Welcome to the

Kairangi Bridge Club Inc.

Clubrooms

Our History

In 1971, as the game of bridge was gaining popularity around New Zealand, a group of keen bridge players placed a notice in the local newspaper of the Eastern Suburbs in Wellington asking for names of those interested in starting a bridge club.

Mrs Pat Rose (now a life member of the club) hosted a meeting in her home to which thirty-six people attended and a steering committee was formed. They called a public meeting on 20 September, 1971. From the response Kairangi Bridge Club was born and play commenced at the RSA rooms, Kilbirnie the very next week. Play at the RSA was limited to one night a week with members bringing card tables in the boots of their cars.

The name Kairangi was chosen because the original name for the Miramar Peninsula was “Motu Kairangi” A free translation of Kairangi is “feasting one’s eyes on the sky” or “seeing clearly in the future”. Surely a wish of all bridge players!

Meanwhile, an empty, dilapidated building in Central Miramar formerly known as the Rio Grande Dance Hall caught the eye of the vigilant committee and after some negotiations, the rental was agreed and a team of dedicated workers transformed the old dance hall into a bridge club which was opened by the then Mayor of Wellington, Sir Frank Kitts, in May 1972.

At a special meeting in 1976, members agreed to buy the building for $35,000. Subsequent committees have made valuable improvements to the building and with a fairly stable membership of approximately 200; Kairangi continues to provide an excellent venue for bridge players living in the Eastern and Southern suburbs of Wellington.

138 Hobart Street, Miramar
Telephhone: (04) 388 2527
P O Box 15-131 Wellington 6243
Email kairangi@paradise.net.nz