He who laughs last...
By Mary Anne Gill
Devon Briggs has a message for the kids who used to bully him at primary school - who’s got the last laugh now?
The 20-year-old psychology student is in Paris about to compete at the Paralympics but good enough on the bike to consider one day trying out for the New Zealand Olympic Games men’s 4km team pursuit.
He sees some of those kids, and adults – who called him special needs and retarded - when he walks or cycles around Cambridge. Some have the good grace to apologise for the cruel words and taunts aimed at the boy whose club feet made him a target in the playground. But from the moment Michael Van Enter saw him walking with a limp, he knew the 10-year-old would benefit from riding a bike.
Van Enter –the Riverside Adventures Bike Shop manager at the Velodrome – put him on a bike and on the track.
“We’ve never looked back really,” said Briggs who went on to take the para cycling world by storm culminating in his world-breaking performances at the world championships in Rio de Janeiro earlier this year.
He goes into the Paralympics a raging hot favourite when the track events begin on August 29 at the Saint-Quentin-enYvelines Velodrome in Montigny-leBretonneux, 42kms west of the Eiffel Tower.
He has been selected for four events - men’s C1-2-3 1km time trial and C3 team pursuit on the track and the C3
time trial and C1-2-3 road race.
There are five sport classes for athletes who can use a standard bicycle, C1-C5, with the numbers showing the different impact of the impairment and activity limitation on the ability to ride a bicycle.
Briggs’ classification is C3 because of his impaired range of movement.
He lives with chronic pain.
“That’s just a part of life when I’m walking around or standing on my feet for too long. It’s unpleasant, but it’s bearable.
“I don’t get any pain from riding which is why I absolutely love it, it’s such an amazing thing for me that I’m able to do it with my disability.”
The years of operations on his feet are temporarily finished for now.
“There’s nothing planned in the next few years, it’s just a matter of if my feet deteriorate and depending on my pain levels, whether they increase or subside.”
He has had to build his Waikato University psychology studies around competition. He is taking his time with the papers.
“While I’m away I’ll focus on a little bit here and there when I can have time and it’ll just be a distraction for me.”
The psychology papers have helped him understand why people think the way they do and helps him overcome things in a certain situation.
His plan is to go on and become a sports performance psychologist, working with athletes like himself.
In Paris he will have a team of supporters with him – coach Damian Wiseman, his father John and mother - local potter Jo Beckett - and girlfriend Jaide Ede.
It will be the first time they get to see him racing overseas.
“It will be good to hug them all after racing. No matter what the result.”
Other Waipā athletes include Anna Taylor (Cambridge - para cycling) and Nicole Murray (Ōtorohanga – para cycling). They will be joined by Waipābased team manager Brendon Cameron and physiotherapist Lauren Shelley.
Briggs has competed in Paris and on the velodrome before – two years ago at his maiden para-cycling track world championships when he won silver - describing it as very similar to the Cambridge track because they were designed and built by the same company to similar specifications and the same Siberian spruce pine wood.
“It’s a metre higher with a little more steepness in the banking so it’s going to be a really fast, hot track.”
There will be around 5000 people there in two storey high seating.
“It’s going to be an ecstatic atmosphere.”
Before the race, he feeds off the crowd but once it starts, he is all business.
“In the race, it’s head down, full gas. You actually don’t hear anything when you’re racing. Through our helmets, we just hear muffled noises, we don’t hear anything specific other than the coaches yelling out times. I stick to our race plan and follow process.”
Win or lose, Briggs knows he is ready.
“No matter what, I know I’ve put my heart and soul into this for the past three years. It’s been exhausting but we got there.”
Cycling has provided Briggs with the opportunity to advocate for people with a disability – to show those bullies in the playground that being disabled is not an obstacle to success.
“Hopefully I can help inspire others to use sport as a means to follow their dreams.”
• Follow our paralympians’ progress cambridgenews.nz
Devon Briggs on the Cambridge Velodrome track which is similar to the one he will kick off his Paralympics campaign in Paris next week.
Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
It’s in the post
Maungatautari had a post office - one of well over 400 in the Hamilton Postal District in the early 1900s. The post office, the general store, the primary school, the church and the hall were vital amenities in rural areas in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Occasionally the primary school also acted as the post office. Such was the case for Maungatautari. The office opened on February 2,1902, with weekly mail delivered from Cambridge. It was likely a local farmer, Mr Charles Kirby acted as the postmaster.
pioneered the farmlands of these areas are now dead, but records remain. I would dearly like to find family connections to the Maungatautari area and envelopes with postmarks on the front and back and/or individual stamps.
Finally, I would like to writeup the history of this post office and to do so I need some mail examples. Failing that, a chance to photocopy any postal material would be appreciated.
David Armishaw Auckland
Make them pay
payments to pay to keep the tower. If the minority of ratepayers wish to keep the tower, I suggest they all supply, from their own pockets, the total cost meeting the tower earthquake requirements. The rest of us can’t afford to.
Sandra Holmes Roto-o-Rangi
Mind those scammers
The school opened in March 1903 and the headmaster Mr Harry H. Atkins also took on the duties as postmaster and apart from brief periods he remained in the job until the office closed in December 1919. I believe a small outbuilding of the school served as the office. All evidence of the post office and the school have now gone.
I am a postal historian, and my particular interest is in researching the long-gone rural post offices of the Waikato and King Country. Most of the people who
Well over 50 per cent of the responders voted to demolish the Cambridge water tower. Please, council, listen to the wishes of the majority of voters. The council has a serious financial shortfall. Stick to the basics. We cannot afford extra costs to our budget. I for one cannot afford extra rate payments to pay for the upgrade of the tower. Ask the ratepayers and residents who are struggling to put food on the table and clothes on their children if they can afford extra rates
Scammers have been active in Waipā and the King Country in recent weeks.
Our sister paper the King Country News reported that a Te Kūiti woman was recently conned into providing bank details to a caller – and then found more than $40,000 had been taken from her account.
Te Awamutu community constable Ryan Fleming in his weekly report of what police have been doing reported there were several incidents of scamming on Facebook’s marketplace.
Roy
027
He has put together a series of tips for readers of The News to avoid the marketplace villains.
“By following these tips, you can significantly reduce the risk of being scammed on Facebook Marketplace,” he says.
1. Verify Profiles - Check the seller’s profile to ensure it’s genuine. Look for profiles with a profile picture, cover photo, and bio information.
editor@goodlocal.nz
maryanne@goodlocal.nz
viv@goodlocal.nz
chris@goodlocal.nz
janine@goodlocal.nz
david@goodlocal.nz
As Cambridge Community Liaison officer, one of my roles is to be the police liaison officer for our Cambridge Community Patrol (CBCP), part of the national community patrol network.
Every week, CBCP puts out a two-person patrol around town in the evenings. They are our extra eyes and ears and come from all walks of life. We are grateful for the volunteers who give generously of their free time. They are also extremely fortunate to receive generous financial support from local businesses, especially C&R Developments who provide and maintain the patrol vehicle. With such support, CBCP are able to play an important role in the Cambridge Community. In July 2024, CBCP completed 24 patrol nights equalling 164.5 patrol hours, with 18 of the 24 registered patrollers making it happen.
During their night-time sorties, CBCP proactively patrols Cambridge, with specific attention given to advised crime hot spots. They are on the lookout for anything suspicious including stolen cars, suspicious people, insecure premises and disorder. They are regularly tasked to assist police in an observation role with searches for missing people and to look out for offending vehicles or people. They work closely with the on-duty police to alert them to anything
they find. CBCP applicants are subject to an informal interview and Police vetting process then undergo procedural training before being buddied up for their first patrols. If you are interested in volunteering, check out community patrols online.
Last Wednesday you may have noticed we had a particular focus on road policing. We were targeting restraints, impairment, distraction and speed, which are key contributors to road trauma. A number of drivers were spoken to about infringements. Of note, one driver was caught between 9 and 10am driving with a breath alcohol level more than three times the legal limit. Shockingly, the male had driven all the way from Auckland and was a recidivist offender who was at the time also disqualified from driving. It just goes to show that we need to be aware of the potential for dangerous behaviours by other road users at any time of day or night.
Finally this week, a reminder around temporary speed limits. Where road works are occurring, a temporary reduced speed limit will be in place. This is to ensure the safety of the workers and reduce the chance of crashes due to reduced lane widths or inferior road surfaces under repair. If you are going through road works, please slow down.
2. Be Cautious of Low Prices - If the price is significantly lower than similar items, it may be a scam.
Continued on page 7
Tower repair
St Andrews parishioners voted to invest in repairing the Cambridge church’s bell tower at a meeting held in the Parish Centre on Sunday. One of the four kauri pillars from 1881 holding up the tower is rotten, and the tower is now off limits to campanologists – the formal word for bell ringers.
Building awards
A Leamington home was named supreme house at the Waikato Registered Master Builders House of the Year awards last weekend. The Grayling Builders house also won the $2-4 million build category, craftsmanship, outdoor living, bathroom, kitchen and lifestyle awards and a gold award. Another house, built by G.D. Pringle Building in Cambridge took out the Waikato Supreme Renovation of the Year Award.
Crime lines
A Cambridge based retired policeman has released his memoirs. Chook Henwood, a police officer for 37 years, was part of the team which sought to catch serial rapists Joseph Thompson and Malcolm Rewa. Unmasking Monsters details what policing in Auckland used to be like and what police had to do to catch criminals using the resources they had at the time.
Author signing
Novelist Charity Norman will be guest author at the Paper Plus Te Awamutu book club on August 28. She will talk about her new book Home Truths. Norman’s Remember Me was the Ngaio Marsh Awards novel of the year.
Mānuka planting
Forty hectares of Manuka will be planted on Waipā District Council land in the Sainsbury Road Forest at Pirongia as a long-term investment. The council says a lease agreement with a Manuka honey company for the land has the potential to turn an investment of $485,000 to $2.4 million over a 25-year period.
Sanctuary Mount halves rangers
By Chris Gardner
Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust has let half of its mountain rangers go as Department of Conservation funding ended.
Maungatautari Sanctuary Mountain general manager Helen Hughes told The News the trust had lost seven of the 13 mountain rangers the trust employed when she joined the organisation in October 2023. Their job is to protect the many endangered species living within the world’s largest predator proof enclosure near Cambridge with constant maintenance and monitoring of predator traps.
The 3400-hectare project costs $5000 a day to run and was set up to be joint funded by DOC, Waikato Regional Council and Waipā District Council.
