Te Awamutu News | March 14, 2024

Councillors ‘keep mum’

By Mary Anne Gill

The level of public excluded discussions by Waipā councillors about the district’s financial woes became more evident this week.

In approving a draft annual plan on Tuesday, councillors agreed to put the $33 million Te Ara

We say…

Councillors given access to confidential information understand they have a statutory responsibility not to discuss it in public. But at a time when the electorate is complaining about a range of issues, elected representatives who have barely debated an issue in public during this term might ask themselves if this was the right time to “keep mum”.

Wai museum, Cambridge Library Hub, Pirongia Cycleway and Cambridge Town Hall projects on hold, increase rates by 14.8 per cent and add $101.7 million to existing debt levels.

Councillors had known about the proposals for weeks and work shopped them behind closed doors, but one councillor queried the approach which gave staff the mandate to consult with affected stakeholders before this week’s Strategic Planning and Policy committee meeting.

Roger Gordon said it had been very hard “to keep mum”, particularly in Cambridge where there was an “uprising”.

“Everywhere you go in Cambridge there’s a reaction about ‘what’s happening in our town’,” he said.

Lack of parking, speed

bumps, cycleways, road closures and a perceived lack of consultation over the proposed third bridge were all hot topics, he said.

“People only got the information about the bridge when it appeared in the paper.”

Included in the draft plan is capital expenditure of $5.9 million on a Business Accommodation Strategy.

Asked to explain what that was, deputy chief executive Ken Morris said it was money to be spent on upgrading and opening the former Te Awamutu Museum building– closed in October 2022 because of an earthquake risk - so the public could see the museum’s “amazing taonga”.

Committee chair Liz Stolwyk said it was councillors’ responsibility

now to respond to residents’ concerns.

“We’re talking about a pause. Taking a breath and looking at the environment.”

Part of the public consultation was around whether the heritage protected Cambridge Water Tower should be demolished for $771,000 or repaired for $5.6 million.

They could also comment on the council’s debt level, currently sitting

at $296.8 million with a recommendation to increase that to $398.5 million by June 30 next year.

“With what has happened in the inflationary environment, debt has become a very important factor,” said Morris who described it as significant and growing quickly.

Mayor Susan O’Regan said nobody wanted the council to be in the position it was but it was taking a fiscally

responsible route “I’m not saying we’re liking it.”

Communication and Engagement manager Lisa Nairne said public consultation now would be “largely story telling” about the council’s financial position and growth and how difficult it had been for councillors to make hard decisions around the table.

Consultation starts on April 5 and finishes on April 26.

...and staff are under pressure

By Mary Anne Gill

Waipā staff painted a brutal picture this week of the pressure they are under to produce an Annual Plan by June 30.

At the council’s Audit and Risk committee on Monday, staff revealed eight new risks following the decision to delay the 10-year Long Term Plan and produce an Enhanced Annual Plan in less than four months.

Councillors leaking confidential information was one of the risks.

Leaks would not only result in a lack of trust between staff and elected members,

a report to the committee detailed, the information could also be wrong and prevent council being able to control the narrative.

Strategy manager Melissa Russo said the four ‘very high’ risks were not achieving timeframes, manual preparation of the budget, general illness/stress, and an aggressive community response.

The two high ones are concerns a new consultation system would make it difficult to collect and analyse stakeholder information and the second was around community expectations on what the council

could deliver.

The two medium ones are the risk of there being a legal challenge to council’s decision to defer the Long Term Plan and the leaking of confidential information by elected members.

The report reveals staff have put procedures in place if the community turns nasty. That includes putting council offices in lockdown – something they have had to do in the past and which resulted in the installation of security grills over the counters.

“This risk has been rated ‘very high’

due to the health and safety risk to elected members and staff and the reputational risk to council of misinformation circulating in the community,” said Russo.

Also very high are seasonal illnesses which have increased among staff and these, coupled with stress, could lead to slippage in deliverables and timeframes.

Evidence of how critical the risks are were obvious in the matters discussed in public excluded which included a “deep dive” into the top risks and a discussion with chief executive Garry Dyet over organisational risk.

Councillors and staff pictured at this week’s meeting in Te Awamutu, chaired by Liz Stolwyk (top centre).

Photo: Mary Anne Gill.

This

Third time a win for Ōhaupō principal

By Viv Posselt

Chris Rennie and Ōhaupō School could be considered a tried and tested partnership. He became the school’s new principal at the start of term one. With the first flurry now behind him, he chatted last week to The News about things that are important to him, both as a person and as a principal.

Family and community, academic excellence and the encouragement of cultural understanding among his 207 young charges all rate highly, and Chris’ own journey makes him well placed to deliver.

This is his third spin at Ōhaupō and he admits that the school is ‘very special to me’.

He joined Ōhaupō’s teaching staff in 2008 before heading north to cover the roles of acting then deputy principal at Tikipunga Primary in Whangārei over a couple of years until changing family dynamics saw him return to Waipā.

Chris and wife Debby bought a home in Cambridge prior to the shift north and he has taught in the town, but with their young family growing they wanted to settle.

Chris returned to Ōhaupō School in 2014, initially teaching then taking on acting and deputy principal roles. In mid-2018, he moved to Te Awamutu Primary School as deputy principal until late last year when the retirement of former Ōhaupō School principal Sue McLocklan prompted him to

apply. When he was accepted, it was almost as though the school was calling him home.

Through the moves, Chris has focused on building his leadership skills. It was an area that had always interested the South African born and trained teacher, and it was a leadership exchange through the University of Waikato that inspired Chris and Debby’s 2007 move to New Zealand.

“I was deputy principal at a South African primary school with 1500 students when the opportunity for that leadership exchange came up,” he said. “I found it immensely informative.”

Describing ‘collaborative leadership, strategic planning and the empowerment of educators to develop their knowledge’ as a strength, Chris approaches challenges through a solutions-oriented mindset, and prepares for those as much as possible.

He is learning Te Reo, and welcomes the inclusivity of a new history curriculum that views the past from all sides. He also welcomes the ‘structured literacy’ approach that returns phonics to the reading platform, believing it helps youngsters ‘decode’ the letters in front of them, giving them the tools

to at least try new words.

He’s proud of Ōhaupō School’s record across a range of areas and is a strong advocate for student wellbeing.

“We are a PB4L school [Positive Behaviour for Learning], which means we teach respect, responsibility, honesty, inclusion and independence along with the three ‘Rs’,” he said. “It helps us build our strong school community. This school has a really good family feel to it.”

Family is all-important to Chris. Together with Debby, daughter Summer, 15, and son Laken, 11, they head off hiking and camping at every opportunity.

Here’s how last week shaped up for Te Awamutu police.

Monday - Police attended multiple family harm incidents at the same address where the occupants were highly intoxicated. Eventually conditions were met for police to serve a Police safety Order. Police also attended two family harm incidents at other addresses, a male was arrested for an assault and police served a protection order on behalf of the Court. We received a report of a shoplifter at a retail outlet, a burglary at a residential address and a male was arrested for breaching his bail conditions.

