CLUB PROFILE
Official club name: The Friendship Force of Manawatu
Closest major airport: Palmerston North
Presidents's email: e.g.wilton@inspire.net.nz
Cost of transportation between the airport and our city (based on 20 people):
Hosts meet the Ambassadors at the airport: no cost as they are always collected.
The maximum number of Ambassadors our club can host: 25
About the club:
The Friendship Force of the Manawatu was chartered on March 7, 1989. We have approximately 70 members. We hold monthly meetings under continuing excellent leadership and we are constantly aware of The Friendship Force's aims. As well as these meetings the board meets each month, the week prior to the full meeting, to prepare and discuss agendas. We also have another social occasion most months. Our meetings are well attended. With this regular contact we are able to respond promptly to international requests or queries. Most of our members live in the town of Feilding and the nearby city of Palmerston North, but a few are in the surrounding districts. We have a separate activities committee who arrange programs to suit everyone. We had the honour of staging the New Zealand National Conference in 1998. One of our members, Keith Clark, was one of the original Field Representatives for New Zealand.
Our meetings are held in the town of Feilding, which has a population of 13,641, the surrounding districts bringing this up to 28,300. We are known as FRIENDLY FEILDING. The town is very garden conscious having won the "The Beautiful Town" award for 14 years. The rural atmosphere is particularly evident on Fridays when the farming community that Feilding services comes to town for the weekly cattle and sheep sales. The throughput of cattle and sheep at the Feilding Sale Yards is the highest in New Zealand and the district's reputation for high quality stud breeding is respected worldwide. Proud of its Edwardian architecture, the Feilding community has renovated and restored the town's heart which boast great shopping and free parking. Feilding's Manfield Park is another icon. An internationally recognized autocourse and major agricultural events center, it is an important Lower North Island meeting place.
Our venue is only 12 miles from the city of Palmerston North (population: 75,900) once known as the "Rose City" because of the large experimental rose gardens at the Esplanade. These gardens have just been awarded the title of "One of the Five Best Rose Gardens in the World". This pretty city is now known as "The City of Knowledge" due to the fact that it has Massey University, a Polytechnic College which includes nursing training, The International Pacific College, Secondary, Primary and preschools as well as many internationally recognized research establishments, the Science Center for New Zealand, The NZ Rugby Museum, Te Manawa Museum as well as the beautifully restored Regent on Broadway which regularly features national and international performances Recognised as a center for educational and research excellence, the city has a lively student population considered a vital part of the community. So too are the many ethnic groups represented in the population. A mix of staff and immigrants ,they provide the city with a rich cultural base often celebrated in the form of public festivals and performances. Palmerston North is also sometimes referred to as the convention center of New Zealand because of its central location.Both Feilding and Palmerston North have excellent aquatic centers which our guests enjoy and there is also an equestrian center where visitors are very welcome to try their riding skills. Massey University is the home of the Adidas Institute for Sport, and also now has a new Mondo athletic track which attracts athletes to the city. There is a large number of walking tracks around the city and district while stockcar racing and other sporting fixtures feature at the Arena Manawatu grounds
About the region:
Welcome to the Manawatu! An area of rivers, mountains, bush walks, beautiful valleys, farmlands, parks, thriving industries, craft outlets and excellent educational opportunities.
The Manawatu climate is equable, with warm summers up to 80 degrees F, cool winters with temperatures down below zero on several occasions. A 30 inch rainfall is evenly distributed throughout the year. The region is subject to buffeting in spring and autumn from the strong prevailing NW winds. Geological experts from around the world are drawn to Manawatu for one simple reason - its unique geological features.
* The Pohangina Anticline which is the starting point of a mountain range pushing upwards, and rising at the rapid rate of one millimeter per year. Not common worldwide this can be viewed from the highway !
* The Manawatu Gorge - a text book example of what happens when a range rises across a river and one of only a few places in the world where the river flows east west through a main divide.
* The largest dune field in the country, Manawatu's 6000 year old coastal sand dunes which reach 18 km inland at their widest point.
About exchanges:
We endeavor to plan at least one outward and two inward exchanges each year. However some years we have had more than two inward exchanges. We were we believe, the first New Zealand club to set up a Bridgebuilders inward/outward exchange, with teachers to and from the Eastern USA, and have since also hosted Bridgebuilders groups of lawn bowlers and quilters as well as a Dutch Choir as a favour. Ambassadors have come to us from many States of America, Japan, Australia, Canada, Ireland, England, Belgium and Ukraine Our aim when we have Ambassadors in our homes is to get to know them well, introduce them to as many people and cultural situations as possible and to have a good time together. We always meet our Ambassadors at the Palmerston North airport, bus depot or train station. Our members frequently join other New Zealand Clubs on outward exchanges as do other club's members join us when we are outward bound
