Local Opinion

Tsunamis in New Zealand

In December 2018 he stood on the beach in the Sunda Straight, photographing Anak Krakatau, between Java and Sumatra, in the distance. Everything on the horizon had oddly gone dark and the orange glow of…

On a journey with Māori

As part of Community Boards 2.0, it is recommended we build better relationships with mana whenua.  With no Māori representative on our board this starts with us improving our understanding of te ao Māori and…

Auckland’s Volcanoes

Auckland has several notable hills – Mt Victoria (Takarunga), Mt Eden (Maungawhau), One Tree Hill (Maungakiekie), Mt Wellington (Maungarei), and more. It also has some pretty neat water features, like Mangere Lagoon, Panmure Basin, or…

The death of Marie Voice

An unfortunate weakness for gossiping was putting a strain on the marriage of William and Marie Voice of Te Awamutu in early January 1903. William, a blacksmith, had received an anonymous letter in reference to…

Exploding lava

Many of us might think of eruptions in Hawai’i when we think of lava flows, or recent eruptions in Iceland or La Palma in the Canary Islands. There are generally two main types that we…

We Say – Dealing with the Bullying

Sadly, within days of Te Awamutu College joining the community to observe the anti-bullying Pink Shirt Day, another incident, shared on social media, has come to light. It has prompted more online complaints about how…

Our week in review

Here’s a wrap up of what police in Te Awamutu did last week… Monday – A male breached electronically monitored bail, police attended three family harm incidents and served a warning under the Harassment Act….

A steer in a jewellery shop

Te Awamutu cattle took a liking to paying surprise visits. Mr W Phillips, jeweller, had an unwelcome customer in the shape of a steer which quietly walked into his shop while being driven from the sale yards.  After…

Behind closed doors

I was first elected to Waikato Regional Council in 2013, as the representative for the Thames-Coromandel Constituency. Following a six-year hiatus, I was re-elected in 2022 as one of the two representatives for the Waipā/King…

Nightmare scenarios

There are around 50 ongoing eruptions right now, but you won’t hear of most of them because they are not big enough to hit the news cycle. Fortunately, many don’t really impact the people around…

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