Te Awamutu News | August 3, 2023

‘Momentum’ in Waipā

Leading economist Brad Olsen has told Waipā residents to prepare for fewer infrastructural projects in the short term across the district because of huge increases in the costs of building roads, bridges and footpaths.

Talking to councillors at a workshop before the Strategic Planning and Policy committee meeting this week, the Infometrics expert said his company was increasingly telling councils to have a greater level of priority.

“That means a difficult and important conversation with your

communities.”

Do the top five (projects) and the six to 10 would have to wait. “It means saying no to some stuff,” he said.

But elsewhere in the presentation, Olsen was generally positive about the outlook for the district in his fifth annual State of the Nation address for Waipā.

Spending is up and “there are now clear economic indicators, more people, they’re excited, they’re energised.”

While the district had a lot of economic activity coming through – thanks to the investment in

industrial and commercial areas in places like the airport – increasingly other districts were being seen as attractive.

South Waikato was one district providing competition.

“Waipā did avoid the much larger hit that the national economy did during Covid. There is a lot of momentum behind the Waipā economy.”

He said that included strong levels of employment growth, particularly among Māori which was up eight per cent. Total growth of 3.1 per cent was double the national average.

The district has the 14th best economic outcome among all 63 territorial authorities but those ahead of Waipā – like Waimate in the South Island - were coming from a lower base, said Olsen.

Employment in the primary industries, construction, manufacturing, retail and science and technology leads the way.

Having those technical services in fifth position was good news for Waipā because it is a group that increasingly works from home and chooses to live in this district, he said.

Continued on page 2

A fire alarm interrupted Waipā councillors’ questions to economist Brad Olsen following his State of the Nation speech this week, but it provided time for an interview with senior writer Mary Anne Gill.

Brad Olsen kicked into the Waipā District Council carpark during a fire alarm this week.

Photo: Mary Anne Gill.

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‘Momentum’ in Waipā

Accommodation, food services, education and health were growing.

House prices in the district had not declined as much as other districts and importantly were now above 2021 but lower sales levels came from increased borrowing pressure from banks.

Olsen told The News “continued levels of growth” had marked his tenure as the council’s economic advisor.

“Waipā was already in a strong position for the pandemic with the primary sector a big part of that and so to was high level of construction and investment over the area.”

The unlocking of Waikato Expressway added to that.

‘Waipā’s one of the strongest economies

we’ve got. It’s come into its own right now, it’s seen as a destination, a place people want to move to, it’s got great lifestyle opportunities and affordability.”

A lot of the things people don’t want, stays in the metros, he said.

He was not surprised at the number of retirement villages either built or under construction saying it represented a lifestyle change for people, but he warned the way population growth was happening, there would not be as many younger people to care for them.

“It’s going to be difficult to resource the population to the same degree, that means we think about the investments now into the technology.”

Olsen is not old enough to have teenagers preparing for a future but if he did, he would be pointing them towards the professional services such as IT and technology.

“The primary sector still has a lot of opportunity, that is our bread and butter a lot of the time. Thinking about how to diversify.

“We know climate change is coming we know there are adjustments happening over time but is there diversification for the Waipā district into horticulture, or into some of the agritech or advance manufacturing. There are opportunities there,” said Olsen.

Students press for stories

Wintec School of Media Arts students are spending time in Waipā as part of their studies.

The students’ regular class with tutor Roy Pilott - who edits both the Cambridge News and Te Awamutu News – are being held in Waipā each Thursday.

Pilott is assigning students stories to follow up – and they may appear in either or both of the Good Local Media publications and on line.

Last week a group was door knocking to follow up our story on a reader’s call to review street names in Waipā – Cambridge Road in particular, because in some cases they were disjointed and in others change from being a street to a road.

The journalism course at Wintec has other links to Good Local Media – present and past reporters Jeremy Smith and Benjamin Wilson both graduated from there.

On the beat with Constable Ryan Fleming

Our week in review

It’s been another very busy period for Te Awamutu Police – here’s is last week’s round up.

Monday - Police attended two vehicle collisions, a family harm matter involving damage to property, a shoplifting incident was reported, we transported a mental health patient to Waikato Hospital and recovered a stolen motor vehicle.

Tuesday - A vehicle was unlawfully taken, police were involved with a fleeing driver incident, theft from a motor vehicle, a motor vehicle collision, a burglary of outdoor furniture, and female was issued with a trespass notice. The male involved in Monday’s shoplifting incident returned to the store wearing the clothing which had been stolen. He presented a knife at the retailer and stole more items. He was arrested a short time later and charged with aggravated robbery. Police also attended

three family harm incidents.

Wednesday - Police attended a breach of protection order. A mental health incident resulting in a male being sectioned and transported to Waikato Hospital. We also dealt with a burglary, a motor vehicle was unlawfully taken and subsequently located, and a male was found to be driving with excess breath alcohol.

Thursday - A youth breached bail when police conducted a curfew check at his home and another male was involved in a mental health incident. A male was defrauded through a Facebook buy and sell page. Police attended a care home where a female became aggressive to staff, a teenager was reported missing by her mother, the youth breaching bail was seen attempting to break into a vehicle. He was seen by police and a foot chase ensued. He was arrested a short time later and put before the Court and

held in youth custody. A shoplifter was reported at a supermarket, a male breached his bail during a family harm incident, police attended a burglary and a male was arrested for breaching bail.

Friday - Police attended a family harm incident, a suspect was spoken to by police who found him with a crowbar. Police also attended a burglary, a family harm and a firearm incident that involved a fleeing driver, and an armed traffic stop and eventual arrest with the deployment of the Armed Offenders Squad.

Saturday - A motor vehicle collision caused by cattle on the road was reported, police attended a mental health incident and a family harm.

Sunday - Police attended a serious motor vehicle collision on Kihikihi Road.

PICTURED RIGHT: Some of the Wintec students who are learning the ropes in Waipā – back from left, Benji Allen, Oliver Healey, Lachlan Douglas and Tori Post, front Sarah Morcom, Ethan Bennett, Ollie Newport and Ronella Felizardo.

Chambers to gather

Prime Minster Chris Hipkins and National leader Christopher Luxon will attend breakfast events in Hamilton when the Waikato Chamber hosts the national Chambers of Commerce conference next month.

Quickfall leaves

District Plan and Growth manager Tony Quickfall is leaving Waipā District Council after four years for a position at the Ōtorohanga District Council. Quickfall was involved in Civil Defence emergency management deployments during Cyclone Gabrielle early this year. The council is also advertising for an Economic Development advisor to replace Steve Tritt who left in April.

New livestream

Waipā council has installed two new livestream cameras in its Te Awamutu chambers complete with new microphones for coun-cillors. The upgrades, costing about $116,000, will also eventually enable viewers to watch Cambridge Community Board meetings live.

Column changes

Some details, relating to issues including legal advice and time when staff advice was given in last week’s column about Memorial Park plans by Te Awamutu-Kihikihi Community Board chair Ange Holt were incorrect. Her corrected column can be read at teawamutunews.nz.

