Cambridge News | June 6, 2024

Out with the old?

By Mary Anne Gill

Waipā looks set to scrap its Age Friendly policy in the same week the Census shows more than a quarter of the population is over 60.

But if the council does get rid of the policy, it will be going head to head with a former district councillor who was instrumental in getting it adopted eight years ago.

Hazel Barnes was furious when The News contacted her about a staff report which

said the policy, adopted by council in 2016, was outdated and had limited to no value.

The council’s Strategic Planning and Policy committee considered the report yesterday, after The News went to print.

“What? It feels like our senior citizens have been pushed aside,” the 85-yearold said.

“I can see a hell of a lot that needs to be done for us. I’m going to say to them ‘why are you doing away with it when

you haven’t even consulted us’?”

The report, signed off by Strategy group manager Kirsty Downey says the views and needs of elderly were already considered as part of standard planning processes.

Waipā’s position is in stark contrast with neighbours Hamilton – the first city in New Zealand to join the World Health Organization’s global network of age friendly communities and cities.

Jolly hockey sticks

The city council is said to be leading the way in age friendly planning.

Census figures released last week confirmed Waipā’s population was 58,686 – and 15,147 or 25.81 per cent – were aged 60 years and over.

The population in Hamilton is 174,741 and 16.9 per cent (29,541) are over 60.

“I’m going to get on the phone to Grey Power about this and see what we can do. This is ridiculous,” said Barnes.

The present Waipā policy promotes an age friendly environment by encouraging engagement with and contributions from the elderly, preparing for an ageing population and promoting Waipā as a desirable place to live for the elderly.

Waipā is already getting itself a reputation of being the most popular retirement district in the country. Cambridge is understood to have the highest per capita retirement village population in New Zealand.

The council prides itself on its pensioner housing policy – it owns 93 units across the district and provides homes to 107 tenants. Construction is nearing completion on 10 new one-storey units in Leamington.

The report says council should consider other age friendly initiatives such as a senior council.

“Revoking the Age Friendly Policy could signal a commitment to building truly connected communities that are inclusive and responsive to the needs of all residents, including older people. By revoking an outdated and ineffective policy, the council demonstrates a willingness to reassess its approach and make necessary changes to better serve the community.

The council’s vision has shifted since this policy was created, making it no longer suitable or aligned with current objectives,” it says.

Farmers told to lobby

A Waipā accountant is telling farmers to advocate for a “material” improvement in milk prices from Fonterra.

Chartered Accountant Jarrod Godfrey, Associate Partner at Findex Waikato, says Fonterra’s opening milk price forecast for the 2025 season, in real terms, is not materially different to what was paid to farmers 20 years ago.

The forecast started at $8 a kilo of milk solids and left the 2024 season forecast unchanged at $7.80.

“Most dairy farmers will be putting together their budget for 2025, and it probably doesn’t show much joy for the next 12 months, even with an $8 milk price,” Godfrey said.

“In real terms, milk prices have not changed much over the past 20 years, and combined with farm expense inflation and recent high interest rates, budgets will be looking fairly tight for the next 12 months.”

He said the break-even point for an average 124ha Waipa dairy farm, peak milking 370 will be $8.20.

He encouraged farmers to put together a budget for the upcoming season, so plans could be made to navigate the tighter cash flow periods.

• See Country Life today, starting on Page 25.

Meet the 2024 Waikato Intermediate and Middle Schools hockey tournament champions, Cambridge Middle School. The team – back row, from left Cruz Morgenrood, Anaam Sandhu, Navvir Sing Kang, coach Stephen Butcher, Zebe Rippey, Emily Cameron and team manager Nadine Butcher and front, Abheyjot Kaura, goalkeeper Freddie Fulforth, Taane Young, Benji Lee, Colin Johnston, Brody Urbahn, captain Darcy Jenkins and teacher Tia Robinson excelled at the tournament last week.

Peddling good advice

By Mary Anne Gill

Smile and wave – that was the take home message bicycle retailer Justin Bax gave the women who attended a women’s’ bike maintenance course last week.

“It’s across the board really for blokes and girls,” Bax of Evo Cycles in Cambridge told The News.

A lifetime cyclist – he used to ride to Cambridge High School from Roto-o-Rangi –Bax has run two maintenance nights in association with Bicycle Revolution.

He and side kick Josh Wildeboer drummed home the importance of looking after your bike to the 30 women who attended. There is a waiting list for the next session in spring.

“It all starts before the bike ride,” said Bax. Pre ride checks are necessary and include checking tyre pressure and

the state of your chain.

A dusty, dirty and unlubed chain can slow you down and make riding a bike miserable.

There is nothing worse than having to put a chain back on when you are miles from home. Riders should even be prepared to change tubes out on the track.

“And if you can’t we always say ‘smile and wave’ and someone will help you out.”

The two men took the

women through some of the on-the-fly repairs they might need on the road, the names of bike parts and a list of essential bike tools.

Bax, who still rides to work most days on a bicycle but from north Cambridge rather than Roto-o-Rangi, said the town is now such a cycle friendly place, more people are cycling.

Courtesy and a pre bike maintenance regime were key to any cycling experience, he said.

Hello again, what great catches we had last Thursday. The team started the day executing a search warrant at an address in Cambridge East in relation to burglary offences.

A large amount of stolen property was recovered and two females were arrested and face associated charges in court. It was the culmination of extensive investigations by local staff and officers from Tokoroa and we couldn’t have hoped for a better result.

While staff were busy sorting through the seized property, we had a call about bad driving by a ute, last seen going to a business in town.

Officers responded and the vehicle, when located, was driven away from police at speed. Thanks to assistance from the public, a male and female were identified as having been dropped off from the ute on Hamilton Road, before it fled north. While we were speaking to the, a report of a high value shoplifting came in, involving the ute. Once CCTV stills were obtained, it became clear that the two were able to help with enquiries. The female declined to provide her details. Both were subsequently identified however, and were found to be from Auckland and Whangarei.

The reason for their reticence was revealed. Both were wanted by police - between them they were wanted for warrants to

arrest and breaches of electronic monitoring bail conditions, plus they were suspects for other offences. They appeared in court the next day and have been remanded in custody. The stolen items are still missing at the time of writing and investigations are ongoing.

Most dishonesty offending in Cambridge is committed by out of town offenders who operate across Waikato. This can make apprehension more difficult and a slower process if they successfully make their getaway.

The Waikato Expressway provides a quick route in and out, and being on State Highway 1. We also come to the attention of opportunists travelling through the North Island. The best thing we can do is be aware of the potential for shoplifting.

If customers come into a store in small groups, consider the potential for one to cause a distraction. Look out for large handbags or strollers which provide easy opportunity for item concealment and if a thief makes it out of the store with product, as occurred in the case this week, obtain getaway vehicle details if possible, directly or via members of the public nearby. Thanks to everyone for their support.

In our mayor’s defence

Recently mayor [Susan] O’Regan was subjected to abuse and insult from residents infuriated by the possibility their homes and property values would be destroyed by the proposed blue blob bridge corridors. Our mayor’s predecessors have dithered about on the new bridge issue for over 20 years and achieved nothing.

That courage deserves our absolute support, not abuse because the so-called expert consultants subsequently let her down with their nonsensical bridge proposals.

Invested local experts have conceived an alternative bridge plan which does not destroy any houses, is largely on council owned land (not green belt), directly connects with the planned northern growth areas, allows a further feeder road to and from the CBD and takes traffic away from the CBD and Anglican church pinch point roundabout. It also largely alleviates the steep gradient heavy traffic issues with Queen St and directs much of it away from the CBD and Leamington.

It can more directly access Hautapu Dairy Factory and there is provision for a ring road around much of Cambridge, to further enhance traffic distribution.

Hopefully our mayor will consider this plan within her bridge vision and simply send it to the “expert consultants” asking if they foresee any problems. In doing this and preventing new dwellings being built in potential bridge corridors whilst funding is explored, she may find it is an ideal solution for keeping Cambridge financially secure in the years to come, a compelling legacy. (abridged)

Peter Pickett

Leamington

Women who attended the bike maintenance night watch as Evo Cycle’s Josh Wildeboer shows how to fix a tyre. Photo: Penny Thompson.

Jammie squad

A Cambridge real estate company has joined Dame Valerie Adams’ “Jammies for June” campaign and is the Cambridge drop off for children’s winter pyjamas. Harcourts’ Cassie Emmett said she and the team are pounding the streets to get the message out about the importance of meeting Adams’ target of 15,000 pyjamas. The appeal runs through June.

Rotary visit

Rotary International president Gordon McInally and his wife Heather are visiting Waipā today (Thursday) as part of his New Zealand tour. McNally, who lives in Yetholm in the Scottish Borders and grew up in Portobella, is the second Scot to become international president. He was to visit Rotopiko/Lake

Serpentine near Ōhaupō and Urban Miners in Cambridge this morning and attend a dinner in Hamilton tonight. Yesterday he visited Hamilton Airport to see the Life Flight Rotary project.

Stewart missed

Former NZ First MP and Cambridge resident Barbara Stewart has died aged 72. She is survived by her son Alister. Her husband Gordon died in early 2017 which prompted her announcement she would not stand for re-election later that year. Her greatest achievement was working with Labour on providing free doctors’ visits for children under six.

Night works

The finishing touches are being applied to the fifth turnaround bay in the SH1 Cambridge to Piarere safety improvements project, just north of Hickey Road. Along with constructing the turnaround bay, the entrance road at the weigh station on SH1, between Hickey and Hydro Roads, will have median and side safety barriers installed. Night works began on Tuesday, to undertake line marking, followed by the removal of existing line marking and the installation of barriers.

Bus seats in demand

By Mary Anne Gill

Passengers catching the regional bus services from Cambridge and Tamahere hit record levels last month but fare hikes are on the way.

