wrestling and yoga were
also popular at the YMCA during the 1960s. A new sport, Ju-jitsu, was intro-
duced at the YMCA Nelson in 1959, known at times as the Judo Club, and
was popular during the early 1960s.
The YMCA Nelson often sent teams to compete in the Older Boys and
Older Girls Tournaments, a National YMCA competition that included sev-
eral sports and a Scripture Reading.
Kelvin Gay’s son, Michael, was
selected for the Older Boys Tourna-
ment in 1961, which was hosted in
Nelson that year and which the
YMCA Nelson won. Gymnastics at
the YMCA during the 1960s was
strong as ever, with the YMCA Nel-
son hosting the New Zealand Gym- Glenys Towns (nee Haase) participating in
gymnastics at the YMCA, c. 1960.
nastics Championships in 1964.
A variety of gymnastics classes continued to be offered at the YMCA
Nelson. Further building extensions were planned for the Bridge Street sta-
dium in the 1960s, but because of lack of room for expansion to that property,
the purchase of a site on Haven Road to build a new YMCA stadium was con-
sidered as an alternative. However, the Nelson City Council postponed any
building plans for the building of a new stadium, and a lease for the Haven
Road site could not be obtained. The YMCA continued to expand its property
in Bridge Street, and by 1966 new offices had been added to the building, the
The YMCA Nelson celebrated equipment room enlarged and new sta-
its 100 year anniversary in dium seats added.
The year 1968 saw the YMCA
1960 with a centennial service
taking on an ambitious fundraising and
in the Stoke Memorial Hall.
 35

YMCA Christmas Dance, 1964 YMCA dance, 1960s

building project known as ‘New Look’, to modernise the YMCA stadium. Hal
Lucas, an American YMCA worker, came to New Zealand to assist the
YMCA Nelson in this project, which required a large number of volunteers.
The building project included the extension of the gymnasium and the addi-
tion of a film room, a coffee lounge and a meeting room. By 1969 the YMCA
purchased a property next to the Bridge Street building and expanded further.
The YMCA Nelson ran numerous fundraising and social activities dur-
ing the 1960s, including baby photo contests, selling Christmas trees, Christ-
mas concerts and dances, street stalls and galas. Jack Hanna received a special
acknowledgement from the Board in 1963: ‘His faith in the YMCA ideal and
the ability to pursue that ideal against opposition
is a wonderful achievement.’ By the mid-1960s,
the YMCA Nelson saw a fundraising opportunity
in the holiday programmes in Tahuna. The YMCA
leased an area of land close to the beach and pro-
vided four trampolines which kids could use for a
small fee. Trampolines were also a feature at the
Richmond branch of the YMCA, where new
Physical Instructor John Dunlop set a world record
by bouncing on the trampoline at the Richmond
stadium for twenty-eight hours in August 1969. Trampolines at Tahuna Beach
during the holidays.
 36

John Dunlop remained in his role as Physical Instructor at the Richmond

YMCA until 1972, and the activities he ran in Richmond during that time in-
cluded gymnastics, badminton, table ten-
nis, judo, yoga, ballet classes and basket-
ball. Activities that ran in Stoke in the
early 1970s included ladies keep fit
classes, slimnastics, square dancing, bad-
minton, judo and weight lifting. Richmond YMCA stadium

Jack Hanna resigned his role as Physical Director and General Secretary
at the YMCA in 1968, largely because he felt he was getting too old for the
role. Ray Simpson took over the role of General Secretary at the YMCA. Af-
ter Jack Hanna’s resignation it was difficult to find a suitable, long term re-
placement. Ray Simpson only remained in his role at the YMCA until the end
of 1970, and his replacement, Bill Painter, lasted for less than a year. For sev-
eral months between 1971 and 1972 the YMCA Nelson ran without a General
Secretary, relying solely on its volunteers and two staff members. This
quickly changed in 1972, however, when Brian Coulter, who had been the
General Secretary of the New Plymouth YMCA was appointed to the role of
General Secretary of the YMCA Nelson.
His title changed to that of Executive Di-
rector in 1974, and he remained in his
role with the YMCA Nelson until 1986.
Sports continued to be a dominant
feature of the YMCA Nelson in the
1970s. By 1971, after twenty-one years,
Friday night basketball was still going
strong. Badminton, volleyball, gymnas-
tics, trampolining, table tennis, yoga, judo
and wrestling continued to be popular
Brian Coulter arrives in Nelson with his activities at the YMCA in the 1970s.
wife Clare and their two children. October
1972. The Nelson Provincial Museum,
Geoffrey C Wood Collection, 8640, fr3.
 37

While sport and physical activity was a central part of the YMCA Nelson after
the expansion of the stadium in Bridge Street in the 1950s until its demolition
in 1987, enthusiasm about physical activity was not a requirement to be in-
volved. Graeme Todd, for example, was not very keen on
physical activities, but saw enough other things within the
organisation that needed support that he could help out with.
For example, Graeme got involved with the Y’s men, the sup-
port club for the YMCA, and also started up a YMCA news-
letter. Heather Scoltock (nee Kerr) also Graeme Todd
in the mid-1970s.
commented that her lack of sporting
knowledge did not affect her involvement
with the YMCA Nelson: ‘I wasn’t a per-
son with a sporting background or sport-
ing knowledge or gymnastic knowledge,
Heather Kerr in but that didn’t matter, because there
the mid-1970s.
were a lot of activities at the YMCA that Graeme Todd,
2009.
were not just sports.’ However, because of
the YMCA’s emphasis on integrating physical activity with
other parts of life, and because the YMCA stadiums were
conducive to sports and physical activity, both Heather and
the Todd family were involved in
the physical activities the YMCA
Heather Scoltock, had to offer. Heather taught Kin-
2009.
derGym and housewives keep fit
classes. Graeme’s sons
David and Paul were in-
volved in gymnastics, and
were taught by national
tumbling champion Stuart
Hughes in the early 1970s. Heather Kerr assisting chil-
dren with gymnastics at the
YMCA tumbling coach. December 1970. The Nelson YMCA in the mid-1970s.
Provincial Museum, Geoffrey C Wood Collection, M225
 38

YMCA NELSON IN THE 1970s AND 1980s

Several new programmes were initiated at the YMCA in the late 1960s and
early 1970s, including the Hi Y club, which was a Friday night programme for
about 500 teenagers, organised by members of the Board as well as the Youth
Leadership Group. From the late 1970s, the YMCA Nelson saw itself more as
a community agency, and this was reflected in the number of new pro-
grammes initiated during the 1970s. New initiatives included a ‘drop-in’ pro-
gramme in 1973, catering for about seventy teenagers. Other new programmes
included family nights and disco dances. By 1975,
new programme initiatives included the Y Drift-In,
offering refreshments, music and sporting activities
like table tennis to young people who were ‘drifting
by’, as well as holiday programmes for kids, which
saw 1,627 participants in the May school holidays
of 1975. By 1976 there were about 250 volunteers
involved in running YMCA programmes. Another
new programme initiated in 1979 that the YMCA
Nelson received much publicity for and would be
well remembered for was the RYDUM programme.
Fundraising activities in the 1970s included a Advertisement for YMCA
activities in 1975.
Pic-O-Teens contest, along with the sale of Christ-
mas trees which was organised by the Y’s men’s club,
and the YMCA Walkabout.
By the early 1980s, inflation in New Zealand was
increasing, putting the YMCA Nelson in a fairly tight
financial position. However, the YMCA continued to
expand, opening a new lounge and office area in its
Bridge Street building in 1981. Volunteer input into the
organisation remained huge in the 1980s. The YMCA
Gym Club, for example, ran all YMCA gymnastics ac-
YMCA Pic-O-Teens
Fundraiser. tivities for almost 200 children.
 39

YMCA WALKABOUT

From 1970, the YMCA Nelson started a fundraising activity known as the
Walkabout, which was a sponsored walk between Nelson and Richmond. This
continued to be a popular fundraising activity until the mid-1980s, raising
over $7,000 in 1982. Various members of the community would get involved
in the YMCA walkabout and usually turned the seemingly long walk into a
fun-filled event.

A wet YMCA Walkabout, 1983

Elaine Hemi, carried by soldiers during

the 1982 Walkabout.

Brian Coulter’s beard

being unceremoniously
removed after the 1982
Walkabout.
YMCA Walk. September 1970. The Nelson Provincial
Museum, Geoffrey C Wood Collection, 6647, fr4, fr5
 40

The YMCA Walkabout was:

‘A big, very high profile event that had

lots of people involved in it.’
- Brian Coulter

‘A fun thing to do. We had families,

kids in prams and people that [had]
little toddlers with them and on their
shoulders and everything.’ Pauline Jary being pushed in a pram by Pat
- Pauline Jary Paterson in the YMCA Walkabout.

HEALTH AND FITNESS AT THE YMCA

Health and fitness had been a popular activity at the YMCA Nelson for many
years by the early 1980s, and the YMCA opened a Health and Fitness Centre
in Bridge Street in January 1983. Because of financial difficulties and in-
creased competition, it closed down in 1985. It opened again soon after under
the leadership of Brent Potthoff, running activities like Y Aerobics. By 1987
the YMCA Nelson established a Health and Fitness Centre at 23 Halifax
Street and the Bridge Street Health and Fitness Centre was sold in 1988.

TRAGEDY STRIKES THE YMCA

In 1985 the Mosey and the Grayson families, who were involved in the
YMCA Nelson Gymnastics Club, travelled to Wellington to attend the New
Zealand Junior National Championships. As their aircraft flew over the Tory
Channel in the Marlborough Sounds on their way to Wellington, the aircraft
hit power wires and crashed, leading to the death of all three members of the
Grayson family, four members of the Mosey family, as well as the pilot. Mi-
raculously, Cindy Mosey, who was eleven years old at the time, survived.

