Taranaki Geological Society

31/08/2026

September Monthly Meeeting
Monday 7th -7:30pm (cup of tea from 7:15)
Toi Foundation-121 Gill St (enter from Davidson St)

FREE AND OPEN TO NON-MEMBERs
5 Student Speakers (from Victoria Uni.)
5 "Earth Sciences" Topics
100% Enthusiasm for Earth Science

02/08/2026

GSNZ 2026 President's Lecture

Lessons for the future from Palaeozoic bryozoans, presented by GSNZ President, Professor Catherine Reid

Three venues in early August:
New Plymouth, 3 August
Hamilton, 4 August
Tauranga, 5 August

Full details of all events on the GSNZ website
https://gsnz.org.nz/news-and-events/national-and-regional-events/

13/07/2026

Post below is link to Next Monthly Speaker Meeting

GSNZ PRESIDENT'S TOUR LECTURE
AUG.3 MON. TOI FOUNDATION
121 GILL ST., 7:30 PM
PROFESSOR CATHERINE REID
"LESSONS FOR THE FUTURE FROM PALAEOZIC BRYOZOANS'

FREE,OPEN TO NON-MEMBERS ,WITH CUP OF TEA FROM 7:15PM

13/07/2026

https://gsnz.org.nz/gsnz-events/ViewEvent/497

02/07/2026

July Monthly Meeting
With Speaker via Video link from Taupo
7:30 pm Toi Foundation 121 Gill St.
(cup of tea from 7;15pm)
Free and Open to Non-members

Ara Ake's Taranaki Geoheat Discovery Challenge: Is there Geoheat value in Taranaki's petroleum legacy?

Evelien Wallace (formerly of Ara Ake) is asking the question: What data, infrastructure and talent survives Taranaki's petroleum legacy and could help power its energy future?
‍
What is geoheat - and why does it matter?
Most people are familiar with the high-temperature geothermal systems of the Taupō Volcanic Zone, used widely across New Zealand for electricity generation and typically exceeding 150°C.

Taranaki's resource is different: generally low-to-mid temperature (up to and around 120°C), sitting below the electricity generation threshold but still highly useful for uses such as:

Industrial process heat, either directly or using ground-source heat pumps for higher temperatures
Space heating for factories, offices, or homes
District heating schemes for industrial or residential areas
Swimming pools and spas
Greenhouses and horticulture
Watch Earth Science NZ's video below for more information on geoheat.

Geoheat is the heat energy stored within the Earth. This heat energ...

18/05/2026

June Monthly Meeeting
Thursday 4th June,7:30pm
Toi Foundation,121 Gill St,New Plymth
(7:15 doors open for cup of tea)

Speaker : Prof. James Crampton,Victoria University

Topic : “Let the Dead Speak! What can we learn from the fossil record of extinction?”

OPEN to PUBLIC and Non-Members

01/05/2026

May Monthly Meeting
AGM (brief)plus Speaker following
Monday 4th May,
83 Hine St,New Plymouth.
Free, Public Invited
Cup of Tea from 7:15pm
AGM from 7:30pm

Speaker : Dr Ian Brewer

Topic: Inversion tectonics in the Taranaki Basin, how applicable are tectono-stratigraphic analogs from the Spanish Pyrenees foreland basin?

06/04/2026

April Monthly Meeting
13th April, 7:30pm (doors open 7pm)
83 Hine St,Disabled Citizens Cntr

Speaker: Kim Styles
Occupation: Greasy Rockologist (Petroleum Geologist BSc.Hon Victoria University)

Topic:
Insights from the mysterious east, drilling in the "Wanganui Basin" andimplications for understanding the Taranaki Basin.

The Taranaki basin is often treated like it ends at the Taranaki Fault.
East of the fault, latest Miocene and early Pliocene sediments were
deposited on a Jurassic, Murihiku basement. The real story however
starts further east in the Whangamomona and Ohura areas. This talk collects the data and results of 2000's era Coal Seam Gas and Petroleum exploration. Through these insights it links the Western Wanganui Basin inseparably to the Taranaki Basin. Understanding this link helps us follow sediments from their source in the east though to their eventual deposition as petroleum reservoirs beneath our feet.



In his career Kim has worked on drilling rigs from Auckland to Stewart Island, and from the Deep Water Taranaki Basin to the deep water off South Island of New Zealand (Great South Basin). From mud logger to technical business owner/operator to his current position as Principal Geologist for NZEC, Kim has intensively studied and evaluated the depositional pathways that built the Taranaki Basin. In 2011 NZEC drilled Kim's Copper Moki prospect which discovered oil in the Kiore and Mt Messenger formations, both very close to his heart present day.s