Tuesday - Police attended a family harm and self-harming incident, landscaping items were taken from an address in Pirongia, commercial premises and a residential address were burgled, police attended a family harm issue and a female shoplifted from a supermarket. A male was trespassed from a retail outlet for disorder, a disorder incident at a neighbours at war situation led to a male breaching his bail conditions. Police attended a family harm matter and another burglary.

Wednesday - Police attended a burglary

in Pirongia, a serious assault occurred at a family harm incident, police executed a series of search warrants in relation to burglary and attended a self-harm incident. There was a disorder at the same address as Tuesday’s incident and a family harm incident.

Thursday - Police attended an assault at a rural property, a male was arrested for breaching bail and we attended a family harm incident.

Friday - Police attended a family harm incident, a shoplifting was reported, police attended a burglary after members of the public saw torch light in a residential address.

Saturday - Police attended a motor vehicle collision, a burglary was reported, a male was unlawfully on a property and we attended a mental health incident.

Sunday - Police attended four family harm incidents, a male was arrested for wilful damage and assault, a male breached his protection order and two shopliftings were reported by the same store.

“I hadn’t been off the African continent before my first visit to New Zealand. Now, the whole family is acclimatised… we have even learned to ski.”

Chris Rennie brings a suite of leadership skills to the table.

Briefs…

Dairy robbery

Members of the public intervened to stymie an aggravated robbery at Te Awamutu’s West End dairy in Alexandra Street on Monday.

A group of youths made off with some items after raiding the dairy about 7.30am, police say.

Take aim…

The annual Pureora hunting competition opens on Saturday and will run through to the prizegiving at the Department of Conservation’s Pureora Field Base on April 28.

The Doc competition started in 1988 and senior ranger Community Ray Scrimgeour says it has a strong focus on participation and camaraderie. There are four competition categories – deer, pigs, a new junior category focusing on rats, mustelids and goat tails, and the ‘roaring’ competition. Free kiwi aversion training for dogs will also be offered at the prizegiving.

Cycleways used

Numbers released by Waipā council show people are using shared pathways – including cycle and pedestrian access - in Cambridge and Te Awamutu. Park Road had 3111 users in January and 2687 last month.

An infrared counting system designed for shared paths can differentiate between pedestrians and cyclists. Cycle numbers were higher than pedestrians in Cambridge but about the same in Te Awamutu.

Leaders meet

Waikato’s local authority leaders marked International Women’s Day at the quarterly Zone 2 meeting at Lake Karāpiro. Females outnumber their male counterparts.

Waipā had mayor Susan O’Regan, deputy mayor Liz Stolwyk and Clare St Pierre in attendance with Waikato’s Crystal Beavis. Mayors, elected members and chief executive from Waikato and Bay of Plenty received a presentation from New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi on the government’s draft Land Transport Policy Statement.

Titchener pushes for hold on fluoride

By Roy Pilott

Waipā District Council is set to be pressed to put a hold on plans to introduce fluoride to water.

The council was ordered to prepare to add fluoride to the Cambridge town supply by outgoing Director General of Health Sir Ashley Bloomfield in July 2022.

Opponents went to a district council meeting to voice their concern and one, the deputy chair of the Te Awamutu-Kihikihi Community Board, has told The News a notice of motion calling for a stall to work will be tabled this month.

Kane Titchener told The News a decision to defer fluoridation for Nelson was “huge”.

“Both the Nelson City Council and the Director General of Health

are not as confident as they may have thought they were on the fluoridation issue,” he said.

The fluoride waters were muddied last November by a High Court ruling that Bloomfield’s orders were unlawful because consideration was not given to the Bill of Rights Act in making the directives.

At the time the current Director General of Health Dr Diana Sarfati told council to continue with the fluoride plans. She has granted Nelson an extension while the directives are reviewed.

Nelson Mayor Nick Smith –who supports putting fluoride in water - said he was concerned that “as the largest council facing the requirement to fluoridate since the High Court’s decision, we risk getting caught in a legal dispute between the Director-

General of Health and opponents of fluoridation”.

Titchener believes another factor behind their decision has been a case in the United States involving the Fluoride Action Network and the US Environmental Protection Agency.

“The case was to determine whether fluoride chemicals added to the water present an unreasonable risk to the population regarding neurotoxicity. The ruling is due in the next few weeks.”

He said the protection agency’s key witness defending fluoridation agreed fluoride was capable of causing neurodevelopment harm at levels as low as two parts per million.

Titchener said 0.2ppm was well below the 0.7-1ppm range the Ministry of Health targets.

He said he had recently “reached

out” to Waipā mayor Susan O’Regan and chief executive Garry Dyet to discuss information but “I was not even granted a short meeting to discuss this incredibly important information”.

“In the past decade that I have been speaking to the Waipa District Council about this issue there has not been any community consultation. It just astounds me that Waipā District Council is willing to implement a medical mandate on the community of Cambridge without any consultation or robust discussion.

The notice of motion is expected to request a deferral of fluoridation “in alignment with the Nelson City Council decision”. The motion should be in the March Board Agenda, Titchener said.

Call on the police

Te Awamutu police are hoping to be inundated with people at their station on Saturday.

They are hosting an open day from 9am to noon.

Community Constable Ryan Fleming said the day would also feature static displays and be supported by Fire and Emergency New Zealand and Hato Hone St John.

He encouraged visitors to use the Redoubt Street entrance which would be open on the day as it would be work as usual for staff working in the reception area off Roche Street.

New focus for i-Site

By Mary Anne Gill

Key tourism industry partners gathered in Cambridge last week to meet with Waikato i-Site operators and discuss current issues.

Representatives from Cambridge and Te Awamutu were present and shared their plans to “go it alone” following Waipā District Council’s decision to end its annual grants to the two organisations.

Tourism New Zealand’s Paul Yeo updated the group on data released earlier in the week which showed international visitors now contributed $10.8 billion to the economy.

Nearly 6800 tourism operators are back post Covid and contribute employment indirectly to 317,514 New Zealanders, he said.

The data also showed more than 80 per cent of residents personally benefited from tourism and 37 per cent of respondents recognised that tourism activity enabled local businesses to stay open.

Mystery Creek Events Centre spoke about recent changes to its commission structure while an Interislander representative shared details of the challenges the company is facing.

Cambridge Town Hall Community Trust general manager Simon Brew presented on the plans to bring the hall back to life and the work associated

with that.

Meanwhile Cambridge Grey Power has added its support to Destination Cambridge and Destination Te Awamutu.

In an email after its recent general meeting, secretary Mike O’Driscoll encouraged members to contact the council about its plans to stop funding the two information centres.

“Many members at the meeting expressed strong disapproval of this proposal,” he said.

“Your committee strongly encourages you to make a submission.”

Submissions must come from individuals, not groups or organisations, and be submitted by June.

Kane Tichener (*left) sat with members of the public who attended a council meeting in 2022 to protest against flouride.

Fruit Monster

The owners of Fruit Monster have been bringing the same friendliness and warmth to customers since 2009. Their simple aim is to provide Te Awamutu with the freshest possible produce –while at the same time keeping prices as low as possible. Along with a range of Filipino groceries and spices sourced from Auckland.