“DOC Jobs 4 Nature funding has dried up, with that we have lost some staff, down to the minimum level, and we have to change the way we do things,” Hughes said.
DOC provided $589,000 worth of Jobs 4 Nature funding over four years. “We are down to six rangers and a manager,” Hughes said.
She took solace in knowing the trust was not the only organisation going through such challenges.
Ranger Warwick Prewer, recently profiled in The News, kept his job after the trust found two months funding from elsewhere.
Meanwhile, the trust has raised enough funds to extend operation beyond the end of August until October with plans for collection days at branches of The Warehouse.
“We can see that we have got enough funding to get us there,” Hughes said.
“We have got funding for two months. We seem to be chasing two months. That seems to be what we are doing at the moment.”
Hughes is applying for grants from the Waikato’s philanthropic organisations and the National Lottery as well as having conversations with potential sponsors.
“The DV Bryant Trust confirmed we are getting $20,000, which is wonderful,” she said.
Discussions are also underway with Waikato Regional Council for further funding.
“We are just waiting on others, it’s quite a long process. There’s lots of irons in the fire.”
Hughes is hopeful DOC will continue to support the project after welcoming representatives of the government department to the trust’s August board meeting last week.
“They are going through a strategic review themselves and that’s going to take time,” she said. “That’s a challenge for us as well.”
As well as the Jobs 4 Nature funding, DOC has also supported Maungatautari over the last four years with $441,000 worth of threatened species monitoring funding, such as kākāpō and hihi (stitch bird), and $140,000 worth of operating costs funding.
Waipā District Council Maungatautari ward councillor and former trustee Mike Montgomerie
was not surprised to hear of the project’s cash flow crisis since it was much larger and more complex than the early days when he served on the trust.
“I am well aware of the financial issues of running the project. The nature of the project means it’s always relying on donations. It’s always been a challenge,” he said.
“I’m watching it with a great deal of interest,” he said. “I really want it to survive and thrive. It is a great project.”
Maungatautari was recognised as a reserve in 1912. The Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust was formed in 2001. Building of the predator proof fence began in 2002 and by 2004 all mammals were eradicated from the two enclosures. A record 20,000 visitors came to Maungatautari in the last year, including 4000 school students.
Wilkinson celebrates Olympic bronze
Cambridge’s Micah Wilkinson and sailing partner, Auckland’s Erica Dawson, picked up a bronze medal in the Nacra 17 mixed multihull event at the Paris Olympics. Wilkinson, 28, who helms, and Dawson, 30, have been competing together in a Nacra 17 - a 17-foot foiling catamaran - since June 2019 and were unplaced at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.
Born in Cambridge Wilkinson took up sailing
as a six-year-old when his mother Linda Moorhead took him to a learn to sail programme on Lake Karāpiro when he was a student at St Peter’s Catholic School.
He continued sailing while at Cambridge High School, captaining the school sailing team, and was also involved in go karting, rugby, and water polo before switching his focus to sailing. He is a member of the Ngā Roto Sailing Club in Te Awamutu
and Cambridge Yacht & Motor Boat Club
“I’m from the centre of farming country in New Zealand so it was just sailing on lakes before I moved up to Auckland with university and really got into it. My late teens is when I really cracked on and started to enjoy it,” he told Olympics. com.
He was gold medallist at the 2013 Youth World Championships in the Sirena SL16 open class and silver
medallist – with Dawson – the European Nacra 17 championships two years ago.
A former youth world champion in the 29er and a member of the 2017 Youth America’s Cup team, Wilkinson has plenty of experience and success in the Nacra 17. He switched from crewing to helming when His father Peter owns Wilkinson Transport Engineers in Cambridge.
Jono Gibson Funeral Director
Micah Wilkinson
Tower supporter, mayor meet
By Mary Anne Gill
The Waipā council has inherited a “legacy of neglect” when it comes to the Cambridge Water Tower, says the man leading a community initiative to save the historic building.
Peter Fulton who chairs the Save the Cambridge Water Tower group met Waipā mayor Susan
O’Regan this week and says he was heartened by her commitment to share information.
“She was genuine about working collaboratively.”
The council sought public feedback on what to do with the tower. A majority of submissions favoured demolishing it - and that has sparked a campaign to keep it standing.
While Fulton has met with the council, he and the group have no intention of touching base with the Resthaven Community Trust over its redevelopment plans which could affect the water tower’s future.
“Resthaven is not critical to our cause,” said Fulton.
“That (future development) is between them and the council. We want to sharpen our focus on retaining the tower. That might change but that’s where we are at the moment.”
Fulton said he had no criticism of the current council which had to respond to a situation it inherited and a statutory requirement to do something about the tower which is now an earthquake risk.
The council will still apply for a resource consent to demolish the water tower which was found to be earthquake prone after new national guidelines came into effect after the Christchurch earthquakes.
Costs to strengthen the tower had increased because a more cost-effective solution the council had initially looked at several years ago was no longer available in New Zealand.
“They’ve had to go
back to more conventional systems which involves strengthening the building and that’s where the $6 million comes into it.”
Another possibility the
council had looked at was to buy part of Resthaven as a “fall zone” for the tower.
Fulton said he and members of his group had fielded suggestions from a number of people, but the one members wanted to pursue was one to look at what engineers did in Oamaru with the historic courthouse.
Waitaki District Council took the lead on restoring the 1883 building for just under $1 million, funded through its endowment fund. Original estimates were around $5 million.
The building underwent significant strengthening with
steel strengthening rods and plates installed throughout the building and a new roof. It reopened in 2018.
Fulton said the two options put to the Cambridge community –demolish the building for $800,000 or spend $6 million strengthening it – were too simplistic.
But adaptive reuse – a buzz term used by heritage architects – and strengthening were two different things, he said.
“My sense is if we were to find an inexpensive solution, the mayor would champion it. There was certainly a lot of goodwill there.”
An aerial photo of the water tower. Photo: Brian Hudson.
The water tower in Payne Park, Cambridge.
Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
Peter Fulton
Major roadworks ahead
By Roy Pilott
Waka Kotahi – the New Zealand Transport Agency - is set to start renewal work over almost a quarter of the 220km long road between Piarere and the Waiouru.
And it will involve compacting what would normally have been four years’ work into just less than one and a half.
The intensive 16-month project will start on September 9 when State Highway 1 from near the SH5 roundabout at Tīrau to the State Highway 28 intersection north of Putāruru – a distance of more than 9km - will close for four weeks.
Detour details have yet to be announced, but a natural route heading south would be via SH5 and White’s Rd, which is SH2B, and that would add a few minutes on what is usually a nineminute drive between the two South Waikato towns.
The transport agency says it is one of largest and most ambitious maintenance and rehabilitation projects it has undertaken.
It also dovetails in with the construction of a major roundabout at Piarere, where the T-intersection with SH29 – the road to Taurangahas long been a headache. That project is expected to be completed in early 2026.
At the same time the 16km Waikato Expressway extension from Karāpiro to Piarere is back on the to-do list having been identified in the $22 billion Government Policy Statement on land transport as a Road of National Significance.
The Piarere-Waiouru road is ranked third worst in terms of quality on the network by NZTA.
“We’re prioritising improving that by bringing forward the next four years of maintenance and delivering it by the end of 2025,” NZTA Regional Manager of Maintenance and Operations Roger Brady said.
Up to 2400 heavy vehicles and 9500 light vehicles use the corridor every day.
“With an increasing number of potholes, this stretch of road has also seen more maintenance activity required just to maintain the current condition,” Brady said.
“This accelerated approach will reduce temporary traffic management and labour costs by delivering the work in less than half the time originally planned, and result in fewer potholes on the network over the next 25 years. Worker safety will also be improved by working in full closures, rather than adjacent to live traffic lanes.”
NZTA says it will work with road users, freight companies, and local body councils over the next month in preparation for the first section of works.
“Our state highways are critical routes for freight and tourism, and serve as important lifelines for communities around New Zealand,” Brady said. “NZTA is strongly focused on maintenance and renewals, reducing potholes, and planning this work to minimise the disruption to road users where possible.”
Mind those scammers
Continued on page 7
3. Check Photos and Descriptions - Ensure photos are clear and show the item from multiple angles. Be wary of blurry or stock photos. Read descriptions carefully and check for red flags like poor grammar or spelling.
4. Use Facebook’s Builtin Features – Features like Purchase Protection and Shipping Labels ensure a smooth transaction.
5. Communicate on Facebook - Keep all communication within Facebook Messenger to ensure you’re protected by Facebook’s policies.
6. Meet in a Safe Location - Meet the seller in a public place and bring a friend or family member for added safety.
7. Don’t Send Money - Never send money or make payments outside of Facebook’s payment system.
8. Report Suspicious Activity - If you suspect a scam, report it to Facebook immediately.
9. Keep Personal Info Private - Don’t share personal info like your address or financial info.
10. Trust Your Instincts - If something feels off, trust your instincts and walk away.
The Piarere Roundabout project – pictured here in June – is expected to be completed in early 2026.
FULL HOUSE
It was a full house greeted by a kapahaka group from Cambridge Middle School.
The New Zealand China Cultural Connection Cambridge 2024 event at the Cambridge Town Hall on Saturday September 15 was packed with paintings, people, students and Chinese dumplings!
It was the third exhibition in Cambridge. The twin celebration was named New Zealand China Theme Book and International Youth Art Exhibition “Panda meets Kiwi”.
Eleven winners were granted certificates and prizes from the organisers of New Zealand China Friendship Society, New Zealand Culture and Art Foundation, Little Artist International Exhibition, CNSST Foundation, Waipa Library and Cambridge Middle school, and there were workshops with Christine Lewis and Carole Hughes.
Deputy mayor Liz Stolwyk and consulgeneral of the People’s Republic of China, Chen Shijie delivered welcome speeches for the delegation of China International Book Trading Corporation, whose vice president Yang Lufeng gave a speech as well. A teacher from St. Peter’s Cambridge, Stephen Mclntosh, shared his achievements using books in his teaching.
There were 2000 books and 235 art works on exhibit, and nearly 300 people attended on the day.
1. Hon Paul Goldsmith, Minister of Art and Culture, and Nancy Lu, MP.
2. Kirsten McKenzie, NZ author.
3. Li Tao, China International Book Trade, Abel from Cultural Hubb Press.
4. Yang Lufeng . Vice President of China International Book Trading Corporation.
5.