Online report

Teawamutunews.nz home page was top of the online stats last month with 19 per cent of all views. The dairy owner’s dilemma caused by road works outside his shop was second following in third by Te Awamutu Sports’ win in the Waikato rugby competition. The online version of our newspaper was fourth while Jeremy Smith’s obituary on former Te Awamutu and Pirongia fire chief Robbie Morriss was fifth.

Racing, together, this time…

By Mary Anne Gill

Waipā’s two racing clubs in Te Awamutu and Cambridge have joined forces with the big city Waikato club in Hamilton to become one multimillion dollar super entity called Waikato Thoroughbred Racing.

The mega club’s first meeting was held yesterday (Wednesday) in Cambridge on the synthetic surface which chief executive Butch Castles says is one of many reasons the new organisation has good reason to look forward with optimism.

Cambridge Jockey, Waipā and Waikato Racing clubs merged into one on Tuesday (August 1), the same day every racehorse in the country celebrated their birthdays. Now it’s the new club’s birthday too and the start of a fresh financial year.

Its first test as a club was trials on Tuesday at Te Rapa where Te Akau Racing’s Mark Walker had more than 70 horses trialling for upcoming spring campaigns.

The three clubs owned hundreds of hectares of prime Waikato land with the turnover on their balance sheets in the millions of dollars every year.

But they each brought something special into the mix including 25 full time staff and training facilities arguably the leading ones in Australasia.

Waipā in Te Awamutu, founded in 1915, enjoyed many years of racing before becoming solely a training and trialling venue three years ago. It has a 1650m grass track with a 300m straight and is home to more than 200 horses who use the swimming pool, grass and sand tracks.

Cambridge Jockey Club started as a low-key picnic racing club in 1944 and is now Australasia’s

biggest and the country’s leading training venue. Its synthetic track - opened in 2021 - was the first in New Zealand and partially funded as part of the Covid recovery initiatives.

Now the club hosts more than 300 horses who use an equine swimming pool and train on the synthetic and grass surfaces and a steeplechase track. There are 15 race and 20 trial meetings a year.

Waikato Racing Club at Te Rapa in Hamilton came into existence in 1924, runs 20 meetings a year and is the flagship course for the region. Up to 100 horses train there and its steeplechase

course provides spectacular viewing.

Chunks of the course have been developed in recent years into retirement villages and commercial activities. A plan change under consideration by Hamilton City Council will unlock 6ha for further housing.

Its last meeting as Waikato Racing Club at Te Rapa was the Taumarunui Racing Club’s event on Saturday with the feature Gold Cup won by Enchanted Elle and ridden by up and coming Cambridge apprentice jockey Jessica Allen.

Andy Cruickshank who was the Cambridge chief executive now becomes chief operating officer and while still based in the town, will be working out of Te Awamutu and Hamilton on a regular basis.

But don’t expect to see any new logo or changes to livery immediately.

“To start with it’s about making sure we are operational from the backroom stuff. Making sure all the financial stuff is under control,” said Castles.

“There’s great benefit in pooling resources.

“It’s a change, a leap of faith by all our members to do this.”

It had been talked about for a long, long time but the catalyst came when Counties and Auckland racing clubs became Auckland Thoroughbred Racing in August 2021.

If they could do it, so could Waikato.

“For it to finally come about (here) is great. The biggest positive is we will be able to make the decisions into the future for the betterment of racing in the region,” said Castles.

Decisions like where there might be a greenfields’ racing surface and whether other clubs like Matamata and Te Aroha might want to join in.

“These three clubs were a natural fit.

“We need to bed this in and make sure Waikato Thoroughbred Racing Club is something other clubs might want to join,” said Castles.

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Cambridge Jockey Club president Bruce Harvey with chief executive Andy Cruickshank pictured last month with the 2023 Melbourne Cup.

Waikato Thoroughbred Racing Club’s chief executive Butch Castles at the new club’s Te Rapa course. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.

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With more than ve years’ experience as a glazier, he founded Jake The Glass Guy at the end of 2022.

Now working with customers from Te Awamutu, Cambridge, Hamilton and the wider Waikato, he does so – he says – knowing the business offers an important point of difference.

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Brylee hops off to Phoenix

Te Awamutu dancer Brylee Gibbes is hoping to lock in success on the world

The 18-year-old former Te Awamutu College student – who finished school last year - left last Thursday for the 2023 World Hip Hop Dance Championships in Phoenix, Arizona as part of Auckland-based Identity

Taking a gap year in 2023 to pursue her passion for dancing, she is Waipā’s – and Waikato’s - sole representative with the company at the championships, which have attracted more than 330 crews from 40

She will first appear on stage on day three of the preliminary rounds early tomorrow (Friday) New Zealand time.

Brylee – who has been dancing for about 15 years – has experience with Drury Lane, Te Awamutu School of Dance and Imperious Dance Company. She won her place to

compete with Identity after a “strenuous” two-day audition process in January and will take to the stage in two of the company’s crews - an all-girls group called Masque, which will compete in the varsity category open to dancers 13 to 18, and a combined Kiwi crew of up to 40 dancers called Yung ID.

She has previously completed workshops with Identity and “loved it”, she said.

Identity has a history of competing at the championships, and after Yung ID finished second last year, Brylee said their aim is to go one better this year.

The crews – Brylee included – have been training up to eight hours day, five days a week to prepare.

She has commuted to Auckland for that training, and the signs are positive.

Both crews qualified for the world championships after Yung ID placed first in New Zealand and Masque – in which there can be a maximum on nine dancers on stage - placed third at the New Zealand Hip Hop International World Championship qualifier in April.

“I almost can’t believe this is real, dance is just magic,” Brylee told The News of her love of the craft.

“Honestly, I’m so excited - more excited than nervous. It’s something I’ve been dreaming of since I was 12 when I first saw Masque compete.

“I love performing for people and being on stage – and in dance, you make so many friends and become tight with people so quickly.”

Brylee first started dancing in jazz,

before shifting to hip hop.

“What I like most about hip hop is that there is such freedom, everyone is their own person with their own style and that’s what makes them different and amazing.

“Competition wise, I love that when you watch a routine as a whole, everyone looks crisp and in sync. There is uniqueness, while at the same time being completely collaborative.”

Brylee said judges will be looking to ensure Masque and Yung ID complete routines which – among other criteria –feature at least three different styles of hip hop, which can include among others crumping, popping and locking and “new school” dance steps.

“We’ll also be looking to put our own little twist on things,” Brylee said.

Following the preliminary world championship rounds, the top 20 crews from each of the roughly six categories go through to the next round.

The finals – featuring the top eight crews – are set for next Monday, August 7 New Zealand time.

Following the world championships, the Identity crews will head to Los Angeles for guest performances at the World of Dance convention and Flip the Switch 2023.

Brylee is known to readers of The News already – a year ago she took part in the 10th New Zealand Youth Parliament as the Taranaki-King Country Youth MP.

“That was so much fun. I loved the experience and made so many different connections and friends,” she said.

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Te Awamutu’s Brylee Gibbes – Waipā and Waikato’s sole representative – has headed off to compete in the 2023 World Hip Hop Dance Championships the United States.