Frequency has been given as the major reason for the boost in numbers – more buses to and from Hamilton - plus the introduction of modern electric models.

The number 20 Cambridge service at about 12,000 passengers last month is soaring ahead of pre Covid numbers – and up nearly 40 per cent on May last year - while the Tamahere-Matangi trial, launched in February, has started with a hiss and a roar.

Some commuters from further south appear to be using it as a park and ride option.

The other Waipā service – number 24 from Kihikihi and Te Awamutu - is also breaking records with more than 13,000 passengers last month. It is so pressed for space, ma22ny passengers are hopping on the Te Kūiti Connector.

But there are concerns at Waikato Regional Council headquarters in

Hamilton about the Te Kūiti and South Waikato connector services which travel through Waipā.

Some Cambridge travellers take the South Waikato Connector because it stops at Waikato University Gate Two in Knighton Road and does not have as many secondary school students as the regular service.

And Te Awamutu and Kihikihi numbers on the King Country bus are regularly more than half the total on Te Kūiti Connector each day.

Regional council team leader of Customer Focus Sandra Sesto-Dekic said it will take longer for people to get used to the increased services which now include more evening and weekend runs.

She gave the example of a family member who lives in Cambridge and is now able to catch the bus to Tamahere on Saturday to play sport where before she would have been reliant on a car.

All fares go up on July 1.

“We are now looking at the biggest ever tariff changes since we had the Bee card,” she said.

Part of it is the government’s

decision to scrap subsidies for agebased fares. Before April 30, children aged five to 12 travelled free and 13-24 got half price fares.

The regional council opted to keep those until July 1.

Super Gold card holders and those with an impairment, which means they are unable to drive, remain free.

Sesto-Dekic is confident the council’s decision to introduce a weekly fare cap for under 19s of 6.5 trips and nine for adults will help.

Another success has been the extra boost given to Bee Card retailers like the Cambridge i-Site which also provides top ups.

“I just ordered another 100 (Bee Cards), they’re flying out the door,” said Destination Cambridge general manager Ruth Crampton. Across town routes in Tokoroa and Taupō are also meeting with success but there seems little chance something similar will happen in Cambridge anytime soon although deputy mayor Liz Stolwyk, Waipā’s representative on the regional council’s Future Proof committee, is applying the pressure.

“I’m still pushing Cambridge’s story,” she said.

• See Vroom vroom vroom – Page 8

Waipā King's Birthday honours roll

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit

Stephen Cox (Ōhaupō) for services to cycling

Stephen Cox had an outstanding career in road cycling, attending three Commonwealth Games, claiming a bronze medal, and attending the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games. After retiring from international racing, he gave his time to the New Zealand cycling team and took the role of manager at the Kuala Lumpur 2010 Commonwealth Games. Stephen encourages youth to participate in sport. He says it is up to you, hard work, no pain no gain but just don’t give up!

Dr William Howell Round (Te Awa) for services to medical physics and biomedical engineering

Dr Howell Round is internationally respected in the fields of medical physics

and biomedical engineering over four decades and has presented at numerous conferences, consulted on expert panels and advised government on a wide range of policy issues pertaining to his field. He has chaired the University of Waikato’s Department of Physics and Electronic Engineering, transforming the department through various initiatives into an innovative, internationally respected team. Dr Round has served terms as Secretary-General of both the Asia-Oceania Federation of Organizations for Medical Physics and

the International Union of Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine. Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit Samuel Lewis (Te Awamutu) for services to business and the community Sam Lewis has been involved with farming and various community organisations in the Waikato and King Country since the 1970s.

He was treasurer of Waikato Federated Farmers for nine years, coinciding with economic reforms ushered in during the mid-1980s to the

early 1990s. He has chaired Affco New Zealand Ltd since 1999, is a director of Open Country New Zealand and is a former director of FMG Insurance. He was instrumental in fundraising $2 million for a building project for Gracelands Community Trust (now Enrich Plus), which supports and enables young people and adults with disabilities to engage in employment or contribute to their communities.

Anthony McGovern (Roto-o-Rangi) for services to the racing industry (see story page 5)

King’s Service Medal

Ian Stuart Campbell (Te Awamutu) for services to Fire and Emergency New Zealand and Taekwon-Do Campbell is the chief fire officer at the Te Awamutu Volunteer Fire Brigade. He has been a member since 1982 and Te Awamutu Taekwon-Do Club for 27 years. He has been chief since 2007, overseeing the busiest volunteer brigade in the Waikato region with more than 400 callouts annually and more than 40 volunteer members. He led the fundraising of $54,000 for the purchase of hydraulic rescue equipment in 2009 and $41,000 for a new emergency response vehicle in 2016. He is one of 13 7th Dan masters in New Zealand.

Robert Allan Feisst (Cambridge) for services to the community (See obituary, Page 14).

Jono Gibson Funeral Director

At your service – Waipā’s 24 and 20 services are carrying record numbers of passengers. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.

Ian Campbell Rob Feisst Sam Lewis Stephen Cox Howell Round

McGovern’s life of racing

By Mary Anne Gill

Tony McGovern was 16 when he first became involved in racing, but the King Country-born industry stalwart was born into it.

His family have long ties with the racing industry – uncle Rory was a successful trainer in Matamata and his father Tom, a butcher, worked for the Taumarunui Racing Club president Rod ‘Porky’ McLeish.

Trips from their Manunui home for the annual Taumarunui meeting at Waipā Racing Club in Te Awamutu were a must and once the family moved to Hamilton - when McGovern was eight – the tradition continued.

“We used to get all the rellies come up and there would be a big meeting of the clan when the Taumarunui race meeting was on.”

McGovern, 68, was born in Taumarunui – he was in the same Manunui Primary School class as Ruapehu mayor Weston Kirton - and now lives in Roto-o-Rangimidway between Te Awamutu and Cambridge.

He has become a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) in the King’s Birthday list for his services to the racing industry.

While at Fraser High School in Hamilton, the family would spend the school holidays at his uncle’s place and he would help on the starting gates at various meetings,

alongside his father. McGovern left school midway through the fifth form because he wanted to work on a farm, completed a butchery apprenticeship and in 1972 embarked on his 50-year racing career as a starting gates barrier attendant.

He became a chief starter in 1990 in the upper North Island – at Dargaville, Ruakaka, Auckland,

Avondale, Pukekohe, Hamilton, Thames and Paeroa – where he officiated at all meetings including Group One races.

In 2003 he was appointed Hong Kong Jockey Club chief starter where he stayed until 2016, officiating at two courses where over 700 races were run each season.

For the past four years he has provided advisory services to New

Zealand Thoroughbred Racing on starting procedures for races, mentored a new generation of industry participants, and continues the role of chief starter for several race meetings each year.

rigorous vettings a racehorse can undergo.

He also works at the Cambridge Jockey Club, now part of Waikato Thoroughbred Racing, where The News caught up with him on race day last week where he was out the back with the stipendiary stewards checking horse brands before the races.

It was bucketing down, offering more proof the decision to lay a synthetic polytrack in 2020 was a wise one.

“It’s a new tool for racing. A lot of people don’t like it, a lot of people do like it. If your horse goes well on it, you do like it. But it runs better with a bit of rain on it.”

Semi-retired “my rubbish bin goes out more than I do now” though still getting called on. He filled in at Pukekohe on Saturday and will be in Whangārei next week.

He is not sure who nominated him for the honour, but it took him several days to decide whether to accept it.

“I talked to my wife (Cathy), and I was reluctant to start with and she said, ‘it could be grounds for divorce after all these years of staying at home while you were away at racing’,” he says.

“You do these sorts of jobs, you’re not in the limelight, you’re not like the jockeys or the trainers, getting write ups.” Until now.

He does a bit of work with veterinarian Michael Hurley who vets horses that are bought in New Zealand and sold to Hong Kong. The examination for entry into Hong Kong is one of the most

Tony McGovern takes a break between checking horse brands at the Cambridge Jockey Club.

Photo: Mary Anne Gill.

Backchat

From lantern shows to blockbusters: unveiling the history of picture theatres in Cambridge

By Karen Payne, Cambridge Museum

Do you remember the first time you went to the pictures? Susan McKearney certainly did. You can hear her talking about magic lantern shows on the telephone switchboard at the museum. Magic lantern shows were an early type of image projector. Glass slides made from drawings or paintings were lit up by lantern or candlelight and projected on a wall.

The first known report of a lantern show in Cambridge was in the “Waikato Argus” in August 1896. Ensign Harvey gave a limelight entertainment at Capt James Runciman’s home.

The following year, the “Waikato Argus” reported that Capt Reid’s powerful limelight lantern entertained the Trinity Presbyterian’s Sunday school with Scottish views accompanied by music. These shows, often fundraising events, were held in various venues around town including the Victoria Hall on the corner of Victoria and Duke Streets (now Hello Travel), and the Alexandra Hall nearer the corner of Victoria and Alpha Streets (now an entrance to the Prince Albert).

In June 1906, the Alexandra Hall presented a two-day extravaganza using a Gaumont Chronophone, an invention that produced “living pictures that sing,

laugh, talk and whistle”.

The synchronised sound was a marvel, but equally amazing was the lack of flickering in the film. The Chronophone was taken all over the country to sold out venues, showing comedy skits, tourism adventures and the victorious All Blacks vs Wales.

By the 1920s, moving pictures were commonly shown at the Alexandra Hall, with Mr Richards’ grocery store next door selling lollies to theatregoers.

The first talkies were screened at the Cambridge Town Hall, which became the Town Hall Theatre in 1929. The Alexandra Hall on Victoria Street was destroyed by fire in 1935 and replaced by the Tudor Theatre (see photo) in 1937. At the theatre’s gala opening, child star Bobby Breen (1925-2016) appeared in “Rainbow over the River” and in May 1937 Cambridge was the first town in the North Island to see King George VI’s coronation.