NEWS FROM NEW ZEALAND CHINA FRIENDSHIP SOCIETY
1. Chen Shijie, consul-general of the People’s Republic of China.
2. Cambridge Middle School kapahaka.
3. Officials examine copies of books.
4. Liz Stowyk, deputy mayor Waipa District Council.
5. Attendants at the event.
6. Recipients of awards. 7. Exhibition visitors.
BETWEEN PUBLISHERS
A seminar on China Books Overseas Distribution and Copyright Co-operation was held on Friday in Auckland, New Zealand.
The seminar, organised by the China International Book Trading Corporation (CIBTC) and Prime Media Group of New Zealand, aimed to deepen cooperation and exchanges between China and New Zealand in the publishing industry, organisers said.
Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith said New Zealand values its friendship with China and is looking forward to deepening relations between the two countries.
New Zealand is well known for creative industries. The connections between our two countries have enormous potential opportunities in trade and books and many other creative in-dustries, he said.
Chen Shijie, China consul-general in Auckland, said that China's publishing industry has witnessed rapid growth in recent years, adding, "the growing trends of online literature and digital publishing have injected strong impetus into the development of China's publishing industry. Publications introducing China have been widely attracting overseas readers, promoting overseas copyright cooperation and cultural exchanges.”
Famous New Zealand author Kirsten McKenzie shared her books, Louise Russell introduced their company and Andrene Low shared her experience of using AI in publishing. More than 30 New Zealand famous authors and publishers attended the conference, and there were two co-operation agreements signed between China and New Zealand publishers.
Representatives from Chinese and New Zealand publishing industries also discussed ways to explore cooperation opportunities at the seminar.
Expo launches career ambition
By Steph Bell-Jenkins
“Fantastic” was how 17-yearold Zach Clarke summed up the Cambridge Community Careers Expo, held at the town hall last week.
“It’s great, there’s so many things here,” he said. “You’ve got everything I’m interested in, in this room. It’s all like police officers, defence force, stuff like that.”
With NCEA subject choice forms due in at Cambridge High School tomorrow, for Zach it was a welltimed opportunity to find out which subjects would steer him into an engineering career with the Navy.
His ambition was sparked by a visit to last year’s expo.
“Earlier last year I had no clue what I wanted to be but then I went to one of these,” the year 12 student said.
“I was looking around and this was one of the only things that really stood out to me.”
He loves the idea of being out on the ocean, “cruising around” while training and earning money.
At this year’s expo he chatted to the New Zealand Defence Force’s Waikato regional recruiter Texas Ngarongo-Porima, who outlined the benefits of joining the Navy.
“I don’t even know where to start, to be honest,” the petty officer said. “You’ve got the standard stuff like having medical and dental free, and we’ve got subsidised housing and food –
everything is essentially laid out for you. Your uniform’s free, your tools of the trade are free, we’ll pay you to master your craft or technical expertise in whatever industry you choose, whether it’s cheffing or being a mechanic or being a sparky.”
He said the Navy offered more than 104 different roles and the starting rate for a new recruit was $68,000 a year.
On the opposite side of the hall, representing Victoria University of Wellington, was future student
advisor Dylan Chetwin, who grew up in Te Awamutu.
He advised those keen to attend university to follow their strengths and interests and to take note of their passions and curiosities while at high school.
“If a student’s really into performing arts, then that’s something you can really lean into…or if you’re someone who wants to make a change in this world you might think about doing health sciences, you might look at doing law,” he said.
“Really start to think about what you do enjoy and what you feel passionate about.”
Cambridge High School’s careers faculty head Karina Judson, who led the expo with support from St Peter’s Cambridge and Te Awamutu College, was “ecstatic” the event had attracted 1000 visitors. It showcased career opportunities with a range of providers including universities, other tertiary institutions, local industries and businesses.
A blow for the starlings
By Viv Posselt
Roosting pest birds at Lake Rotopiko near Ōhaupō are being given another incentive to move on and take their messy poo with them.
Collaborative efforts involving Te Awamutu Rotary Club and the New Zealand Wetlands Trust have been given a boost by Te Awamutu-based Waipā Hire, which has sponsored a chipper to help Rotary volunteers clear the slash underneath stands of kahikatea trees at the lake.
The birds apparently don’t like the wind and it is hoped they will find it too breezy to roost.
Rotary has arranged three ‘feeding the beast’ sessions this month to remove the slash –August 2, 16 and 30.
Rotarian and environmental co-ordinator Stephen Cox said pole chainsaws have been used to clear the bottom six metres of the trees to help create an air flow aimed at deterring the roosting birds.
Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology and Wintec are monitoring bird numbers. Roosting introduced birds have become increasingly problematic at the years following a successful pest eradication programme.
Texas Ngarongo-Porima (left) chats to Cambridge High School student Zach Clarke about a career in the Navy.
TB and misinformation
By Meghan Hawkes
‘The Captain of all these men of death’ - the dreaded tuberculosis – every so often visited the Te Awamutu district. The unflagging efforts of Isabel Pope in February 1911 could not save her husband William from it, nor was Donald Matheson later in that year any match for it.
In 1906 Isabel had resigned her Pirongia Postmistress position ahead of her forthcoming marriage. She had been in charge of the post office for many years and was appreciated for her courteous manner. The wedding was a popular one, William Pope also being liked and respected in the district. The Popes settled in Pirongia but the decimating disease, which was then commonly called consumption because it appeared to consume the affected person through weight loss and wasting, took hold of him. For a long time he required the utmost care and attention which he received from his attentive wife but five years after they married William died. He was buried in Pirongia cemetery.
In August of that year Donald Matheson, 41, was compelled to stop work at the Te Awamutu Bank of New Zealand where for the past five years he had been employed as an accountant. He suffered from a throat complaint and hoped that a three-month furlough would restore him to health.
Donald had been in the employ of the BNZ since his arrival from Scotland 14 years previously. He had married Merelina Maude, 22, in 1908 when he was 37 but they were only to enjoy three years together. Donald’s death cut short what might have been a
bright and promising life. He was buried in St John’s cemetery.
The first open air sanatorium for tuberculosis sufferers in New Zealand, Te Waikato, had been opened near Cambridge in 1903. It was thought the climate at Cambridge was drier than other parts of the North Island. The sanatorium was greatly needed, and many saw it as a lifeline. Methods for treating TB in the early 1900s included fresh air, good food and sometimes surgery; although an opinion from London stated that sanatoria were usually governed by medical men who did not themselves know how to breathe.
By 1912 fear-driven misinformation about the Cambridge sanatorium was discussed in parliament after the impression had got abroad that the inmates walked about the town and mixed with others. This had the effect of keeping people away from Cambridge.
The sanatorium, protested Mr Young, MP for Waikato, was not the ‘Cambridge Sanatorium’ and was not in the town of Cambridge.
The institution was ‘Te Waikato Sanatorium,’ and it was at Maungakawa, seven miles out of Cambridge away up on the hills.
“The Captain of all these men of death,” wrote John Bunyan in 1680, “that came against him to take him away, was the Consumption, for it was that that brought him down to the grave.”
Spooking the markets
By Peter Nicholl
On August 5 the Japanese stock market had its biggest daily drop in 37 years.
Other share-markets quickly followed. The story spread around the world that the reason was that markets were rattled by the prospect of a recession in the US. That view, in turn, was based primarily on a single new piece of economic data – the US economy had created far fewer new jobs (114,000) in July than the 175,000 the markets had expected.
Some central banks had already started lowering their official interest rates: Switzerland (March), Sweden (May), ECB and Canada (June) and the Bank of England (August). The US Federal Reserve and the Reserve Bank of Australia had taken recent decisions to leave their official interest rates unchanged.
Market pressure Immediately fell on these two central banks and on our reserve banks to fall into line and begin lowering their policy interest rates urgently.
This is a classic case of the financial markets becoming spooked, looking around for a simple reason for their panic and, believing they had found it, piling the pressure on to blame someone else for their problems.
The share market falls had started the week before in the Nasdaq exchange in the US, which is heavily weighted in tech stocks. This market had seen huge rises over the previous two years driven by the prices of a handful of tech stocks. The feeling had been growing that most of these share prices were overvalued.
In the days just before the Nasdaq price collapse, one of these giants, Intel, had announced that it was cutting 15,000 jobs
and there were rumours that another, Nvidia, would be delaying the release of its new AI chip.
Once a correction in the share prices of these large tech stocks started, traders got spooked.
But as always seems to happen with asset prices, the time when risk is becoming extreme in a market is when the prices are rising extremely rapidly and are beginning to lose contact with fundamentals – we have seen it with tech stocks, housing, cryptocurrencies. When this happens, a market correction becomes inevitable.
Once the correction starts, automatic market trading mechanisms often exacerbate it. This happened on this occasion.
Added to this tension within the financial markets themselves was the sharp increase in political tensions, especially in the Middle East.
So it seemed a bit rich to me that the financial markets blame the problem on slow-moving central banks. This seemed even more the case when after a few days most of the global share mark began to recover.
Where does that leave our Reserve Bank? Its cash rate decisions were due yesterday (after The News went to press) – then on October 9 and November 14.
The dominant view of market commentators had been that it would move the cash rate down before the end of the year but before the recent global share market dramas, not many were expecting the first downward change to be this month. Suddenly, the mood changed and there was pressure to move.
Community Connect
August 15, 2024
Fan Festival inspires hundreds of future champions
Waipā’s Olympic future looks bright after 523 people attended the Waipā Fan Festival. Our community banded together to celebrate Waipā’s hometown heroes, as they’ve been competing with the world’s best at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
The have-a-go track sessions provided the opportunity to step outside your comfort zone, learn from expert coaches and push your limits.
The ring toss, ‘shot put’ or corn-in-the hole provided the youngest at heart the chance to get into the Olympic spirit. Erg challenges on rowing machines and bikes saw the competitive streak come out in many.
Cambridge BMX Club provided the thrills with demos for a very eager audience.
With over 40 Waipā athletes making up the New Zealand Olympic and Paralympic teams, Waipā truly is the Home of Champions.
Waipā’s medal tally totalled 10. An absolutely phenomenal achievement! Bring on the Paralympic Games, starting on Wednesday, August 28. Go hard team!
Check out the entire photo album over at: WaipaHomeofChampions
Community asked to have their say on alcohol rules
Now is the time for Waipā residents to have their say on how they want alcohol managed in their community.