Saving windows into history

By Jeremy Smith

Historic windows into the past at both of the Waikato’s only two category one historic buildings – part of Te Awamutu St John’s Anglican Parish – need an upgrade projected to cost nearly $150,000.

The call has gone out for the community’s help as the parish seeks to make the work a reality and preserve “rapidly deteriorating” community taonga.

Te Awamutu St John’s Anglican parish priest Reverend Julie Guest said unique stained-glass windows at both Te Awamutu’s Old St John’s Church and St Paul’s Church on Rangiaowhia Rd are “getting worse by the month”.

At both churches, work required includes repairing cracks in the enamel of the window itself, and fixing the wooden arch in which the window sits.

One obstacle faced though, she said, is that while there are organisations which fund work on historic buildings, many won’t fund active churches – which both Old St John’s Church and St Paul’s Church are.

Category one historic places are places of special, or outstanding, historical or cultural significance.

Waikato’s only other category one structure is Cambridge’s Victoria Bridge.

According to parish records,

Old St John’s – completed in 1854 – is thought to be one of, if not the, oldest church in New Zealand which has continually been used for worship since.

Aside from briefly closing for maintenance at one stage, and being shut during the Covid lockdown, the church’s doors have otherwise been open almost 170 years.

St Paul’s on Rangiaowhia Road opened two years later in 1856. Services are held there three times each month.

A fundraising committee has been established to look at ways to raise the money to conserve, or refurbish, the windows.

When quotes for the work were last sought a year ago, estimates were that the St Paul’s window would cost about $60,000, the Old St John’s window about $40,000.

Reverend Guest said given the time that’s elapsed since then, costs are likely to have increased.

She said the window at St Paul’s was last conserved, or refurbished, about 30 years ago.

“We’re essentially faced with a choice. We either do nothing, in which case they’ll get worse – or we act now.

“We are stewards of this incredibly special taonga, and we have a responsibility to take that role seriously. I really sense that.

“My major concern is that we do what we can to make sure this part of our history can still be told

here for generations to come.”

Reverend Guest said earlier this year, the St Paul’s congregation had helped ensure the exterior of the church was repainted at a cost of $60,000.

At the same time, a new $11,000 cross was made for the top of the church.

“These buildings tell the stories of our history – they’re places which gather people and, prayerfully, help heal our community.”

She said Māori records show about 4000 people were living at Rangiaowhia when St Paul’s was built.

It was a wheat growing area, flour was being sent to Auckland, then on as far afield as Australia and California.

Worship at St Paul’s came to an abrupt end when the Rangiaowhia attack drove the surviving Ngāti Apakura and Ngāti Hinetu people away from their settlement. The church lay empty for about 10 years, until repair work began in the 1870s.

As well as St Paul’s at Rangiaowhia and Old St John’s Church and St John’s Church on the same site in Te Awamutu, Pirongia’s St Saviours Church is also part of the parish.

In April The News revealed there were plans to resurrect Rangioawhia as a world heritage site.

• See Faith in Waipā, Page 10.

Reverend Julie Guest at St Paul’s Church on Rangiaowhia Rd in front of the stained-glass window which needs to be refurbished.

Kiwifruit rules under review

By Mary Anne Gill

Waipā District Council is looking to make changes to its District Plan to accommodate a burgeoning kiwifruit industry while at the same time residents are taking council to the Environment Court over the council’s decision to let a Parallel Road kiwifruit operation proceed.

Councillors were briefed about the kiwifruit plan changes at a secret workshop held after the council meeting on June 30. Details of the briefing were revealed on page 154 of the Strategic Planning and Policy committee agenda this week, but the earlier workshop was not publicly notified.

Earlier this year Nick and Vanessa Jennings filed papers in the Environment Court at Auckland against the council, saying its decision to allow a kiwifruit orchard to proceed next to their property in Ōhaupō produced a “poor resource management outcome.”

They argue it was a flawed independent commissioner’s decision to grant retrospective applications to build kiwifruit shelter structures and boundary setback planning.

Jennings this week told The News despite recent mediation talks between the kiwifruit operator, the council and him, the court case was still going ahead. He said the action has cost him $120,000.

At the closed door workshop, planners told councillors they were proposing changes to shelter belt rules – changing the wording around height - and reducing yard setbacks for crop protection structures.

The structures would be exempt from building coverage calculations and standards and be either green or black in colour to minimise visual effects.

In the days leading up to the workshop, a council planner contacted the New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated for help saying the council was aware of kiwifruit expansion in the district.

In a newsletter to its members, the kiwifruit growers’ organisation said the council was reviewing its District Plan rules “to best reflect this shift in the utilisation of rural land”.

“More specifically, they are looking at the shelterbelt planting rule; rural zone boundary setback and building coverage rules as applied to shade cloth structures, and colour standards for shade cloth structures,” the newsletter said.

The council wanted to understand the perspectives of kiwifruit growers and the difficulties they encountered with the Waipā District Plan, said Wayne Allan, Waipā District Growth and Regulatory Services group manager.

He said staff wanted an insight

from the kiwifruit growers’ group on the shift from pastoral to horticultural land.

No other interested parties appear to have been approached.

“None of them have come to me or my lawyer,” said Nick Jennings. But Allan said it would have been inappropriate to consult with any party involved in an appeal before the courts.

The News asked Allan why the June workshop was held in secret.

“There are ongoing legal processes (with council as a party) which touch on issues of crop protection structures. It was not appropriate to hold this workshop in public,” he said.

“Nor is it unusual for workshops around potential changes to district plans to be held in a publicly excluded setting, given proposed changes to district plans can

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Consents up

The number of land use and subdivision consents lodged with Waipā District Council in the three months ended June 30 was up by one on the previous quarter. Land Information Memorandums (LIMs) were also up, from 223 to 237.

Building down

Building consents fell by 81 to 471 in the Waipā district in the quarter ended June 30. The value of the work was $88.84 million compared to $209.83 million in the same three month period last year.

Parking infringements

impact on property values.”

The kiwifruit changes were among 10 he tabled at the Strategic committee this week.

The others include solar power, quarry buffers, hazardous substances, events at the Cambridge Town Hall, animal nuisance provisions, light spill/ glare and noise.

“Whilst the scope does include a number of items, these are predominantly ‘minor’ in nature and unlikely to create contention and delays,” he said in the report.

The cost to make the changes is $28,000. A further workshop with elected members is planned in mid-September and the plan change is expected to be notified in November/December.

Then all stakeholders are able to contribute to the proposals via a formal process.

Drivers continue to test the council’s patience by overstaying their time parking in Cambridge and Te Awamutu’s central business districts. Waipā parking officers issued 187 parking infringement notices during the three months ended June 30, well up on last year. Five littering infringements were also issued.

Housing development

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has received eight tenders for land it owns in Cambridge North. Only 34ha remains to be developed.

Court action

One owner out of six in the Cambridge C1 growth cell has lodged an appeal to Waipā council plans to purchase land for a stormwater basin.

Waipā is becoming a popular destination for kiwifruit growers.