In 1977, the Tudor Theatre building was sold.

Cinemagoers now went to an upstairs theatrette at the Town Hall but this was closed in 1987 because of low attendance. Twenty-seven years later, the Tivoli Theatre opened in Lakewood. Discover more local stories at cambridgemuseum.org.nz

Waikato regional theatre: historic heart beats in world class facility

Excitement is building around the planned 2025 opening of the new Waikato Regional Theatre – a world-class facility set to transform Hamilton city and beyond.

The multipurpose performing arts centre will offer a 1300-seat auditorium equipped to host dramatic performances, opera, ballet, rock gigs, musicals, kapa kaha, community ceremonies and more, while a complex of integrative spaces will include open courtyards and public performance areas. Making it particularly special for the Waikato are the heritage elements built into the design. Early consultation with local mana whenua and Heritage New Zealand led to key decisions being made around the retention of historic elements where they would enhance the centre rather than overpower it.

One was the decision to develop the theatre on the site of the old Hamilton Hotel in Victoria Street. Not only would that place it in the heart of the city’s creative hub but it would also enable the venue to make the most of striking Waikato River views from the rear-facing areas of the complex. Other core historic decisions were embedded in the design, such as the retention and restoration of the old hotel’s French ‘Beaux Arts’ façade, the imposing staircase, a much-loved Ralph Hotere mural, and the ‘green room’ doors from the Founders Theatre, through which many creative luminaries have passed over the decades.

The centre is set to be a complete game-changer

for the Waikato, providing the region with a facility set to outrank those anywhere in New Zealand.

Hundreds of Cambridge locals listened intently to an update on the theatre’s progress last month when they attended the latest joint lecture in the Cambridge U3A and Cambridge Historical Society partnership series.

Delivered by Waikato Regional Theatre general manager Gus Sharp, and Momentum Waikato CEO Simon Wickham, the dual presentation not only gave a detailed overview of the theatre’s design and progress but provided a comprehensive explanation of Momentum Waikato’s involvement in the project.

Planning started in 2016 when Hamilton’s Founders Theatre was closed for safety reasons. The projected cost to its owners, the Hamilton City Council, just to re-open was estimated to be around $25 million. A subsequent approach to council from Momentum Waikato with a proposal to develop a new Waikato Regional Theatre – the first of its scale in New Zealand for many decades – set the course and in October 2018, the Waikato

Regional Property Trust (WRPT) was established with a view to leading the project to fruition and holding ownership of the theatre’s operating company.

Momentum Waikato is an independent community foundation centred on strategic philanthropy; the monies it raises supports projects with that will benefit generations to come. Under their steerage, $75 million of the $80 million needed for the new theatre has already been raised through a mix of public, trust and philanthropic funding. That includes the $25 million from the Hamilton City Council stated as the original cost to repair the Founders Theatre.

A ‘Share the Stage’ campaign is underway to raise the remaining $5 million.

Momentum Waikato CEO Simon Wickham said the generosity of donors enabled the foundation to create cycles of perpetual giving, positively impacting communities well into the future.

More on the theatre’s progress can be found on www.sharethestage.co.nz

An artist’s impression on how the theatre will look from the side overlooking Waikato River.

The Tudor Picture Theatre, now 75 Victoria Street CM767/5

There is a memorial plaque at St Andrew’s Church which Cambridge Museum manager Elizabeth Harvey says evokes powerful D-Day memories today.

D-Day - and a Cambridge plaque

Look closely at the plaque dedicated to Maurice and Lucienne Vouzelaud in the French Garden on the grounds of St Andrews Church and you may feel prickles on the back of your neck.

Cambridge-born WWII RNZAF bomber pilot, John ‚Jack’ Morris was shot down just a few weeks after D-Day. Eighty years ago, on the 6 June 1944, 137,000 allied troops landed on the shores of German-occupied France. They, and tens of thousands

in the air forces overhead, landed on Normandy’s shores, in what historians now believe was one of the turning points of the Second World War.

“Great Invasion” screamed the headline on page 2 of the Waikato Independent on June 7, reporting locals were “electrified” by the news of the allied landings in France. Many would have been thinking of their loved ones serving overseas.

Jack Morris was born in

Cambridge on July 1, 1923. He was 21 when posted to the UK and the 75 (NZ) Squadron as flying officer of Lancaster Bombers. Bombing raids over German were intense at this time and it was not uncommon for the RAF to lose more than 30 bombers a night. In the build-up to D-Day. Jack was in the south of England. “You couldn’t help but realise the game was pretty close,” he explained to oral historian, Alison Parr, “…and then bang off

it went … we’d finally done it, got into Europe. Then everybody began to realise things were not going as well as they should do. We were stuck there for a long time”.

Jack was flying an operation to Stuttgart in July 1944 when his plane was shot down, killing two of the crew. He landed in Brou, France and was rescued by members of the French Resistance, Maurice and Lucienne Vouzelaud. They helped him to avoid capture and return to the UK.

When talking to Dave Homewood for the “Wings over Cambridge” website, Jack remembered a time when he and Lucienne were cycling through the French countryside. They turned a corner and there was a crowd of Germans in the road.

“Well, she was wonderful.” said Jack, “What she did was she fell off her bike deliberately. And of course all the soldiers rushed to look after her. Nobody took any notice of me, so I just kept going. Now that’s the sort of thing that people did, you know.

She was in really grave peril. They wouldn’t have shot me, they’d have kept me, but she’d have been a goner.”

With the D-Day commemorations going on this week, we are indebted to Jack Morris for sharing his memories of D-Day and the war in Europe and to Alison Parr and Dave Homewood recording them. These histories enrich our understanding of the war in Europe because they provide a sense of what these events actually meant to the people taking part in them.

Jack Morris died in Auckland 5 January 2017 • More cambridgenews.nz

Edge dies

Former champion jockey Garry Edge of Cambridge has died aged 84. In recent years Edge ran an agistment farm in St Kilda Road. He rode 740 winners in New Zealand with his first win coming in 1955 at Te Aroha on Sweet Wren.

Choir song

The acclaimed Christ’s College Chapel choir from Cambridge in the UK is to perform in St Andrew’s Anglican Church in Cambridge, New Zealand next month. The choir was founded in 1505 and today is a mixed-voice ensemble which undertakes world tours.

More clams

Pest clams found earlier this year at Lake Taupō’s Aqua Park are not the same as those discovered at Lake Karāpiro in Waipā. The clams are an Australian based subspecies of the unwanted golden clam.

On-line numbers

The News in brief column was the best read news story on the Cambridge News website last month and Menzshed finally getting a home of their own was second followed by our story about a virus hitting the council pound. Website visits were up 36 per cent on the previous month and here was a 24 per cent rise in subscribers to The Cambridge News App.

Jack Morris in 2014.

Photo: Lisa Harrington, Auckland War Memorial Museum.

The plaque acknowledging French Resistance bravery.

Waikato’s regional bus services have had a huge injection of cash and resources. Expanded timetables, electric buses and connectors from the far-flung parts of the region. Senior writer Mary Anne Gill had a day on the buses in Cambridge and Te Awamutu and made some observations

Bus goes vroom vroom vroom

The wheels on the bus go round and round the Waikato region in a vote of confidence in public transport by the region’s territorial authorities that should have patrons beating a path to the bus stops.

But as I found one day last week, there is still a lot of work to do to get people out of their cars and onto the buses.

It is 6.55am and there are three of us waiting at the Cambridge Town Hall for the number 20 bus to Hamilton. One of them, a young woman, is holding a hot water bottle but the water is cold, she tells me.

So that is a tick for the heating on the bus which three minutes later appears out of the gloom coming towards us, right on time as every bus that day was.

It is my first trip on one of the five new fully compliant and operational electric buses in the fleet servicing Waipā’s regional bus services in Cambridge and Te Awamutu.

Waipā’s improved timetable requires six single and two double-decker buses.

The old diesel buses had wi fi and it is just as erratic on the electric version. A word to the wise – if you are expecting the regional bus services will allow you to download movies and the like, think again.

But the USB ports at each seat were a lifesaver for me as my mobile was not fully charged and if I wanted to listen to podcasts for the rest of the day, it needed a boost.

There are 28 on the bus – too early yet for the students and a word of warning – avoid the 3.30pm bus from Hamilton to Cambridge in summer if that pungent smell of adolescent schoolboy disagrees with you.

The seats are comfortable, the driver has the radio playing but most passengers have their own headphones or ear buds.

There are a couple of incidents to make this newshound curious. Police cars are outside the Hillcrest Four Square either waiting for the shop to open or pursuing a conversation with the two people standing in front of a red car.

Out of the gloom comes the number 20 bus from Cambridge to Hamilton. Continued next page

That is the thing about bus rides, you fleetingly see something from the window, but you are never sure how it ends.

The second incident involved a man who got on the bus outside Anglesea Clinic carrying a box of cider and a can of something which he denied to the driver was alcohol.

When we arrived at the Transport Centre on time at 7.43am, he is met by security staff who must have called the police because a few minutes later, two police cars turn up to chat with him and he then had to empty cider out of every can in the box before he was sent on his way.

You cannot drink alcohol on the buses, nor can you spit, swear, eat, drink, smoke, vape or put your feet up on the seats.

You are not allowed to loiter around the Transport Centre either and I was conscious I might be on security’s radar as I waited for the Te Kūiti Connector 26 to arrive and saw other connector services from Raglan, Te Kauwhata and Huntly arrive. I’m too early for the South Waikato Connector from Tokoroa.

Passengers got on at the Te Kūiti i-Site at 6.40am and I was interested to see how many got off at 8.15am at the Transport Centre given the service’s limited timetable. There were 27 – a mix of secondary school students and public – plus a bike tethered to the rack at the outside front which its owner removed and cycled quickly away.