Consultation is open on the proposed Local Alcohol Policy, Alcohol Control Bylaw and Alcohol Fees Bylaw. Group manager district growth and regulatory services Wayne Allan said the community had an opportunity to have their say on all alcohol-related controls.
“Looking at all three processes will help us cohesively assist in minimising alcohol-related harm in the community.”
Some of the key proposed changes include:
• Capping the total number of off-licence premises in the main shopping centres
Offices closed
• Expanding some of the 24-hour alcohol ban areas
• Introducing an 8pm to 8am alcohol ban in some places
• Increasing the alcohol licence application and renewal fees
The community can have their say until 5pm, Thursday, September 12. For more information visit waipadc.govt.nz/alcoholreview or scan the QR code below.
From 1pm on Thursday, August 15 Council offices, Waipā Libraries and the Te Awamutu Museum will be closed and will reopen on Friday, August 16. Some services you may need during that time can be done on our website, waipadc.govt.nz/do-it-online
Our call centre will remain available on 0800 924 723.
Our residents and ratepayers have the chance to have their say on whether they want to be represented differently on their council at the next election.
The proposal would see the number of general ward councillors reduce from 10 to 7, bringing the total number around the council table to 9.
Councillor and ward representation
The remuneration pool would remain the same as it is set by the Remuneration Authority.
Mayor Susan O’Regan said there was no perfect representation system and the challenge for the council was to ask themselves if they could do better in terms of their governance and representative functions for their community.
“It would be remiss of us not to offer the opportunity for our residents to have their say on the proposal,” she said.
As the rural and provincial sector representative on the Local Government New Zealand Electoral Reform Working Group, O’Regan was involved in key discussions at a national level about how improvements in local democracy could be best achieved.
“There is a lot of change on the horizon for Local Government and I believe there is a real opportunity to create a stronger governance model to lead our district into the future,” she said.
Consultation on the proposal closes at 5pm on Thursday, September 5.
For more information visit: waipadc.govt.nz/representationreview or scan the QR code.
Volcanoes, us, and time
By Janine Krippner
Thinking about time as someone who studies the Earth can get a bit weird. Volcanic activity spans hundreds of thousands, and even millions of years. We consider a volcano that has erupted within the past 10,000 or so years young and potentially active. Volcanic eruptions can last hours, months, years, decades, or longer. Pyroclastic flows can devastate a landscape in seconds to minutes. Magmatic gases violently expanding and blowing the magma to rock and ash takes split seconds.
A human lifetime is a very short time span when thinking about volcanoes. We are lulled into a false sense of security when we haven’t seen a particular volcano erupt in a while, and this can lead to not prioritising planning. The funding, expertise, and local experience needed to plan for an eruption may, understandably, feel less important when we have very real threats like a cost-of-living crisis and dangerous roads to contend with. As someone who has been impacted by the recent job and funding cuts, I understand. For me, the next few months feel utterly daunting with the uncertainty and lack of a plan, even when thinking about volcanic time scales.
I was recently one of the first to an accident scene and I felt seconds stretch out as I responded as best I could to help an injured person. What felt like a very long time before the ambulance arrived turned out to be only half an hour. The second pause between hearing the loud crash, my brain processing what I was hearing, and tearing out the door while dialling 111 felt like slow-motion. Last week I wrote about the importance of our communities and again suggested getting first-aid certified, and this was playing out
for me in real time. I am so very grateful for that training, even with two incredible women much more qualified than I was also at the scene.
In a crisis, decisions must be made with never enough time. With volcanoes, these calls include evacuations or rescue attempts, all in scenarios where the eruption can change at any moment. We work to ensure that we understand volcanoes to empower those making the tough calls as much as possible. Decades of research spanning eruptions that occurred over millions of years, all to help with decisions that need to be made over seconds, minutes, or hours. Decisions that can impact us for the rest of our lives.
When you are in a situation yourself, whether it be a flood, earthquake, eruption, or road accident, you want people who know what they are doing to respond. If I was the one lying by the road needing help, I would hope that the people around me didn’t decide to not get training because they thought it was unlikely they would be in this situation. I would hope that the first responders I needed hadn’t lost their jobs.
Many situations are dependent on decisions made all the way from government to the guy on the street. How a crisis plays out can be dictated by a chain of individuals who many never connect, taking action across years or even decades. Actions from cutting funding to important projects, to not getting qualified to help someone in need. Never doubt the power you have to make a big difference.
Purchase tickets from: www.cgf.nz, Amber Garden Centre and Cambridge iSITE cgf.nz PROUDLY SUPPORTING
Where do you start?
By Murray Smith, Bridges Church
I’m writing this week’s column against a backdrop of feeling troubled as I’ve wrestled over issues that plague today’s world.
We live in seriously tempestuous times. It’s challenging attempting constructive comment on the plethora of problems confronting this dark, beleaguered age. The diverse sociological pathology this generation faces is being amplified by the ‘deafening noise’ of aggressive polarising agendas, conflicting opinions and roiling confusion that muddies the water.
I don’t want to add to the clamour, yet writing innocuous little sanitised think pieces that trivialise matters won’t help to make a strong plea for deeper thought as to, “why are we in the state we find ourselves?”
Our culture’s appetite for truth-telling, has been exchanged for lies called ‘alternative truth’ which have buried us under layers of complex brokenness and dysfunction extending beyond all borders throughout the earth. When it becomes apparent things are broken, scrutinising where disorder began offers hope for determining how to bring healing and restoration of order.
In many respects, the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games which came to an end last weekend, epitomised how corrupted and shamelessly messed up the world has become. Right from the outset, the controversial and blatant mocking of Christian faith in the opening ceremony’s parody of Leonardo de Vinci’s “Last Supper,” hinted that this was going to be a Games where tolerating a bit of pollution was no big deal… whether it was from the Seine River or the kitchens of the Olympic Village. The transgender debate flared with complexities that will continue to create headaches for officials and broken hearts for competitors until fairness and common sense prevail.
With 10,600 competing athletes from 206 nations, competition for gold and glory was always going to be intense with bragging rights and status claimed by nations scooping the most medals. Cheating claims relating to doping were rife with unsuspecting athletes inadvertently eating laced hamburgers evidently. (Tui Advert?) Drone spying, racism, underhand tactics and dubious decisions… it was all there. Countries with massive delegations (US, China, France), hoped to strut their nation’s superior ideology and international image. Global tensions bristled with human rights issues, controversy over allowing Israel to participate amidst the Israel–Hamas war, Russia and Belarus being banned from representing their countries after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Bravely, 15 Russian competitors participated as “Individual Neutral Athletes.”
My observation of the Paris Games showcasing so much that was blatantly hypocritical, ugly, dark and broken in our world, was mitigated somewhat by cameo moments of things noble and right in the world, spotlighting the very best of human courage and decency. The fact it was blighted with too many shaming elements to itemise, was indicative of how rapidly evil undermines the moral compass of truth, to establish darkness as normative.
The stated reason for the Games is, “to cultivate human beings, through sport, and contribute to world peace.” Sounds noble.
But no matter how hard the 2028 Los Angeles Games organisers work, they’ll be up against it, without eyes to recognise and deal with the entrenched nature of corruption.
Our start point must be, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
JOIN US AT OUR
OPEN DAYS
23 & 24 AUGUST, 10AM - 2PM
Our villages are open and you’re invited to explore them. Discover our living and care options, tour our show homes, and see the amenities on offer. Come along and experience why New Zealanders have voted us most trusted brand, for the tenth time. We look forward to seeing you.
Purchase an occupation right to an independent apartment or townhouse before 30 September 2024 and pay no fixed base weekly fee until 2026.*
*Participating villages only, Ts & Cs and exclusions apply.
Our people on patrol
By Chris Gardner
“They’ve got her,” said the celebratory text message. It was sent by community constable Ryan Fleming to CommSafe community safety officer Mandy Merson at the climax of a half hour drama that played out over the radio of the Kihikihi CommSafe car.
Merson, with her husband Paul behind the wheel, were giving me a tiki tour of the community patrol route in and around Kihikihi and Te Awamutu when the call came from police for assistance.
A woman had entered a Cambridge shop, filled a trolley with more than $1000 worth of goods, abandoned it and headed to her car. The unregistered vehicle and its owner were known to both CommSafe and police and had been spotted earlier in the day in the Te Awamutu area.
The Cambridge CommSafe car arrived on the scene within minutes of the call for help and observed the suspect’s activity before officers of
the law arrived and made an arrest.
The incident was a microcosm of what CommSafe is all about –everyday people who want to make a difference in their community.
Some shifts – usually four hours – are busy and some are quiet. On the quiet days it’s a case of driving around the neighbourhood and “poking our noses into dark corners” as our driver puts it. Shining the headlights down dark alleyways and reporting any suspicious activity.
“Most people don’t even know that there’s a community patrol group in town, or see the car,” Merson said.
At a glance the white car, with its blue and yellow chevrons, looks like a police patrol car. But a CommSafe logo replaces the word police on the bonnet and its side is plastered in the logos of sponsors.
The Mersons have plenty of stories of times when motorists have confused them for the police, slowed down, then given them a rude hand signal after realising they were not police.
Police-checked CommSafe volunteers have no powers above that of the ordinary citizen. They are briefed to stay in the car and watch, although supply of a first aid kit and training suggests that they disembark on the odd occasion to help save a life.
Kihikihi’s Community Patrol beat takes in the Te Awamutu policing
district that goes from Ōhaupō in the north to Te Kawa Crossroads in the south. The crew can be called upon for all manner of police support, like heading to a crash scene, or forming a police cordon for a fleeing car, night and day.
“There just is not enough cops,” said Fleming. “It’s good having people out there. There have been
days where it’s been very effective.”
Like the day the community patrol found a handbag with nearly 4g of methamphetamine in it. Or the dog who, upset by fireworks, bolted on New Year’s Eve.
Sometimes CommSafe is tasked with collecting evidence, like driving by a location to collect registration numbers.
It’s a kind of low risk, passive policing, that Fleming feels is a good training ground for those considering a policing career.
“I’ve been banging on about it for years,” he smiles.
Volunteers receive a high visibility vest and training in VHF radio protocols. Signing in and out during an emergency elsewhere hogs the airwaves and puts lives at risk.
As if to make a point, a situation goes down in Huntly requiring all police cars, and there’s lots of chatter as the situation unfolds.
“You can never have enough volunteers,” Merson said. “As a volunteer they do get to learn so much about their community.”
