Report: Golden Key Regional Conference - Christchurch New Zealand

Published: March 19 2008

On Wednesday the 30th of January Stacey Croughan and Allan Ball your President and Vice President (respectfully) travelled to the City of Christchurch also known as the:

• Gateway to the Antarctic
• The Garden City
• Sister city of Adelaide

Here, the University of Canterbury hosted the Golden Key 2008 Asia--Pacific Regional Conference.

The three day event was jam packed with events, networking, dinners, workshops, lunches, cultural experiences, games and lectures, all of which were aimed at building the networks for our chapter. The events were held within the central lecture hall of the University of Canterbury which is situated in the suburb of llam.

Thursday was filled with cultural and networking experiences. The night started off young at 5pm with a warm welcome from the Maori people. As a group we were welcomed into the cultural richness and heritage of Maoridom by experiencing the stories, songs and dances of Aotearoa's (New Zealand's) Indigenous people. Stacey and Allan engaged with the Maori performers during and after their shows by dancing with them and talking and learning about each others cultures. Allan commented, '... that speaking with the Maori people and experiencing their unique culture by sharing each others narratives, songs, dances and social histories was one of the most amazing experiences of the conference and his life.'

After the great performance from the Maori people, we got underway with the Golden Key Great Quiz. The Quiz Night tested our knowledge from mathematical equations to pop culture. Although Stacey and Allan had little success with the mathematical equations; all questions POP Culture -- were successfully answered.

Friday was a day filled with workshops and panels to enhance our chapter performance. One of the highlights was a workshop by ex AFL star and motivational speaker Dr. John Tickel. John helped us reflect on our eating, physical and mental habits in which we were taught that everything should be taken in moderation except for Laughter, Vegetables, Fish and (most importantly) Sex. Stacey and Allan split up the workshops to maximize UniSA representation. We networked with chapters from all over Australia and New Zealand and found out some great information regarding marketing, scholarships, fundraising events and much more. We networked with the University of Sydney and they are providing us with a software package to simplify the registration of guests to large events.

Saturday was our last day and this day was an opportunity for Stacey and Allan to attend some professional development workshops and an interactive panel which discussed issues facing Indigenous people, cultures and people. A highlight of the conference was the interactive workshop lead by Michelle Deshong from James Cook University. Michelle's lecture gave us an insight into the diversity of Indigenous social, economic and political situations, past and present.

Peppered throughout the conference Stacey and Allan took advantage of the free time to explore the attractions of Christchurch from the Antarctic Centre to the Gondola (which took us up an extinct volcano). We got the chace to visit the Canterbury Museum: New Zealand Natural and Human Heritage, and there was also time to frequent the local nightlife with some 'daring' Golden Key delegates and locals from Christchurch. But a pact was made, what happened in NZ stays in NZ. A bonus which emerged from attending the conference was the rapport which was built between our chapter and the chapters from Adelaide University and Flinders University. An agreement was made to hold regular tri--chapter meetings and a commitment to tri-chapter events including raising money for our society's charity - The Ian Thorpe Foundation of Youth.

There was never a dull moment during the conference and Stacey and Allan felt extremely honoured, lucky and privileged to partake in the conference and to represent all the Golden Key members of the University of South Australia.

Kiwi Quirks:

• We call the footwear thongs, they call them Jandels.
• Their $1 coins are the size of our $2 coins and their $2 coins are the size of our $1 coins.
• Christchurch is the oldest established city in New Zealand.
• New Zealand invented bungee jumping.
• The kiwi is the smallest species of all flightless birds.

Who would have though that we would find the Holy Grail in Christchurch? (Our favourite local pub).

Christchurch is a city for cars. Car usage is that high in Christchurch that their railway network is now abandoned for domestic passenger travel and is used for freight only.

Despite what people may think about NZ, we only saw a handful of sheep! But, we do know that for every one human in New Zealand there are nine sheep.

The Maori Name for New Zealand is -- Aotearoa meaning the land of the white cloud.