Toby makes his mark

By Mary Anne Gill

When someone from the crowd yelled out “he’s our future” and “let him speak”, Toby Whytock was quick to grab the microphone and put National Party leader Christopher Luxon on the spot at a public meeting in the Cambridge Town Hall on Monday night.

“Where do you stand on co-governance and I’ve read through your policies and while it’s great that you plan to build more houses, are you planning to build these on good productive food producing land or around more city centres?”

The 13-year-old St Paul’s Collegiate student from Puahue, midway between Cambridge and Te Awamutu, got a resounding reception from the 500 people present at the public meeting.

“All of you, do not give up on our young people because there I think we have a future member of parliament in Taupō,” Luxon said turning to the incumbent Louise Upston and telling her 2045 might be a good time for her to stand down in favour of Toby.

“We do not support co-governance in public services,” he told the Year Nine student.

Housing development would come in two ways – by building cities up and intensifying them, creating transport hubs and having dense areas with apartment blocks and “great places for young people to want to live.”

“We are going to need some greenfields development because roading and road networks enable and empower a whole bunch of housing development to happen. If

we do SH29 from Tauranga to Hamilton and Southern Links – that’s about 18,000 houses when we put that roading system in. It opens up new areas and builds up new suburbs,” he said.

The top five percent of the country’s fertile, really important soils for growers, would be protected, he said.

The meeting started with Upston who said she had a highlight for the crowd from earlier in the day revealing that at the launch of the National Transport for the Future policy, the Cambridge to Piarere extension was top of the list.

“Having had that road cancelled, it is now back on the list. Not only is it back on the list but we will start it in the next one to three years.”

Then to add to their delight, she said “back in page 28, in the longer term projects for investigation, is the third bridge for Cambridge.”

It was the perfect way to kick off the meeting.

Luxon said he was shocked to see so many people.

He acknowledged Upston, an “outstanding MP who knows the community so well.”

She advocated strongly for the Cambridge roading projects in the plan, he said.

Luxon went on to spell out his vision for New Zealand before taking questions from the floor.

They varied from a Cambridge High School science teacher asking if National would get serious about science in the curriculum, to challenges in the courts, delays in Resource Management Act consenting, mental health, vaccination mandates, gun measures, climate change, freedom of speech, lockdowns and road charges.

“I appreciate there will be answers I’ve given that some of you will say ‘no, I disagree with that strongly’ and I think in New Zealand we can actually find a way to disagree without being disagreeable, as my grandmother used to say.

“We want to maintain our civility.

“We have a great country, we can get it sorted, we can get it turned around and we can get it back on track,” said Luxon who mingled with the crowd before speaking to The News about the infrastructure announcements made earlier in the day.

“We want a four lane highway from Tauranga through Hamilton on the way to Auckland and up to Whangārei.”

The first two projects would be Cambridge to Piarere and Whangārei to Marsden Point – both in the first term.

SH29 Tauranga through to Hamilton would be next as would ways to navigate the Kaimai Ranges.

The $24 billion would be less than the $30 billion on Auckland light rail and provide a comprehensive transport plan, he said.

Southern Links – the $600 million transport network linking SH3 from Kahikatea Drive in Hamilton through to SH1 in Tamahere – would be back on, he said.

“That will create commercial, residential and industrial opportunities.”

Luxon would not be drawn on what role Upston would have in a National government. “She’s a critical part of our team and our focus is on winning the election.”

• See cambridgenews.nz for more photos and a video from the meeting.

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National Party leader Christopher Luxon with St Paul’s Collegiate Year Nine students, Toby Whytock, left, and Troy Poole, right at the public meeting in Cambridge Town Hall this week. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.

Trying a little kindness

Louisa Nabbs – a first lady

The claimant for being the first European girl born in Auckland regularly caused controversy but when Louisa Nabbs of Pirongia died in 1911 she was top contender.

It had been a life of firsts for Louisa, whose parents Charles and Harriet Hill arrived in New Zealand from Gloucester, England via Sydney, in the late 1830s. They initially settled at Russell, Bay of Islands, but Māori unrest saw them move to Auckland on St Patrick’s Day, 1841. Charles had the first hotelkeeper’s license in Auckland, which had been established as the colony’s capital the year before, selling liquor from a raupo whare.

That August Louisa was born and Lady Hobson, wife of the first Governor of NZ, aware of the struggles of a new mother in the fledgling town, made personal inquiries at the Hill’s whare regarding the welfare of mother and child.

Daley, was born in 1865 he was the first European boy born within the boundaries of the Pirongia township. But Louisa’s husband soon vanished, rumoured lost at sea, leaving her with two small boys. Louisa then married Sergeant William Nabbs of the 60th King’s Royal Rifles and the Waikato militia. They bought land in Mangapiko and were the first residents in that area.

New Rosetown Lions Club president Sue Goodridge, left, with her predecessor Jenny Elers at last month’s changeover.

By Viv Posselt

Rosetown Lions Club’s new president Sue Goodridge has pledged to focus on kindness and caring as the theme for her year in office.

“It seems de rigeur as president to have a theme. I thought long and carefully about it… affordable housing, food insecurity, financial literacy,” she told guests at last month’s Rosetown Lions’ changeover. “My theme will uphold the Lions mantra of ‘Kindness in Action’.

“Over the years, I have been involved in various caring organisations, including Samaritans, Victim Support and now Kainga Aroha. Attempting to make the world a better place by celebrating and promoting good deeds, or pledging acts of kindness, is also at the heart of what we do as Lions. You never know what someone else is going

Briefs…

A Te Kuiti dairy company has been fined $32,500 over its failure to notify National Animal Identification and Tracing that it was moving 910 cattle onto its farm, the Ministry for Primary Industries has announced. Rangitoto Dairies Ltd, which operates a dairy and beef farm business at Te Kuiti, had pleaded guilty to a representative charge.

through.”

English-born Sue, who works in catering and describes herself as being an overthinker not always keen to rush into things, tinkered on the fringe of Rosetown Lions for about seven years before joining.

Since doing so, she has overseen the club’s Catering and Hunger committee, and last year was involved with the Community and Environment committee while holding the post of vice-president.

Sue inherits the role from Jenny Elers, who rounded off a busy year in office last month, one which marked Rosetown Lions’s 30th birthday.

She told the handover gathering that 1819 voluntary hours and 118 completed activities had helped donate over $13,000 to charities during her year in office.

In that time, club members have helped at blood drives, Kihikihi bowling tournaments, Daffodil Day and the Pink Walk around Hamilton Lake, sold raffles at the Black Friday Street Party and collected litter at the Rose Gardens on World Cleanup Day.

They were also involved in the Anzac Day Civic Service and worked with other local Lions clubs to support numerous fundraising activities.

Among recipients of funds was the Te Awamutu Health Shuttle, the Lions Club International Foundation Flood Relief Fund, and the Te Awamutu Boxing Academy.

Louisa was baptised by the Rev Mr Churton in a raupo church, the predecessor of St. Paul’s. Twenty-two years later the same reverend officiated when Louisa married John Daley, of the Third Waikato Militia, at St Mary’s Church, Parnell, in November 1863. John Daley was serving at Pirongia and Louisa journeyed from Auckland to Waikato with him by ship, coming right up the Waikato River. The Waikato War had begun in July that year and the ship’s captain, anxious about being ambushed, ordered the women and children below decks. The expected attack, however, did not happen and the settlers reached their destination safely. Daily life though was overshadowed by the fear of being surprised by Māori warriors.