Murray Hunt

Murray Hunt Stores are gearing up for another busy year in 2024. Beautiful home décor in all 3 stores and of course the Bedsrus stores stocking a wide range of New Zealand Made Sleepyhead beds. There’s something for everyone, so come on in and meet the friendly team. They’re here and ready to help.

When a loss is a gain

Phil Strong, Senior Leader, Zion

Observant residents of Te Awamutu would have noticed recent demolition work on the corner of Racecourse and Ōhaupō Roads. The church building that has stood on that corner since 1988 is gone.

We also stock

Farm Fresh Fruit and Vegetables, We also stock Eggs, Milk, Bread and a selection of spices

Naysayers and gossips are lamenting loudly, spreading mistruth, and sharing “how sad” this loss is. While their method is immature, their sentiment is correct - this is sad.

We are grieving the loss of the spiritual home of our ancestors. But people who live in the past become bumps in the road, not treasure in a legacy.

Loss brings sadness and grief, which are normal emotions that can be healthy. How we choose to deal with our grief is what determines our way forward.

planted in the ground, whether it be wheat or apple, there is no new life, growth, and harvest that blesses many more. Sometimes we need to allow the past to die, grieve our loss, and move on.

When my mum died I was just a young man. I had a choice; I could get angry and bitter at such a significant loss, or I could embrace my pain and grow in the journey. I realised that my deepest pain was revealing my need for love, and I chose to find that love in my family of faith.

Perhaps our reaction to loss is revealing something deeper we need to address.

Jesus taught us about life and death. He said to His followers, “I tell you the truth, a grain of wheat must fall to the ground and die to make many seeds. But if it never dies, it remains only a single seed.”

The property on Racecourse Road has been surrendered to a new purpose, and this will require the death of the old, as Jesus puts it, for the new life of hope to come for the next generation. Many families and multiple generations will benefit from the future housing development on this property.

Using another example from agriculture, I might supplement my argument another way; though you can easily count the seeds in an apple, it’s impossible to count the apples in a seed.

What’s the point? Unless the seed is

In our loss, my dad and siblings all grieved differently, and that is okay. We did it together, loving each other with grace and understanding. That’s how you stay healthy and connected.

To the naysayers and gossips who might assume that I am not grieving the loss of the church building, I say “piffle.” King Solomon, the wisest man who lived on earth, wrote “Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads slander is a fool.” There’s always talk. You would be wise to choose who you listen to.

Let us embrace the good that comes out of letting go of the old. Let us look for new life that can come from death, as the life of Jesus teaches us.

Sometimes, death is necessary. Sacrifice must always be prioritised over the comfort of our past. Let us choose the better option.

HE WHAKAWHITIWHITINGA WHAKAARO

Celebrating the haka

By Tom Roa, Tikanga Advisor, Waikato University

I recall as a young fella watching the All Blacks performing the haka in the 1950’s; 60’s, 70’s... they were all arms and legs flailing wherever, and so unco.

Come the Buck Shelford era and the proverbial light bulb lit up above their heads – there was a significance to this ‘dance’. Or maybe Buck lit a fire in their hearts which sparked off their inherent ‘mana’. The haka had grown into something that became synonymous with All Black (and rugby in New Zealand) pride.

Kihikihi, Spice Heaven is a new Indian fusion takeaway, which has something for everyone with dinner specials including all your favorite traditional Indian dishes, and plenty of vegan and vegetarian options on their menu.

They also offer a selection of pasta dishes, from chicken and mushroom fettuccine to Chow Mein you are sure to find something to tantalize your tastebuds! Pick up a takeaway on your way home and experience what Spice Heaven has on offer.

Spice Heaven

I marvelled in particular at how Pākehā team members gave the haka their all. The ihi, the wehi, their stunning performance of the haka causing the hackles to rise at the back of the neck. The haka’s role in All Black mana became crystal-clear, not just in AotearoaNew Zealand, but just as importantly on the international stage such that rugby (in Aotearoa-New Zealand anyway) is now synonymous with the haka.

And almost every team has its own hakamen’s and women’s teams, at all age groups.

This is so much now a feature of us as Kiwis. New Zealanders of all shapes, sizes, ages, ethnicities are prone to do a haka at the drop of a hat. And it’s not a mere flailing of the arms and legs, hither and thither. I dare say that many impromptu haka would do well on the Matatini stage with the most expert performers at the kapa haka elite level challenged by the expertise in these spontaneous performances.

This expression of pride, of mana, is more than palpable.

So it should be no surprise to anyone that the expression of that mana includes commentary beyond that of the competition at immediate hand. The assertion by many of us that politics and sport must not mix was surely laid to rest with the 1981 Springbok tour and the effect

on our misconception that we enjoyed in Aotearoa New Zealand the most harmonious of race relations in the world. Few in New Zeaand at that time paid any heed to the simmering of dissatisfaction with a Government who were misreading the mood of the time. Civil unrest in all of the centres hosting the Springboks shook the country to its core.

Here in Hamilton in particular the invasion of Rugby Park leading to the cancellation of the Waikato vs South Africa game is still fresh in the mind of many who were there that day –on both sides.

The Hurricanes Poua womens’ rugby team gave voice to a similar simmering of discontent with a Government who appear to be misreading the mood of the ordinary New Zealander. The three hui calling for unity earlier this year must be given their due attention. And the stance taken by these ‘wāhine toa’ reflects the stance taken by Dame Hinewehi Mohi in her rendition at Twickenham of the National Anthem in Māori, met by a storm of protest by those who misread the mood of the country at that time ... which now sees the Māori Language version being heartily sung alongside the Englishjoyously, even gleefully.

In 1990 Justice Sir Paul Temm wrote of what he saw as two vital attributes of our society - the extraordinary patience of Māori New Zealanders and the tremendous sense of fairness of Pākehā New Zealanders. This ‘truth’ in 1990 was Sir Paul’s asserting his belief in a positivity of that time, with all its challenges.

I would like to believe that we can and should say the same today.

The case against incineration

Andrew Johnstone put his views forward last week in support of an incinerator plant for Waipā. Today, Nick Cantlon, representing the Don’t Burn Waipā lobby group, responds.

Don’t Burn Waipā is a group of local residents opposed to the waste-to-energy incinerator (‘Paewira’) proposed for Te Awamutu.

The group is focused on informing and educating the community about the impact the plant will likely have on our health, environment and economy. We strongly believe that the incinerator will bring zero benefits to the community and have a negative impact on the surrounding farmland. We will oppose the application every step of the way through the resource consent process.

While there are many waste incinerators throughout the world – mainly in densely populated countries in the northern hemisphere - we believe the New Zealand environment is quite different, and there are better ways for us to manage our waste than burning it. It certainly does not fit with New Zealand’s long term plan to move towards a “circular economy”.

The Waikato Regional Council commissioned a report from international consultant Eunomia on the implications of Waste-to-Energy plants for New Zealand.

The report recommends that food waste and organic material should always be recovered from waste and composted. Treatment of the remaining non-recyclable waste by incineration or landfill was then compared. If the waste has a high plastic and tyre content - such as at the proposed Paewira plant - incineration releases five times more carbon dioxide into the

atmosphere than landfill where the carbon remains locked in the plastic. The report concludes that “Landfill (with optimised gas capture and energy generation, to limit methane emission impacts) be used as the only waste management approach for genuinely residual mixed waste.”