The bus continued onto Wintec Rotokauri with no passengers that I could see and later that day – at 5.15pm – returned to Te Kūiti; arriving back in the King Country at 6.47pm. I catch the 8.25am Te Awamutu 24 service – one of the old diesel buses still in servicebound for Kihikihi.

There are only three of us on the bus.

The driver toots his horn as he passes resident doctors protesting outside Waikato Hospital. The trip to Te Awamutu goes

smoothly and then it’s just me to Kihikihi where we arrive at 9.18am having taken a detour around the west side of the village while roadworks continue.

We leave Kihikihi at 9.45am with another woman onboard who was heading into Te Awamutu for some shopping. She, like me, has her gold card loaded into her Bee card so the trip is free. The balance on mine has stood at $13.80 since my 65th birthday.

Eleven get on in Te Awamutu – most get off at the hospital – and then back to the Transport Centre on time at 10.24am. I even had a snooze en-route.

On arrival, I check the timetable and

decide to treat myself to a coffee and cake and a walk around the shops before catching the 11.45am bus back to Cambridge.

It is a diesel too but still quite comfortable if not as environmentally-friendly as the electric version.

Three Spanish-speaking women hop on opposite the Police Station fumbling with money in confusion. They get off in suburban Hillcrest.

Again, the curious part of me wonders who they are and what they are going to do now?

Heading into Cambridge, we bump and rattle over the various road humps which have sprung up between the Velodrome

and town and the bus pulls into the new non-compulsory stop just past Kelly Road because there is a man sitting in there.

But annoyingly, he is just talking on his phone. Bus stops, sir, are for waiting for buses and are not telephone booths! Right on time, we arrive in Cambridge, and I get out in front of Good Union. It is not clearly marked as a bus stop but is for the moment.

The motor on the bus goes vroom, vroom, vroom and off it goes in a trail of diesel smoke.

And the wheels on the bus go round and round, all through the town.

Choose the right hearing device for you!

opposite Hamilton Police Station where three Spanish speaking women hopped onto the Cambridge bus.

Emergency bush skills taught

By Chris Gardner

Scout leaders learned how to build emergency shelters in Pirongia Forest Park recently.

The leaders, kaiarahi or mentors, were challenged to build emergency shelters from material found lying on the bush floor. While trampers should always carry some form of shelter in case of an emergency, even on day trips, no pack liners or survival bags were used.

The 10 scout leaders were

given just 15 minutes to build their shelters by the Scouts Aotearoa Introductory Tramping Course facilitators last month.

When they were done the group reviewed each effort and suggested what they would do differently next time, or with more time.

“I want to be more prepared for our scouts,” said Kirikiriroa and St Peter’s Scout Group scout kaiarahi Dawei Wang.

Wang joined the combined land and sea scout group in

ENGINEERING SUPPLIES

• Brassbushes

• Trojantrailerparts

• Weldingrods

Hamilton two years ago after emigrating from China.

He was invited to become a kaiarahi after his son Tristan joined the group.

“I am as new as blank paper to New Zealand, scouting and all the tramping skills, but I must learn as quickly as possible. I am passionate to contribute to Kirikiriroa and St. Peter’s Scout Group and to Scouts Aotearoa as a big family.”

With his fellow kaiarahi, Wang learned how to prepare for a day trip following best practice established by the New Zealand Mountain Safety Council. A waterproof jacket, warm hat, gloves, phone, emergency communication device, compass, map, fire lighting kit, headtorch, batteries, survival bag, food and water are a minimum requirement for everyone on every trip. Search and rescue are required for 540 people in New Zealand every year. Kaiarahi were taught the differences between true north, grid north

and magnetic north, the foundation to navigating with compasses and maps. True north is the location of the imaginary North Pole. Grid north is the direction vertical lines (or eastings) run on a map. Magnetic north is the constantly moving mass of magnetic ore off of North America sitting 23.5 degrees east of true north.

Wang spent the following day practicing his newfound skills navigating his way back onto a track from thick bush.

“It will help me to enjoy a tramping journey and get home safely,” he said.

Pirongia Cub kaiarahi Matt Rogerson has recently returned to scouts as an adult, having been a youth member.

He had learned many of the skills covered in the course when he was a cub and scout in Feilding Scout Group. It was great revision for him.

“Some big take aways were the connections with fellow kaiarahi I made,

and knowledge gained to successfully lead our cub section on future tramps safely,” he said.

“The connections will really help Pirongia Scout Group when it comes to supporting youth planning more adventures.”

Te Awamutu Cub Scout leader Harirewa Shearer feels better prepared to take cubs on a day walk.

“I challenged myself by going into my first ever cave, which was terrifying, exhilarating and exciting.”

Her group, led by Kirikiriroa & St Peter’s Scout Group kaiarahi Lyndon James, visited Kaniwhaniwha Caves.

“I would never have done that if I didn’t feel safe in the knowledge that there were

CAMBRIDGE

people there who would not only keep me safe, but also guide me and help me mentally through it. I wish to do the same for the cubs I lead also.”

James is also a New Zealand Outdoor Instructors Association Bush Leader with Overnight Endorsement and is working on his Abseil and Rock Leader qualifications.

Shearer found the handson aspect of the course, learning by doing, beneficial, and she particularly enjoyed role playing scenarios such as sprained ankles, and members of the party running ahead.

“It was a brilliant day, with people who are trying to step forward with their training, to be a better leader.”

VOLUNTEER FIRE BRIGADE CALLS OVER THE LAST WEEK

TUESDAY

7:10pm, Tree blocking road, Taotaoroa Road

WEDNESDAY 12:05am, Dairy Shed Fire, Marsh Meadow Road

THURSDAY

6:18pm, Kitchen re, Windmill Road

THURSDAY 8:15am, Cardiac arrest, Shakespeare Street

FRIDAY 12:44pm, Cardiac Arrest, Pengover Ave 8:10pm, Medical, choking, Alpha Street

FRIDAY 1:21pm, Building alarm and evacuation, Cambridge Road 1:58pm, Building alarm and evacuation, Cambridge Road

SATURDAY 7:39pm, Building alarm and evacuation, Wilson Street

SATURDAY 9:14pm, Light pole on fire, Namoi Place

SUNDAY

12:28pm, Wood on fire, Tirau Road

SUNDAY 6:20am, Building alarm and evacuation, Cambridge Road

6:02pm, Building alarm and evacuation, Vogel Street

3:59pm, Smoke in the vicinity, Thornton Road

MONDAY 9:51pm, Building alarm and evacuation, Cambridge Road

6:15pm, 2 car MVC, Waikato Expressway 9:55pm, Car fire, Waikato Expressway

LIST WITH THE TOP TEAM, AS VOTED BY CAMBRIDGE!

1 Lower Alpha Street, Cambridge

Cub kaiarahi Matt Rogerson prepares to take a compass bearing in Pirongia Forest Park with cub and scout kaiarahi Benjamin DurhamWesthead and Dawei Wang.

Kaiarahi dawei Wang, left, built an emergency shelter in Pirongia Forest Park with cub scout Kaiarahi Benjamin Durham-Westhead and Bodene Neale.

Waipā District Council is currently considering a representation review, which may result in changes to the way Council is elected and structured in the future.

What is the representation review?

Local elections are usually held every three years so you can decide who will represent you at the Council table and on the community boards. To make sure that residents have fair and effective representation, all councils must review their representation arrangements at least every six years.

Waipā District Council last undertook a representation review in 2021 in preparation for the 2022 elections. The focus of this review is to better understand how people want to be represented around the Council table, and if there is an opportunity to make changes to the ward structure or to the number of councillors.

What is the current situation?

At present, the Council is made up of the mayor, who is elected by all voters in the district and 11 councillors, who are elected by voters within each of the five existing wards:

• Cambridge (4),

• Maungatautari (1),

• Pirongia-Kakepuku (2),

• Te Awamutu-Kihikihi (3); and the

• Waipā Māori Ward (1).

There are two community boards, one representing Cambridge and one representing Te Awamutu-Kihikihi.

We are not proposing change or asking for feedback on community boards in this process.

We are not proposing change or asking for feedback on the Māori Ward at this time, as this is subject to a different process.

What is the process for the representation review?

Before we finalise a representation proposal to consult our community on, we are seeking initial feedback to help inform options that the community can have their say on in July.

Council will consider the community’s feedback, along with other analysis and community information, before making a decision on any proposed changes to proceed with.

The decision will be in the form of an

‘Initial Proposal’ which will go out to the community for formal consultation in July/August 2024.

Anyone can make a submission on the initial proposal. After considering all submissions and holding hearings (if required) council will publicly notify the final proposal. Any objections or appeals to the final proposal are sent to the Local Government Commission, which makes the final decision.

Find out more and have your say: www.waipadc.govt.nz/representationreview

You have until 16 June 2024 to provide us with your views.

For members of our community that wish to provide feedback non-digitally, there are hard copy surveys located at each of our offices and libraries.

How does this affect my rates?

Councillors’ remuneration is based on a fixed pool of funds which is set independently by a government agency, the Remuneration Authority. This amount does not go up or down in relation to the number of councillors.

Councillors are funded from district rates, however any changes to the ward boundaries or the number of councillors will not have a significant impact on rates.

Community boards are funded by a targeted rate within the respective ward.

Cambridge Community Board Rural Winter Tour 2024

It’s that time of year again for our Annual Rural Tour!

Maungatautari, Kaipaki, Monavale, Horahora, and Rotoorangi residents are invited to meet at Maungatautari Hall, June 6 between 4pm and 6pm

Te Miro, Whitehall, Fencourt, and Karapiro/Totararoa residents are invited to meet at Te Miro Hall, June 20 between 4pm and 6pm

Please join us for food/refreshments and hear from your Community Board, Elected Members, and key staff.