CAMBRIDGE VOLUNTEER FIRE BRIGADE CALLS OVER THE LAST WEEK
WEDNESDAY
FRIDAY
12:48pm, Building Alarm and activation, King Street
9:55am, Cardiac Arrest, Bryce Street 1:09pm, Building Alarm and evacuation, Ruakura Road 11:56pm, Building Alarm and evacuation, Hautapu Road
FRIDAY 8:42am, Building Alarm and evacuation. Maungatautari Road
SATURDAY 10:01am, Building Alarm and Activation, Albert Street 9:46pm, Single Car MVA, Tirau Road
SUNDAY
3:53am, Medical assistance, Karapiro Road
MONDAY 11.30am, Single car MVA, Waikato Expressway
CommSafe community safety officer Mandy Merson stands by the community patrol car in Te Awamutu.
Ex-posties detail claim
By Chris Gardner
Former Waipā posties Danny and Ian Kennedy have detailed their damages claim against New Zealand Post.
NZ Post cancelled the Kennedys contract to deliver “all mail” in the RD3 Tamahere district in November 2023 after the Kennedys complained that some mail was being delivered by other contractors.
They failed to get a High Court injunction preventing the cancellation of the contract in November, but Justice Ian Gault said there were serious questions around NZ Post’s termination notice and the Kennedy’s claim they had been promised an exclusive territory. These were best addressed by damages claim, he said.
Danny Kennedy told The News there were four parts to their claim.
“We are seeking the lost value of our run, damages from discovery (lost income from NZ Post taking our remuneration and giving it to their couriers delivering in the RD3 run), damages for breach of contract (and wrongful termination of contract) and any other potential damages so determined by the court for breach of contract,” Kennedy said.
Last month the Kennedys heard their request for a ministerial inquiry had passed from State Owned Enterprises minister Paul Goldsmith to Chris Bishop and onto Simeon Brown before it was dismissed in favour of a NZ Post board review.
The couple, through Pro Drive advocate Pete Gallagher, are awaiting a response from the NZ Post board.
The Kennedys sold their Te Awamutu home and moved to the South Island in June.
NZ Post declined to comment.
Alpha goes from ale to ailments
By Chris Gardner
Pixie Stockman walks smiling from a health and wellbeing assessment at Kihikihi’s community hub.
She consulted Te Kotahi Oranga Health and Wellness Centre student nurse
Natasha To’o during the student-assisted clinic’s first visit to the former Alpha Hotel last Thursday.
The free clinic – which will run each week – is one of the most tangible examples of the vision Bill Harris and his team had when they negotiated to use the disused 150-year-old hotel owned by Auckland businessman and former politician Arthur Anae.
“I felt I had a real personal touch and was not being shooed out of the door like I would be at the GPs,” said the 57-yearold Kihikihi woman who works in Te Awamutu.
“They are very understanding.”
Stockman will ask for her prescribed medication reviewed following her consultation.
“Pixie just came in for a free check-up, and we were able to measure her vital signs,” said Te Pukenga student To’o.
“I love it. I so see myself working in the community. This is more me.”
For University of Waikato nursing student Muhammad Hussain, the visit was all about learning in the field.
“All together, it’s quite good,” he said.
Waipā Māori ward councillor DaleMaree Morgan was among the dozen visitors who consulted the team.
“It went very well,” she said. “I am very grateful for them coming out to us.”
Rural communities like Kihikihi often found it difficult to access even basic
she said.
Kotahi Oranga manager Jacqui Coates-Harris - a registered nurse mentor - said the health and wellness centre offered free pre-diabetes care and management among its services alongside a falls assessment and prevention programme. Coates-Harris was joined by registered nurse mentor
Melissa Castillo in providing clinical oversight on site.
Harris, Ngāti Apakura Runanga Trust chair, said it was satisfying to see the community hub being used to help the community.
“GP costs are going up, people are not going to come,” he said. “If we can make a difference, that’s the purpose.”
At Matamata Country Club you have the freedom to build your retirement home your way.
Starting from one of our set plans, our team will work with you to make your home your own by selecting the features, textures and colours you love. We’ll even keep you up to date with weekly build progress and invite you to site visits because after all - it’s your home, and we want you to share the journey with us.
Book your appointment with Trish De Jong 027 301 3126 | sales@matamatacountryclub.co.nz
Office open Monday–Friday, 10am–2pm | 102 Peria Road, Matamata matamatacountryclub.co.nz
“Everything
And
and
‘wow,
RENZO AND ROBYN VETTORI Residents
healthcare,
Te
Pixie Stockman, left, consults with Natasha To’o.
Walker, Carrington share a moment
Presenting medals at the Olympic Games is something Sarah Walker has now got down patbut emotions got the better of her when she put a gold medal around Dame Lisa Carrington’s neck on Saturday.
The Cambridge-based International Olympic Committee (IOC) member could barely disguise her delight as she did the honours again – she presented two of Carrington’s gold medals at Tokyo three years ago.
The old friends hugged but the commentator got it slightly wrong when he mistook the other IOC member for Walker.
Walker and Carrington go back a long way even though they are in different sports – Walker in BMX and Carrington in canoe racing. They have both been athlete ambassadors for Beef and Lamb for more than a decade.
Walker was last month elected as an International Olympic Committee (IOC) Member at the IOC Session in Paris.
The role saw Walker become part of the governing body responsible for overseeing the Olympic Movement, with IOC members key figures in ensuring the promotion and protection of the Olympic Games and values.
Walker has served on the IOC Athlete’s Commission since 2016, and competed in BMX at both the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, where she placed fourth, and London 2012 where she won the silver medal.
Two-time Olympian, New Zealand tennis star
Marcus Daniell was one of 30 athletes standing for four available spots on the IOC and was elected by the 10,500 athletes eligible to vote.
Chanwai to perform
Te Awamutu Concerts
Alive will stage a Sunday concert to raise funds for performer organist and cellist Matthew Chanwai.
The St Paul’s Collegiate graduate was placed second at two American Protégé International Piano and Strings competitions, which led to a performance at New York’s Carnegie Hall when he was just 13. He has been cello associate principal of the national secondary schools’ orchestra and is also part of the New Zealand Youth Orchestra.
Chanwai goes to the United Kingdom in October this year, where he will begin a Bachelor of Arts (Music Tripos) with Honours at Cambridge University. He will also be the Organ Scholar at the university’s Downing College.
Sunday’s concert will be at St John’s Anglican Church in Te Awamutu.
ENGINEERING SUPPLIES
Sarah Walker
Photo: bmx.net
Musician Matthew Chanwai will perform in Te Awamutu.
Dear diary, I’m thriving in my new home, just like the strawberries
Love life on your terms.
At Summerset Cambridge there are fewer chores and more choice. So if you’re done with gardening, you can hang up your gloves. But if you’re a big fan of getting amongst the flowerbeds, there’s a community of greenthumbs just waiting to meet you.
Two-bedroom homes are available with flexible pricing from just $675,500.* Plus, for a limited time, we’ll help you every step of the way with $15,000 cash back and a complementary moving package.#
Love the life you choose.
Morning Tea & Tour
Every Sunday in August, 10.30am
Summerset Cambridge 1 Mary Ann Drive, Cambridge 07 839 9482 | summerset.co.nz/cambridge
August 2024 Newsletter
Representing customers in the Waipā District and Kawhia
Your Current Trust
From left:
Marcus Gower (Trustee)
Kayla Heeringa (Trust Manager)
Judy Bannon (Trustee)
David McLean (Deputy Chairperson)
Sarah Matthews (Chairperson)
Raymond Milner (Trustee)
Measures of Waipa Networks Ltd
Trustee Elections
Under Section 44 of the Energy Companies Act 1992, the Company is required to report its performance against targets set out in the Statement of Corporate Intent for the year. The performance of the business for the year ended 31 March 2024 is as follows:
Every three years customers vote for up to six members for the Trust. The Trust in turn appoints the Company Directors, who are responsible for the running of the Company. The last scheduled Trustee election was held in October 2021, with the next scheduled Trustee election to be held in October 2024.
What’s Coming Up?
Our Annual General Beneficiaries Meeting will be held at Waipa Networks, 240 Harrison Drive, Te Awamutu on 23rd August 2024, commencing at 10:00am.
At the meeting, the Trustees will report on:
The operation of Waipa Networks Trust for the year ended 31 March 2024.
Nominations for the 2024 election opened on the 20th June and close Thursday 22nd August at 5:00pm
For more details on the election process, visit www.waipanetworkstrust.co.nz
The Financial Statements of Waipa Networks Trust for the year ended 31 March 2024.
The performance of Waipa Networks Limited for the year ended 31 March 2024.
The compliance of Waipa Networks Limited with its Statement of Corporate Intent for the year ended 31 March 2024.
The Annual Plan 2024/25 of Waipa Networks Trust.
At the meeting the Beneficiaries will be given the opportunity to:
Appoint the Auditor for Waipa Networks Trust for the 2025 financial year.
Speak on all matters being considered at the Annual Meeting.
Please note that the above-named documents are available for public inspection on the Trust website or at the offices of Waipa Networks Ltd during ordinary business hours.
Your Trust in Numbers
Directors of Waipa Networks Ltd
The Directors of Waipā Networks Ltd as at 31st March 2024 were Jonathan Kay (Chairperson), Mike Marr (Deputy Chairperson), Jonathan Cameron, Jennifer Kerr and Mark Stuart.
For more details on the Directors of Waipa Networks Ltd, visit www.waipanetworks.co.nz
7.2 million shares (100%) in Waipā Networks Limited held by the Trust on your behalf.
$5,100,000 was granted to customers in the financial year ended 31 March 2024 in special discounts.
$103,858,906 has been granted in special discounts between 1 April 2001 – 31 March 2024.
Youth art exhibition popular
By Mary Anne Gill
There’s something about pandas and kiwi which gets the creative juices going in children.
The art on display in Cambridge Town Hall on the weekend as part of the Panda Meets Kiwi International Youth Art Exhibition was proof of that. Young artists from China and Waipā managed to place the unlikely companions into all manner of settings.
The third annual event in Cambridge – a joint books and art exhibition –ran over three days with Consul General Chen Shijie and Waipā deputy mayor Liz Stolwyk attending the opening on Saturday.
It began with a performance by Cambridge Middle School’s kapa haka group whose three numbers included E noho ana, Anō te Pai and E Noho Tūheitia which always gets people off
their feet.