‘It was a tragic loss...a real shock, but at the same time there was
the survival of Cindy, which people looked at and it gave them hope
that whatever happened there was something that comes out of that
adversity.’ - Gary Cox
 41

DEMOLITION OF THE STADIUM IN BRIDGE STREET

By the late 1980s, society’s needs were changing. Schools and local clubs
built gymnasiums and facilities for their sports, and the need for a community
gymnasium and sport facility, like the YMCA stadium, ceased to be as impor-
tant as it had been in previous decades. In 1987 the difficult decision to de-
molish the YMCA stadium was made, mainly for financial reasons. Long-
standing board member Jim Bishop describes it as one of the biggest decisions
that had to be made during his time as president of the YMCA Nelson.
The stadium’s demolition was a reflection of changes that were taking
place in society, both socially and economically. The economic situation in
New Zealand worsened from the 1970s as a result of the global economic
downturn, even more so from the Once the stadium was demolished,
1980s. Robert Muldoon, whose Na- a shopping centre was built in its
tional Government had been in power place as an investment property.
since 1975, lost the 1984 election, YMCA Nelson held fifty percent of
prompting the new Labour Govern- the investment and the Nelson Di-
ment to make several major changes, ocesan Trust held the other fifty
especially in the economic sphere, in a percent. The money YMCA Nelson
bid to increase economic growth and received from the investment prop-
bring down national debt. Whereas erty was put into a trust, which to-
electricity and rates had previously day owns the properties that
been subsidised or provided free of YMCA Nelson operates from. Al-
charge for charities, the new govern- though a sound business decision
ment initiated changes which made and probably essential for ensuring
New Zealand society more of a user- the continued existence of the
pay society, requiring charities like the YMCA in Nelson, the demolition
YMCA to cover their own overhead of the Bridge Street stadium was a
costs. The 1987 share market crash sad time for many in the commu-
also meant that people’s recreational nity. As Peter Martin describes: ‘It
time became less, as some people had was the end of volleyball, it was the
to start working two jobs. end of basketball as we knew it.’
 42

The nature of recreational sport changed, becoming a profession rather than a

hobby, and sport was more commonly played at specialist clubs. Even after
the difficult decision to demolish the stadium had to be made, physical fitness
continued to be an important part of the YMCA Nelson. Although the YMCA
no longer had a suitable facility for team-sports, the physical aspect of the
body, mind and spirit philosophy of the YMCA continued to be emphasised at
the YMCA’s new health and fitness centre. The health and fitness centre in
Halifax Street was a business venture for the YMCA, which unfortunately
was not profitable and ended up being a liability for the YMCA Nelson.

YMCA STADIUMS IN STOKE AND RICHMOND

After some investigation in 1977, the YMCA Nelson discovered some serious
limitations to the YMCA stadium in Stoke as a sports centre. While atten-
dances at the Stoke programmes were good, the Stoke YMCA was not seeing
the same financial returns as the Nelson or Richmond YMCA, and the YMCA
stadium in Stoke was sold in 1982. The YMCA stadium in Richmond contin-
ued to be an important part of the YMCA as an organisation in the Nelson
Region well into the 1990s.

References:

Interviews with Jim Bishop, Graeme and Pat Todd, Jill Powrie, Michael Gay,
Brian Coulter, Paul LeGros, Geoff Gilbert, Healther Scoltock, Pauline Jary,
Gary Cox, Peter Martin, March - April 2009.

Correspondence with Alan Turley and Robert Gay, April 2009.

Jim McAloon, Nelson: A Regional History, Nelson, 1997.

Sharron Smith, The Nelson YMCA Story, 1860-1985, pp.9-78.

YMCA Archives, Nelson Provincial Museum, AG 362 A1, G5.

http://www.gymnasticsnelson.co.nz/a_brief_history_of_gymnastics_ne.htm
 43

CHAPTER TWO:
The beliefs and values of the YMCA
In 1978 the band The Village People released a song called Y.M.C.A. which
became very popular internationally. Although the lyrics of the song do not
fully encompass what the YMCA does today, the following line from the
song: ‘No man does it all by himself’ is very representative of the beliefs, val-
ues and goals of the YMCA in New Zealand, and particularly in Nelson. The
focus of the YMCA Nelson as an organisation is, and has been, very much
about people, family and working together. This is evident in the following
comments people have made about the YMCA Nelson:

‘The thing that I get most out of the YMCA is the people.’ -Jim Bishop
‘The association with the people who are invariably modest and
hard working and tend to be very cooperative and supportive...that's
been the major highlight for me.’ - Bernard Downey

‘It was awesome, it was just great. Tremendous sense of community,

[and] growth opportunity for the people that were involved, but
commitment, huge commitment from all these volunteer peo-
ple....Lots of people...were part of the process of the YMCA’s influ-
ence in the local community.’ - Brian Coulter

‘The tireless and endless amount of work that they put in was just
amazing, and the commitment to the YMCA is fantastic.’ - Gary Cox
‘Any one of us wouldn’t have been able to do it on our own...no one
was working for their own particular good, but working for the
broader good of the Y.’ - Bernard Downey

‘We were just one big family, it was just great.’ - Janette Hueting
 44

THE YMCA IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

The main object of the YMCA in the mid-1800s in London was to improve
the spiritual condition of young men in drapery and other trades by introduc-
ing them to religious services. Church membership, or ‘sufficient evidence of
his being a converted character’, was also a requirement to be considered a
member of the YMCA, and eligibility for membership depended on a person’s
moral character. While this may seem exclusive, non-Christians were always
welcome to the YMCA. In fact, one of the first young men to attend George
Williams’ prayer meetings was not a Christian, even though he ‘was of good
moral character’. By 1845, Bible classes were set up as part of the YMCA for
young men who wanted to come along but were not church members, and by
1849 Williams had persuaded the YMCA committee to allow young men who
did not qualify for YMCA membership to use the YMCA library, reading
rooms and classrooms. As Colin Taylor points out in his book Body, Mind and
Spirit, ‘this resulted in many of them joining the Bible class and becoming
members, even though they were only initially attracted to the association by
having access to the reading rooms, library and educational classes.’ (p.29).
The YMCA Nelson started off in a similar vein in 1860, with the inten-
tion of developing the moral, mental and spiritual conditions of the young
men of Nelson. Its focus was on Bible classes and devotional meetings and
providing facilities like a library and a reading room.

VALUES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTRUY YMCA IN NELSON

From its inception, the YMCA Nelson took a very holistic view of the person.
This really started to develop from the early twentieth century, as the YMCA
stadium in Bridge Street provided the ideal facility to cater to the physical
needs of people in the community. YMCAs worldwide started to actively em-
brace the Body, Mind and Spirit philosophy that the YMCA is today so well
known for. As outlined in the previous chapter, sport played a significant role
in the YMCA Nelson, as facilitating physical activity was seen as a vehicle to
improving people’s lives by building confidence and fostering friendships.
 45

By the 1960s, a large percentage of the local population were involved in the
activities that were offered at the YMCA Nelson. Jill Powrie and Michael Gay
were involved in the YMCA from the mid-1940s
and described that the YMCA left them with an
interest in sports and knowledge of the benefits of
physical exercise. But even more importantly,
Jill Powrie their involvement in the YMCA left them with
(nee Gay) as a
5-year old at good values and good friendships. YMCA Nelson Michael Gay,
the YMCA 1960
was not merely a facility for sports - the attached
club room was a good venue for dis-
cussions, prayer meetings and
watching films and was often used
for these purposes.
Good values remained a cen-
tral part of the YMCA Nelson
throughout the twentieth century,
and providing a facility for sport and
physical activity was merely a vehi-
cle for contributing to the value of
Watching a film in the YMCA club room
society. While physical activity has
been an important part of the YMCA Nelson for a long time, Brian Coulter
(YMCA Nelson Executive Director from 1972 to 1986) has pointed out that it
was not the be all and end all of the organisation. As various sports clubs have
come to fill the need for physical activity in the region, the YMCA has turned
its focus more towards youth work and education. In doing so, however,
YMCA Nelson has remained true to its underlying objective of evaluating
community needs and responding with appropriate programmes.
With or without the physical presence of sport or fitness centres, physi-
cal activity and recreation continues to play an important role in the pro-
grammes the YMCA Nelson runs today. This will be outlined further in Chap-
ter Six, but it is important to note that the physical aspect of the body, mind
46

Various YMCA Nelson pamphlets outlining the beliefs of the YMCA, c. 1960
 47

and spirit philosophy of the YMCA was fostered and developed while the
YMCA Nelson had its Bridge Street stadium, and that aspect of the YMCA
philosophy has continued to grow and develop, even though the Bridge Street
stadium no longer exists.

FAMILY VALUES

Although not officially outlined in the YMCA’s values, one of the underlying,
core values of the YMCA Nelson is its family values. This is evident in the
attitudes the YMCA Nelson’s leaders and staff have brought to their work.
For example, in spite of the various positions and many roles he has held with
the YMCA Nelson, including being president of both the Nelson and the Na-
tional YMCA for a time, Graeme Todd described his most important role in
the Nelson YMCA as that of a parent. Current YMCA staff also comment on
the importance of the YMCA family:
‘The YMCA whanau is what gives a lot of our clients hope.’ - Maria Scaletti
‘The YMCA values are the base, or foundation of a family unit….It’s nurtur-
ing for a young person.’ - Tremain Mikaere

CHRISTIANITY IN THE YMCA

The YMCA was originally a very evangelical

Christian organisation. Although this changed
slightly in the twentieth century as the YMCA
Nelson focussed more on the physical activities
at its Bridge Street stadium, the Christian values
of the YMCA as an organisation remained im-
portant. As evident from the pamphlets produced
by the YMCA Nelson in the 1960s, ‘Christian
usefulness’ expressed through good character,
leadership, fair play and team spirit was impor-
tant to the organisation. As Robert Gay has com- YMCA pamphlet, c. 1960
mented: ‘I certainly found the organisation to be values based and there was
always a strong message of fair play, ethical behaviour and honesty.’
 48

Living out these Christian values in a practical way was emphasised, however,
and personal growth and development was evident not only in the people who
used the YMCA facilities, but also in the volunteers and staff of the YMCA.
In 1983 the National YMCA reaffirmed the Christian commitment of the
YMCA in New Zealand. This has by no means excluded non-Christians from
the organisation. As Paul LeGros has said of the people who have been in-
volved with the YMCA: ‘People do it because, inherently, they like the values
that we stand for which is really putting community first, and...generally ac-
cepted Christian values of helping people.’