As well as this fundamental flaw, the specific proposal for Te Awamutu contains several other major negatives:

The Site: The proposed site is designated in the District Plan as Industrial with a Specialised Dairy Industrial Policy Overlay to protect the nearby Fonterra complex from non-aligned uses. Global Contracting Solutions (GCS) believes that the incinerator will have no significant effect on the Fonterra plant. Fonterra disagrees. Their submission to Waipā District Council and Waikato Regional Council asks for the application to be declined, citing the potential negative effects on food safety, staff safety, risk of contamination and impact on Fonterra’s food safety certification and international reputation. The site is also close to homes, day care and schools.

Traffic Impact: The plant is intended to process 456 tonnes of waste every day. This will all be trucked in from beyond Waipa. Other processing materials need to be transported onto the site and ash and contaminated water removed. GCS estimates that 50 trucks and 130 light vehicles will visit the site every day. Double these numbers for entering and leaving the site and this is a tripling of trucks and

20 per cent increase in light vehicles using Racecourse Rd.

Air Emissions: GCS states that the plant will have pollution control equipment to remove most of the nasties from the incinerator smoke so that the remaining toxins will have a negligible effect.

This assessment relies on a number of assumptions that may not be achieved in practice. In particular, the fuel mix will vary considerably and the temperature of the furnace is also liable to vary from the minimum 850 degrees Celsius required for complete combustion. Both these variables will have a multiplier effect on the level of toxins released.

It is difficult to maintain a constant temperature and injections of diesel may be required to stabilise the furnace. Start-up and shut-down periods emit far more toxins than during the ideal operating conditions when monitoring is done.

The toxins that are emitted don’t simply vanish. Some will settle on the nearby roofs of homes, and on gardens and school and childcare play areas.

Some will settle onto farmland and be consumed by the animals whose meat and milk we will then consume. Even if initial air concentrations are within “safe” levels, the toxins will accumulate over time.

The effects of this are unknown but we do know that free-range chicken eggs from areas adjacent to waste incinerators in Europe have been found to contain high levels of dioxins.

Ash and Wastewater: GCS has assumed that 23 tonnes (or 5 per cent) of ash will be produced every day.

Our research suggests it will be much more than this.

This ash has to be trucked away and disposed of as toxic waste to an unspecified landfill. Similarly, 160,000 litres of contaminated water has to be trucked away every day to an undisclosed site where it can be treated.

Other factors: Other areas of concern are public opposition; visual impact of the plant buildings (35m high); human health impacts; impact on Mangapiko Stream; effect on property values; climate change effects; use of steam for electricity affects furnace efficiency and uncertainty of waste supply.

Nick

This Sunday 17 March 10am-2pm Victoria Street, Victoria Square & Town Hall

Over 200 performers of di erent genres, and over 60 genuine Art Stalls, all on the footpaths of Victoria Street, and the lawns of Victoria Square.

Music

The town centre will come alive! Experience an array of music from easy listening and country to jazz, blues, Irish tunes, choirs and much, much more. Enjoy performances from our talented local dance groups, bring the kids along for face painting and balloon animals, sugar art, the paper bag mask competition, parade, and judging, plus photo opportunities with stunning stilt walkers, Blossom the Unicorn Fairy, Batman, and street performers. Take a stroll to the Town Hall for the Art Exhibition + Sale, the Michael Jeans Photo Exhibition, and don’t forget to cast your vote for “People’s Choice” in the Festival’s Photo Competition. This year is our largest Autumn Art Market. Admire artists’ work, woodturners in action, glassware to jewellery, and clothing to pottery.

Children’s Entertainment

Come and enjoy this amazing community day!

Hoping for Maadi strokes of genius

By Steph Bell-Jenkins

Asarina Johnson says she went to a Te Awamutu Rowing Club open day in 2022, got in a boat and hasn’t wanted to come back to dry land since.

“Rowing is my happy place, I love the rush you get when you race, but also the stillness of an early morning row,” she said.

“It’s definitely an escape.”

Now, she and double sculls teammate Casey Lee Baker are about to test their skills against Aotearoa’s best at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Rowing Championships.

They are heading to Twizel this week with about 2000 other high school rowers to compete at the 2024 Aon Maadi Regatta, running from March 18-23 at Lake Ruataniwha.

“I’m extremely excited to head down, I haven’t been to the South Island so I can’t wait to experience it,” Asarina said.

She and Casey have been training on Lake Ngā Roto three times a week, plus cranking through additional strength and fitness sessions.

Having previously rowed together in a quad, they were “chucked together” in their boat about a month before last year’s Maadi Regatta, Asarina said.

“It was definitely a stroke of genius on our coach’s part.”

They finished second in their novice B final, leaving them 10th in New Zealand.

This year, they are gunning for a podium spot in the girls’ U18 double sculls event.

“The goal is to medal,” Asarina said. “It’s going to take a lot of focus and hard work but I’m giving my absolute all into this, it’s the opportunity of a lifetime and I’m not putting it to waste.”

She and Casey are the only Te Awamutu College students heading to Maadi from Te Awamutu Rowing Club’s 16-strong team.

They will fly to Christchurch, then drive to Twizel to pick up their boat and equipment, which is hitching a ride to the South Island on a St John’s College trailer.

The trip will cost them about $3000 each.

Two coaches and two parents will stay with the students in their holiday home, making sure they are well fed and hydrated in preparation for their races.

Head coach Alya Mexted said Asarina and Casey had worked incredibly hard to place fifth in the A final at this year’s club nationals and second in the B final at the North Island Secondary School Rowing Championships held at Lake Karāpiro earlier this month.

Now she’s looking forward to watching them represent Te Awamutu at the Southern Hemisphere’s largest school sports event.

Birthday on the runway

Pivott

up early on Sunday for her birthday.

But there was another reason for the Te Awamutu 12-year-old to be ready for a big day – it was starting with a run around Hamilton Airport.

Kenzie was one of more than 300 people who took advantage of the chance to cover a 5km course taking in the airport runway.

Maintenance work at the airport necessitated bringing the event 30 minutes forward this year – and as a result the sun was still to come up when Cambridge’s

VICTORIA SQUARE STAGE

10.00 am to 10.45 am Quicksilver II (Blues)

10.45 am to 11.00 am Mask Parade and Judging

The fourth annual runway event organised by Rotary helped raise funds for GoBabyGo, which provides electric cars for children with mobility problems who are too young for an electric wheelchair.

Best part of the day? For Te Awamutu Intermediate’s Kenzie it was running in the dark with the bright runway lights and everyone singing happy birthday.