The crowd of New Zealand-based Chinese and locals were no exception.
More than 2000 books from the China International Book Trade Corporation – intended to boost understanding between China and New Zealand –covered a variety of topics and were on show.
They included political theory, economy, science, affairs commentary, medical, education, traditional cultures, architecture, environmental, poems, fairy tales, artifacts, fashion, cooking, painting, modern literature, Chinese language learning and children’s books.
The books will be donated to libraries and schools, and the paintings will be given to children’s hospitals and children’s rehabilitation institutions.
• More photos cambridgenews.nz
Consul General Chen Shijie and Waipā deputy mayor Liz Stolwyk, centre, check out the paintings, submitted from Chinese children, featuring pandas and kiwi.
Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
Performing the World War I inspired action song E Noho Tūheitia was the Cambridge Middle School kapa haka group including, from left, Ajay Taulanga 11, Gia Chase 12, Taimana Manuel 12 and Kahurangi Quinlan 13.
Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
Choir heads back to Waitomo Caves
By Sigrid Christiansen
Waitomo Caves choir will host its first open day for this year at the end of the month at the Ōtorohanga Baptist church.
And it is hoping to make up the needed balance of voices, the turnout will include blokes - particularly those with tenor voices, the comparatively high part of the male vocal spectrum.
“Men love the companionship in the choir,” the choir’s Katrin Woermer said. “They enjoy the banter that goes on in the group.
Solving a puzzle
An active King Country huntaway named Puzzle injured his carpal (wrist) joint at work and had to have plate was put in.
But being very engergetic he broke the plate so he was facing either amputation, or a new plate. Neither of these two surgeries were affordable for the famer who owned him.
The farmer contacted Retired Working Dogs NZ, where staff decided Puzzle had plenty of life left in him.
“We decided to fund a new plate and raised money to pay for the surgery, which went ahead last month,” a spokesperson for the organisation, Marie-Claire Andrew said.
“But once the vet had a look he decided we didn’t have to replace the plate because it was healing very well; so it’s great we decided not to amputate.”
Puzzle had since spent 12 weeks in a foster home and the next step would be to place him in a new pet home, where he could lead a calmer life.
“Puzzle’s case is really typical of situations we deal with. These surgeries are expensive and its also a big commitment for a farmer to look after a dog and rehabilitate it for weeks. Every dollar counts on farm.”
We have a lot of laughs and support each other. Someone always has a story.
“We don’t need the same number of each voice - from high to low – soprano, alto, tenor and bass- but we do need some.
That’s not to say the lowest male voices, in the bass range, aren’t important.
Another of the choir’s resident experts, Beth Dalton, call them “the plate on which the rest of the cake sits.”
The choir, usually up to 40 singers strong, is made up of community volunteers.
It’s a unique project mixing the Caves, this area’s most popular tourism destination, with the art of choral singing – and all its camaraderie.
It isn’t expected that everyone arrives already possessing these skills, because techniques are taught.
“There’s a range of abilities and levels of experience. Commitment is needed, because we want to put on a good performance.”
Woermer said the choir was a source of personal
wellbeing.
“Even if I have arrived at a rehearsal feeling tired, that two hours of singing and breathing well means that afterwards, I feel energised,
awake and refreshed.”
“Some people do yoga and others meditate, and singing has similar health benefits.”
They rehearse on
Thursday nights, but only for a few months. While most community choirs practice all through the year, the Caves Choir doesn’t: for them, it’s just September,
October and November. There will also be weekend retreat at Marokopa, known as the “camplet” in late October.
Second time hound
Some working dogs must retire due to age or injuries. Some just never were cut out for farm life. Paul Charman reports on what happens next.
Retired Working Dogs was founded more than 10 years ago to foster and to help rehome retired or injured farm dogs.
It also finds homes for working breeds not suited to farm life.
With more than 40 dogs to rehome, the charity works with about 500 farmers a year to rehome working dogs on their behalf.
There is no cost to the farmer.
Trustee Marie-Claire Andrews said high on-farm costs had resulted in an increase in the number of dogs in need of new homes.
But why do working dogs have to retire?
“Some of the younger ones do so because, just like people, they are not cut out for the job,” she says.
“There may be no room for them on farm, where there are only a certain amount of kennels and work to get done. Farmers need active, committed tools to get the job done. So we’ll rehome those younger ones.
“Some of the mid-life ones have to retire after injuries. So we get them off farm to rehabilitate them and give them lives as pets. And them some are just too old to work anymore.
“I have adopted a pig dog named Eric, who was pretty much exhausted following 10 years of holding those pigs down. He’s the best pet I could imagine. We live in a tiny house, where he is totally relaxed, and he just fits himself in there perfectly.”
What sort of home does Retired Working Dogs look for?
“It depends on the dog as every dog is different,” says Andrews.
“The older dogs don’t need a massive amount of exercise so town houses are fine, as long as they can get out on the grass and meet other dogs and be socialised.
“Some of our dogs would still like to do a bit of work so lifestyle blocks are great, where there’s maybe a couple of sheep or cows to move around. If it just keeps them entertained and engaged that’s great.
“Some dogs are happy to be left alone as they are
used to being crated, while others really do like the company of other humans or other dogs. People who work from home can be a really good fit.
“We match our applicants to our dogs very carefully to make sure it’s going to work out,” she says.
The adoption process begins with a visit to the Retired Working Dogs website where people can read about some of the dogs available and fill out an application.
A team of volunteers then reviews the application and may put the farmer directly in touch with the applicant. If the dog has been placed in foster care to
transition to a new home the volunteers arrange a meet and greet. This way the dog can go to the environment and meet other dogs if they are there.
The prospective new owner can then see for themselves how the dog relates to children, cats, and other animals. A month’s trail follows, after which the Retired Working Dogs trust will take the dog back if things don’t work out.
“But mostly the month’s trial is successful because we spend such a lot of time and energy making sure it will be a good fit in the first place.”
While most inquiries come from the North Island, the charity re-homes dogs all around the country.
Puzzle on his way to recovery
Trustee Marie-Claire Andrews with ex pig dog Eric.
The Waitomo Caves choir wants to attract new vocal talent.
CountryLife
Mapping out Waipā
When Maungatautari ward councillor Mike Montgomerie voted for the Waipā representation review to go out for discussion, he had some reservations. Would the proposal give an adequate voice for the rural community he represents?
It is to combine the Maungatautari and Pirongia-Kakepuku wards into one rural ward with two representatives, down from three, reduce the number of Cambridge councillors from four to three, and Te Awamutu Kihikihi ward councillors from three to two.
Montgomerie’s biggest concern is it will struggle to give that voice because, he argues, the two rural councillors voted from across the district will represent quite different communities of interest.
The proposed new rural ward takes in the urban settlements of Pirongia, Ōhaupō and Ngāhinapōuri. Gone from the ward into Cambridge is Karāpiro with its 78 properties and 190 electors – by next year’s elections that will be closer to 200 votes.
Montgomerie lives in Oreipunga Road
– he is as close to Tīrau and Putāruru in the South Waikato district as he is to Cambridge, a town he unashamedly describes as his community of interest.
His family ties – he is a fifth generation dairy farmer in the district - run through the town. His involvement with Fonterra, and his background as a lawyer, saw him chair the dairy co-operative’s governance and ethics committee and he was involved in a representation review.
He recently told The News the parking pressures in Cambridge had prompted him to think carefully about where he shops and accesses his rural services. South Waikato is an obvious attraction over the crowded Cambridge.
He and his neighbours have little or no community of interest with rural voters in the vast area west of the great divide halfway down Kaipaki and Cambridge roads to Pirongia Forest Park.
“The key issue is whether two rural councillors can give adequate voice to that rural community,” he says.
So, he wants rural voters across the district to have that conversation and to feed back so when he comes to vote on the proposal, he knows what other rural residents think.
In a quirky anomaly though, the present council is very well represented by people who cite RD on their address and yet represent urban wards.
Liz Stolwyk, Philip Coles and Mike Pettit – three of Cambridge’s four councillors –live rurally as does mayor Susan O’Regan.
Add in the existing rural members –Montgomerie, Bruce Thomas and Clare St Pierre – it means seven of the 12 (nearly 60 per cent) live in the country.
“Anyone can stand in any ward,” says Montgomerie who rejects the argument that rural voters have been overrepresented.
“Urban people get what they vote for. You get what you vote for in a democracy.”
One councillor who lives within spitting distance of Cambridge’s central business district argues, if adopted, the proposal to only have eight councillors will disadvantage
the eastern part of the district.
In a paper he provided to staff and councillors, Roger Gordon says under a single rural ward system, the result would likely see two come from the west and result in the eastern rural population having no representation.
“There is a suggestion that the rural population across the whole region have a similar raft of issues and experience.
“However, the contrary view is that those in the east of the region consider that the town of Cambridge is their service centre for education, health social services and retail etc and have a greater interest in what is happening in that town.
“Similarly, the west considers Te Awamutu as their centre,” he says.
“There are distinct communities of interest within the region wide rural population which would reflect in the vote.”
Gordon also argues the extra money paid to the eight councillors would not attract more quality candidates.
Mapping it out
Continued from page 21
Elected members currently get from $47,000 a year to $53,000 with the deputy mayor getting $67,000. That would go up to between $63,000 to $69,000 with the deputy getting $85,000.
“If it is the wish to attract candidates that have professional and/or career backgrounds, the level of payment does not match that from various career sectors. I suggest it would have the opposite effect and influence them to not bother standing as they could not commit to the time requirement on top of their existing full-time job.”
The reason for standing in
Waipā is from a sense of civic duty “a wish to make the district a better place to live,” says Gordon. “It certainly is not for the money. If we lost this as the prime motivator for becoming a councillor, it would be a sad day.”
The two-term councillor, and prior to that a community board member, is miffed at the suggestion he and other “part time” councillors are unprofessional or not dedicated to their roles.
Gordon says the debate he sees suggests councillors spend many hours reading and researching the topics of discussion.
Montgomerie agrees.
“This is a really big job; it was more than I expected. The reading, it’s at the big end of the job.” Submissions close September 5.
