Riding for our RSAs

Some of the Tribal Nations Motorcycle Club riders head down Alexandra St towards Cambridge last Saturday after stopping for lunch at the Te Awamutu RSA.

The roar of over 100 motorcycles carrying more than 180 riders and pillion passengers was heard through the region last weekend as the Waikato chapter of the Tribal Nations Motorcycle Club took to the streets to raise funds for Returned and Services’ Association (RSA) clubs.

The R.O.R. (Ride of Respect NZ) event is one of two annual rides done by Tribal Nations in New Zealand.  The other is the R.A.T.S. event (Riders Against Teen Suicide), which will take place again later this year.

Club secretary, Cambridge-based Rod Irvine, said the R.O.R. was based on an international initiative and started in New Zealand in 2016.  “It started in England as a ride of respect for fallen soldiers and has been taken over as an annual event by various motorcycle clubs around New Zealand.”

Tribal Nations MC is a riding and social motorcycle group, headquartered in Ngaruawahia but with nationwide membership.

Cambridge-based Rod Irvine, and his daughter Imogen, 12, outside the Te Awamutu RSA last Saturday.

It takes its name from the first nations people, intended to indicate clan, tribe, band, nation, group or community, and has a strong focus on helping spread awareness about suicide, violence and abuse.

Last Saturday’s event included riders from around the country. It started in Ngaruawahia, stopped in Te Awamutu for lunch, proceeded through Cambridge and Morrinsville, visiting RSAs in each town.

Rod, who joined the club in 2016, said funds raised through the event would be distributed among local RSAs.

More Recent News

Libraries – ‘more than books’

The man helping take Waipā District Libraries’ public services into the age of technology has been nuts about computers since he was about four. Now in his late 20s, Joe Poultney is a self-confessed techno-nerd…

Fears over waste plan

The proposal to build a waste to energy plant in Te Awamutu is the antithesis of all the district stands for, says Waipā mayor Susan O’Regan. O’Regan appeared before an independent Board of Inquiry in…

Five councils take the plunge

Ōtorohanga District Council led the way last week as the first of five councils to decide to hand its drinking and waste water over to a council-controlled water authority. Ōtorohanga councillors voted to join stage…

Brilliant bare necessities

The deft hands of a veterinary surgeon and scientist are the same hands that have crafted the brilliant costumes for the upcoming St Peter’s Catholic School production of The Jungle Book. The three performances in…