11.00 am to 11.15 am The Nukes Ukelele Trio

11.15 am to 11.45 am Tina Turley (Canadian Blues guest)

11.45 am to 12 noon The Nukes Ukelele Trio

12.15 pm to 2.00 pm Quicksilver II (Blues)

DAYDREAM CAFE

10.00 am to 10.45 am Rowdy’s Rose

11.00 am to 11.45 am Holly Christina

11.45 am to 12.30 pm Rowdy’s Rose

12.30 pm to 12.45 pm Desert Gypsies Belly Dancers

1.00 pm to 2.00 pm Kinda Jazz

FRANS CAFE

11.00 am Desert Gypsies Belly Dancers

11.30 am to 12 noon Anna Crouchman

12.30 pm to 1.00 pm Andy Starr Guitarist

ANTIQUES ON VICTORIA

10.00 am Desert Gypsies Belly Dancers

10.30 am to 11.15 am Ignite Academy

11.15 am to 12 noon Kinda Jazz

12 noon Scottish Highland Dancer

1.30 pm to 2 pm Foggy Dew – Irish Duo BNZ

10.00 am to 10.30 am Cruisers Rock n Roll Dancers

10.30 am to 11.30 am Jazzelicious

11.30 am to 12 noon KS School of Dance 12 noon to 12.30 pm Riverside Ukes 12.30 pm to 1.00 pm Strive – Dance

pm to 2.00 pm Bruised Brothers

ROUGE COURTYARD

10 am to 10.45 am Mosaic Choir

11.30 am to 12.30 pm Reelmen – Irish Band 12.30 pm to 1.00 pm Foggy Dew – Irish Duo

pm to 2.00 pm

Reelmen – Irish Band

TOWN HALL

Kenzie

was

Jake Wilkinson came home in a very quick 15m 21s. His girlfriend Jen Ayson from Ngaruawahia came home as the first woman runner soon after.

Ready to fly: from left, Mackenzie Harris, Ryan and Linda McBride. Kenzie Pivott, Ange, Dwight and Eva Pivott.

Te Awamutu rowers Asarina Johnson (left) and Casey Lee Baker relax on the pontoon after a training session at Lake Ngaroto. Photo – Alya Mexted.

TALKING ECONOMICS

What is going wrong here?

By Peter Nicholl

As I looked through the newspapers last week trying to decide what issue could be the theme for this column, I was surprised by how many New Zealand news stories were about things that I would expect to read about in some of the third-world countries I have worked in.

Here are a few examples:

• Contaminated diesel caused nearly $10 million of damage to a new Navy supply ship.

• Building projects have been put on hold at 20 schools.

• Premier House is so run-down that the Prime Minister has chosen not to live there.

• Amazon announced in 2021 $7.5 billion worth of data centres in Auckland to be ready in 2024. 2024 has come – nothing has been built yet.

• Fish farms will go unscrutinised for another 25 years.

• A school for disadvantaged children in Auckland is crumbling and has mould, mushrooms and musty classrooms.

• PM Luxon had to take a commercial flight to Australia (and leave the media behind) because of a fault in an air force jet.

• An Auckland sewer blockage saw eight million litres of wastewater pour into the harbour daily.

• A Papamoa medical clinic that serves 6000 patients is closing due to the GP shortage and government under-funding.

• The Commerce Commission will take extra time to consider whether or not to approve a merger of Food Stuffs North and South Island cooperatives.

• Government Ministries have been asked to cut their spending by 6-5 to 7.5 per cent. Ideas that have been suggested include staff bringing their own food to meetings, staying

with friends rather than in hotels, establishing clear performance measures (why don’t they already have them?), reducing contractor hours by five a week (why don’t they reduce the number of contractors they use?), sharing office spaces.

One department said it would reduce headcount from 1700 to 1576. That sounds more like the scale of change that will be needed. Unfortunately, the chief executive of that department went on to say that “this isn’t happening because anyone did anything wrong”. The department admits it had “unsustainably high staffing levels and was overspending its budget”. The problem is that the Department doesn’t seem to see that these two statements are inconsistent. At the very least the chief executive has done something wrong.

One possible explanation for seeing these stories now is that the New Zealand media has become more negative. It could be that these types of failures have always been occurring but they weren’t regarded as news in the ‘good old days’.

Another possible explanation is that New Zealand and New Zealanders have become less focused on outcomes and results and more focussed on processes and reports.

Processes and reports can be useful. But when they become dominant and take the focus away from getting things completed with good outcomes, they can become the problem.

I think the array of poor or delayed outcomes that are getting reported in New Zealand these days is due more to the second explanation than the first.

By Janine Krippner

“We are so small” I said as I looked up at Ngāuruhoe ahead of us, standing between ancient lava flows towering above us on either side.

The younger, black, glassy lava flows that were erupted in 1954 are a stark contrast. We kept pushing forward to where we reached large boulders that are scarred and often shattered where they landed. This would have been a deadly place to be during eruptions. I am absolutely in my element here.

I am reminded of my Te Awamutu College geography class field trip to the volcanoes all those years ago not too far from where I was now standing. Back then I dreamed of being a volcanologist.

As a college student I loved the work so much that I didn’t want the assignment to end; when Mum came home from night duty around 7am I was still up working on it. Now I am doing this for real, figuring out what the rocks can tell us about the volcano and its eruptions.

After the country-wide storm killed our first two days of planned fieldwork, University of Canterbury PhD student Amilea Sork and I spent three long 10 to 12 hour days in the field, hiking up the lower flanks of Ngāuruhoe to better understand the ballistics (flying rocks) of eruptions past. These are historically the deadliest of the eruptive processes within 5km of a crater. They can be ejected during magmatic or phreatic (steam) eruptions. With this cone being so steep, the ballistics don’t just land in place. They roll and bounce out to much greater distances, across the portion of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing track

that leads up from the Mangatepopo valley.

We focused on ballistics larger than a metre in diameter, reaching around 5m in length. These sit around 1.5 to 2km from the summit. We are collecting evidence of whether they tumbled off thick lava flows high on the flanks or were blasted up out of the crater. We noted evidence of the rocks being partly fluid or solid when they were erupted, impact marks where they hit the ground or other rocks, and how extensively they fractured with the enormous energies at play. Some of these huge boulders had us perplexed at first, but we methodically pieced together a worthy story as we went over each surface collecting clues. One thing is certain, when Ngauruhoe erupts again you do not want to be where we stood.

We will spend time over the next year at least going over the data we collected, running computer models and analysing satellite data to keep adding to the bigger picture. It is this way that we keep adding to the growing body of knowledge of volcanoes, sometimes feeling painfully slow, making sure we consider all possibilities as we go. The end goal is to understand what areas are impacted by these large ballistics and learn more about how they get there, which can then be applied to other volcanoes around the world.

This is how we figure out these beautiful giants that are such an important part of the planet we live on, and I feel deeply grateful that I get to do this.

Me working on a large volcanic rock going through our process to analyse all the clues that lead us to the eruption processes that formed it. Photo - Amilea Sork

Cracking idea creates new hen-ergy

By Steph Bell-Jenkins

Central Kids Hazelmere Kindergarten’s 40 pint-sized poultry farmers are eagerly awaiting their first servings of scrambled, fried and boiled eggs – and enjoying some fluffy cuddles in the meantime.

The students have incubated and hatched five chickens this year and are now raising them, thanks to a cracking idea cooked up by teacher Rachel McQuilkin. The Te Awamutu kindergarten is part of the Enviroschools programme.

“Rachel thought it would be great learning for the children to be part of the life cycle of hatching chickens,” head teacher Tina Singh said.

“She borrowed all the equipment needed from her sister-in-law Renee,

who also gifted nine fertilised eggs.”