Development after Te Waka
By Stu Kneebone, Waipā-King Country Councillor
Following the recent decision by the board of Waikato’s economic development agency Te Waka to wind up its operations, the Waikato Regional Council (WRC) has been giving consideration to what role it can play as a regional leader to assist in bringing sectors together to understand how best to facilitate and encourage economic development in the region. As the fourth largest region in New Zealand, both in terms of population and geographic area, the Waikato is a key part of the economy. However there are concerns that it has not always spoken with a collective and unified voice when looking to capitalise on regional economic development and investment opportunities. In this regard, it has lagged behind other regions.
The government has signalled it wants to work with regions that are well coordinated and know what they want. This theme is not unique, and many previous administrations have signalled similar messages. While many individual district councils across the Waikato contributed to funding Te Waka, along with the WRC, it was a somewhat piecemeal approach, which no doubt contributed to the challenges faced by Te Waka.
The WRC contribution was funded by returns from its investment fund which dates back to 1989 when the council was established. Shares in the Ports of Auckland and Tauranga were provided to WRC (all Regional Councils throughout NZ became shareholders in their respective ports) by the government of the day. The WRC shareholding was subsequently sold by the council of the day, and the funds invested. This fund is today managed by an investment fund advisor.
The returns from this fund are utilised in accordance with WRCs Statement of Investment Policy & Objectives.
Several years ago, council established a Regional Development Fund (RDF) in an effort to make contestable funds available for regionally significant economic development projects, funded by a portion of the investment fund returns. However the fund was not well subscribed, and so was recently wound up.
Council is looking at how the residual funds accumulated during the life of the RDF can be best utilised for strategic regional economic priorities and development activities.
This is not something that council are rushing. This fund is an intergenerational asset, and council is cognisant of the need to utilise the returns it provides wisely and in the interests of the region as a whole.
Our chair and chief executive are initiating conversations with a range of stakeholders, including iwi across the region to understand their views on economic development functions, what roles the various stakeholders can or should play, and what everyone sees as the appropriate vehicle to deliver these functions could look like.
WRC does not have a particular view on what the outcomes of these discussions could be, however the main themes underpinning the WRC desire to progress these conversations are really about wanting the region to prosper and ensuring that our region is seen by government as a strategic and worthy investment partner for investment.
Roger Gordon
Mike Montgomerie
Soil scientist’s plea
Hamilton-based soil scientist Gordon Rajendram wants more competition and innovation in the fertiliser industry to bring product prices down.
Rajendram sees, “a severe lack of competition leading to ongoing high fertiliser prices, stifled innovation, and a worrying lack of change in the fertiliser sector”.
He says the fertiliser market in New Zealand is dominated by a few key players, resulting in limited choices for consumers and consistently high prices.
“This monopoly-like situation sharpens awareness but also makes companies lazy, relying on their established market positions rather than striving for improvement,” he said.
The chief executive of the Fertiliser Association, Vera Power has pushed back on Rajendram’s assertions.
“The NZ fertiliser market is an open and free market, and new entrants are free to come on the market at any time, as they do. The key issue is that any supplier needs to meet farmers’ needs and expectations,” Power said.
“Fertiliser price is mainly driven by global supply chains. Supply chains have been challenging for a number of years for reasons such as shipping prices and sanctions on Belarus and Russia. However, the good news is that while shipping prices are high, global product prices have been coming down, bringing potential relief for farmers who are feeling squeezed.”
Rajendram says many companies are selling the same products they did in the 1950s, with little to no innovation.
“Super phosphate, has done more for New Zealand’s economy than any politician ever has, but it’s time for change.”
He said farmers were starting to look for alternatives due to high prices and question marks over environmental aspects of traditional fertiliser products, he said.
“A prime example of the benefits of competition can be seen in the dairy industry, where the presence of multiple companies has led to significant advancements in product quality and efficiency.
“The fertiliser industry could learn a lot from this. Innovation is essential for addressing the evolving needs of modern agriculture, particularly in a country like New Zealand, where farming is a cornerstone of the economy,” Rajendram said.
“The New Zealand fertiliser industry needs a shake-up. More competition will lead to better products, fairer prices, and ultimately, a stronger agricultural sector. It’s time for fertiliser companies to stop resting on their laurels and start driving the innovation that our farmers need.”
RMA changes applauded
Federated Farmers and Dairy New Zealand have welcomed updates to the Resource Management Act
Dairy NZ director Cameron Henderson, a Canterbury farmer, said “a few stomping feet” were about to set off an avalanche of red tape that would have effectively prohibited agriculture and horticulture in New Zealand.
The updates were made to regulations relating to discharge.
Henderson said the change in interpretation of the law threatened to create regulatory roadblocks that no farm or farmer could pass through.
“We strongly believe this was never the intent of the law, given permitted activities and consents come with requirements to manage risks to the environment.
“This isn’t a free pass. Farmers still need
to meet national and regional regulations. These amendments simply provide clarity that the regulatory pathways regional councils have spent years and millions of dollars developing will prevail.
Dairy New Zealand, Beef and Lamb New Zealand and Federated Farmers wrote to the government in April to outline what it said were the severe consequences of High Court decisions relating to sections 70 and 107 of the Act and included these concerns in a formal submission in June.
Federated Farmers RMA reform spokesperson Mark Hooper said the ruling had created huge uncertainty for farmers and without a law change, huge parts of New Zealand’s productive economy would simply grind to a halt.
“This whole saga has benefited nobody but resource management lawyers, costing ratepayers millions of dollars, only for the law to be changed.
Henderson said without the new amendments, pastoral farming in Southland, horticultural production in Pukekohe and Horowhenua, and discharges of wastewater and stormwater by a council would have faced impossible regulatory barriers.
“This issue has been sparked by the implementation of national freshwater regulations, which were impractical due to a lack of consideration of regional variations, unrealistic national bottom lines, and a focus on numerical limits rather than environmental outcomes.
“This issue had become urgent and warranted immediate attention, and we appreciate the Government moving swiftly to ensure diffuse discharges are managed in a practical way.”
He noted 80 per cent of dairy farmers were now managing a Freshwater Farm Plan.
Dr Gordon Rajendram
Cameron Henderson
Across 1. Muscle spasm (5)
4. Downpour (6) 7. Chop (3) 8. Favour (6)
23. Annoyance (6)
24. Absolutely right (inf) (4,2)
25. Kernel (3) 26. Thing made by combining two elments (6)
Narrow lane (5)
Collectible (5)
Terrible (5)
Package (6)
Last week
Across: 1. Scruff, 5. Scorch, 8. Lop, 9. Frenzy, 10. Ritual, 11. Sofa, 13. Nonsense, 14. Bliss, 15. Spark, 19. Bless you, 21. Tidy, 22. Breath, 23. Thread, 25. Eve, 26. Sexton, 27. Dagger. Down: 2. Car pool, 3. Urn, 4. Flying, 5. Sprang, 6. On-the-spot, 7. Crass, 12. Assistant, 16. Radiate, 17. Hyphen, 18. Hunted, 20. Large, 24. Rag.
ESXPETGVNSREDNAWWB LIMRNRHASTENEGRAHC BDYANAZNSBPZELBMUB MLZNTMSRETTFEHSARC AEKCMPQLGAZXPKWORR REUEIPUTROEHLXAWYP BLLINRGRALPAKMKHSW MBFTCCYABFWCLOMPWZ EMHHEPSALLYOATLRTD AULIYUKFELEWTRPIHE NTPRUSHFLLOMSOWCME DSECEHETUODPSTNEXP EFEOBTNIIMUDEIGNQS RSRJBIRSZPBNAKAENS LTCHRRREHTTLDWROMP PRLPERVAAOAOEEDFNL EASPMOTSFTVNEWRLHL DYCSTDALKWXEDQLPEK
4. Arid area (6) 5. Door fastener (5) 6. Inexperienced (5) 10. Rub hard (5) 11. A surprise outcome (5) 12. Senseless (5) 13. Shine (5) 16. Chum (6) 17. Afternoon nap (6) 19. Consensus, agreement (5) 20. Large cat (5) 21. Snarl (5) 22. Spacious (5) Distributed
All puzzles © The Puzzle Company
Cambridge at your fingertips
It’s all on your local App –are you?
The Cambridge App is the go-to place for your latest mobile news, sport and opinion.
Every day, locals open the app to stay informed about what’s happening in Cambridge.
But there isn’t only news on this app: it features upcoming events, funeral notices, the latest properties for sale, places to eat and drink, activities, local businesses, and much more.
Download the Cambridge App, look around, you might be surprised by what you find.
CountryLife
Reach a targeted rural and lifestyle audience each month by advertising your business in CountryLife; featured inside the Cambridge News and Te Awamutu News.
Readership 70,470 Distribution 26,100
Scan here to download the app
To list your business, event or activity, contact Advertising Director Janine Davy: 027 287 0005 or janine@goodlocal.nz
Main office 55 Victoria St, Cambridge
Mental health course applauded
By Kate Monahan
Seventeen people from Waipā and King Country, including representatives from police, schools and a youth trust have completed a Youth Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Aotearoa workshop.
The two-day training, held in Te Awamutu August 1 and 8, was run by Mates Matters NZ.
The Youth MHFA Aotearoa programme equips adults with knowledge, skills and confidence to recognise and respond when a young person is experiencing a mental health challenge or crisis.
“Mental health is huge within our communities and there are a lot of pressures on our youth,” said Constable Kathryn Payne, a school community officer. In her role, she supports around 80 schools including those in Waipā and King Country.
According to the 2022/23 New Zealand Health Survey, over half of all New Zealanders aged 15 to 24 experience anxiety or depression. The number of young people experiencing moderate to high distress have nearly doubled since 2016/17 and Māori, Pacific, disabled and rainbow youth are more vulnerable.
The workshop focused on how adults can understand and support the mental health of intermediate and high school aged children, with a five-step mental health action plan to follow if needed.
It covered topics such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders, substance abuse, suicidal thoughts and behaviours, panic attacks, traumatic events and psychosis.
A group from Ko Wai Au Trust, a not-for-profit organisation supporting rangatahi, also attended the workshop.
“It was awesome, I loved it,” said Ko Wai Au Trust co-founder and general manager Georgina Christie. “We all took away some good learnings, good validation that we are on the right track, and some good reminders.”
Co-founder Andrew Christie said talking about mental health was important to reducing stigma in the community.
Te Awamutu Intermediate learning support coordinator Karyn Kay said the workshop reflected what many schools were seeing with increased levels of anxiety, along with social, behavioural and learning challenges among students.
Workshop co-facilitator Sarah Christensen, who is also the programme manager for Mental Health First Aid Aotearoa, said it was fantastic to see so many people come together to support youth.
