COURSE A, Term 1 2026
Lecture organisers: Howard Harvey, Anne Harding, Yvonne Evans, Paul Fitzharris
February 19: James Gough, will present “Highlights of 15 years as a City Councillor”
James will focus on the challenges faced by the Council after the earthquakes and the processes involved in the rebuild and transformation.
James was a Christchurch City Councillor from 2010, representing the Fendalton Ward. He worked with three mayors and four Chief Executives until not seeking re-election He is now Executive Director at The Terrace, working alongside his uncle Anthony Gough.
February 26: Craig Ogilvie, General Manager for Showbiz Christchurch, will speak on “No Business like Showbiz-ness!”.
Craig will take us behind the curtain of local ‘Broadway’ musicals. Showbiz Christchurch are the producers of locally based productions of Mamma Mia, Kinky Boots, Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Come from Away and in April 2026, the New Zealand premiere of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Hear how these high-quality productions are produced and presented in Christchurch before touring around New Zealand.
Craig has been with Showbiz Christchurch (formerly the Christchurch Operatic Society) as a performer, production manager and board member for over 30 years. He has extensive management experience in Events, Education, Recruitment and Family Entertainment sectors in both New Zealand, Japan and the Middle East.
March 5: Katharine Watson, Chair of the Christchurch Archaeology Project / Museum of Archaeology, on “Cathedral Square Unearthed: stories from the heart of our city.”
Cathedral Square has a long history of human use. The 19th century saw the square change profoundly, going from little more than an idea developed by the Canterbury Association, through a collection of ramshackle buildings and finally to being the home of Christ Church Cathedral. Along the way, numerous businesses came and went. This talk will explore some of the people and businesses of Cathedral Square in the 19th century, as revealed by archaeological finds.
Katharine, an experienced archaeologist, founded Underground Overground Archaeology in Christchurch and ran it throughout the post-earthquake period. In 2017 she embarked on her PhD, drawing on the data about 19th century houses demolished post-earthquake to learn why people built the houses they did and to better understand life in 19th century Christchurch. In 2022, she founded Christchurch Archaeology Project, a not-for-profit organisation set up to save, share and research Christchurch's archaeological heritage.
March 12: Professor Peter Field, Head of the School of Humanities, Associate Professor of American History at the University of Canterbury, discussing “Will the United States survive another year?”
Professor Field has been a regular speaker at Okeover U3A. We enjoy his ability to speak without notes or visuals. He is an active lecturer, speaking off the cuff and routinely interacting with his audience.
March 19: Dame Anna Crighton, DNZM QSO JP a NZ heritage campaigner and former Christchurch City Councillor, will consider “Christchurch Heritage architecture... did we save enough after the earthquakes? Did we destroy too much?”
From 2010 to 2014 Lady Anna was chair of the Canterbury Earthquake Heritage Buildings Fund Trust. She has been a director of the Theatre Royal Charitable Foundation and has chaired the Christchurch Heritage Awards Charitable Trust since 2009. She was President of Historic Places Aotearoa, as well as being an elected member of the Canterbury District Health Board. Her award as a Dame Companion was for services to heritage preservation and governance.
March 26: Christopher Smith, Consultant Technical Institute lecturer, will provide “A brief review of lecturing in China since 2009.”
Chinese and New Zealand education differ sharply: Chinese students tend to be highly conscientious, detail-driven, and motivated by the prestige of foreign qualifications and the “hai gui” – return of talent – an important factor in the wider US-China technology and AI rivalry. New Zealand’s current concerns about declining mathematics and English standards contrast with China’s approach, where cultural preservation exists but remains separate from core academic subjects.
Socially, China’s strong family orientation sits alongside competitive, hierarchical workplaces, unlike the Western preference for individual expression, group collaboration, and flatter structures. These cultural differences shape tensions as Chinese management practices expand abroad. Understanding influence in international exchanges also requires looking at the history of NZ-China relations, their critics, and what China seeks as its economic power and global presence continues to rise.
Since 2009, Christopher has lectured at Technical Institutes in Nelson, Waikato, Hawkes Bay, and for the Welsh University group in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. His focus is on the delivery and management of the China Foreign Exchange programmes for Chinese Institutes.