VALUES OF THE YMCA NELSON IN THE NEW MILLENIUM

In 2000, the National Board of the YMCA implemented

the four values that YMCAs all over New Zealand are
today so well-known for: Responsibility, Respect, Car-
ing and Honesty. These values are today taught to all
children and students involved in YMCA programmes
in very practical ways, but ultimately the importance of
the YMCA family remains key to the organisation.

The YMCA’s four values

References:

Interviews with Jim Bishop, Bernard Downey, Brian Coulter, Paul LeGros,
Gary Cox, Janette Hueting, Jill Powrie, Michael Gay, Tremain Mikaere,
March - April 2009.

Correspondence with Robert Gay, Maria Scaletti, April 2009.

Colin Taylor, Body, Mind and Spirit: YMCA Auckland, Celebrating 150
years, 1855-2005, Auckland, 2005, Chapters 1-2.
 49

CHAPTER THREE: 1965-1987

Accommodation, Camps and New Programmes

While sport and physical activity was an important feature of what the
YMCA did in the Nelson region up to the late 1980s, there were several
important features of the YMCA Nelson that did not focus solely on sport.
These included running education programmes in Motueka, providing
accommodation through a YMCA hostel in Motueka, and initiating youth
programmes in Nelson to cater not only for youth in general, but also for
youth at risk and unemployed youth.
Another important feature of the YMCA Nelson was the Y’s men’s
club, which was a support club for the YMCA, raising funds for the vari-
ous new YMCA programmes. The Y’s men’s club was also instrumental
in getting the YMCA Nelson Camp Gowan up and running, which was
used as a family centre and leadership training facility, as well as various
camps for the youth who were involved in YMCA programmes.

Reverend J. Craighead spending time with youth at a YMCA youth night.

 50

ITS FUN TO STAY AT THE YMCA: THE YMCA IN MOTUEKA

\

In 1960 the Motueka Rotary Club asked Jack Hanna to speak to them about
the possibility of opening a branch of the YMCA in Motueka. By 1965 a
YMCA had been formed in Motueka, with a membership of about 135 people.
They ran gymnastics classes, a coffee club, as well as Christmas dances.
By the 1980s the YMCA in Motueka was running a work skills devel-
opment programme in conjunction with the Motueka borough council. One of
the major features of this programme was the running of a herb farm, which
provided employment to about 28 people in the Motueka district. The herb
farm was an initiative that intended to create job opportunities, but also to pro-
vide some income for the YMCA. The herbs were grown, harvested and pack-
aged through the programme, but the emphasis was on selling the packaged
products, and the programme was a precursor to the retail course that the
YMCA Nelson runs today.
The Motueka YMCA also estab- While traditionally associated
lished a hostel in High Street, with the with accommodation, providing
help of the government who saw a need accommodation has never been
to cater for the backpacker market and the main focus of the YMCA
seasonal workers and loaned the money Nelson. This was very different
to the YMCA, writing the loan off over for the Motueka YMCA.
subsequent years.
The herb farm did not do as well as expected and the Motueka YMCA
got into financial trouble in 1984, resulting in the herb farm having to be sold.
The National YMCA took over the running of the Motueka YMCA and by the
1990s asked Jim and Wendy Bishop to run the hostel after the YMCA Nelson
board declined to buy the hostel and take over the running of it. The hostel
was at this stage supposed to be a community hostel, run by a community
committee, but it was still running under the YMCA name.

Jim Bishop’s daughter, Tina, worked as a volunteer with youth at the Motueka
hostel for a few years before commencing her studies in Wellington.
 51

The hostel was not in a good state when Jim and Wendy Bishop took over the
management of it, and much renovation was required.

Jim Bishop building a fence outside the YMCA hostel in Motueka, along with his
building crew.

Jim Bishop saw the running of the Motueka YMCA hostel as part of the
Christian role of the YMCA in society, going beyond the call of duty of just
providing beds for weary travellers. For the Bishops, the hostel was about pro-
viding a family for their ten-
ants, being called ‘mum and
dad’, being asked things that
people would normally only
ask their parents. During the
time they ran the YMCA hos-
tel in Motueka, they met tour-
ists from all over the world.

Jim Bishop with two Irish tourists at

the YMCA hostel in Motueka, late
1980s.
52

Getting the Motueka YMCA Hostel

up and running again: Jim Bishop’s
account of how the Motueka YMCA
Hostel got back on its feet.
‘...there were all sorts of drug related problems and
alcohol problems...in and around the hostel, which
really got me annoyed...to the extent of saying that yes where I’d previously
said no that I wouldn’t take over the management of it, but it needed to be
sorted out and because it was under the YMCA name, I believed it had to be
done pretty soon. I was accepted as the manager and my wife and I, Wendy
and I...took over as management staff there and moved in because it was
live on seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day for that operation.’

‘...the previous manager...closed the place down, which was the best thing
he could have done....The place was in such a neglected condition that I had
to spend a month just cleaning the place and so Wendy and I were full-time
cleaners and...our friends came to help and it was just in such a rundown
state. But, we managed to get it all up and running, we put in some money
of our own and, to buy bedding and things to get the place going and then
got a grant from the National YMCA to do some more...renovations.’

‘And so we got it going and had agreed to do it for two years which, by the
end of two years we could see where it needed to go and what needed to be
done. I’d been a builder initially, and I built another six bedrooms on to the
hostel to make it a more economical size and also a new manager’s flat to
make the accommodation for the manager more tolerable and, so that you
could have space of your own, which we did in that latter period...while we
were there, and turned the operation round to being quite a profitable enter-
prise and very well accepted within the community.’

Extract from an interview with Jim Bishop, 4 March 2009

 53

While Jim and Wendy Bishop were running the YMCA hostel in Motueka,
the accommodation there was very much associated with seasonal work. Jim
assisted tourists or unemployed New Zealanders who came to stay at the hos-
tel to get work on orchards and would even arrange transport for them. Many
of the tenants at the hostel who had not been in paid employment for over
twelve months were very grateful for Jim’s assistance. But while he was
happy to help, he very much impressed on them the importance of their work
ethic, since his reputation was on the line by recommending them to local or-
chardists. While ‘most of them measured up and worked pretty well’, Jim had
real trouble getting some of them to pay rent. The hostel continued to be prof-
itable, however, but the twenty-four/seven working weeks took their toll on
the Bishops, who after five years
of hard work decided to move on
and recommended to the Na-
tional Board of the YMCA that
the hostel should be sold. Jim
did not quite realise what he was
getting himself into with this
suggestion, and ended up having
to sell it himself – a process YMCA hostel in Motueka, 1980s.
which took almost a year. While
there were benefits in calling it a
YMCA hostel, not allowing
swearing or heavy drinking on
the premises because of its asso-
ciation with the YMCA, for ex-
ample, Jim changed the name of
the hostel to the Happy Apple
Backpackers to make it more
sellable. That is the name it is
still known by today. The Happy Apple Backpackers Lodge in Motueka
today.
 54

TREMAIN MIKAERE’S JOURNEY WITH THE YMCA

Tremain Mikaere first got involved with the YMCA in the mid-1980s in Mo-
tueka when he left school. He spent twelve months on the work skills devel-
opment programme that ran the herb farm, and also attended educational
classes that were held at the YMCA hostel. The education offered through the
Motueka branch of the YMCA in the 1980s was very practical and included
learning about how to run a business. Incorporating outdoor activities like
tramping and overnight camps was also a big part of the education that the
YMCA offered in Motueka. Tremain fell away from the YMCA for many
years, was involved in gang activities and spent some time in prison, but the
Christian principles that the tutors in his
YMCA course in Motueka lived by was
something that really stuck with him. In 2002
he came back to the YMCA and enrolled as a
student in the YMCA Nelson security course.
Tremain, who attended the course with his
sister, was extremely committed to his studies,
travelling to Nelson from Motueka every day Tremain’s wife, Paula, with stu-
dents in a YMCA course.
to attend the YMCA course. He did extremely
well in his studies at the YMCA and became a security guard for Chubb. Less
than two years after finishing the YMCA course he was asked to come back
to the YMCA as a tutor, and has been tutoring the YMCA Horizons course
ever since.

‘The YMCA has been very encouraging, and they

support me in a lot of the things that I do….The
YMCA have supported me one hundred percent...to
become who I am.’
‘It’s like a big family, and we encourage that family
concept here at the YMCA.’
Tremain Mikaere
 55

SUPPORT FROM THE Y’S MEN

The Nelson Y’s Men’s Club was formed in 1965. Its main purpose was as a
service club to the YMCA, supporting its activities, mainly through raising
funds. It was part of the international Y’s men’s movement which was
founded in the US in 1922 to support local YMCAs. The Nelson Y’s Men’s
Club was involved in selling Christmas Trees on an annual basis to raise funds
for the YMCA from the late 1960s until the 1980s. In 1971 it was noted that
the Y’s Men’s club contributed over 100 hours of voluntary labour towards
fundraising activities and projects that supported the YMCA. By 1979, Y’s
men’s club projects included transporting disadvantaged children to the mov-
ies, and the funds they raised for
the YMCA supported the building
and renovation projects at the
YMCA Camp Gowan.