RSVP to Andrew.Myers@waipadc.govt.nz with your specific questions and detail of matters so that we can prepare in advance

Having ‘skin in the game’

By Murray Smith, Bridges Church

As a child, I listened spellbound to a speaker describing dare-devil exploits of courageous French acrobat and gymnast, Charles Blondin. Blondin’s bizarre stunts on a tightrope stretching above the Niagara Falls between America and Canada, created an indelible impression upon me.

Over 25,000 spectators crammed vantage points for Blondin’s first performance from the American side in June 1859. A 5cm diameter rope made of hemp stretched out 400 metres –50 metres above swirling waters.

Wearing special leather shoes and holding a balancing pole, Blondin set out with no nets… believing that hedging disaster only courted its inevitability.

The atmosphere was electric… onlookers even fainted. A third of the way across, Blondin stunned everyone by sitting down on his rope and calling for the ‘Maid of the Mist’, the famed tourist vessel, to anchor momentarily beneath him. He let a line down and hauled up a bottle of wine. He drank and started off again, breaking into a run after he passed the sagging centre.

with champagne. Another time, carrying a stove and utensils on his back, he walked to the centre of the span, started a fire and cooked an omelet. When it was ready, he lowered the breakfast to passengers on the deck of the Maid of the Mist.

Not everyone was enthralled by Blondin. Critical newspapers attacked his “reckless and aimless exposure” slamming “thoughtless people” for watching “a fellow creature in deathly peril.” Money flowed as gamblers took bets on whether Blondin would plunge to a watery death.

My favourite Blondin stunt was him walking ‘backwards’ to Canada, then returning to America pushing a wheelbarrow to seek a ‘passenger’ from among the crowd - in the audience, the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII), was restrained from participating by his entourage.

After reaching Canada, he began the return journey after 20 minutes of rest. The entire walk from side to side took 23 minutes. Blondin immediately announced subsequent crossings, promising each one would be more daring than the last.

Over time, Blondin completed hundreds of crossings. He somersaulted and backflipped his way across, occasionally pausing to dangle from the cable by one hand. He crossed with his manager clinging onto his back, he carried a table and chair, stopping in the middle to sit down and prop up his legs. The chair tumbled into the water - Blondin nearly followed but regained his balance. He sat down on the rope and ate a piece of cake, washed down

Multiplied thousands affirmed their ‘belief’ (academically speaking), that Blondin could perform this stunt - but would anyone ‘commit’ to that belief and make the crossing? One person found the courage and conviction to climb into the wheelbarrow. This is so like countless people who claim to ‘believe’ in God. Offering mere token mental assent to His existence, is far from true faith which actively pursues relationship with Him! That’s the faith which God commends.

Our expression, ‘having skin in the game’, describes personal buy-in, being ‘invested’ in achieving a result.

Truly authentic faith in God will exhibit ‘skin in the game’- a life totally entrusted to Him. That means ’getting into the wheelbarrow’ for the journey.

SATURDAY 8 & SUNDAY 9 JUNE, 10AM - 2PM

Join us at our open days and experience why the Ryman lifestyle could be for you. Learn about our living and care options, tour our show homes and the wonderful amenities on offer.

We look forward to seeing you.

To find out more visit rymanhealthcare.co.nz/open-days

DIANA & HUGH Ryman Residents

A funeral with applause

By Viv Posselt

News of Rob Feisst’s inclusion in this year’s King’s Birthday Honours was met with applause at his Cambridge Town Hall farewell last week.

The announcement was made by Taupō MP Louise Upston, who said special permission had been given to award the King’s Birthday Medal before the official date of June 3. That meant that Rob knew about the award, given for his service to community, before he died on May 21.

The citation noted his involvement with community organisations.

It was fitting for this farewell to take place at the Town Hall as he had played an active role in the building’s maintenance and restoration. He was one of the seven founding trustees of the Cambridge Town Hall Community Trust, going on to become its deputy chairman.

Waipā deputy mayor Liz Stolwyk said even in his last days Rob was busy checking submissions on plans for the hall’s restoration. She said Cambridge had lost one of its biggest supporters and advocates, a man with unwavering commitment to bring change, a community stalwart in every sense of the word.

“His passion was infectious… he stood up and took on leadership roles and had a unique ability to rally people,” she said.

The News’ columnist Peter Nicholl delivered a eulogy replete with antidotes about the carefree youth both he and Rob enjoyed in the Fencourt Road area where they tumbled as boys.

Rob was born in Penmarric House in wartime Cambridge,

the eldest of four children – Rob, Mary, Christine and Johnborn to Mary and Albert Feisst. They grew up on the Flume Rd family farm that had been settled by Feissts in the early 1900s. It was, said Peter, something of a family enclave, with uncles, aunts and cousins all around.

Rob went to Goodwood Primary, Cambridge Intermediate (where he and Peter first met), and Cambridge High schools, after which he started working on the family farm. He quickly became involved in the local Young Farmer’s Club and in Federated Farmers, winning a regional competition that netted him a trip to Australia.

He met his future wife Val at a nurses’ ball in Hamilton and the pair married in Pahiatua in 1966 – with Peter as their best man.

The couple raised their own family – Sonya, Julie, Fiona and Andrew – on the family farm in Flume Rd. His children said their father had imbued them with a strong work ethic and a deep love of reading. He always found time to support them in their sporting and other endeavours and was actively involved in this children’s and grandchildren’s lives.

Rob’s community activities set him apart from his peers. Peter said: “There were so many over his lifetime that a list of them would fill an encyclopaedia”.

From a young age he was actively engaged in Young Farmers’ Clubs, Federated Farmers’ and the Cambridge Racquets Club – his involvement in the latter straddled 40 years and covered periods when he was chairman and president. While at the club he oversaw a major renovation. In 1974 Rob started Summit Grains, then situated in the old rail yards where Lakewood now sits, with the late John

Hewitt and Winston Steen.

Rob’s citation spoke to his tenure as a trustee of the Cambridge Health and Community Trust from 1996 almost to the present, which included its transformation to what is now the Taylor Made Community Space. It also mentioned his ties to the Cambridge Community Board from 1992 to 2010, with 12 years as chair, and his more recent involvement with the Cambridge Town Hall Trust.

He was also central in establishing the Cambridge Information Centre and the Armistice in Cambridge event, one set to mark its 24th anniversary this year.

Lakewood’s history in panels

By Viv Posselt

A set of heritage panels reveal the backstory to Cambridge’s Lakewood development.

Finishing touches to the panels went in last month, brought to this point by a group keen to tell the story of the area before its transformation into a modern multi-faceted development.

Lakewood today – stage one opened in 2018 -

comprises a five-star hotel, apartments, 24-hour gym, eateries and shops. The area is historically relevant to both local iwi and European settlers. It is those stories that piqued the interest of former Lakewood Body Corporate chair, Mary Anne Gill and gave her the vision to turn what was a rubbish compound into an area that acknowledged its Māori and European past. Gill was Lakewood Body Corporate chair from 2018 to

the end of March this year.

“When stage two at Lakewood was completed in early 2020, which included Hidden Lake Hotel, developers built a rubbish compound in the middle of what is now the carpark,” she explained.

“I felt it was the wrong place for a compound. It was where the Cambridge Railway Station and line finished, so it seemed to me to be a waste of an historic space. The doors broke off

A successful lunch

The generosity of Cambridge retailers led to a successful Pink Ribbon luncheon at Cambridge Oaks Lifestyle Village last week.

Oaks residents, friends, family, some local retirement village residents as well as the Oaks’ sister village residents from Matamata and Rotorua made up the 150 plus who attended.

Lyn Smolenski told The News almost $4800 was raised for Breast Cancer New Zealand from the event.

“We know times are tough for our local

retailers so we are especially grateful to those who supported this great cause,” she said.

Resident Val Evans was MC and ran the raffle with 30 prizes and silent auction.

Entertainment was provided by Cambridge High School music students and the Zimmer Dance Troupe, a group of women aged 73 to 83 from Papakura.

Guest speaker was Ruth Crampton – a survivor of breast cancer - who spoke about her life and the changes to the structure of Cambridge i-Site.

a couple of times when the rubbish truck manoeuvred in to collect the rubbish, recycling and oil waste … it looked awful.”

Finding herself in-step with co-committee member Carol Townshend, the committee decided to close it as a rubbish compound and take on the historical panels project. They secured funding from the developers, Foster’s and Porter Group, and Waipā District Council’s Heritage Fund.

They also approached Cambridge Museum manager Elizabeth Harvey who helped pull the project together with Sonia Frimmel from What’s the Story, a company specialising in bringing heritage to life by creating displays such as information boards and historical panels.

Harvey said sharing local histories at Lakewood was a way of reaching people who may not typically visit museums or marae.

“Collaborating with Hinerangi Kara from the Ngāti Koroki Kahukura Trust to narrate these histories, and with Sonia Frimmel to present them so beautifully, has been fulfilling.”

The stories that needed to be told at Lakewood linked to its vibrant past, Gill added. They are told in both English and te reo.

For iwi it was a flourishing meeting place. Lake Te Koo Utu was a pataka kai (food pantry) for Māori.

There was flax for weaving and bulrush for thatching. Horotiu Pā is now the Cambridge CBD where Māori lived peacefully until the Land Wars of 186364 when British soldiers invaded.

King Tawhiao, the second Māori King, gave the lake the name Te Koo Utu, meaning ‘to scoop up water’. He spent a lot of time in Cambridge when Land Court hearings took place at what is now the Cambridge Museum.

Later history saw the area linked to a railway line that was central to the town’s progress. The Cambridge Railway line terminated at the site from 1884 to 1999 and the ‘kissing gates’ and railway sign are the only reminders of that era.