With an incubator installed at the kindergarten, students dutifully turned the eggs every day for 21 days and watched in amazement over the internet as five hatched successfully at Rachel’s house, where they were taken over Auckland anniversary weekend.

“The children and their parents were so excited,” Tina said.

“The children were just enthralled watching the baby chicks breaking through their shells.”

There was one hen in the mix, since named Cinnamon, and four roosters, which were traded back with Renee for two females.

“Naming the others is our next project,” Tina said.

Since arriving back at the

kindergarten, the tiny birds have been cared for by the students, who showed them how to find their chicken mash and water.

Now about six weeks old, they live behind a gate in a safe area where they can scratch happily in the grass and stretch their legs.

The Te Awamutu Community

Menz Shed chipped in by modifying their coop to make it sturdier and more portable.

“The chickens have escaped out of their enclosure a few times and come out to the sandpit to play,” Tina said.

“The children find it hilarious trying to gather them up and pop them back.”

Tina said the birds had inspired many rich learning experiences and would remain at the kindergarten permanently.

“We’ll see how we go with these three hens, but we might look at expanding in the future,” she said. “Watch this space – we might end up being a free-range chicken farm!”

Cambridge Autumn Festival briefs…

Last hurrah

The Hamilton County Bluegrass Band will play its last ever concert in Cambridge on March 23 during the Autumn Festival. The band has been around since the 1960s when it was founded by Paul Trenwith and Alan Rhodes. The lineup has changed over the years – Dave Calder on mandolin, Colleen Bain, who later married Paul, on the fiddle. She died in 2021 and her two sons –Sam and Tim - now feature in the band.

Miho’s jazz

A group formed by Japanese-born Kiwi Miho Wada will feature with its J-pop, Cubano and Pacific infused jazz in The Woolshed at the Autumn Festival. Wada has performed internationally with artists such as Nigel Kennedy, Jarvis Cocker, Ska Cubano and recorded a series of TV adverts with Iggy Pop. She formed Miho’s Jazz Orchestra in 2011 and will be on show on March 22 from 7pm at Te Awa Lifecare Village.

Art trail

The Open Studios Art Trail will return this year. The art trail will see six artists and two galleries open to the public on March 23 and 24. The artists are Jo Beckett, Faith Thomas, Janet Smith, Catherine Haworth, Carole Hughes and Lea Woutersen, and the galleries taking part are Heritage Gallery, and Sinclair Barclay Gallery. Mana in the blues Blues man Grant Haua (Ngāti Pukenga) will present anl acoustic solo performance at the Cambridge Autumn

Festival on March 21. Haua regularly tours in Europe and Australia.

People’s choice

The judges’ decisions have been made in the Cambridge Autumn Festival’s photo competition and the top entries are on display at the Cambridge Town Hall. Voting in People’s Choice Award is now open. The theme this year was Capture your Waipā adventure.

Ukulele workshops

The Nukes ‘original ukulele trio’ will run workshops for children and adults. The musical miscreants will also appear in The Big Family Show in an evening performance on Saturday.

Author talk

Cambridge author Holly Christina will speak and play music at Cambridge Library on March 23. Her presentation will focus on the second book in her Harp and the Lyre series.

Bricktopia returns

Lego’s Bricktopia returns to Cambridge as part of the festival on March 24. The event is part of Cy-Co’s Brain Injury Awareness Month fundraising.

International magician

Zero Xiao will give a free family magic show at Te Awa Lifecare on March 24. The event will also include Biàn Liăn or Face-Changing magic, an ancient Chinese dramatic art.

Kindergarten students (from left) Wyatt Foreman, Maddie Shingleton, Ella Tregoweth and Avery Claydon with one of their chickens.

Nurses return – 60 years on

A group from the Waikato Hospital nursing class of 1964 recently celebrated their 60th reunion.

Waipa residents Lynette Aish (nee Gardiner) and Paula Butterworth (nee Houghton) joined Putāruru’s Judy Osborne (nee Udy) and Diane Hishon (nee Hillary from Morrinsville) on a tour of the hospital to see how things had changed since they trained there.

And there to greet them was chief Nursing and Midwifery officer Sue Hayward, who lives in Cambridge.

Judy now lives in Hamilton and reminisced about the old Emergency Department.

“We had a few cubicles and two plaster rooms with x-ray nearby,” highlighting the stark contrast with the current ED, now equipped with 55 beds and five resuscitation rooms.

The nurses found comfort in seeing the hospital chapel, even though the original one was gone.

The stained-glass windows had been transferred from the original and brought back memories, especially for Paula who was married in the old chapel and now lives in Adelaide where she moved a week after the wedding.

The tour ended at the history timeline on the walls of level 2 Meade Clinical Centre,

where the nurses traced their journey. It was a trip down memory lane, filled with shared experiences and milestones.

Sue said it was great to see the camaraderie of work colleagues from all those years ago when it was common for nurses to train,

Letters…

Peace pipe offered?

Waipā District Council listen to ratepayers? Dreams are free. The current council have only just recognised that the Te Awamutu War Memorial Park changes are not what the majority of ratepayers want. At their recent meeting they finally agreed to review it. As Te Awamutu News stated, Marcus Gower voted against that. Mind you he is also the prime driver for the Kihikihi cycle path/culde-sac fiasco and the selling off of the Kihikihi Government Stockade Reserve for housing, despite residents objections to both projects. Gower is one of the council’s Te AwamutuKihikihi General Ward Councillors, yet never seems to actually represent the views of the residents he is being paid to represent.

Geoff Boxell Kihikihi

Incineration plant

Andrew Johnstone claims that because there are issues that have had misinformation used against them that we can simply apply the same logic to the proposed incinerator.

work and live together onsite at the hospital. Several young women from what was then the Te Awamutu and Cambridge boroughs and counties were in the class of 1964.

• Do you know any of them? Contact us editor@goodlocal.nz

to think that heavy metals and dioxins from burning the waste would not be released. Te Awamutu and Kihikihi Community Board opposes the incinerator.

Kane Titchener

Deputy Chair Te Awamutu and Kihikihi Community Board

The Treaty

When will the media and the public finally realise that Act is not proposing to rewrite the Treaty of Waitangi?

The Bill as proposed by Act will not change the Treaty itself. That was set in 1840 and will remain forever. What they are seeking to do is continue the process of defining the Treaty principles, for the first time incorporating the voices of all people through a democratic Parliamentary process, instead of through the Tribunal or the courts.

There are so many interpretations of it by so-called experts who all believe they are correct there needs to be some finality so that we can all get on with our lives living together as one

Anne Dickinson, Mary Evison, Diane Bellamy.

A documentary called ‘Trashed’ discusses an Incinerator in Iceland. The documentary shows that the farmland surrounding the incinerator has been rendered unusable by the dioxins that were emitted by the incinerator. It can no longer safely be farmed. It has been admitted that not all heavy metals would be removed from the waste before incineration. It would be naïve in the extreme

The Bill is cleverly written so it is hard to argue against it. The three proposed principles are no-brainers; the government is allowed to govern, we all have private property rights and we are all equal under the law. Who doesn’t agree with that? Who can mount an argument against that without arguing for more rights for one ethnicity?