When Louisa’s first child, James John

In 1887, her son James, aged 22, badly shattered his left hand when a gun burst. He became the first surgical patient in the new Hamilton (Waikato) Hospital. His thumb and two fingers were amputated in a candlelit operation. Three months later there was another first at the hospital – Louisa’s husband William became the first patient to die there, aged 62. He suffered from an internal disease, incurable except for necessary surgical instruments, which could not be procured in New Zealand, but which Dr Kenny had on order from England. Louisa, who suffered from rheumatism for many years, died aged 70, at Pirongia. The debate over who was the first European child born in Auckland flared up periodically in newspapers.

In 1915 a correspondent signing themselves ‘Facts’ asserted that a Mrs Slator was born on March 11, 1841, trumping everyone, and could produce documentary evidence of the fact. But no evidence was ever produced, and it seems that Louisa –although not the first European child born in Auckland (that was a boy) – was the first girl.

How many pokie

machines should we allow

Auckland 1841, year of Louisa’s birth.

Company fined

Hand over for new aircraft

By Jeremy Smith

The second of two aircraft purpose built in Waipā specifically to bolster the Papua New Guinea Defence Force will be in nation’s skies before the end of the month.

The latest aircraft completed at Hamilton Airport-based NZSkydive – a PAC 750XL utility aircraft overseen to a large degree by staff from both Cambridge and Te Awamutu – passed a return test flight with “flying colours” last Friday, before being handed over to representatives of its new owners, the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF).

It is one of just 30 fixed wing aircraft manufacturers and NZSkydive staff who worked on the aircraft watched as it was gifted as part of a strategic partnership between the Australian Defence Force and their Papua New Guinea counterparts.

The initiative includes joint training and capacity building activities, aviation safety and maintenance.

The two PAC 750XL were purchased by the Commonwealth of Australia and gifted to Papua New Guinea – they’re also the first two aircraft completed at NZSkydive since it began manufacturing on the former Pacific Aerospace site last March.

The PAC 750XL was first designed on the current NZSkydive site in Hamilton 20

years ago – and more than 120 have been built since.

Once in Papua New Guinea, the newest PAC 750XL will carry personnel, freight, undertake supply and personnel drops and be part of a pilot and maintenance training fleet, enabling the PNGDF to increase its operational capabilities.

Canberra-based PNGDF Attaché, or advisor, to Australia, Colonel Siale Diro, and PNGDF defence adviser Tony Aseavu accepted the newest PAC 750XL from the Commonwealth of Australia, represented by Australia’s PNG Sovereign Air Capability programme director, group Captain Stephen Fielder, at a ceremony last Friday.

Waikato District councillors Crystal Beavis and Mike Keir, Waipā District Pironga-Kakepuku Ward councillor Bruce Thomas and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and Employers and Manufacturers Association representatives were also present.

NZSkydive owners Dee Bond and Neil Young also watched on.

NZSkydive CEO Stephen Burrows said the company was proud to be part of last Friday’s handover.

The first of the two aircraft was gifted in March – with each build project representing roughly 12,000 man hours – about 24 weeks, he said.

“The two aircraft represent the

start of a new era for the Papua New Guinea Defence Force,” Burrows said.

Returning from the aircraft’s test flight, Colonel Diro said it was a “fantastic day”.

About 80 percent of Papua New Guinea’s population, he said, live

in rural areas with remote airstrips.

“We’re required to be able to access those in our population who live in those remote areas.”

Able to take off in 220m even when fully loaded, and land in just 166m, the Pac 750XL can also uplift more than its own weight.

Darren has it

Many of the nearly 50 people employed by NZSkydive worked on the newest PAC750XL.

Key among them was Te Awamutu’s Darren Gibson, who commutes to work every day.

Gibson – who has almost 30 years’ painting experience - estimates he cumulatively spent roughly a month almost single handedly painting it in preparation for Friday.

“I used over 30 litres of top coat alone,” he said.

“I started out in the marine industry,” he said, adding there’s a “special process” necessary when painting planes.

“The standard is very high. Whatever part I’m painting, I give 100 percent. Knowing the completed plane is life changing for those who now own it is great.”

“It’s capabilities and versatility like that which make it perfect for Papua New Guinea,” Colonel Diro said.

“NZSkydive is right up there with the best in the world. I’m amazed by the quality of work done here.”

covered

Pictured with the new PAC 750XL is from left, Canberra-based Papua New Guinea Defence Force Attaché, or advisor, to Australia, Colonel Siale Diro, flight lieutenant James Brennan, Group Captain Stephen Fielder, representing the Commonwealth of Australia, NZSkydive chief Stephen Burrows, PNG Defence Force air capability officer lieutenant colonel Douglas Vavar and PNG Defence Force defence adviser Colonel Tony Aseavu.

Darren Gibson spent about a month painting the new aircraft almost single handedly.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) Defence Force air capability officer lieutenant colonel Douglas Vavar in the cockpit of the new PAC 750XL after being part of a test flight to Tauranga last Friday.

A disconnected debate

By Peter Nicholl

The 2023 election campaign is well and truly underway and the various parties have been revealing their policy platforms.

What has struck me as both interesting and concerning is the huge disconnect between two of the most important policy areas. The first debate centres on the areas that are suffering because of past underfunding by successive governments. Health, roading and the universities are three such areas already identified and others will probably appear during the campaign.

Most political parties seem to accept that these shortfalls are real and are serious. Their main area of disagreement is whose fault it is.

The second debate centres on taxation. Given the large shortfalls in government expenditure identified in the first debate, I would have expected the second debate to focus on how these shortfalls should be funded. But most of the taxation debate has been either been about reducing certain taxes or ruling out the imposition of others. Most households know what would happen to their financial position if they spent more but earned less. The same simple arithmetic applies to governments.

Two taxation areas that have got a lot of early attention in the campaign are a capital gains tax and exempting certain items, like basic food, from GST. Internationally, New Zealand is in a minority on both of these tax issues.

I said in an earlier column that New Zealand is one of only about 30 countries in the world that doesn’t have some form of capital gains tax and most of the other countries that don’t are very small.

I said it was inevitable that New Zealand would have to follow suit and the only

question was when.

Recent surveys have shown that a majority of New Zealanders support the idea of some form of capital gains tax.

Despite that, the two main parties have ruled a capital gains tax out for this election.

I don’t understand their logic either on economic or political grounds. Delaying the inevitable seldom makes for good policy.

With regard to GST on food, most other OECD countries also either exempt food, apply a zero-rate or apply reduced rates. The New Zealand GST system is certainly simpler than that in most other countries and that does have cost and efficiency benefits. The critics of a GST exemption for food also argue that there are more efficient ways to support low-income households. This is also correct.

The simple and most efficient way of giving such support would be giving direct cash handouts to those families.