“As part of the resource

consent, the developers had previously rehoused the Cambridge Railway sign and ‘kissing gates’ at the Lake Street entrance, but there was no explanation about them,” Gill said.

“Many people have no idea there was a railway station and railway line here. So many young people left from the station to go to World War One and never returned. And the town’s development once the track was laid owes so much to the railway line’s existence. It provided a valuable rail route for the district’s produce.

“What is at Lakewood now where the railway station was is so much better than a rubbish compound. Now the ‘kissing gates’ and Cambridge sign make more sense to visitors.

Rob Feisst

What’s the Story’s Sonia Frimmel and carpenter Ken Atkinson in front of the new Lakewood heritage panels. Photo: Supplied.

More than 150 people attended the pink ribbon luncheon.

Across 1. Unravel or become worn (4) 4. Paver (6) 8. Short message system (7) 9. Unit of weight (5) 10. Infant (4) 11. Merciless (8) 13. Employees (9) 17. Month with birthstone of amethyst (8)

Last week

19. Threesome (4)

21. Spooky (5)

22. Badly behaved (7)

23. Family of trees that includes pohutukawa and manuka (6) 24. Armoured vehicle (4) Down

2. Colourful arc (7) 3. Mythical creature (4)

4. Distance around something (13)

St John Cambridge Health Shuttle

5. Leaflet (8) 6. Pitch forward (5) 7. Untidy (5) 8. Brass instrument (4) 12. Dispute (8) 14. Made of clay (7) 15. Following (5) 16. Imitate (4) 18. Large and strong (person) (5) 20. Terse (4)

Across: 1. Inept, 4. Bother, 8. Radiant, 9. Alibi, 10. Strip, 11. Explore, 12. Sachet, 14. Severe, 17. Impulse, 19. Elect, 21. Least, 22. Sharpen, 23. Season, 24. Thyme.

Down: 1. Irresistible, 2. Elder, 3. Trample, 4. Bitter, 5. Tramp, 6. Episode, 7. Life sentence, 13. Cupcake, 15. Elegant, 16. Lesson, 18. Lotus, 20. Empty.

Make the most of roasts

I well remember my childhood Sunday roast lamb. That’s because they were always cooked the same way. The only slight variation was one week the lamb was served with mint sauce and the next week mint jelly.

Herbs complement so many meats. Some combos are traditional such as pork and sage and lamb and mint. But fennel with lamb is as good as mint if not better. Fennel has an aniseed flavour much admired by the Italians who call it finocchio and the French (fenouil). All parts of the plant can be enjoyed with lamb. Roasted fennel bulb is great as are the seeds combined with butter as a baste.

Rosemary is one of the most fragrant herbs. A little goes a long way and it is a favourite seasoning for all meats. Rosemary has been hailed since ancient times for its medicinal properties. In Europe rosemary is often used to help treat indigestion. Kyoto University researchers in Japan have revealed that rosemary may significantly help prevent brain aging — it contains an ingredient, carnosic acid, that fights off free radical damage in the brain — excellent if you’re thinking of having a second glass of wine.

ROSEMARY ROASTED BEEF

1.3kg lean roast beef eg topside

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

6-8 rashers streaky bacon

2 each: carrots, parsnips

300g pumpkin, peeled & seeded

6 yams

6 cloves garlic

flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1-2 teaspoons dried rosemary

2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Lightly oil a roasting pan. Ensure the beef is at room temperature. Wrap the bacon rashers around the meat to almost cover.

Peel and chop the carrots, parsnips and pumpkin into thick chunks. Place in the roasting pan with the yams and garlic and toss with a little olive oil. Season. Sprinkle with the dried rosemary. Place the meat on top. Top with fresh rosemary.

Roast for 1 hour for medium or 1 1/2 hours for well done.

Remove the meat and vegetables to a serving platter. Tent with foil. Cover with a towel. Stand for 15 minutes before carving the meat. Serves 6.

THYME FOR CHICKEN ROAST

Don’t worry if the grapes burst a little — their juice adds to the flavour of the pan juices.

Stuffing: 25g butter

1 tablespoons thyme leaves

1 each: apple, pear, peeled, cored and diced

1 cup French bread croutons

1/2 cup seedless grapes

1/2 cup white wine

salt and pepper to taste

Chicken: 1.5kg free-range chicken

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

freshly ground salt and black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons thyme leaves

1 large bunch seedless grapes

small sprigs thyme to garnish

Stuffing: melt the butter in a non-stick frying pan. Add the thyme, apple and pear. Sauté on low heat, until softened. Add the croutons, grapes and wine and simmer until the liquid has almost evaporated. Season. Cool.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Chicken: wipe inside and out with a paper towel. Fill the cavity with the stuffing including the neck cavity. Truss or tie with string to ensure a good shape. Brush with a little olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt, pepper and thyme.

Place in an oiled roasting dish, breast-side up. Roast for 1 hour. Add the grapes, drizzle with a little olive oil then season. Continue roasting for another 30 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers 74°C.

Remove from the pan. Tent with foil and cover with a towel. Rest for 15 minutes.

Serve with the grapes on the side. Garnished with thyme sprigs. Great accompanied by baked kumara or potatoes. Serves 6.

LAMB WITH FENNEL

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

25g butter, softened

1.5kg leg lamb

4 fennel bulbs

1/4 cup olive oil

flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 1/2 cup each: red wine, orange juice

1 1/2 cups lamb or beef stock

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Lightly oil a roasting pan. Combine the garlic, fennel seeds and butter. Score the lamb as you would a ham. Brush well with the butter mixture. Halve or quarter the fennel bulbs. Toss in the oil and season. Place in the roasting pan. Top with the lamb. Roast until the internal temperature is 75°C, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove the lamb and fennel to a warm platter. Tent with foil and cover with a towel. Stand for 15 minutes before carving. Meanwhile, add the liquids to the roasting pan. Scrape any browned pieces from the bottom. Boil until slightly thickened. Season and serve as a sauce. Serves 6.

Rosemary roasted beef

Thyme for chicken roast

It's time to celebrate with us!!

Pop in and visit us and be in to win FREE HAIR for 1 whole year!

We have had our second sister salon open in Cambridge for 1 whole year!

Since opening we have quickly grown our team to 3 with two gorgeous apprentices and a new senior starting soon all the way from South Africa!

Matthew has joined us from Auckland & Maaike is well known for her beautiful head massages,and we are super grateful because Matthew has moved all the way from Auckland to join our Team and is now on the Wella Assistance program too!

We welcome you to take this opportunity to get to know us and if you think you might like to try our salon, you can always enjoy $50 off your first colour with us ! celebrate with us and win free hair for 1 whole year!

CountryLife

Fonterra outlines plans

By Mary Anne Gill

Waste water, carbon emissions, river pipeline and roading changes were some of the issues covered at Fonterra Hautapu’s annual meeting with its community last month.

All bar a couple of seats at the factory’s training rooms were occupied as Environmental manager Jude van Bommel welcomed residents and used the next hour to bring them up to speed on the site’s activities. Hautapu specialises in producing high-value products – for example, casein, lactoferrin, hydrolysates and whey protein concentrate.

A factory has been on the site since 1884 and 140 years later continues to expand. It now employs 300 people in eight plants and has two distribution centres.

The factory receives milk daily from more than 500 dairy farmers and 126 tankers and can process up to 3.2 million litres of milk a day.

The session included an update from Fonterra subsidiary DairyFert which manages all the dairy liquids generated by Fonterra’s Waikato manufacturing sites.

Fonterra owns three nearby stockless farms: Bruntwood, Buxton and Bardowie farms, where they grow crops from the by products to distribute to Fonterra farmers.

The by products also go to stockfood for animals.

DairyFert has added new equipment to help spreading operations – a mobile nurse tank and an umbilical system which allows for quick and efficient by product spreading. Van

Bommel said the factory reported three incidents to Waikato Regional Council this season.

They were an odour from paddocks following a silage cut, a riverline leak in Peake Road and a missed paddock line flush.

Work has started on the controversial $85 million wastewater treatment plant which will treat process wastewater from the manufacturing plant. Construction is expected to be finished by March next year.

When the company announced its intentions three years ago, there was widespread opposition from neighbours. Waipā District Council granted consent in April 2022.

To support the plant, construction began last month on a new river pipeline to discharge treated waste into the Waikato River. The line will leave the factory and travel west along

Hautapu Road, then south along Peake Road to the new Cambridge Road subdivision and roundabout and then discharge next to Waipā District Council’s stormwater outfall structure.

Work on decarbonising its operations at Hautapu is well underway and will see coal-fired boilers go and replaced by wood pellets.

Once complete, Hautapu will reduce Fonterra’s carbon emissions by a forecasted 15,785 tonnes per year - the equivalent of taking about 6500 cars off New Zealand’s roads – and see a 25 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions.

The wood pellets are made from sawdust and shavings compressed using heat and pressure to make a pellet.

The boiler conversion construction began

last month, and all boilers should be live by next month.

All the work has required roading changes around Gate One in Hautapu Road – a date has yet to be confirmed – and the construction of a new roundabout on nearby Victoria Road.

Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency also plans to replace a culvert on SH1B just south of the intersections with Bruntwood and Zig Zag roads.

Future consultations by Fonterra include a plan change for the dairy company’s Bardowie farm from rural to industrial.

For supper, attendees were treated to the gold medal winning Hautapu mature organic cheddar which picked up the award at the recent New Zealand cheese awards. Also available was the factory’s Gouda M.

Fonterra Hautapu Environmental manager Jude van Bommell points to some of the roading changes needed near the site. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.

Fieldays looks at challenge

By Chris Gardner

Farmers will address the critical challenges facing the rural community at this year’s National Agricultural Fieldays. Fieldays has partnered with Federated Farmers to launch a Rural Advocacy Hub at the southern hemisphere’s biggest agricultural event, and they’ve invited likeminded organisations to join them.