Max Brown Cambridge

Miners go commercial

and opinion.

Every day, locals open the app to stay informed about what’s happening in Te Awamutu.

But

•News

•

To list your business, event or activity, contact Advertising Director Janine Davy: 027 287 0005 or janine@goodlocal.nz

Waipā recyclers Rotary Urban Miners has extended its work to collecting commercial e-waste – and have been given a helping hand.

They can now collect e-waste in a purpose-built truck thanks to family-owned Cambridge business C&R Developments.

A truck gifted by Waipā District Council last year has been fitted with a cage so it can carry larger volumes.

“C&R Developments designed and built the whole cage to our specifications, they had it galvanized, and had a cover made for it - and no bill at the end of it,” Urban Miners spokesperson Mark Hanlon said.

Previously the operation had relied on private vehicles to tow collected e-waste

in a trailer. The completion of the truck was timely, as Urban Miners had started collecting commercial e-waste from businesses.

Phill Ross of C&R Developments, who oversaw the project, said a rising star in the firm, Jonty Short - in his second year as an engineering apprentice at the companybuilt the new cage.

At the end of 2023, Urban Miners had diverted 60 tonnes of e-waste from landfill in three years.

Urban Miners hold monthly e-waste collections in Te Awamutu (first Sunday) and Cambridge (third Sunday) where the community can drop-off e-waste for recycling.

Ryburn Nurses’ Home, Waikato Hospital 1964: Back row, from left, Anne Reid, Anne Stephenson, Robyn Brunton, Bronwyn Harries, Leslie Mackie, Jenny Hepburn, Penny Taylor, Judy Park, Coral Malcolm, Kathy Dawes, Isobel Oates, Jill McLaughlin, Vicky Tarrant, Marilyn Hannah, Diane Hillary, Vera Pound, Esther Williams, Margaret Salmons.

Third row, Pamela Bruton, Jenny Coates, Margaret Wilson, Paula Houghton, Sue Hadley, Marilyn Reeve, Caryle Platt, Alison Howard, Leila Rolston, Annette Meakin, Margaret White, Lynley Taylor, Barbara Roke, Anne Brakenrig, Hilary Hammond, Joleen Jackson, Lois Cullen.

Second row, Marion Nairn, Judy Duncan, Robbie Walters, Dee Allen, Leonie Robertson, Mary Corskie, Betty Luke, Robyn Lynd, Jenny Taylor, Val Collett, Alison Scott, Rose May, Anne Symons, Lyn Ingham, Lois Erhorn, Merlyn Savill, Esther Gardiner, Judy Udy, Jean Corin, Jenny Nicholls, Lynette Gardiner.

Front Row Heather Harvey, Jean Tait, Raewyn Cossar, Kathy Newton, Miss McPherson (Dietician), Staff Nurse Bowden, Sister McLeod, Sister Washbourne, Sister Summers, Sister Mather, Liz Lowe, Anne Cameron, Diane Quinn,

Phill Ross and Jonty Short (right) of C&R Developments with the Urban Miners truck.

COME

Quick crossword

Across

1. Chocolatey powder (5)

4. Cease (6)

7. Toilet (inf) (3)

8. Uncultivated (6)

9. Wax writing stick (6)

10. Being nosey (13)

14. Later (5)

15. Pursue (5)

18. Fee machines for motorists (7,6)

23. Fluid retention (6)

Last week

24. Have a lofty goal (6)

26. Pale (6)

27. Cast out (5)

Down

1. Incantation (5)

2. Abdominal wind pain (5)

3. For ever (6)

4. Till receipt (6)

5. Smack (5)

6. Derision (5)

10. Mischievous child (5)

11. Bury (5)

12. Infuriated (5)

13. Suppose (5)

16. Away from the coast (6)

17. Pierce through (6)

19. Stadium (5)

20. Genuflect (5)

21. Extra amount (3-2)

22. Pastoral (5)

Across: 1. Wallow, 5. Detest, 8. Rue, 9. Upside, 10. Facial, 11. Cash, 13. Cockeyed, 14. Berth, 15. Goofy, 19. Smoothie, 21. Fire, 22. Salami, 23. Isobar, 25. Flu, 26. Escort, 27. Sunset.

Down: 2. Appease, 3. Lei, 4. Wretch, 5. Defect, 6. Ticked off, 7. Scale, 12. Hot potato, 16. Furnace, 17. Thrift, 18. Genius, 20. Means, 24. Own.

Wordsearch

SSUOMAFTERREFWZXYQ JLKVMOCSAIFUAVTENV

WNOWNOLEFLNLWYRROE OOFISSIONDFRYBECCL

OIFJQUTFRIEDIHBNLA CHLFEFOECEEFTHEKAR

SSAIFRALGTSAEFTDFE

EAVTAUERURFSSENLQF RFOCTJRMRBOKEELFIS

FOUHNJNYRIAFINLIPF ORRINTIOFAEFXAIEFI

REPDSFXGRMFRSFCFAH

ESNRAOENOQVKURISLZ GTITMCMAZDFLOURRLH OFHMEUUDEEAFUZZYEY

NOUBDSFNATNZTRJDNB MLRIAFUAFACIAFLIRT FLEUFUQFCFYOFUNGUS

FABULOUS FACIA FADE FAIR

FALCON FALLEN FAMOUS FANCY FANDANGO FARMER

FARRIER FASHION FATED

FATHER FATHOM FATUOUS FEAST FELON FENCE FERAL FERRET FIASCO FIBRE FIEND

FILE FILTH

FINESSE FIRE FIRST FISSION FITCH FLASK FLAT FLAVOUR FLAW FLIRT FLOUR FLUMMOX FOCUS

FORCEPS FOREGO FOREST FORGET FRESCO FRIED FROZE FUEL FUME FUND FUNGUS FURY FUZZY

Sudoku

All puzzles © The Puzzle Company

Last week

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Murray is a cat. Murray loves snoozing, fluffy blankets, and peace and quiet. Bun is a bun. Bun loves… everything!

And together they are unstoppable!

Sometimes Murray’s enchanted cat flap leads to the garden… but mostly it leads to adventure!

And when Murray and Bun travel through the cat flap and find themselves in a land of Vikings, they are given a very important mission: to travel to Troll Island and rescue Eggrik the Viking… if he hasn’t already been gobbled up by the trolls, that is.

Perfect for newly independent readers and fans of Bunny vs Monkey, Dog Man, Adventure Mice and Claude, this funny, exciting, and hugely loveable story – brilliantly illustrated throughout – will delight adventure-lovers young and old. After all, heroes come in all shapes and sizes!

ADAM STOWER is an award-winning author and illustrator of children’s books. Adam was born in England, grew up in Switzerland and has loved drawing ever since he was old enough to hold a crayon. He went to art school in Norwich, and Brighton too, where he still lives beside the sea with his wife and a cat called Murray.

Ritchie’s double

Shaune Ritchie continued to celebrate a brilliant piece of business last weekend.

He paid $164,000 for Americanbred Mahrajaan at the 2022 Tattersalls Autumn Horses-in-Training Sale at Newmarket in the United Kingdom.