CAMP GOWAN Nelson Y’s Men’s Club Mission statement

From the early 1960s, Jack Hanna, who was the Physical Director of the
YMCA Nelson at the time, started to look for a suitable camp site in the Nel-
son district that could be used for YMCA camps. By 1965 the Gowan Valley
School site was secured as a place for YMCA camps. In the 1970s, the Y’s
men started to develop Camp Gowan as a family centre and leadership train-
ing facility. The funds for Camp Gowan came from the hours of voluntary
fundraising that the Y’s men club did.

Patricia Todd’s view of the role of the Y’s men:

‘The Y’s men club was a pretty vital part of the YM really, because it was
through what they did and the fellowship of those people that…kept the YM
boistered up.’

‘The men that were involved in the Y’s men club had such good rapport
with each other and would be willing to do the things that were required to
keep the YM going.’

Extract from an interview with Graeme and Pat Todd, 5 March 2009
 56

Along with Jack Hanna, one of the founding members of the Y’s men’s club
in Nelson was Cyril Martin, and the Martin family went on to have a signifi-
cant input into both the Y’s men’s club and
the YMCA in Nelson. Peter Martin de-
scribed that the YMCA was like a great big
family to him, as both his parents and his
sisters were involved in the YMCA. Peter’s
sister, Di Martin, was involved with the
Stoke YMCA in the late 1960s and was the
gym instructor in Stoke from 1970 to 1972.
Peter was involved in various YMCA and
Y’s men’s club activities, and in the mid-
1980s travelled to Scandinavia to attend a Peter Martin, Cyril Martin and Geoff
leadership training course through the Y’s McBride, 1984
men’s club.
By the mid-1980s, the Y’s men’s club in Nelson was flourishing. Ex-
ecutive Director of the YMCA, Brian Coulter was actively involved in the
club. Janette Hueting became involved with the Nelson Y’s men’s club in the
mid-1980s. By this stage many women were involved in the Y’s men’s move-
ment internationally, and Y’s men’s clubs were also known as Y service
clubs. The Nelson Y’s men’s club offi-
cially changed its name to the Y’s Ser-
vice club in 1995. Janette described her
first Christmas as part of the Y’s men’s
club: ‘We were out collecting Christmas
trees to sell for the YMCA....we’d have
sing-alongs and I thought this is great.’
By 1989 Janette was on the board of the
YMCA Nelson as the Y’s men represen-
tative, which was the start of her long
Janette Hueting on the cover of Newsweek
magazine as part of her involvement with involvement with the YMCA Nelson,
the Y’s men’s club.
which has included several leadership
 57

positions and visits to YMCAs overseas. Most of the funds raised by the Y’s
men’s club went towards the YMCA Nelson’s new youth programmes. These
included the Hi Y club, Y Drift-In, and the RYDUM programme.

THE RYDUM PROGRAMME: 1979 - 1986

In 1978, a new programme called RYDUM, an acronym for Redirecting
Youth Development Using Minibikes, was introduced to New Zealand by the
National YMCA. It was based on an American programme and was aimed at
intermediate school-aged children at risk of offending. This programme was
offered in Nelson for the first time in 1979, initially funded by Nelson Motor
Vehicle Dealers and Transport Nelson Ltd, with the mini-motorbikes donated
by Honda.
When it started, RYDUM in Nelson was run by social worker Margie
Robson, with the participants in the programme being referred to her through
local schools and the Psychological Services Department (part of the Ministry
of Justice). The board of the YMCA Nelson set up a separate committee to
run the RYDUM programme, and legal professional Paul LeGros was asked
to chair it, which he did for the length of the RYDUM programme.
The programme was based in Saxton Field, and the participants were
taught how to ride and maintain mini 50cc motorbikes by a traffic officer.
This was based on the idea of youth at risk being introduced to and forming
relationships with authority figures, interacting with the police in an informal
setting. Policemen and traffic officers also ran camps for the students in the
programme.

Students and staff involved in the RYDUM programme, 1981

 58

The RYDUM programme was well supported by the justice system. One of
the practical ways in which the justice system supported the RYDUM pro-
gramme was by providing a mechanic to service the mini-motorbikes. This
was an informal arrangement with the Nelson District Court. Gordon Chis-
holm, a probation officer for the Court, was a member of the RYDUM com-
mittee, and together with Paul LeGros, Stuart McDougall and Barbara Ralph:
offered the RYDUM programme as a
form of community service for me-
chanics with minor offences.
The year 1981 saw Stuart
McDougall taking over the directorship
of the RYDUM programme from
Margie Robson, with thirty boys and
girls between the ages of 11 and 13
involved in the programme. It not only
served to introduce them to authority
figures, but also developed their confi-
dence and self-esteem. He was assisted
by Barbara Ralph, who was employed
by the YMCA with the assistance of Bikes do their bit for worthy cause. December
1981. The Nelson Provincial Museum, The Nel-
the government VOJCP scheme son Mail Collection, 7137 fr4.
(Voluntary Organisations Job Creation Programme).
By 1985 the RYDUM programme was extended further, with the
young participants in the programme teaching intellectually handicapped chil-
dren how to ride the mini motorbikes.
RYDUM Directors: Throughout the time that the RYDUM
1979-1981: Margaret Robson programme was running in Nelson it re-
1981: Stuart McDougall ceived a large amount of newspaper cov-
1982-1984: Rosmary Hanna-Parr erage and was seen as a high-profile,
1984-1985: Ian Fenn successful programme in the community.
1986: Michael Lynch In 1986, the difficult decision to
 59

end the RYDUM programme had to be made,

because the funding for the programme could
not meet its running costs. While RYDUM
had to be stopped, another programme, called
ACCESS was started, which was essentially
an employment programme which also taught
people life skills. This programme was
headed by Michael Lynch, who had taken
over the position of RYDUM director when
Ian Fenn left in December 1985.
By the time the Bridge Street stadium
was demolished in 1987, it had been over a
year since the RYDUM programme had
ceased to exist. Although it was a shame that
Rydum children. June 1981. The
the RYDUM programme could not continue Nelson Provincial Museum, The Nel-
because of inadequate funding, it served an son Mail Collection, 6287 fr6
important purpose in the YMCA as an organisation. Because of the demoli-
tion of the stadium, large-scale team sports and competitions were no longer
available at the YMCA. The RYDUM programme was a key transitional pro-
gramme, setting the stage for the future youth and educational programmes
the YMCA Nelson would run. This made the shift away from a sport-centred
organisation less drastic than it might otherwise have been.

Robert Muldoon visiting the YMCA Nelson RYDUM programme at Saxton

Field in 1981.
 60

VIEWS ON THE RYDUM PROGRAMME:

‘It was a great programme, it was a fantastic programme.’ - Gary Cox

‘Just seeing their development was a highlight, and then going on the
camps, and seeing their enthusiasm with the camps and sliding down
the banks on the snow. I think that was probably the greatest thing I got
out of the programme.’ - Stuart McDougall

‘The RYDUM programme was quite unique and quite special....It was a
high profile New Zealand wide programme.’ - Brian Coulter

‘I felt that this programme had the potential to sort out problems with
kids at the most crucial time in their lives....I can remember having
good feedback on the response of a lot of the kids that were involved.’
- Gordon Chisholm

Paul LeGros: from RYDUM representative to

National YMCA President.
Paul LeGros’ involvement with the RYDUM programme in Nel-
son was only the start of a long period of involvement with the
YMCA. He got involved in the RYDUM programme at a time Paul LeGros,
early 1980s
when he was doing a lot of legal work in the youth court. He
chaired the RYDUM committee for the whole time the programme was run-
ning in Nelson (1979-1986) and raised funding for the programme.
He became involved in the YMCA Nelson board
around the same time, becoming president of the YMCA Nel-
son around 1980 and president of the National YMCA in
1989. He has since held those roles for various extended peri-
ods of time in the twenty-five years since then, and gone on to
Paul LeGros, being involved with the YMCA internationally as part of the
2009
Asia Pacific YMCA and the World Alliance of YMCAs.
 61

YMCA NELSON IN THE 1980s

As well as the RYDUM programme, the YMCA Nelson was very active in
new programme initiatives in the 1980s to respond to community needs. They
provided resources and assistance for unemployed youth in 1982, for exam-
ple. Another youth initiative was the STEPS programme, which stood for
School Leaders Training and Employment Preparation Scheme. This was a
government funded programme that offered life skills to unemployed 15 and
16 year olds, teaching subjects like cooking, budgeting, recreation, the law,
the road code and personal values.
YMCA Nelson also actively continued its holiday programmes for
school children, and by 1983 after-school programmes became a regular fea-
ture of the YMCA’s activities for children. The youth involved in YMCA pro-
grammes often assisted in the YMCA’s childcare programmes.
‘We had lots of teenagers that were involved in assisting with us
after school with the programmes, and through the summer
camping programmes and holiday programmes, and so those
leadership training programmes were really influential in their
lives. But of course it was great to have the input from them back
into the organisation as well. There were great results out of that
and we saw many young people just blossom into leadership.’
- Brian Coulter
NEW STAFF Brent Potthoff
and Gaye Hoole:
Numerous volunteers continued to be involved with the
YMCA Nelson, but as new programmes developed, many
new staff members came through the YMCA. In 1985,
Brent Potthoff was appointed to run the YMCA’s Health
and Fitness Centre and Gaye Hoole came on board as the
STEPS director. While the STEPS programme did not New faces at the ‘Y’.
March 1985. The
continue for long beyond the mid-1980s, the ACCESS em- Nelson Provincial
Museum, The Nelson
ployment and life skills programme continued until 1989. Mail Collection, 9984.
 62

As the YMCA Nelson became more focused on youth initiative programmes

and helping those affected by New Zealand’s worsening economic situation in
the 1980s, the YMCA Nelson was starting to reinvent itself, focussing less on
sport which was no longer such a pressing need in the community, and more
on areas where there was an obvious community need.

Brian Coulter’s comments on the occasion of the YMCA Nelson’s 125th

anniversary in 1985:
The Y has been many things to many people and has responded in a multi-
tude of practical ways to a huge variety of human and community needs. The
basic values of the YMCA have changed little since its foundation:
• Christian values apply to everyday life.