Fieldays chief executive Peter Nation approached Federated Farmers national president Wayne Langford after reading an article where Langford talked about getting everyone in the same team pointing

forward for the good of the industry.

“It’ll be everything,” Nation said, when asked what the likely topics will be. “There are so many things going on. Free trade agreements, people love them or hate them, they’re going to talk about interest rates, banks, climate change, Three Waters, red tape, and on and on.

“A lot of them are farming on their own and they can come into a place like that …and verify some facts and talk to some people. “ Nation is expecting Government ministers, chief executives, board chairs, and industry leaders to join the conversation.

“There’ll be some debate. Some people will really question some of the stuff that’s happening and why they’re doing what they’re doing, but isn’t that how you solve issues by having a conversation?”

Groundwell NZ farming advocacy group co-founder Bryce McKenzie is among the exhibitors invited by Federated Farmers.

“We thought that would be a great opportunity to bring farming voices together in one spot, so we were pretty keen on the idea,” he said. “I’m hopeful it’ll just cement relationships and help build a strong voice for agriculture in the future.

“Farmers are going to be

talking about their high interest rates and lack of income to be quite honest. There’s a lot of sheep farmers out there that are finding it a major struggle to stay afloat. It’s a real struggle for them. It makes you wonder where the money’s actually going and why we’re not getting higher prices for our sheep meat overseas. There’s no easy answer to it. I think it’s a combination of a lot of things. Lamb is struggling to make $100 per head, last year they were getting $150 and $160. We’re excited to be part of it and we hope plenty of people will turn up and chat.”

Food and Fibre Youth

Network chair William Robertson said the Young Farmers workstream was looking forward to getting everyone in one room.

“Getting everyone in one room will help us collaborate as organisations and group to group.,” he said. His network was particularly interested in the debate on the transport of live animals as members had various responses to it.

“There’s a split across the board, and that was almost more interesting than if we had a really strong for or against because it shows that there’s so many of perspectives in people’s understanding.

“Getting as many perspectives on a policy as

possible will help build it out a bit better.”

Rural Women New Zealand national president Gill Naylor’s focus was the whole rural community.

“It’s broader than just than just industry,” she said.

“It’s about all the pressures that farmers are under at the moment, mental health, equity of service, which is huge and goes right across the board really from connectivity, health services, education, banking. You name it, it’s these issues.”

“It’s about celebrating the whole rural community as well as the primary industries. We know they’re a massive part of rural, but it goes far wider than farm industries.”

Fieldays will open at Mystery Creek next Wednesday.,

William Robertson.

Gill Naylor.

The Māori ward issue

By Stu Kneebone, Waipā-King Country Councillor

Waikato Regional Council has made a submission on the Local Government (Electoral Legislation and Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Bill. It outlines concerns and recommendations regarding the proposed changes, with a focus on ensuring equitable and fair representation of Māori in local government. For context, this council established two Māori wards in 2013, and since then two Māori councillors have been part of a diverse mix of 14 councillors. Councils are required to review representation arrangements every six years, and councillors elected in 2017 and 2023 to continue with Māori wards. It reaffirmed a commitment to recognising the value of having a Māori voice at the table.

The Local Government Act 2002 requires councils to provide opportunities for Māori to contribute to decision making processes. Waikato Regional Council has found having two Māori ward councillors at the table has proven to be an effective way of giving effect to this requirement.

The concept of Māori wards is not dissimilar to the situation at central government level where Māori electorates have existed since 1867.

Despite those who choose to go on the Māori role being able to exercise a vote for their preferred Māori representative at a central government level for a very long time, it is only relatively recently that those on the Māori role have had this opportunity at a local government level. This is because they can only do this if their council has established a Māori ward.

Up until 2021, the process to establish Māori wards was challenging for local Councils.

RURAL LAW

With deep-seated roots in the Waikato, Lewis Lawyers proudly extends a century of legal advice and support to the rural community.

From dairy and livestock to equine, and food production, our collaborative approach addresses diverse issues in this crucial sector.

Our enduring connection with the rural community uniquely positions us to comprehend agri-business challenges, offering a wealth of knowledge on everevolving compliance and regulations within rural law.

As essential members of any agri-business advisory team, our specialists provide comprehensive assistance across a spectrum of rural law aspects, ensuring steadfast

The law provided for any decision made by a council to establish Māori wards to be overturned. In essence, if a Council wanted to establish a Māori ward, five per cent of the voting public could trigger a binding poll amongst all electors. If 51 per cent of those responding to the poll didn’t support Māori wards, then council could not establish them. This provision was overturned in 2021.

The proposed Bill would require councils who have established Māori wards since 2020 to hold a binding poll at the 2025 local body elections if they had not already done so.

This would mean 45 councils will be required to go back and hold a poll in 2025. If 51 per cent of those participating in the polls do not support Māori wards, those council will be required to disestablish them. This law would only apply to Māori wards, and not, for example, the establishment of a rural ward to represent rural interests.

Waikato Regional Council has submitted that reinstating these provisions is undemocratic because it imposes a higher procedural standard for establishing Māori wards. The submission noted that requiring referendums only for Māori wards undermined the fundamental concept of a fair electoral process, and the council’s obligations under the Local Govt Act to recognise and respect the Crown’s responsibility to consider the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and maintain and improve opportunities for Māori to contribute to local government decision-making processes.

Send out the clowns

By Mike Keir, Tamahere-Woodlands Ward councillor

Thank you, Peter Nicholl (Talking Economics, May 20) for raising the third world issue.

New Zealand still seems to be under the impression we are part of the rich world. We are not, nor have been for some time. One of the reasons for this is our very low productivity (a result of a 20-year-plus year mania for regulation and compliance) which is also the reason our interest rates will stay higher than real rich world countries for quite some time.

The irony is most of us still think we are in the rich world.

I heard Chris Luxon complaining that the recent rail issues experienced in Auckland should not be happening in a rich world country. Duh!

The reason we have underfunded our infrastructure is we cannot afford to maintain it properly.

This is compounded by the fact that we spend and waste money like we have heaps of it. Case in point is spending $43.5 million on a roundabout at the Piarere SH1-29 intersection to Tauranga.

I (with some help) built a roundabout 10km down on the SH1-5 intersection to Rotorua just south of Tirau 10 years ago for $4.5million. This was harder and more complicated that the Pairere one which canto be built off-line. We had to manage traffic and grade separation.

Hence it leads to another reason for our woeful productivity, the lack of actual practical experience in our national management staff. This seems to be endemic in almost every sector.

These positions are now filled with professional managers who have never actually built anything.

support for the backbone of New Zealand’s economy.

Our specialists can assist on all aspects of rural law, including;

• Equity partnerships

• Farms

• Environmental

• Supply agreements

• Livestock

• Health and safety

• Employment

• Sharemilking agreements

• Farm management

• Overseas Investment Office considerations

• Purchase/Sale (Farm sales and acquisitions)

• Leases (Farm leasing)

• Taxation implications

• Succession planning

• Asset protection

There used to be a transitional process through the system so the eventual managers had learnt through hands on experience. The recent local government reforms, resource management reforms and waters reforms are symptomatic of this, having achieved nothing to date.

This government is trying to come up with solutions but is being provided with bad advice by self-interested bureaucrats in Wellington who have no practical experience.

The recent tertiary education sector reform process is an excellent example of a complete disaster and the leaders of this fiasco are still around in the public sector providing advice to local government, now on waters reform. They had no idea about the Polytech sector and now they are water experts?

New Zealand is not only entering the third world, it is also being led there by incompetent and corrupt management at the top.

It was interesting to read a recent article by Dame Anne Salmond saying our underlying independent spirit was growing tired of being managed by clowns. I hope she is right, or is it our independent spirit that actually allows these second rate clowns to get into positions of authority as our tall poppy syndrome takes out the truly talented managers who either head offshore or go into the private sector?

If we are to change our direction we need to figure out how to encourage real talent into our public sector or start training these people properly. COUNCIL COMMENT

LUCY YOUNG PARTNER

LISA WARE, PARTNER

MATT MAKGILL PARTNER

GEORGIA CASEY, SENIOR SOLICITOR

Unleashing dairy and beef potential

By Chris Gardner

Beef and dairy farmers don’t typically work together, but that will soon change if Bob Thomson gets his way.

Thomson, an Agfirst agribusiness consultant of 50 years’ experience, is leading a project he hopes will unleash dairy beef potential through partnerships between two quite different segments of the agricultural sector. One is geared towards producing beef, the other milk.

“We’re proposing to put up a project to demonstrate how partnerships between dairy farmers and beef farmers can work,” Thomson said following a May 28 workshop at Owl Farm, Cambridge.

Owl Farm is a joint venture between St Peter’s School and Lincoln University that aims to demonstrate excellence in farm performance, share knowledge and provide opportunities for students.

Owl Farm cows are in the top three precent when it comes to breeding worth.

“They don’t need to mate all of their cows to dairy sire to generate the next crop of replacement calves, so they have cows available to mate to something else. Their calves could just be surplus, or they could be generated for a useful purpose,” Thomson said.

That purpose is joining the national beef herd.

“The timing is right for this, and the reason is we’ve now identified beef bulls that provide a real value proposition, a real good reason to establish a relationship that you can get these calves of these top sires back onto your farm for finishing as a beef breeder,” he said.

“Dairy farmers have got surplus calves. It’s not such a big deal now we can bobby a number. In the future we’re having to think about that might not be an option. So, if we can start working on solutions now, that would be a great thing.”

The project is relying on a decade’s

worth of dairy beef progeny data collected from two 800 cow herds at Limestone Downs, Port Waikato, and Wairakei, Taupo. Typically, beef farmers don’t collect the depth of data on their animals that dairy farmers do. But this dairy beef progeny data

set changes all that, including crucial birth weight, calving ease, gestation length and days to weaning data.