Now, four months after seeing the gelding win the New Zealand Cup at Riccarton, Ritchie has watched Mahrajaan win the Auckland Cup at Ellerslie – and pay $26.

Mahrajaan is only the third horse to win both cups in the same season, and the first in more than 60 years.

The others were Lochiel (1887-88), Cuddle (1935-36) and Stipulate (196263).

Ritchie’s purchase paid off last November when the son of Kitten’s Joy won the New Zealand Cup in Christchurch.

Ritchie and his training partner Colm Murray then set their sights on the Auckland Cup, but Mahrajaan had slipped below the radar after being unplaced in two lead-up runs.

He was ridden last weekend by his New Zealand Cup-winning jockey Sam Weatherley, who called Ritchie a “real genius” and rated Mahrajaan the best two-mile stayer in the country.

Mahrajaan has now had 20 starts for five wins, six placings and more than $600,000 in stakes. – Loveracing news desk

Briefs…

Sheep return

The great New Zealand muster will return to the King Country next month. Organisers say that after a few years off due to health and safety, the muster is making a comeback – and will fill Te Kūiti’s main streets on April 6 with musicians, children's activities, arts and crafts stalls and culinary delights. The running of the sheep will complete the day at 2pm and Te Kūiti's main streets will be closed to traffic.

Schick on board

Rodney Schick, who with wife Gina has run Windsor Park Stud at Leamington, for more than 20 years, has been appointed to the New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Members’ Council. He fills a vacancy left by current TAB NZ General Manager Commercial, Jason Fleming, who left NZTR’s Board in July 2023.

New jobs

About 120 people will be employed at a newly opened pet food plant in the King Country. King Country Pet Food opened its Taumarunui plant this week, lauding a five year and $90 million investment.

Bus numbers

Passenger numbers on the regional bus services from Te Awamutu and Cambridge to Hamilton were up last month, coinciding with a return to school. Te Awamutu had 9450 bus goers – fourth best month post Covid. The Te Kūiti Connector, which stops in Kihikihi, Te Awamutu and Ōhaupō, had its best month since the service started a year ago, with 977 passengers.

Mourning in Pirongia

By Meghan Hawkes

There were no smiling faces to be seen in Pirongia during a grim week in November 1899 when two of the Te Awamutu district’s residents died within days of each other.

One was a popular storekeeper, Ernest Wickham, the other, Richard Bosanko, a celebrated sheep breeder.

Measles and influenza had also been doing the rounds at Pirongia, laying people low and causing community events to be cancelled, adding to the sombre atmosphere. Life went on however – one of Ernest Wickham’s stepdaughters - Evelyn Prentice, postmistress, was appointed to a position at Ōtorohanga, to replace 23-year-old Sarah Davidson who was returning to Pirongia to get married. Her marriage to 38-yearold James Macqueen was a bright spot in recent events.

But within days of the wedding James caught influenza and became seriously ill. Much sympathy was expressed at the new couple’s misfortune. James, a very industrious and hard working settler, had the year before inherited a farm from an uncle and his future looked assured. As the sting of grief subsided at Pirongia, news of the sudden death of James came as a sharp shock. It seemed almost

inconceivable only a week before he had brought home his bride.

James was found to have had heart disease, the attack of influenza aggravating this and causing his death. Over 80 mourners left the Macqueen’s residence and followed James’ remains to the Pirongia cemetery, the majority on horseback. At Divine Service the young Reverend Latter, whose week had been busy with death bed scenes and funeral services, preached a most eloquent sermon in which reference was made to the demise of the three settlers. This was his first parish. Instead of settling into marriage, eight months after his death, James’s widow Sarah sold the farm and everything that went with it. The clearing sale at Pirongia included all farm stock, horses, dogs and chickens. Drays, wagons and harrows went as well as carpenters tools, bullock chains, ploughs, guns and a boiler. Milk churns and cans and seeds and even potatoes were sold.

A house lot of furniture went under the hammer - bedsteads, washstands, tables, chairs, mirrors, rugs and clocks. A horsehair

couch, oak chests, a rimu chiffonier and a mahogany writing desk with a secret drawer were bought. On the day of the sale the weather was dreadful – rain fell with heavy gales. At one point some roofing iron was caught in the wind and blown over the heads of bidders like feathers. Despite this there was a large attendance and the sale was most successful.

Ten years later Sarah remarried Ernest Redgate and settled at Mangapiko where they had two sons.

Within five years of her second marriage though Sarah died aged 38, after giving birth to a daughter. She also was buried at Pirongia cemetery.

Sheddies were worth celebrating

Publishing the book “Sheddies” was a highlight of the past year, says Richard Cato, returning chairman of the Te Awamutu Community Menz Shed.

More than 200 copies were distributed by the shed nationwide and overseas.

Sharing garden produce with the Te Awamutu RSA and refurbishing the flagpole in the town’s Anzac Green were two of many community activities contributed by ‘sheddies’ in the past year.

In Cato’s annual report last week, he stressed the importance of the shed as a meeting place for men to enjoy friendship and the opportunity to discuss men’s health and wellbeing.

He acknowledged the shed’s supporters and organisations for their support, and said copies of the book were still available.

The Menzshed executive remains the same and includes new board member Gary Steel.

Reverend Frank Latter

Mahrajaan and Sam Weatherley power to victory in the Gr.2 Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Cup (3200m) on Saturday at Ellerslie.

Photo: Kenton Wright (Race Images)

Cambridge

Cambridge

HOUSE

Cambridge

DEIGHTON, Kevin Earl –Reg No. 16788. R.N.Z.N. Seaman. Passed away at home on Sunday, 3rd March 2024. Aged 80 years. Loved father and grandfather. A private family farewell has taken place. All communications to the Deighton Family, c/- 262 Ohaupo Road, Te Awamutu 3800.

HOUSE WASHING - ROOF

HOUSE

HOUSE

HOUSE

100’S OF SATISFIED CLIENTS www.ewash.co.nz

100’S

100’S OF SATISFIED CLIENTS www.ewash.co.nz

100’S OF SATISFIED CLIENTS www.ewash.co.nz

Phone

Phone Mark for a FREE Quote 870 3081 | 027 432 2412

Phone Mark for a FREE Quote 870 3081 | 027 432 2412

FERRIS, Vivienne Margaret, (nee Eastick) – Died suddenly but peacefully at home on Wednesday, 6th March 2024. Aged 71 years. Cherished wife of Peter for 48 amazing years. Much loved mother and mother-in-law to Emma & Luke, and Katy & Ray. Devoted grandma to Eden, Talan and Lakoda. Dearly loved sister and sisterin-law to Sarah & Robert, and Simon & Michelle. A private family farewell is to take place, but to honour Vivenne and celebrate her life a gathering will be held at Everyday Eatery, Hamilton Zoo, 183 Brymer Road, Hamilton Thursday, 14th March 2024 at 4.00 p.m. The family wish to give special thanks to Geoff Spencer. Please feel free to wear bright clothing. Donations in Vivienne’s name to St John would be appreciated and can be made to www. stjohn.org.nz/support-us/ donate. All communications to the Ferris Family, c/- 262 Ohaupo Road, Te Awamutu, 3800.