History of the club

Beatrice Vernon (“Trixie” to her friends) was born in London. She attended the City of London School for Girls at Barbican, and afterwards Pitman’s Business College. She became Secretary of the Fabian Society.

In the 1920s Trixie came to New Zealand with her parents, and worked for Henry Haywood in the theatre. In 1927 she married Ralph Vernon, a schoolteacher who later worked as a microbiologist with the DSIR in Auckland, and who was also a keen Rotarian. Whilst bringing up two sons, Trixie wrote articles for magazines, and was for many years a member of the New Zealand Women’s Writers’ Club.

Literature and poetry were two of Trixie’s great loves, as well as painting and all the arts. She had a great zest for living and an independence of mind and thought, as well as an irrepressible sense of humour. She loved travel, and meeting people; her interests were wide and varied. She felt women should continue their education, search for new ideas and use their talents.

Thus was formed the idea to establish a lecture club, to provide an outlet for members to meet with a group of kindred minds, but also as an inlet for new ideas – ideas that were to be informative and imaginative – to widen members’ horizons, to stimulate fresh mental activity and to present new angles on controversial issues.

Trixie gathered a group of friends to form a committee and asked each to invite 15 – 20 of their friends to join them. The firsts committee comprised Trixie Vernon (President), Eve Bush (Secretary/Treasurer), Joyce Morris, Rita Greig, Jean Dawson, Dora Sagar and, later, Margaret Hayes.

The Club was to be known as “AORANGI”, “The Cloud Piercer”, suggested by Joyce Morris. The purpose of founding the club has never changed and every year on Trixie Vernon Day we continue to celebrate the achievement and foresight of Trixie and her group of women, who together founded a club in 1961 which is just as relevant for its members today.