“Information has not been collected and available like this before,” Thomson said. “This was a first. We’ve actually learned that not one breed has got a monopoly on good performance. There are a number of different breeds that have that.”

Thomson described it as a “win win situation” for both dairy and beef segments of the agricultural sector, one focused on milk solids production, the other on carcass weight.

“It’s real data giving them the confidence that they’re not dealing with estimations. They’re dealing with actual information.”

“With cattle from dairy farms making up fifty percent of all beeffinishing cattle in New Zealand it is imperative that we seek breeding solutions that meet dairy farmers objective of short gestation and easing calving and provide a high growth, excellent quality animal for the beef industry,” Owl Farm demonstration manager Jo Sheridan said:

“With the advances in technology to mate cows and the data coming from superior beef sires - we have the ability to improve productivity for both dairy and beef farmers by creating a high-quality dairy beef calf that adds value to everyone along the supply chain.”

Agfirst agribusiness consultant Bob Thomson, Fonterra Farm Source’s Dr Rebecca Hickson, Owl Farm demonstration manager Jo Sheridan, farmer Jeremy Lee, WormWise programme manager Ginny Dodunski, Beef and Lamb director Phil Weir at the Owl Farm workshop.

Mega-rural - views sought

By Mary Anne Gill

Future representation has become a big issue for rural residents who have an opportunity to have their say at two hall meetings.

The first is tonight at Maungatautari and there residents from Kaipaki, Monavale, Horahora and Roto-o-Rangi will be able to talk about a proposal to have one mega rural ward and two representatives in the Waipā district.

The proposal was unveiled last week at a council workshop and would see the Pirongia and Kakepuku ward merged with the Maungatautari ward.

Boundaries would alter to suck up population increases in Cambridge and Te Awamutu for the two urban wards of Cambridge and Te Awamutu/Kihikihi.

The Māori ward is still up in the air waiting on the progress of the government’s bill which Waipā, like most local authorities, do not support.

Later this month, on June 20, Whitehall, Fencourt and Karāpiro residents can attend a meeting at Te Miro Hall.

Board member Andrew Myers said other topics will include road maintenance, rates setting, the enhanced annual plan

and the upcoming Long Term Plan.

“But if people can put their burning issues forward, we will try to answer them,” he said.

It will be like the roadshow events held for Ahu Ake – the spatial plan roadshows – with staff and elected members also present.

The change in style comes after numbers at the various halls were down.

Myers said having two big meetings rather than several smaller meetings was a trial worth doing. Halls will be rotated in future years.

REAL STEEL FARM BUILDINGS

Cambridge Community Board member Andrew Myers and his dog Pippa, with chair Jo Davies-Colley.

Photo: Sylvie Davies-Colley.

(below).

Sensational Views & Setting

Negotiation

48B Cowley Drive, Leamington

- Pleasantly positioned upon a lavish 3,217m2 park- like section.

- Standalone sleepout with bathroom, adjoining garage and carport.

- Superbly configured home boasting two ensuited bedrooms. Open Homes Saturday & Sunday 1.00 - 1.30pm

- This is an entertainer’s delight – large stacker doors lead to an expansive deck (with louvre system) which captures lots of sun. - Fifth bedroom/ rumpus/ storage room at the back of the garage. Open Homes Saturday 1-1.30pm & Sunday 11-11.30am Location is Key - Develop or Landbank Negotiation

23 Princes Street, Cambridge

- Extraordinary opportunity to own a spacious 1,249m2 (more or less) freehold section on the highly popular Princes Street.

- Substantial section offering great potential for development.

- Currently features 1940’s dwelling with double garage and shedding. Open Home Sunday 2.00 - 2.30pm Ideal Location - Heart of Cambridge

$1,265,000 32 Alpha Street, Cambridge

- Proudly sitting on a freehold section since 1910 - oh so central.

- Attractive historical features include polished wooden floors, sash windows and stunning wooden fire surround.

- Superb mix of original and modern convenience.

& patio access. Open Home Sunday 1-1.30pm

MARTIN, Gregory John, (Greg) –

Passed away peacefully in his sleep at home on Tuesday, 28th May 2024, aged 59 years. Loved father of Benjamin, Kyle, and Master of Lucy, and Neo! A celebration of Greg's life has been held. All communications to the Martin Family, c/- 3 Hallys Lane, Cambridge 3434.

STEWART, Barbara Joy –

Passed away peacefully with family on June 02, 2024.

Dearly loved wife of the late Gordon. Cherished mother and mother-in-law of Alister and Kylie. Adored Nana of Charlotte and Thomas. Loved sister of Lyn, Mike, Di and Bri.

“Will be sorely missed.”

Messages to the ‘Stewart Family’ can be sent C/Legacy Funerals, PO Box 844, Cambridge 3434 or in Barbara’s online tribute book at www.legacyfunerals.co.nz

Service details for Barbara will be added to her tribute page mentioned above in the coming days.

Safer Cambridge Trust is Seeking Trust Members

CAMBRIDGE RED CROSS ASSOCIATION

– Oak and Gum Mixed, shed stored. No delivery, pick up Leamington. $115 per metre Phone 0274 962 399.

A G M

Thursday 4th July

At 1.30pm Red Cross Hall, Milicich Place

Discussion:

The Closure of Cambridge Branch

All interested parties welcome.

Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Cambridge Athletic & Harrier Club Inc will be held in the Club Rooms Vogel Street Cambridge on Tuesday 25th June 2024 at 7:00 pm Paul Signal Secretary

JOIN THE MOVEMENT FOR COMMUNITY SAFETY!

\What is Safer Cambridge Trust?

Safer Cambridge Trust is a community-driven initiative dedicated to enhancing safety and unity within our neighbourhoods. We operate Neighbourhood Support and Community Patrol programmes aimed at fostering a secure and cohesive environment for all.

Why Join Us?

By becoming a member of the Trust, you'll have the opportunity to actively contribute to the well-being of your community. Whether it's providing governance over our operations, taking part in our events, or undertaking fundraising and sponsorship tasks, your involvement can make a significant impact.

Neighbourhood Support:

Our Neighbourhood Support programme focuses on fostering a sense of belonging and security among residents. From organizing neighbourhood and community events to providing education about emergency preparedness, we're dedicated to creating a safer and more resilient neighbourhood for all.

Community Patrol:

Our Community Patrol team plays a vital role in maintaining the safety and security of our neighbourhoods. Whether it's conducting patrols, reporting suspicious activities, or providing assistance to residents and the Police, their presence can deter crime and ensure peace of mind for everyone.

How to Get Involved:

Ready to be a part of something bigger? Join “Friends of the Trust” to work alongside Trust members. It’s easy! If you have:

• Experience in operations/management or governance in any field

• You are community minded

• Time available to undertake tasks

• Ideally have some community contacts in the Cambridge area

• Experience in fund raising and/or sponsorship

Simply contact us via our website (safercambridge.co.nz/registerand-contact/) phone 021 266 9653 or email Ian Hughes on ijhughesnz@gmail.com.

Together, let's build safer, stronger neighbourhoods. Join Friends of the Trust today and be a catalyst for positive change!

CAMBRIDGE OPEN HOMES

Green light for students

By Steph Bell-Jenkins

Riverlee Danson might be a little too young to quit school and join a traffic management crew – but she’s already impressed the boss.

“She’s a natural,” said Higgins Contractors Waikato temporary traffic management trainer Mark McIntosh.

“If she wants to get into it, she’s got a bright future.” Riverlee, six, was given a chance to control traffic lights when a road safety team recently visited Karāpiro School as part of Road Safety Week.

The team also visited Tamahere Model Country School. At Karapiro School, the day began with students gathering to read ‘My Mum is Queen of the Road’, a picture book by Jennifer Beck, with Waka Kotahi principal safety engineer Michelle Te Wharau.

“The mum is a stop/go operator and it talks about why she’s important and what she does to keep everyone safe,” Michelle said.

After that, the children migrated to the school netball court, where they pretended to be cars, moving through two sets of traffic lights and cones.

“I liked making people stop and go,” said Riverlee, who pressed buttons on a control panel while year 6 student Ryan Hughes used a two-way radio to coordinate traffic movements with schoolmates Aylah Roberts, Dylan Whiting and River Neho.

Students also learned about truck-mounted attenuators – shock absorbing cushions designed to absorb vehicle impacts – which Higgins Contractors Waikato regional traffic manager Mitchell Clarke said provided protection to the public and road workers.

“In the past 12 months we’ve had three truck-mounted attenuator strikes in the Waikato,” he said.

“They were quite minor and no one was injured, which is lucky, but if we didn’t have the equipment it would have been a lot worse.”

He urged the public to slow down at traffic management sites.

“We try as much as we can to put up temporary speed limit signs and road cones, but there are multiple breaches every day,” he said.

The children also had a chance to see a large traffic management truck, jump into its cab and learn how to raise and lower the truck-mounted attenuator, which six-year-old Jahkai Poihipi described as “cool and fun”.

Ten-year-old Dylan Whiting said the day was “exciting”.

“It was so much feelings and experiences and stuff.”

Principal Alana Thompson said the school’s proximity to a state highway meant road safety was an important part of students’ everyday lives.

“We’re hearing the ambulances and driving through road cones every day to get to school,” she said.

Students at Tamahere Model Country School take in the message about road safety from Jen Charteris and Jessica Watling from Beca.

Karāpiro School year 2 student Riverlee Danson takes a turn controlling pretend traffic with Waka Kotahi principal safety engineer Michelle Te Wharau, watched by (back, left) Mark McIntosh and (back, right) Mitchell Clarke from Higgins Contractors Waikato. Photo: Steph Bell-Jenkins.