• Each individual is worthy of recognition no matter what their circumstances.

• It strives for the development of the ‘whole’ person, body, mind and spirit.

• Communities are important and should provide support for people.

Within these basic values the YMCA has made rapid and profound changes
in programme delivery to meet changing community needs and interests.

Brian Coulter resigned from his role as Executive Director of the YMCA Nel-
son in 1986. He had put in thirteen years of long hours, and felt that he did not
have the energy that the organisation needed to keep moving forward. He did
comment, however, that ‘it was a bit like pulling off my left arm, because the
YM organisation had been so good to me, and it was really a part of me.’

Kelvin and Zena Gay farewelling the Coulters, 1986

 63

References:

Interviews with Jim Bishop, Graeme and Pat Todd, Brian Coulter, Paul LeG-
ros, Gary Cox, Peter Martin, Tremain Mikaere, Janette Hueting, Stuart
McDougall, March - April 2009.

Correspondence with Gordon Chisholm, April 2009.

Sharron Smith, The Nelson YMCA Story, 1860-1985, pp.35-78.

Tremain Mikaere, ‘Tremain’s story: Violence Begets Violence’ in It’s time we

started telling these stories, Family and Community Services, Ministry of So-
cial Development, 2008, pp.22-37.

YMCA Archives, Nelson Provincial Museum, AG 362 A1, G5.

http://www.ysmen.org/
 64

CHAPTER FOUR: 1988-2000

Hope for a Struggling Organisation
From 1988 the YMCA Nelson operated from its new health and fitness centre
in Halifax Street. The fitness centre proved to be very popular, offering activi-
ties like aerobics and weight training, but financially the YMCA was finding
the centre hard to operate, having to pay for both administration and opera-
tional costs. Subsequently the YMCA’s involvement in youth programmes
had to be reduced.
The YMCA stadium in
Richmond continued to offer ac-
tivities like gymnastics and junior
basketball. John and Pauline Jary
and Pat Patterson provided a lot of
support to the Richmond YMCA
in the late 1980s, and Pauline ran
table tennis at the Richmond
Table tennis at the Richmond YMCA
YMCA for many years.
By 1990, the years of financial pressure on the YMCA Nelson was
starting to take its toll. Fortunately, however, the shopping centre that the
YMCA had a fifty percent share in as an investment property helped to keep
the YMCA Nelson financially stable. This highlighted that although the deci-
sion to demolish the Bridge Street stadium was difficult, it had been a prudent
decision. The board turned their focus more towards developing long term
goals and objectives for the YMCA Nelson, and they were committed to mak-
ing sure that the YMCA would continue to be as effective in Nelson in the
future as it had been in the past.

‘The good thing about members of the board at that time was that they
were all focussed on the YMCA, not the programmes, or the people, but
on the YMCA and making sure that it could last.’ - Gary Cox
 65

Even though limited finances meant the YMCA Nelson was limited in what it
could do, it continued to be involved in community initiatives. These included
organising a 10km Fun Walk in 1990, a Y Fun Walk in 1990 and 1991, run-
ning a cadet scheme in 1991 and running gym classes at a centre in Colling-
wood Street in the early 1990s. The YMCA Nelson Gymnastics Club also
continued to enter and do well at national championships during the late
1980s and early 1990s.
While the YMCA Nel-
son was at a lower point in its
history, the Nelson Y’s Men’s
Club was flourishing. In 1986 a
group of about twenty young
people (16 to 20 year olds)
formed a junior Y’s men’s
club, organising camps and Some of the Y’s men’s club and YMCA members
raising funds. Janette Hueting’s children were involved in this club. This
group only lasted for a few years, as most of its members left the district to
attend university, but their involvement was a huge encouragement to the Y’s
men’s club and the YMCA. A significant occasion for the Y’s men’s club and
the YMCA Nelson in the early 1990s was the Y’s men’s fifth South Pacific
Area Convention in 1991 which was hosted in Nelson. The National YMCA
AGM was also held in Nelson in 1991 and the Nelson Y’s men’s club were
very active in assisting in the organisation of the AGM.
The YMCA Nelson’s successful activities and income from its invest-
ment property was not quite enough, and the organisation’s debts were accu-
George Jones, YMCA mulating. The Christchurch YMCA supervised the
Nelson’s ED from 1986, management of the YMCA Nelson from August
resigned in 1992, and 1992 until the mid-1990s. Although the YMCA
Martine McCabe was ap- Nelson was at a low point, it was very hopeful
pointed as the new pro- about the future. Bernard Downey came onto the
gramme director of the YMCA Nelson board around this time: ‘I started
YMCA Nelson. at a low point, so the only place to go was up.’
 66

150 YEARS OF THE YMCA WORLDWIDE

In 1994 it had been 150 years since the YMCA was founded by George Wil-
liams in London. The occasion was celebrated by YMCAs all over the world.
In Nelson, planning for the celebrations started as early as 1992. Some key
events organised by the YMCA Nelson as part of these celebrations was a
Family Walk Day and Picnic, a special church service and a Reunion Dinner.
In the same year that 150 years of the YMCA was celebrated worldwide,
Terry Waite, founder of Y Care International, travelled to New Zealand. The
goal of Y Care International was to work in partnership with YMCAs in de-
veloping countries to bring about positive changes in the lives of disadvan-
taged young people.
Terry Waite was a well-
known international fig-
ure because of the four
years he spent in captiv-
ity in Lebanon between
1987 and 1991. Several
members of the YMCA
Nelson travelled to
Christchurch to hear him
speak at the YMCA Graeme Todd and Zena Gay at the YMCA reunion, 1994
AGM.

YMCA NELSON IN THE MID-1990s

Martine McCabe, who was appointed as the Programme Director of the

YMCA Nelson in January 1993, was soon appointed as the new Executive
Director. Her background was in physical education and recreation, and she
had been the recreation adviser for the Nelson-Marlborough Area Health
Board prior to her employment at the YMCA Nelson. The YMCA Nelson was
still receiving direction and support from the Christchurch YMCA, and con-
tinued to run programmes at its fitness centre in Halifax Street. Many of these
 67

programmes were introduced by Martine, who saw physical activity as an in-

tegral part of the YMCA’s objective of caring for people in an inclusive and
holistic manner. These programmes included ‘Introfit’, ‘Y’s Moves’ and ‘Y’s
Way to a Healthy Back’. The YMCA Nelson also worked extensively with
other service providers in the community to expand on the types of pro-
grammes the YMCA offered and to boost the image of the YMCA in the Nel-
son community. The YMCA Nelson contributed to the Certificate in Exercise
Science programme at the local Polytechnic and also ran an Indoor and Out-
door Adventure Camp for over 50s at Bethany Park in conjunction with the
Tasman District Council and the Christchurch YMCA.
Involvement in local holiday programmes also continued to be an im-
portant feature of the YMCA Nelson in the mid-1990s. Although not in a
strong enough financial position to initiate and develop new youth pro-
grammes, the YMCA Nelson actively supported the Nelson City Council in
its Young Nelson job-seeker initiative. The YMCA Nelson started actively
investigating developing programmes for the unemployed in the community
from the mid-1990s.
Martine resigned from her position in June 1995, but continued to be
involved in the YMCA both locally and internationally in more minor roles.
The YMCA closed down its Health and Fitness Centre in Halifax Street which
made some provision for the YMCA Nelson to repay its debts. As discussed
at a board meeting in 1995: ‘The YMCA wants to be financially viable and
implementing programmes which meet community needs and the YMCA phi-
losophy.’ Kirsty Strong, who had previously been involved in the YMCA Nel-
son gymnastics club, was employed as manager of the YMCA Nelson. With
board member Bernard Downey’s expertise in education, he got involved in
establishing a YMCA education office in Bridge Street, which Kirsty Strong
managed. The focus was on helping people put together CVs, providing peo-
ple who had fallen out of the education system with skills and getting them
work placements. These education initiatives laid the foundation for the direc-
tion in which the YMCA Nelson would develop in the twentieth century.
 68

YMCA STADIUM IN RICHMOND

Activities at the Richmond YMCA stadium continued to be popular, but fi-

nancially the stadium started to struggle. The YMCA Nelson board started to
consider closing the stadium down in 1993, but it was not until 1996 that ar-
rangements were made for the stadium to be sold.

YMCA NELSON IN RECESS

Between 1996 and 1997, board member Alan Black recommended that the
YMCA Nelson go into recess to take some time to pay off its debts. Having
some time in recess was beneficial to the organisation, and by 1999 it was
actively looking at re-establishing itself in the community. While no longer in
major debt, the YMCA Nelson had to start rebuilding the organisation and its
programmes from the ground up. However, the various YMCA programme
initiatives in the early to mid-1990s stood the organisation in good stead. Mar-
tine McCabe resumed a role in the organisation on a part-time basis, and did
some research into programme development. Youth and education pro-
grammes seemed to be an area of need in the community, and her recommen-
dations included looking into TOPs (Training Opportunities Programme) and
Alternative Education.

References:

Interviews with Pauline Jary, Jim Bishop, Graeme and Pat Todd, Paul LeG-
ros, Gary Cox, Janette Hueting, Bernard Downey, March - April 2009.

Correspondence with Martine McCabe, April 2009.

YMCA Archives, Nelson Provincial Museum, AG 362 A1, G5.

YMCA Board Minutes, 1991-2000.

 69

CHAPTER FIVE:
International Links

As outlined in the introduction, the YMCA has been a worldwide organisation

almost from the outset. Although each local YMCA around the world, includ-
ing the YMCA Nelson, has focussed largely on local community needs, there
has always been an awareness of the global nature of the YMCA. The YMCA
Nelson has been especially aware of this, not only receiving international visi-
tors and sports teams from overseas, but also contributing to the YMCA inter-
nationally.

