2000 Sponsorship Down Under

"A.A. Australia, active since 1945, helps A.A.s in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, establish Khmer-speaking groups. The country's service office also assists in the establishment of groups in East Timor, New Guinea, and other Pacific locales. The service office in neighboring New Zealand - which for years has translated A.A. literature into Maori, Fijian, Samoan, and other Pacific island languages - launches an initiative to carry the message to correctional facilities in 32 countries in Oceania and the Pacific Rim."

(AAWS Inc)

1995 First Asia/Oceania Service Meeting

"Years after Bob P. of New Zealand conceives the idea of a zonal meeting serving Asian and Pacific Island A.A. groups, the first Asia/Oceania Service Meeting (AOSM) is held in Tokyo in March 1995. Bob P. chairs the meeting, and its "Twelfth-Stepping Your Neighbor Country" theme emphasizes the shared responsibility of carrying the message in this part of the world. Attending are delegates from Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, and Vanuatu."

(AAWS Inc)

1946 New Zealand's first group

"Ian McE., a resident of the South Island town of Richmond, voluntarily admits himself to a psychiatric hospital in an effort to sober up. There, he comes across the Reader's Digest article "Maybe I Can Do It Too." Struck by his identification with the article's subject, he writes to Bobbie B. of the Alcoholic Foundation. His letter launches a long-term correspondence with (and sponsorship by) Bobbie that will lead to the formation of the first New Zealand group."

(AAWS Inc)

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