In the mid-1980s, the Rotary Club of Wanganui was approached
by a Wellington Rotary club, to see if there would be an interest in opening a
branch of U3A in Wanganui. This was picked up by Dick Mitchell, who was the chairman
of the Rotary Community Services Commission, In 1985, a public meeting was
called and held at the Blind Centre. Sufficient
interest was shown, and U3A Wanganui was established. The first president was
Dick Mitchell, followed by George Bowers. Forty years on, George’s wife, Peggy
Bowers, continues to be a member of U3A Whanganui.
Initially five groups were set up, one of them being
the ZEN group. While ZEN was supposed to be about the maintenance of
motorcycles, some of the earlier attendees remarked that it covered much more
than that.
In 2015, reflecting the views of the local council,
iwi, and public submitters, and ensuring consistency with the Whanganui river's
name, the spelling of "Wanganui," was officially changed to
"Whanganui". Over time this name change has been reflected in the
spelling of U3A Whanganui.