But giving support in this way may not be as widely accepted publicly as removing GST on basic foods. That’s probably why most other OECD countries have taken GST off food despite the efficiency arguments.

The recent New Zealand surveys show that an even bigger majority of the New Zealand public support taking GST off food than they do the capital gains tax.

The one thing that can be said about the New Zealand tax system is that while it has no capital gains tax and imposes GST on basic foods, it is one of the most regressive tax systems amongst the OECD countries. That should be a major part of the debate on taxation during the current election campaign – but it doesn’t look like it will be.

Preservation of a taonga

By Julie Guest

Today I am writing a different kind of column. I am pleading for help.

The Parish of St John Te Awamutu has two historic buildings - Old St Johns, in Te Awamutu, and St Paul’s on Rangiaowhia Road.

These are the only two Category One historic buildings in the Waikato - the only other Category One structure is the Victoria Bridge in Cambridge.

These buildings are important to all New Zealanders not just because of their age, although for New Zealand their age is notable.

Old St John’s was completed in 1854 and St Paul’s in 1856. Old St John’s has been worshipped in continuously since 1854, the only breaks being during periods when the building was undergoing maintenance, and during the 2020 lock down.

The worship in St Paul’s came to an abrupt end when the Rangiaowhia attack drove the surviving Ngati Apakura and Ngati Hinetu people away from their settlement. The church lay empty for about 10 years, until repair work began in the 1870’s.

That is another reason these two buildings are so important to all of New Zealand.

They are existing evidence of the friendly and co-operative relationship that existed between the early settlers and Māori pre1860’s.

These buildings provide a background for helping us today, and for coming generations, to see and hear the cruelty and tragedy that was inflicted on the Māori of Waikato.

A church is also a powerful place to be invited to consider what justice and restoration might look like. Both churches

are regularly visited by groups of school children as they study the history of New Zealand.

Tourists from within New Zealand and around the world also pour in.

If we were able to keep each church open daily, we would not have a day without visitors seeking to learn the stories of these places. It’s noticeable that many of the visitors are overcome when they enter the churches.

They are what is known as “thin places”the years and years of prayer and worship within them seem to have soaked into the wooden walls, the very air, bringing the Holy presence of God powerfully close. We live in a world where anxiety, fear and depression are on the rise, where the effects of the Waikato wars are still being felt and questions of justice addressed. In such a world these churches where God’s presence is palpable, offer sanctuary and challenge to all.

But there is a problem. Both St Paul’s and Old St John’s have unique stained-glass windows. And they are both deteriorating rapidly.

A year ago, the estimated cost of repair for St Paul’s window was $60,000 and Old St John’s was $40,000. It will be more now. As a parish we have sought funding from many places and come up with little. Funders won’t assist a place of worship. But these churches tell vital stories of our history -stories that invite both a prayerful and a practical response. Will you help us ensure they continue to exist for generations to come?

Nathan celebrates finalist spot

By Viv Posselt

Ngahinapouri’s Nathan Wilson could be pumped enough to make you think a parcel of long-held dreams had just landed in his lap.

The 22-year-old is elated to have been selected as a finalist in the 2023 National Youth Art Awards, an event hosted annually by the Waikato Society of Arts. One of his works, a sizeable abstract featuring slices and angles in shades of blue and grey, is now hanging in

Hamilton’s Blue Gallery as part of the Youth Art Awards exhibition which opened on July 28 and runs to August 13.

“This was my first time entering, and to be up there with 50 of the best youth artists in the country … I am really stoked,” he said on Monday, days after the formal exhibition opening and awards night. “I wasn’t named a winner, but it’s pretty overwhelming just to be in it, particularly on my first crack.”

The 22-year-old has always had a thing for art. He lives at home with parents Lee and Pete Wilson and holds an early memory of his mum doing a painting on his nana’s balcony.

“I remember her showing me how to do things with cotton to make clouds on the canvas. That is probably my earliest memory of art.”

After finishing primary schooling in Ngāhinapōuri, Nathan went on to Hamilton Boy’s High School. He quickly pushed aside an early twinge of negativity about structured art classes but grew to love them and quickly started fanning the spark he so clearly harboured.

After school, he completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Whitehall in Auckland, majoring in graphic design.

“I loved that graphic space, where things are much more aligned, more technical than they are in the creative area,” he said. “Whitehall was amazing. They allowed us to do both.”

Nathan said his work reflects his reality, captures the essence of his deepest thoughts.

The process is for him a sanctuary, a place to alleviate stress and one

where he finds beauty in the imperfections of his subjects, like marks, wrinkles and textures. He likes to experiment with replicating tiny things, like the delicacy of a grass blade or textured leather … there are no sweeping landscapes in his repertoire. An early muse was

American artist Jet Le Parti, a man who talks about quantum particles and reckons the world’s physicists informed his work. About a year ago, Nathan fell upon another American artist, Terry Urban, whose style is said to ‘clutter the canvas’.

Borrowing from these

explorations and adding his own, Nathan is developing a unique style. When not working, either in graphic design or screen printing, he is painting frenetically at home, filling the space with big canvases, some of which are beginning to find their way into local exhibition spaces.

Native plants by the thousand

Youngsters have been out in force helping a planting project in Ōtorohanga on flood protection land.

Pupils from Ōtorohanga Primary School’s rumaki reo (total immersion) class, Ōtorohanga College and Little Kiwis Corner early childhood centre were at a community planting day helping to put nearly 3000 plants in the ground as part of the Te Ara a Waiwaiā Waipā River enhancement project.

The project, initiated by local iwi, is led by Ōtorohanga District Council.

“When you plant, you create a habitat and a home for all the native species to come home,” Wikitōria Tāne, from Te Kotahitanga Marae, Ōtorohanga, told students gathered

Briefs…

Quarry on hold

Beacon Hill’s retrospective consent to operate sand quarrying activities at Oreipunga Road in Cambridge remains on hold pending further information from the operators. The application by the owners was lodged in April last year after it was revealed there had been illegal quarrying at the site for five years before that.

Tiny houses

Waipā council has joined a working group established by the New Zealand Tiny House Association. A standardised fact sheet about the rules relating to tiny homes will be posted on the council’s website and provide specific information on district plan rules, rates and development contributions.

to help with the last of the planting of the two-year project.

Te Ara a Waiwaiā project, which is funded by the district council, Waikato Regional Council and Waikato River Authority, has involved the maintenance of matsudana willows over 2.2 kilometres of riverbank and the addition of nearly 6000 native plants on a 10-metre riparian margin along the river.

Since 2015, a partnership between iwi marae, Waikato Regional Council, Waikato River Authority and local landowners has seen the planting of 150,000 native plants on both sides of the Waipā River and its tributaries.

Piazza change

The Waipā District Plan will undergo a number of minor changes including increasing the number of events able to be held with the Cambridge Town Hall piazza. Currently only two events are pre-approved – Anzac Day and Armistice Day. Staff told the Strategic Planning and Policy committee this week it was “entirely appropriate” to increase the number.

Glaringly obvious

Glare from new commercial and industrial developments close to residential properties have resulted in complaints to the Waipā council. Staff plan to review the rules in the District Plan to add a lighting standard to enable effective measurement and compliance.