‘They have a saying that you can leave the YMCA, but the YMCA never
leaves you...which I reckon actually is true, because wherever you go in
the world you always feel some sort of connection to it because it’s a
fantastic worldwide organisation.’ - Julie Heaton

The YMCA Nelson has been very involved with the national and international
movement of the YMCA for many decades. Through both the YMCA and the
Y’s Men’s club, many YMCA Nelson members and staff have been sent over-
seas as delegates. For example, during his time as National President of the
YMCA, Graeme Todd travelled to Fiji and Buenos Aires.
The National YMCA helped Fiji set up a YMCA of their own in 1971.
Dennis Oliver (director of the New Plymouth YMCA at the time) was asked
to go to Suva from New Zealand to get a YMCA going there within five
years, after which time Fiji would be left to do their own thing. Graeme and
Pat Todd traveled to Fiji together for a few days in 1976, while Graeme was
president of the National YMCA, as part of the celebrations of the success of
Dennis’ efforts. Dennis wrote a book about his time in Fiji called My Friends
the Shoeshine Boys, published by the YMCA of Fiji in 1977. The Todd’s visit
to Fiji in 1976 coincided with Oliver’s book launch. Their visit also included
travel through the villages of Fiji, and one of the major things they got out of
the trip was learning about the Fijian people and culture.
 70

In the late 1980s, Gerard and Janette Hueting travelled as delegates of the Y’s
Men’s club to Africa, visiting Zimbabwe, Zambia and Kenya. Their involve-
ment with YMCAs overseas really opened their eyes to how fortunate we are
to live in New Zealand, but it also added tremendously to their personal devel-
opment. Their subsequent involvement with the Y’s Men’s club and the
YMCA Nelson was very much shaped by the eye-opening experiences they
had as international delegates. Between
2001 and 2004, Janette was the area presi-
dent for the Y’s Men’s club in the South
Pacific Region - a role which involved
frequent travelling. Gerard became heav-
ily involved in the Time of Fast pro-
gramme, which was a Y’s Men’s initia-
tive to raise funds for developing coun-
tries. It was based on the idea of giving up
a meal, and donating the cost of that meal
to the Time of Fast Fund.
‘That was an experience of a lifetime.’
- Janette Hueting Janette helping to prepare ugali for the
evening meal in Chavakali, Rift Valley.

Gerard and Janette Hueting meeting with African delegates, outside the central YMCA in
Nairobi, Kenya. They presented the African Area President with the Nelson Y’s Men’s Club
banner.
 71

‘The Nelson YMCA was very involved with what was happening inter-
nationally in the YMCA, and nationally.’ - Julie Heaton

Paul LeGros, who has been involved in both the Asia-Pacific YMCA and the
World Alliance of YMCAs describes that his involvement internationally has
brought an international perspective into the YMCA Nelson:

‘We’ve always had a bit of an outward looking vision to see what other
YMCAs are doing and to try and bring some of those ideas back into
the YMCA.’ - Paul LeGros

As a result, the YMCA Nelson has often given assistance towards interna-
tional appeals, like the tsunami appeal in January 2005, and partnered with
YMCAs overseas in community projects.

‘We feel fairly sympathetic I guess to overseas movements, and where

we can we would be one of the first to put up our hand to make a dona-
tion to the cause.’ - Helen McEwan

Various YMCA Nelson staff members have also travelled overseas as dele-
gates during their time with the YMCA. Martine McCabe was sent as a youth
delegate to the World Alliance of YMCA’s 150th anniversary celebrations in
England in 1994, for example. Board member, Helen McEwan, has also had a
significant national and international involvement with the YMCA. She has
been the National YMCA Treasurer since 2002, and was elected to the World
Alliance Executive Committee in 2006, represent-
ing the Asia-Pacific region at their meeting in South
Africa. She described it as a very humbling experi-
ence, meeting hundreds of other people from all
walks of life who are involved with YMCAs world-
wide. Helen continues to travel to Geneva for meet-
ings regularly, and comments: ‘A huge amount of
good work is being done around the world and we
really only know a very small portion of it.’ YMCA Board Member and
Treasurer, Helen McEwan
 72

Internationally, the theme of the YMCA is youth, and there is a strong focus
on youth initiatives and youth programmes.

‘In Nelson, all our programmes really revolve around youth, whether
it’s the childcare, or the education services, the OSCAR programmes,
the alternative education, so we fit fairly well.’ - Helen McEwan

References:

Interviews with Julie Heaton Graeme and Pat Todd, Paul LeGros, Helen McE-
wan, March - April 2009.

Correspondence with Martine McCabe, April 2009.

YMCA Board Minutes, 1991-2006.

http://www.ymca.int/index.php?id=445
 73

CHAPTER SIX: 2000-2008

The YMCA in the Twenty-First Century
From the late 1990s, the Wellington YMCA was running a youth training pro-
gramme in Nelson, focussed on retail skills, which was an extension of the
programmes begun by Kirsty Strong. By 2000, the board of the YMCA Nel-
son had appointed Julie Heaton as Executive Director. She had been involved
with the World Alliance of YMCAs in Geneva, and had worked with the
Christchurch YMCA several years before that. Using some of Martine’s rec-
ommendations, Julie’s role was to initiate and develop YMCA youth pro-
grammes in the Nelson community, as well as spending about fifteen hours
per week tutoring the retail course run by the Wellington YMCA.
Julie saw her role as that of assessing the needs of young people in Nel-
son and networking with other community organisations to start up new pro-
grammes. Julie initiated a drama programme for young people who had been
excluded from school or were not attending school. She also got the YMCA
Nelson involved in the ‘Get An Edge Global Leadership Programme’ which
was a national leadership programme. About thirty to forty students from Nel-
son College and Nelson College for Girls were regular participants in the pro-
gramme. In mid-2000 Julie approached Nelson Intermediate to enquire about
an after school programme, and investigated the possibility of setting up an
OSCAR (Out of School Care And Recreation) programme around that time.
She was also involved in a programme with young people at Victory Primary
School, known as ‘Y’s Track’, which involved several outdoor activities.
Between 2000 and 2001, Julie was the only person
employed by the YMCA Nelson. Her contribution was
valuable both in keeping the YMCA presence in Nelson and
also in laying the foundation for its future programmes.
‘I know that those particular programmes that we ran
did have an impact on the kids, in the young people
Julie Heaton, 2009 that were in them.’ - Julie Heaton
 74

While in her role as the Executive Director of the YMCA Nelson, Julie
worked with the following groups to deliver YMCA programmes effectively:

• The Ministry of Youth Affairs • Trade Aid

• Nelson Bays Youth Workers Collective • Youth Council
• Development Resource Centre • Youth for Christ
• Nelson College and Nelson College for Girls • Health Action

Other groups the YMCA networked with included:

• Youth Nelson • St Barnabas youth worker

• Jubilee 2000
• Amnesty International
• YWCA
• Women in Nelson
• National Council of Women
• Christchurch Youth Workers Collective
• Whakatu Marae Health and Social Service
• NCC and TDC Recreation
• Alcohol and Drug service
• Nelson Mail Youth Reporter
• Arts Council Nelson
• One to One mentoring
• Youth Matters
• Nelson Peace Group.

As the YMCA Nelson developed its education programmes further, Julie did
not feel that she was adequately trained to remain in the position of Executive
Director, as her strengths lay elsewhere. She resigned from her position to-
wards the end of 2001 to take up a teaching position overseas. By 2002, the
board received several new members and the YMCA Nelson really took off. It
took over the retail education course that that the Wellington YMCA was run-
ning in Nelson, offering a National Certificate in Retail and Wholesale. It also
started a security course, offering a National Certificate in Security, and
opened an OSCAR programme. By 2003, the YMCA Nelson was also active
in running a TOPs programme (Training Op- Although the YMCA was
portunities Programme), and in 2004 took
now flourishing in Nelson,
over the ‘Lifeworks’ programme that had pre-
the Y’s Service club was not
viously been offered at NMIT. Suzanne Snell,
doing so well, and went into
Education Manager for the YMCA Nelson,
recess in 2005 because of
was very active in running these programmes.
the lack of members.
 75

NEW PROPERTY

While Julie Heaton was the Execu-

tive Director, the YMCA Nelson
had moved its premises to Kerr
Street. As it was expanding by late
2002, the YMCA Nelson was
searching around for a new loca-
tion. Because of Graeme Todd’s
St. Luke’s Church, now the YMCA building in
connections with St. Luke’s Toi Toi Street.
Church in Toi Toi Street in Vic-
tory Square, the YMCA relocated
into the church in 2003, renting the
property for several years before
purchasing it in 2006.

VICTORY SQUARE

The Victory Square area is seen

as a strategic place for the
YMCA Nelson to be located.
‘We’re in a community that
probably needs a little more Opening of the new YMCA building, 2006

assistance than other parts of

the community.’ - Paul LeGros

‘The Nelson YMCA is very

conscious of catering to the
Victory community, which is a
lower socio-economic area,
but it’s an amazing commu-
The classrooms where the YMCA education
nity, and I think people really courses are held in Toi Toi Street, Victory
Square.
pull together.’ - Talia Walker
 76

NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - ANDY PILBROW

In February 2006, Andy Pilbrow was appointed as the new Executive Director
of the YMCA Nelson. His background was in youth work management and
outdoor education. The opportunity to have a positive impact on the commu-
nity attracted him to the YMCA Nelson. He saw his role as bringing growth to
the organisation, and was certainly successful in achieving this goal. The
YMCA Nelson was already running very successful education courses in re-
tail and security, and the student numbers continued to grow during Andy’s
time at the YMCA. Along with his wife Dana, Andy developed the Alterna-
tive Education programme for teenagers who had been excluded from school.
Andy saw some encouraging results through this programme, including seeing
the students get more enjoyment out of education. The YMCA Nelson also
continued to run the Lifeworks programme, with about 130 participants in
2006 and 2007.
In 2007, the YMCA Nelson established a full-time role for a youth
worker to assist in the education programmes the YMCA was already run-
ning, and also to develop new youth programmes. Katie Hughes filled this
role initially, and Maria Scaletti took it over in 2008. She describes her role as
being an advocate for youth, a shoulder to cry on, an encourager and a sup-
porter. The role of the youth worker at the YMCA Nelson has been instru-
mental in terms of providing for the pastoral needs of the YMCA’s students.
Some of the key aspects of the YMCA Nelson that Andy was involved in dur-
ing his time as Executive Director of the organisation, was developing and
expanding the OSCAR service the YMCA Nelson provided, and establishing
the Y-Kids Early Learning Centre.

