NZSS COUNCIL
Council members and contributors

COUNCIL MEMBERS
John "Oz" Patterson
NZSS President

Oz has been caving for many years and has achieved so many goals for NZSS that he has been granted Honorary membership.  Oz stepped in as President as no other person was willing to take on the job and it was going to be vacant for a second term.
Rod Murray
Business Manager

The first time I went caving was on Rangitoto Island in 2018, and I quickly got hooked and learnt how important good knee pads are! I am a professional engineer, and a relative newcomer to the sport of caving and all things associated.

As a real fan of the technical side and also of “the business” of caving, I also support Auckland Speleo Group (ASG) as their Secretary. Yes, I am also a fan of muffins so squeezes can be a real challenge.

Have also joined HTG so I can use their flush loos when in Waitomo.  Delighted to be able to join NZSS on the Council and support all the members and the six NZ regional clubs where possible.  Great times and opportunities abound underground, aboveground, and ahead.

I love the ol’ saying of: “… if we do the same thing today as we did yesterday then we’ll get the same result tomorrow”. So, let’s embrace the future with positivity and a sense of fun. 

See you underground.

“Deep down there’s a bit of good in all of us 😊”


Dave Ellacott
Secretary
I started caving in my teenage years and have been lucky to have spent many an adventure hanging out with some fantastic people. There of course is the pretty stuff; the big and small stuff; the easy and sporty stuff; the wet, muddy and dry stuff; even the artsy and geeky stuff; but really it's about the people.

I cannot say that caving is my favourite thing. It might get a 5th or 6th placing. But it is bloody awesome...
Anna Stewart
Research & Conservation Coordinator

The first time I went into a cave was to get out of the rain and have my coffee - things haven't changed much since then. Sitting around I saw lots of cool cave critters and got hooked on cave ecology and karst conservation.                  My future dream is to see the google search for 'cave beetles in NZ and that our amazing caves and karst area are looked after and treasured as they deserve to be. 

Kip Mandeno
Safety Coordinator 

I have been caving since last century across NZ, with a passion for the Waitomo caves area. Much of my working life has been in spread across caving, guiding, outdoor education and rope access and volunteering in SAR. These disciplines have developed a passion for developing simple safety systems, ones that work at 2am or in the rain or in the mud.

I am here to help support the clubs, cavers and NZSS activities and to ensure good practice is shared across the NZ caving community.

So if you want any assistance feel free to reach out.
Kieran McKay
Training Coordinator 

Training you to be safely underground
Lindsay Main
Information and Publications Officer | 03 337 1256

I started caving quite a while ago and have been involved in a lot of cave exploration, particularly in Bulmer Cavern, and at Charleston on the West Coast. Previously I’ve held the same NZSS positions, so I haven’t made much progress in the past 20 years.

Recently NZSS has been building up the online information repository, and I’m keen to support and increase this approach. The key project now is to collect information on South Island caves and make this available to NZSS members through a secure website. I’m also interested in the possibility of NZSS eventually owning the land that contains some of our major caves that are currently on private land.
Justin Hall
SAR Coordinator
021 0271 0837

An avid caver; helping home the lost, missing and injured from their adventures.
Robert Martelletti
Membership Coordinator | 06 354 2088

I started caving at the age of 16 by joining the Taranaki Caving Club. After 40 years of caving, I am still scared of heights, tight places and don’t mind the dark if I have not seen a horror movie for several months. I then became a member of the Manawatu Speleological Group and increased my diversity in karst areas and my waist line I am generally very quiet and rather difficult to extract a conversation from, however this has not prevented me from dedicating time to a Society that has benefited me so much over the years.
NON COUNCIL OFFICERS
Marcus Thomas
Bulletin Editor 
Bruce Mutton
South Island Maps Officer 
Vacant
North Island Maps Officer 
Felix Collins
Webmaster & Technical


No I will not fix your computer. I may be able to repair your broken Disto...
Lindsay Main
Tomo Times Editor
03 337 1256