Ōtorohanga Primary School’s rumaki reo class was fully committed to planting.

Nathan Wilson is ‘stoked’ at winning a finalist place in this year’s National Youth Art Awards,

New games sport is put on the table

By Jeremy Smith

A potential new Special Olympics sporting code looks set to be served up in Te Awamutu.

With a membership of more than 30 athletes, Special Olympics Te Awamutu has a sole sport – swimming - under its umbrella.

Now discussions are underway between Te Awamutu representatives and the organisation’s governing body, Special Olympics New Zealand, as interest in adding table tennis as a second sport is gauged.

Special Olympics New Zealand Central North Island regional sports coordinator Matt de Jardine said in conjunction with Table Tennis New Zealand, he’s been organising table tennis sessions alongside other sports at schools like Te Awamutu College for about a year. In that context, he said, the sport is proving popular – with about 20 students attending the sessions.

Additionally, when the Special Olympics National Summer Games were held in Hamilton last December, though not an official sport, table tennis was offered as a pastime in the athlete’s area in between events.

It was a hit there too, leading to further discussions about making table tennis a sport

Briefs…

Waipā winner

A project by Waipā based Lee Turner Architecture was one of three from Waikato recognised at the regional architectural design awards ceremony in Tauranga.

Soaring Box House, in Whatawhata, won the Cambridge based company the Regional Resene Colour in Design Award.

Doggy poo

The appointment of a new contractor is expected to see the number of complaints to the Waipā District Council lessen about full dog poo bins not being emptied regularly.

Under age check

Police and Waipā liquor licensing inspectors held a controlled purchase operation earlier this year and found minors buying alcohol at two premises. Enforcement action against the outlets is expected.

officially offered by Special Olympics Te Awamutu.

“As we’ve seen that popularity growing, it’s been about relaying that, and considering how, in a broader sense, it’s something we can look into,” de Jardine said.

“The community spirit at Special Olympics Te Awamutu is fantastic, everybody feels so welcome.

“When considering broadening our reach into the community by adding table tennis, it’s about seeing what lands, what works and is wanted in Te Awamutu – and then increasing the way in which we serve our community.”

Special Olympics Te Awamutu committee member Mel Coleman, who has been batting for having table tennis in town alongside other committee members, said a series of ‘give it a go’ days are being planned in Kihikihi to gauge community interest.

Supported by Table Tennis New Zealand and Kihikihi Table Tennis Club, the five-week programme will run at Kihikihi Town Hall in October and November.

All going well, Coleman said, those days will then give the Special Olympics Te Awamutu committee as a sense of direction regarding permanently facilitating table tennis.

Land zoning

A private plan change lodged with Waipā District Council in late December for the rezoning of rural land to greenfields at 2025 Ōhaupō Road in Te Awamutu to enable urban development is on hold pending a final decision on increasing housing density in Cambridge, Kihikihi and Te Awamutu residential zones.

Sale settled

Proceeds from the $2.683 million sale of 1.4ha of Waipā council land at 1262 Cambridge Road in Te Awamutu to Kainga Ora are being held in trust with interest payable to the council while finer details are being worked through. The development will provide 30 homes for 55 year olds and over and construction will start within two years.

Back row, Special Olympics New Zealand central North Island regional sports coordinator Matt de Jardine, top left, athlete Ella Yarndley, Special Olympics Te Awamutu committee member Mel Coleman, Kurt Munn and Matthew Sloane. Front row, Brittany Edwards, Katie Townsend and Stevie Cook.

This newspaper is subject to NZ Media Council procedures. A complaint must first be directed in writing, within one month of publication, to the editor’s email address.

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SING, DANCE, ACT PERFORM ON STAGE

Coffee is a little cup of love and a day of happiness.

Now Open!

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Sudoku

304

Fill the grid so that every column, every row and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9.

Across

in a crime

(6)

approve

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Last week

Across: 1. Sit up, 4. Review, 8. Blatant, 9. Swede, 10. Extra, 11. Trainer, 12. Regret, 14. Mullet, 17. Nurture, 19. Slang, 21. Awash, 22. Bourbon, 23. Decree, 24. Dumps.

Down: 1. Subterranean, 2. Toast, 3. Placate, 4. Rotate, 5. Vista, 6. Eternal, 7. Secret agents, 13. Garbage, 15. Unsound, 16. Feeble, 18. Usher, 20. Album.

BEDROOM BUTTON CALL CONFIDENCE

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FEAR

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SIGNAL SPECIAL SUPPLIER SYSTEM

TELEPHONE

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Last week

Sudoku

by Byron C Clark

Speaking after the chaos of the protest that stopped the nation, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a press conference, 'One day, it will be our job to try and understand how a group of people could succumb to such wild and dangerous mis- and disinformation.' That day isn't in the future. Mis- and disinformation had been identified as a problem before the convoy to parliament had even been suggested. While that protest looked like something that 'couldn't happen here', things that supposedly couldn't happen here seemed to be happening with alarming frequency. Three years prior, an armed gunman had entered two mosques in Christchurch and taken the lives of 51 worshipers, an event that shocked a country where mass shootings are almost unheard of. A few months later, a New Zealand Defence Force soldier who had founded a far-right group was arrested, and is awaiting court martial, accused of espionage. We are no longer living in ordinary times, where political violence is unimaginable, and conspiracy theorists are marginal figures whose ideas can be laughed at. How did things get to this point? Fear: New Zealand's Hostile Underworld of Extremists helps make sense of the tributaries feeding the river of alt-right activism, identifies the main perpetrators, and looks at why New Zealand is susceptible to misinformation, conspiracy theory and fear-mongering.

All puzzles © The Puzzle Company

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

BYRON

518 Sloane Street, Te Awamutu

exciting training programmes are coming to Hamilton! Our cast build their skills and confidence as they work together with the NYT Team towards a shared goalperformances of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid Jr” at Clarence St Theatre

This must-read new book maps New Zealand’s alt-right underworld and unearths the roots of the occupation that ended in a violent protest on the grounds of Parliament.

COME JOIN US & HAVE SOME FUN

Great

By Chef Louise Chidlow

pilot, 72 Bassoon, 73 Geisha, 74 Bistro, 75 Emblem, 76 Goals, 78 Eagle, 80 Deuce, 82 Lyon, 83 Isle.

Handel, 34 Edam, 36 Sneak, 38 Nurse, 40 Wavy, 45 Cadet, 46 Rosette, 47 Boom, 48 United, 49 Melee, 50 Athlete, 52 Apprentice, 53 Tornado, 54 Mettle, 55 Smacked, 56 Annoy, 57 Area, 62 Psalm, 67 Lantern, 68 Pretend, 70 Co-

DOWN

Speediest, 79 Academy, 81 Two, 84 Risky, 85 Lighthouse, 86 Gulls, 87 Nylon, 88 Paint the town red, 89 Jemmy.