Mr Pilbrow’s view on what has contributed to the

current strength of the YMCA:
‘The board and staff team, who have helped to de-
velop and deliver a new, modern vision of what a
YMCA should be.’ Andy Pillbrow
 77

ACTIVE FAMILY DAYS

In keeping with its values, the YMCA Nelson encourages families to be active
together. From 2003 the YMCA Nelson has been active in promoting the
‘Push Play’ family activity challenge in schools. In 2004, eight schools were
participating in the ‘Push Play’ programme. By 2007, the YMCA was much
more firmly established in the Victory community. YMCA Nelson’s youth
worker, Katie Hughes, organised an ‘Active Families Day’ in March 2007 in
Victory Park. The goal of this event was to bring the YMCA’s family values
into the community. The
event incorporated vari-
ous activities that were
set up all over the park,
as well as group activities
and sing-alongs. It was a
great success and over
three hundred people at-
tended. A similar event
was organised by the
YMCA in 2008. YMCA Active Families Day, Victory Park

‘It was great going along, watching these people, and it was mums and
dads and kids as well, and watching them attempt these things that had
been put out right around the paddock together, and then everybody
trying to sing the YMCA song.’ - Janette Hueting
 78

OUT OF SCHOOL CARE AND RECREATION (OSCAR)

By the time the YMCA Nelson opened its OSCAR programme in 2002, it had
already had a long history of providing childcare in the Nelson region, with its
school holiday programmes dating back to the 1970s. OSCAR programmes
are run nationwide by different providers. OSCAR was first introduced to
Nelson by Women in Nelson who recognised the need for an OSCAR service
provider in Nelson. The YMCA Nelson OSCAR holiday programmes were
established in September 2002, with the After-School Care programme fol-
lowing shortly after in October. These programmes were aimed at 5 to 13 year
olds, and were based around Nelson Central School, Clifton Terrace School
YMCA SCHOOL HOLIDAY and Victory School. Several grants
ACTIVITIES IN THE 1970s were received from the Nelson City
AND 1980s: Council and the Ministry of Social De-
velopment to fund these programmes.
In 2008, Brightwater School ap-
proached the YMCA Nelson, indicating
their interest in having the YMCA run
an afterschool and holiday programme
there. The YMCA started the after-
school programme in Brightwater in
YMCA fancy dress. November 1973. The October 2008 and the Brightwater holi-
Nelson Provincial Museum, Geoffrey C Wood
Collection, P344 fr5 day programme in January 2009. As
well as responding to community needs
and requests, the OSCAR programme
has also developed some new initia-
tives. When the OSCAR programme
for Central School relocated from Trin-
ity Church in Nile Street to the Nelson
Baptist Church in 2006, for example,
the ‘Walking Bus’ was developed as a
Face painting. May 1981. The Nelson
Provincial Museum, The Nelson Mail Collection, way to transport children to their pro-
6156 fr25
 79

gramme. Vanessa Bradley became involved in the YMCA Nelson’s OSCAR

programme in 2005, and became the co-ordinator of the YMCA Nelson’s dif-
ferent OSCAR programmes in October 2006. She describes that imparting the
values of caring, honest, respect and responsibility to the children is an impor-
tant aspect of the OSCAR programme. This is done through activities like
baking, where the children would
make different coloured cupcakes for
each of the values, like ‘blue honesty
cupcakes’ or ‘yellow caring cup-
cakes.’
The role of the OSCAR co-
ordinator at the YMCA Nelson in-
cludes organising the holiday pro- YMCA Poster
gramme activities, transport-
ing children to their after-
school programmes, organis-
ing training opportunities for
staff, and dealing with out-
side agencies like Work and
Income New Zealand. Victory After-School
Holiday Programme outing to
Haulashore Island, 2006. programme enjoying
afternoon tea.

Children visiting Riverside

pool as part of the OSCAR
after school programme.

OSCAR children at the Tahuna BMX track.

 80

When Vanessa went on maternity leave, Talia Walker came on board as the
new OSCAR co-ordinator. She left that role to become the YMCA Nelson’s
new Alternative Education Tutor, and Lisa Gray now co-ordinates the
OSCAR programme.

Vanessa Bradley describes the holiday programme outing to Haulashore

Island: ‘It was just so much fun. We had thirty children over there...just
the adventures and things that they come up with....exploring the Is-
land, and the kids having fun looking under rocks for things.’

Y-KIDS EARLY LEARNING CENTRE

One of the biggest and most daunting tasks faced by

Andy Pilbrow during his time as Executive Director
of the YMCA Nelson was developing and establish-
ing the Y-Kids Early Learning Centre. The YMCA
Nelson wanted to expand its services to include child-
care for 0 to 5 year olds, because of the need for early
childhood education in the Nelson community, par-
ticularly in the Victory area. The YMCA Nelson be-
lieved that a community-based childcare centre would YMCA President Bernard
be preferable to centres driven by commercial values. Downey at the opening of
the Y-Kids Centre in July
Applying for funding for an early learning centre re- 2008
quired extensive community research. While the
YMCA Nelson was doing the groundwork for its early learning centre, busi-
nessman Chris Thornley purchased the land the YMCA Nelson was consider-
ing for its early learning centre, and started to build an early childhood centre
on the same piece of land. He was happy to look into selling his early child-
hood centre to the YMCA, and funding for the centre became an issue of
some urgency for the organisation. The amount of money the YMCA needed
was about twice as much as the government had ever granted anyone in the
past, and the application for funding was a lengthy process. Being unsure
about whether the YMCA would get its funding, Mr Thornley considered sell-
 81

the childcare centre to an Australian company. By this stage YMCA Presi-

dent, Bernard Downey, was calling the Education Minister’s office daily to
enquire about their response to the YMCA Nelson’s application. The Ministry
of Education’s decision to grant the YMCA $1.8 million towards its early
learning centre came through just in time.
The Y-Kids Early
Learning Centre opened
its doors in May 2008
with a capacity of up to
sixty-five children, and
was officially opened by
the Governor-General of
New Zealand, who is
also a patron of the
YMCA, in July 2008. Y-Kids Early Learning Centre in St. Vincent Street.

Andy Pilbrow, Bernard Downey and Chris Thorley at the Y-Kids Early Learning Centre, two
months prior to its opening.
Photo courtesy of the Nelson Mail.
 82

Extract from the Governor-General’s Opening Address:

26 July 2008

‘….As Patron of the YMCA, I have been asked to officially open this new
facility, but before I do I would like to briefly comment on significance and
role of the YMCA. For more than a century and a half, the YMCA has taken a
leading role in helping young New Zealanders find their feet - and standing
tall.’

‘The YMCA in New Zealand has adapted over the years to meet the needs of
the communities it serves. In the beginning it provided meeting groups for
young men. Today it is the biggest provider of Out of School Care and Rec-
reation in the country, and one of the biggest private learning establishments.
It plays both these roles in the Nelson community. While the YMCA has
adapted as times have changed, it has always kept its core values - of honesty,
caring, respect and responsibility. These are values that will never be out-
dated.’

‘The makeup of the people in our society is changing. We are becoming a

much more diverse society….I believe that there are children in this Early
Learning Centre whose parents have come
from Pacific, Asian, African and European
countries - as well as those whose parents are
New Zealand-born Maori and Pakeha. It is
important that whatever our backgrounds are,
we are all able to be New Zealanders and “be
ourselves” - that while being part of the New
Zealand culture, we are also able to express
our own various identities.’

‘I believe that our nation’s growing diversity

- in culture, religion and personal and family
relationships - is enriching our society and
 83

economy. But this also poses challenges. Being ourselves and being able to
get on well together: this is one of the major challenges for everyone in our
society. A key to addressing this challenge will be to work together, which
the YMCA has successfully done with this centre.’

‘For centres like this one, the challenge is to provide a place where children
can grow—where they are safe, where they are cared for, and where they are
nourished. In the YMCA philosophy, there is an equal emphasis on nourish-
ing the body, the mind and the spirit. We in New Zealand regard children as a
taonga. That is to say, they are “a prized treasure.” I hope that all the children
who attend this centre will have a happy, healthy learning experience here -
and that they will also enjoy themselves and make great friends.’

‘I would like to close by offering you all greetings and wishing you good
health and fortitude in your endeavours in New Zealand’s first language -
Maori: No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tena koutou ka-
toa.’
www.gg.govt.nz/node/892

The Governor-General of New Zealand officially opening the Y-Kids Early Learning Centre,
26 July 2008.
 84

ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION

When the Alternative Education programme started at the YMCA Nelson in

February 2007 it had a roll of seven students, who had previously attended
Waimea College. Andy Pilbrow’s wife Dana was the first Alternative Educa-
tion Tutor. When Andy and Dana left the Nelson region towards the end of
2008, Craig Nicoll became the YMCA Nelson’s Alternative Education Tutor.
When Craig left his position at the YMCA to pursue his teaching career, Talia
Walker took over his role. Both Craig and Talia are passionate about teaching
the students who come through the YMCA’s Alternative Education pro-
gramme. The programme is structured in a way to provide a holistic approach
to education, not only getting the students through their NCEA Level 1, but
also developing their social skills and encouraging physical activity.
The students in the programme really enjoy the regular sporting and
outdoor activities organised by the tutors, and they regularly interact with the
students on the other education courses at the YMCA. Several of the Alterna-
tive Education students have commented that being in the programme has in-
creased their sense of responsibility
and helped them to make friends.
One student described the main goal
of the YMCA Nelson as ‘helping
people to achieve their dreams.’

