ROSKILL FDN
The Foundation can be contacted at PO Box 113144, Newmarket, Auckland 1149. Telephone: (09) 520 6414 or email: info@roskill.org.nz
Full house for young opera stars S
t Thomas’ Anglican Church in Kohimarama was packed with opera enthusiasts and supporters on a Friday evening a few weeks ago, to hear some of the NZ Opera’s Freemasons Emerging and Resident artists perform in a concert of popular pieces. This was the second year the concert has been organised by
the Foundation as an opportunity for Freemasons of all Constitutions and their wives, families and friends to get a taste of the talent within the ranks of these fine artists. Judging by the remarks of enthusiasm and delight from the audience it’s bound to become an annual event on the Auckland Masonic calendar.
Masonic ghosts at work in scholarship Older Auckland Freemasons may
remember Lodge Orakei No 270 but today the only living reminder of that once thriving Lodge is the Auckland Masonic Education Foundation. And every year some of the revenue earned by the old Lodge’s invested assets is given away, under their name, as scholarships to bright young university students in the field of science at The University of Auckland.
2014 Freemasons Orakei Scholar Daniel Chen with parents Angel and Michael and Warren Howard.
The man that keeps the Orakei ghost ship afloat is Warren Howard a former member of Lodge No 270 who, with Reid Polkinghorn, Alex Davidson and Mark Winger reward some very talented
and enterprising students. This year’s winner of the Orakei Scholarship is Daniel Chen who is studying for a PhD in bioengineering. His Doctorate study course is aimed at developing a device using artificial muscles that will adjust one’s walking gait and thus alter joint contact forces. This adjustment has tremendous potential to reduce the risk of developing osteoarthritis and to halt progression of the disease. Osteoarthritis is a joint degeneration disease that affects 300,000 New Zealanders at an annual cost of $1.6 billion. There is no cure and the most effective treatment is prolonged rehabilitation or orthopaedic surgery. The Roskill Foundation provides administration services for the Education Foundation. 39