Ravioli, 30 Bruise, 31 Eyrie, 32

Lockup, 12 Mitre, 13 Vertigo, 14 Compete, 18 Forerunner, 23 Ocean, 24 Crochet, 26

Thimble, 27 Confess, 29

DOWN: 2 Cordon, 3 Fence, 5 Aunt, 6 Episode, 7 Ironed, 8 Evict, 9 Fulcrum, 10 Dump, 11

20 Boredom, 21 Momentary, 22 Supple, 25 Stretcher, 27 Camera, 28 Stereo, 33 Articulate, 35 Yen, 36 Such as, 37 Even, 39 Fun, 41 Ribbons, 42 Satire, 43 Endeavour, 44 Slant, 45 Cerebrum, 50 As, 51 Playtime, 55 Scent, 58 Despotism, 59 Hungry, 60 Operate, 61 Eel, 63 Tutu, 64 Rescue, 65 Ego, 66 Answerable, 68 Prepay, 69 Rescue, 71 Abolition, 76 Gather, 77

ACROSS: 1 Scoff, 4 Face like a fiddle, 14 Crime, 15 Brine, 16 Antisocial, 17 Macho, 19 Rut,

From emergency shifts at a posh London practice to a busy country hospital treating all manner of wildlife snakes, foxes, hedgehogs to working with equine surgeons and teaching the art of care to new generations of vet nurses in New Zealand, this book is about a life devoted to saving our beloved and unconditional friends.

Tales of a Vet Nurse by Jade Pengelly

You never know who or what is going to walk, crawl or slither through the doors of veterinary hospital... Clumsy Luna the Greyhound and her fragile front legs; the tortoise in need of a prosthetic leg; Jock the Saint Bernard and his problematic eyelashes; Edward the Burmese cat and his extravagant diet; the burly farmer and the world’s tiniest Chihuahua, Lulu-bell... there is never a dull day in the life of a vet nurse. As the people who care for them around the clock, vet nurses are uniquely placed to speak for their patients and help us understand what our pets are going through. From emergency shifts at a posh London practice to a busy country hospital treating all manner of wildlife - snakes, foxes, hedgehogs - to working with equine-surgeons and teaching the art of care to new generations of vet nurses in New Zealand, Tales of a Vet Nurse is about a life devoted to saving our beloved and unconditional friends. Along the way, Jade enlightens readers to the forbidden feasts of Labradors, the dangers of x-raying prize-winning showjumpers, and the most common pets she sees as clinic inpatients.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JADE PENGELLY is a vet nurse from Christchurch, New Zealand. She has worked in five practices between the UK and New Zealand. She was also teacher of veterinary nursing at Wintec, Waikato, for two years.

with Jan Bilton

Coffee break bakes

Scones and muffins are top sellers in New Zealand cafés and coffee shops. However, these old-fashioned delights have evolved since grandma baked her plain scones and bran muffins. Additions such as caramelised onion or blueberries now add interest to scones and bacon and cheese or pumpkin, spinach and sunflower seeds can jazz up muffins. Scones are more like bread while muffins are more cakelike. Scones need gentle handling and should never be overmixed. If the dough is too crumbly add a little more milk (or buttermilk, if using). If too sticky, dust with a little flour. Flip onto a lightly floured chopping board and pat (not press) out to about 3cm-3.5cm thickness. Keep the dough cool as this will help it rise.

With muffins, mix the liquid ingredients in one bowl and the dry in another. Combine the mixtures until just moistened otherwise they will be tough and tunnels will form inside. Resist the temptation to mix until the ingredients are smooth. Add any additions at the end. If you don’t fill all the muffin holes, pour water into them. The evaporation will help the muffins rise and prevent the pans from buckling.

DIVINE DATE SCONES

2 cups pitted dates

3 cups plain flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

pinch salt

1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar

200g butter

1-1 1/2 cups milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

Topping: 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Place the dates in a small saucepan with just enough water

to cover. Bring to the boil and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes or until soft. Cool.

Place the dry ingredients in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the butter in batches, processing until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Tip into a bowl and add enough milk to form a soft — but not too sticky — dough.

On a lightly floured board, pat the dough into a square approximately 24cm. Brush with the beaten egg then cut in half lengthwise. Spread the date mixture on one half. Flip the other half over the top — egg-wash side down — to make a sandwich.

Cut into about 8 pieces. Place on the prepared oven tray. Brush with egg and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake for 1520 minutes or until golden. Makes 8.

CRUSTY LIME MUFFINS

2 cups self-raising flour

3/4 cup sugar

75g butter

1 cup milk

1 egg, lightly beaten finely grated rind 2 limes

Topping: julienne rind 2 limes

1/4 cup each: lime juice, sugar

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a 10-hole muffin tray with paper cases.

Combine the flour and sugar in a bowl. Melt the butter and combine with the milk, egg and lime rind. Add to the dry ingredients, stirring, until just combined. Spoon into the muffin cases.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until a skewer is inserted in the centre it comes out clean.

Meanwhile, combine the topping ingredients without dissolving the sugar. Remove the cooked muffins to a wire rack. Spoon the combined topping ingredients over the muffins while still hot. Makes 10.

Crusty lime muffins

Divine date scones

Heat Pump

Notice of Public Annual Meeting of Beneficiaries

Availability of the 2023 Chairperson’s Annual Report, Financial Statements, 2023-24 Annual Plan, and Waipa Networks Ltd Statement of Corporate Intent.

I hereby give notice that on Friday the 25th of August 2023, commencing at 10.00am, a Public Annual Meeting of Beneficiaries (Connected Consumers) will be held at Waipa Networks, 240 Harrison Drive, Te Awamutu.

At the meeting the Trustees will report on:

• The operation of Waipa Networks Trust for the year ended 31 March 2023.

• The Financial Statements of Waipa Networks Trust for the year ended 31 March 2023.

• The performance of Waipa Networks Limited for the year ended 31 March 2023.

• The compliance of Waipa Networks Limited with its Statement of Corporate Intent for the year ended 31 March 2023.

• The Annual Plan 2023/24 of Waipa Networks Trust.

At the meeting the Beneficiaries will be given the opportunity to:

• Appoint the Auditor for Waipa Networks Trust for the 2024 financial year.

• Speak on all matters being considered at the Annual Meeting.

Please note that the above named documents are available for public inspection on the Trust website or at the offices of Waipa Networks Limited at 240 Harrison Drive, Te Awamutu during ordinary business hours.

K M Heeringa - Secretary/Treasurer

PARISH OF ST JOHN TE AWAMUTU

We are looking for an administrator who can support the many ministries in the Parish.

• You will be engaging, friendly, and with excellent customer service skills.

• You will be well organised and be a great multitasker.

• You will work in a flexible and varied environment.

• You will have values that align with the Parish.

The hours are 20 hours per week, 9am to 1pm Monday to Friday.

For more information, including a job description, please contact Julie Guest (Vicar) julieguest7@gmail.com

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ASHURST, Mark Gerrard

– Suddenly passed away at Waikato Hospital on Saturday, 22nd July 2023, aged 68 years. Father of David and Krystal. Thanks to the St John Ambulance and Waikato Hospital ED staff for the care shown to Mark in his final hours. At Mark's request a private farewell has taken place. All communications to the Ashurst Family, c/- 262 Ohaupo Road, Te Awamutu 3800