Talia Walker with the AE students, 2009

ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION TUTORS:

‘I have never met a kid here that was without hope.’ - Craig Nicoll

‘We help them find another pathway to get back into work or future
training….It’s not always easy, but you know you’re making a dif-
ference….They know that it’s a safe place for them. The kids like
coming here….and they feel comfortable here.’
- Talia Walker
 85

THE YMCA VAN

The nature of the programmes the YMCA Nelson has run in the past and con-
tinues to run today has required the use of a van to transport students to differ-
ent activities. Although the vehicle itself has been replaced, the tradition of
the YMCA van dates back to the early 1980s. Stuart McDougall described
that the YMCA van was always in need of repair when it was being used for
the RYDUM programme:

‘A couple of times I tried to get the RYDUM van up over the Aniseed
hill and it couldn’t make it, it conked out halfway up the hill and I had
to reverse the van and trailer all the way back down the hill.’
‘One day, Barbara the assistant, was driving along, and she went to
change gear, and the whole gear lever came off, the gear stick came
out in her hand, and she was holding the gear stick in the hand and
there was nothing to change.’
The YMCA Nelson acquired a new
van to transport students to and from
childcare and educational courses in
2002. Current staff members have also
had several interesting experiences
with the YMCA van, including break-
downs and parts of the vehicle falling Current OSCAR Co-ordinator Lisa Gray
with the YMCA van.
off while they were driving.

EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAMMES

The YMCA Nelson’s Retail and Security education courses have been ex-
tremely popular since 2002, and the numbers have grown significantly since
2006. Today, tutors Bryan Walker and Tremain Mikaere are struggling to
keep up with the demand, and there are several students on waiting lists. The
YMCA Nelson hopes to be able to continue and further develop these types of
educational courses in the local community.
 86

Bryan Walker describes his involvement with the YMCA Nelson:

‘I’d had a long involvement in the police...and saw the bad side of
life…I just came to the conclusion that there was perhaps other ways of
tackling our problems, and got involved in working with young people.’

‘The highlights for me I suppose are the success stories for the kids that
have been through the course and...are successful.’
‘It equates to them having a
good and meaningful life.’
‘This is our job...but it’s far
more than that, I think it’s a
special kind of place. I think
kids that come here take a
lot away.’ Bryan with the students on an outdoor day.

References:

Interviews with Julie Heaton, Bernard Downey, Graeme and Pat Todd, Paul
LeGros, Talia Walker, Tremain Mikaere, Craig Nicoll, Vanessa Bradley,
Bryan Walker, Janette Hueting, Stuart McDougall, March - April 2009.

Correspondence with Andy Pilbrow, Maria Scaletti, April 2009.

YMCA Archives, Nelson Provincial Museum, AG 362 A1, G5.

YMCA Board Minutes, 2000-2008.

www.gg.govt.nz/node/892
 87

EPILOGUE: 2009-2010
Approaching 150

Over the past 150 years, the YMCA Nelson has continually developed pro-
grammes in response to community need. As Joe Kennedy, current Executive
Director of the YMCA Nelson comments: ‘The day that there is no longer
a need for the YMCA in Nelson will be a good day, as the YMCA would
have fulfilled its purpose in the community.’
As the YMCA Nelson looks ahead to its 150th anniversary, it is clear
that there is still very much a need for the YMCA in the community. Having
come through some difficult times, the YMCA has proved its worth and effec-
tiveness in terms of serving and local community, being attentive to those
needs and having people on board who are committed to serving the commu-
nity. As the YMCA Nelson approaches 150 years in the Nelson Region, it is
worth reflecting on the role that it has played in people’s lives. No doubt the
YMCA will continue to play a similar role in people’s lives for many years to
come.

‘Camaraderie was tremendous...I felt very much part of a family, the

YMCA family. Anybody involved in the YMCA just encompassed you
and looked after you.’ - Heather Scoltock

‘It really was a place of friendship.’ - Michael Gay

‘I met a number, a huge number of people who were influential in what

I ended up doing in my life.’ - Gary Cox

‘My memories of the YMCA is just that it was all about relationship
with people….good relationships were formed and probably lasted for
life.’ - Julie Heaton
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‘The camaraderie that came out of it was marvellous.’ - Peter Martin

‘It’s a very accepting organisation that’s open and people feel comfort-
able.’ - Paul LeGros

‘Helping others and supporting each other is probably one of the most
important things we can do.’ - Talia Walker

‘It’s helping people get skills for life.’ - Pat Todd

‘YMCA can make a difference in people’s 1ives and give them hope and
direction when all may seem lost. That’s worth everything.’
- Allan Kneale

‘Just being involved with the Y and having an awareness of the values
that it has, it naturally has a carry over into my own life.’
- Bernard Downey

‘I would say the reason for [the YMCA’s success] would be its founda-
tion, its basic underlying beliefs haven’t changed.’ - Brian Coulter

‘It’s been a really good involvement for me.’ - Jim Bishop

‘Highlights were seeing, seeing children who didn’t have much really
enjoying fellowship and friendship and fun activities, and growing. And
seeing children changing from shy people to quite confident
and...watching their confidence level grow.’ - Heather Scoltock

‘It’s been an incredible journey, and I’m really grateful and fortunate
that the YMCA were there, otherwise I guess there is nowhere that I
could’ve gone and do what I do.’ - Tremain Mikaere
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APPENDIX:
Current Board members of the YMCA Nelson

President:
Bernard Downey

Vice-President:
Sean Trengrove

Treasurer:
Helen McEwan

Other Board Members:

Jim Bishop
Janette Hueting
Paul LeGros
Graeme Todd

Executive Director:
Joe Kennedy

Business Manager:
Allan Kneale
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
There are a countless number of volunteers and past and present YMCA
members that have greatly contributed to the YMCA in Nelson, who gained
many rich experiences as a result. The personal accounts in this book are a
great reflection of the nature of the organisation, but only capture the experi-
ences of a limited number of people. Although the scope of this book did not
allow for everyone who has ever been involved with the YMCA in Nelson to
be interviewed, the YMCA Nelson would like to thank the large number of
people who have been involved over the years, for contributing to the rich
history that the YMCA can now be proud of. The YMCA Nelson also wel-
comes further involvement from past members and volunteers.
When I started working on this project for the YMCA Nelson, I was
often told about the ‘family feel’ of the organisation. I have heard numerous
accounts of the positive, and sometimes even life changing, impact that the
YMCA family has had in people’s lives. As well as hearing these accounts,
over the past three months of working on this project I have come to experi-
ence the family values of the YMCA firsthand in almost every respect – from
sharing meals, to being taken on a fishing trip, to experiencing the support of
YMCA staff through a difficult period in my life. In particular, I would like to
thank Lisa for sharing an office with me, and to both Lisa and Talia for their
support over the last few weeks. I would also like to thank Joe, Allan, Maria,
Tremain and Bryan for the many ways in which they have assisted me in this
project. I have also received great support and encouragement from the board
– particularly from Janette Hueting, but every member of the board has con-
tributed to the success of this project, and I have appreciated their patience
and their willingness to continuously answer my numerous questions.
I would also like to thank Anne and Paula from the Nelson Provincial
Museum for their assistance, and everyone who participated in the interview
process and shared their personal stories of their involvement in the YMCA
with me.
René Bester, May 2009
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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Interviews:
Interview with Jim Bishop, 4 March 2009.
Interview with Graeme and Pat Todd, 5 March 2009.
Interview with Paul LeGros, 6 March 2009.
Interview with Heather Scoltock, 9 March 2009.
Interview with Brian and Clare Coulter, 9 March 2009.
Interview with Dick Vining, 10 March 2009.
Interview with Craig Nicoll, 10 March 2009.
Interview with Jill Powrie and Michael Gay, 10 March 2009.
Interview with Peter Martin, 11 March 2009.
Interview with Pauline Jary, 11 March 2009.
Interview with Bernard Downey, 11 March 2009.
Interview with Janette Hueting, 12 March 2009.
Interview with Julie Heaton, 12 March 2009.
Interview with Talia Walker, 9 April 2009.
Interview with Vanessa Bradley, 14 April 2009.
Interview with Stuart McDougall, 15 April 2009.
Interview with Tremain Mikaere, 16 April 2009.
Interview with Geoff Gilbert, 17 April 2009.
Interview with Bryan Walker, 17 April 2009.
Interview with Gary Cox, 21 April 2009.
Interview with Helen McEwan, 22 April 2009.

Oral history sound files and transcripts are held at the YMCA Nelson office.

Correspondence:
Gordon Chisholm, Martine McCabe, Robert Gay, Alan Turley, Maria Scaletti,
Andy Pilbrow, April 2009.

All correspondence is held at the YMCA Nelson office.

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Other Primary Sources:

YMCA Archives, Nelson Provincial Museum, AG 362.
YMCA Board Minutes, 1991-2009.

Books:
Hodder-Williams, J. E, The Father of the Red Triangle: The life of Sir George
Williams, founder of the YMCA, London, 1918.

McAloon, Jim, Nelson: A Regional History, Nelson, 1997.

Mikaere, Tremain, ‘Tremain’s story: Violence Begets Violence’ in It’s time

we started telling these stories, Family and Community Services, Ministry of
Social Development, 2008, pp.22-37.

Smith, Sharron, The Nelson YMCA Story, 1860-1985.

Taylor, Colin, Body, Mind and Spirit: YMCA Auckland, Celebrating 150
years, 1855-2005, Auckland, 2005.

Websites:
http://www.nelsonymca.org.nz/

http://www.ysmen.org/

www.gg.govt.nz/node/892

http://www.ymca.int/index.php?id=445

http://www.gymnasticsnelson.co.nz/a_brief_history_of_gymnastics_ne.htm
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