As Mental Health First Aiders, they join more than 7500 adults across the country who have been trained in one of the MHFA Aotearoa programmes.
Christensen and co-facilitator
Sarah Keelty from Health New
Te Whatu Ora
have decades of experience working in the mental health and addictions sector, something valued by workshop participants.
*This
Georgina Christie said one of the highlights of the workshop was collaborating and building stronger relationship with others working with young people in the region.
“At the end of the day, we not only want to be able to support the rangatahi and whānau we work with, but we all want to make a better and stronger community.”
For every property that is referred to us by mentioning the Riding For The Disabled, and which results in a successful sale, we will gift $500 to the RDA Cambridge.
Zealand
Waikato
Workshop completed, from left, back row - Andrew Christie, Georgina Christie, Anthony Kahura, Rachel Peehikuru, Louise Emery and Tiri Maresca-Allison, middle row - Kathryn Payne, Karyn Kay, Natasha Dunne, Emma Croucher and Tia Kingi, front - Mikaera Hemara,
Barbara Nelson, Collette Corley and Jackson Willison.
Easy Care - Stunner
Kitchen; light, open-plan layout; formal & informal lounges; three well-sized bedrooms; a large office/4th bedroom on a spacious 1012 m² (more or less) section.
Homes Saturday 1 - 1.30pm & Sunday 10 - 10.30am
of the Best - A+++ For Sure
Negotiation
107A Wordsworth Street, Leamington
- Offering an accommodating kitchen, generous living area, open plan dining, three well-sized bedrooms, main bathroom with separate toilet, handy laundry space which leads to the outdoors, two heat pump systems plus HRV and double glazing. Open Home Sunday 11.00 - 11.30am
Scott
Leamington
- Open plan kitchen, dining, lounge & master bedroom with ensuite on the lower level opening out to a sunny patio, upstairs the remaining 2 bedrooms, are supported by a stunning bathroom. Open Homes Saturday 1 - 1.30pm & Sunday 11 - 11.30am
Love The Gully Views
29 Jarrett Terrace, Cambridge Park
- Large open plan living/dining with raised ceiling and stacker doors, separate lounge with gas fire with ranch slider to outdoors
- Master bedroom wing highlights the value of a clever floorplan as the wide hallway separates it from the other bedrooms.
Home Sunday 12.00 - 12.30pm
Cambridge 11 Hall Street
Charming 1947 Bungalow with Stunning Views!
New Listing
It's so easy to fall in love with this beautiful bungalow, sitting proudly on 880sqm (more or less) freehold corner section in the heart of Cambridge. This home is a perfect blend of classic charm and modern convenience, offering ample space and breathtaking views that will capture your heart. Property Highlights: Bedrooms: Four spacious bedrooms (three upstairs, one downstairs) ensure comfort and privacy for the whole family. Bathrooms: Enjoy a fully renovated main bathroom with a luxurious freestanding bath, plus the convenience of an ensuite upstairs. Kitchen: The modern kitchen features a dishwasher, gas cooktop, range hood, and electric oven, perfect for all your culinary creations.
Heating: Stay cozy year-round with a wood burner, heat pump, night store heater, and an efficient gas hot water system. Living Areas: The open-plan living areas offer seamless indoor-outdoor flow, ideal for entertaining or relaxing.
Cambridge 12A Oneone Street
Boundary
This section is surplus to requirements for our vendors. Don't miss out on this wonderful opportunity to secure this property. It will be sold on or before auction. Now is the perfect time to secure your future with a 401sqm (more or less) freehold section in one of Cambridge's newest subdivisions.
Prime Location: Easy access to Waikato Expressway for a smooth commute to Hamilton and the wider Waikato Region. Walking distance to the Cambridge Raceway. Peace of Mind: Title available and protective covenants in place. Community Spirit: Enjoy the charm and growth of this vibrant neighbourhood.
To find out more, call the agent!
A pregnant pause
Female stoats are less likely than males to be enticed into trap – and that problem is compounded by the fact they are pregnant for most of the year.
The issue of “shy” stoats has been highlighted in a study coordinated by Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research, part of a Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment programme.
An experiment was run over 81 nights with 28 stoats – 13 male and 15 female – and the stoats’ behaviour was filmed each night using infrared cameras.
Researchers Patrick Garvey and Kyla Johnstone, working with Catherine Price at the University of Sydney, found fortune favoured shyer, more cautious, less active, and less risk-prone stoats – known as “recalcitrant” animals. They were less likely to interact with all types of traps.
Female stoats were more cautious and less likely to “interact” with the traps. It was already known from field trapping that successful capture was strongly skewed towards males.
All it took for an area to be repopulated was the survival of females that evaded trapping.
Stoats and weasels are in New Zealand because 7838 of them were released in the 1880s – in an effort to control introduced rabbits. Up until 1936 they were even protected as an enemy of rabbits.
They are thought to be responsible in part for the extinction of the South Island subspecies of bush wren, laughing owl and New Zealand thrush - the piopio.
The stoat is tagged by the Department of Conservation as the number one killer of New Zealand’s endangered species.
suspect that they underestimated recalcitrance in the wild. All stoats in the study had the characteristics of risk-taking neophiles, since they had already been trapped for the study. It suggested that trapping the most recalcitrant animals might be even more difficult than the study suggests.
Trapping efforts, such as those undertaken by Predator Free NZ groups, were effective up to a point – but it was very difficult to achieve 100 per cent eradication of pests, especially across large, remote areas.
The toolkit of trapping technologies is being evaluated from the perspective of the pest in the five-year programme.
“Neophile” stoats - those more attracted to risk and novelty - were more likely to approach and then trigger a trap. Enclosed box traps were the most effective type of trap, but neophile stoats were also attracted to tunnel traps. Stoats tended to interact least with head-up traps.
Compounding the problem of trap shyness, researchers
Although the box trap performed well, capturing three in four stoats during their first encounter, no single design covered all spectrums of personality, suggesting that less “scary” trap designs, plus more effective baits and lures, are what’s needed.
The next steps for the programme will involve the development and deployment of novel lures to do just that. Meanwhile, the second national goat hunt has started and ill run to November 26. The Department of Conservation backed event attracted 700 hunters last year and they shot more than 10,000 wild goats.
Ella takes the lead
By Mary Anne Gill
When Ella Yarndley graduated from the Special Olympics athlete leadership class at Parliament last week, she joined an elite group of Te Awamutu swimmers.
But it nearly didn’t happen. She was struck down with an illness a few days out from the ceremony - but her tenacity and ability to organise herself meant she graduated with the other five athletes in Wellington.
Yarndley, who turns 23 next week, is the sixth graduate in nine years from Special Olympics Te Awamutu. The others were Stacey Parker, Portia Johnson, Matthew Smith, Tegan Crotty and Jarrod Gilbert.
She received her certificate from host Taupō MP Louise Upston, the Disabilities minister in the government. Each of the six spoke about what being an athlete leader meant to them. At their initial workshop last year, they went through learning the guiding principles of athlete leadership, the Special Olympics mission and what makes it unique, the different roles that athlete leaders can play, and each developed an action plan for athlete leadership.
Leaders speak in their communities and around New Zealand at seminars and conferences where they talk about intellectual disability, Special Olympics and their experiences.
this year selected as New Zealand’s first athlete, hearing the news from the Special Olympics International chair Timothy, the son of Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver. The programme is named after her husband Sargent Shriver, a former American diplomate, politician and activist.
Yarndley’s mentor was Shelley Blair – the Te Awamutu News person of the year in 2022 - who has been involved with her at swimming classes for 12 years. “She’s a great girl – very confident and she loves helping others out in the pool.”
At a recent meet, Yarndley swam against male swimmers because she had been beating all the girls. Even then she came first equal, said Blair.
“She’s also confident enough to spread the words about Special Olympics.”
Yarndley, who attended Te Awamutu primary and intermediate schools before moving to Patricia Avenue School in Hamilton, works three mornings a week at a rest home and has been flatting in town where her organisational ability has been to the fore. She participates in programmes at Te Awamutu disability organisation Enrich Plus.
Athletes who go through the training are qualified to apply to be a Sargent Shriver International Global Messenger. Counties athlete Grace Payne was early
She is also Blair’s most elite swimmer, not bad when there are 20 in the Te Awamutu Special Olympics group.
“She is good at all four main swimming strokes - freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly.”
Her parents Scott and Jennie attended the graduation where Rāwiri Hawker, Richard Langford, Katie McMillan, Tom Morland and Jack Rowe also received their graduation certificates.
A new study highlights the difficulty in eradicating stoats.
Ella Yarndley at Parliament with her Special Olympics athlete leadership graduation certificate and parents Scott and Jennie.
Photo: Joe Serci.
BRADY, Fiona Elizabeth
– Peacefully on 12 August 2024, at Waikato Hospital with her Mother, Elizabeth, at her side. Daughter of the late William Brady, loved by her step-father Michael O’Driscoll. Sister and sister-in-law of Mark and Lynda; Russell and Nikki. Loved Auntie of Katy and her husband Noel. Sadly missed by her Aunts, Uncles and extended family. Heartfelt thanks to the staff at Cambridge Resthaven for their loving care of Fiona over the past few years. Requiem Mass will be celebrated at St Peter’s Catholic Church, Anzac Street, Cambridge on Friday 16 August at 12 noon.
HANNON, Richard Garland
– Passed away very suddenly and unexpectedly at Waikato Hospital on Saturday, 3rd August 2024, aged 83 years. Dearly loved husband to Carol for 60 memorable years. Loved father and father-in-law to Rick, Nadine & Trent, Mathew, Marcel & Sandra and Pa to Gemma, Jacob, Samuel, Stefan, Nicole, Jared, Sarah, and Great Grandpa Richard to Fox and Wilder. At Richard's request a private farewell has taken place. All communications to the Hannon Family, c/- 3 Hallys Lane, Cambridge 3434
HIGGINS, Dawn Patricia, (nee John) – Peacefully passed away at Beattie Home, Otorohanga, on Saturday, 10th August 2024, aged 86 years. Dearly loved wife of the late David and partner of the late Graham. Very very dearly loved mother and mother in-law to Gavin, Russell & Michelle, Leanne & Scott, Heather, and Scottie. Most dearly loved Nana to 13 grandchildren, 25 great grandchildren, and one great, great grandchild. Special thanks to the staff of Beattie Home for the love and care shown to both Dawn and her family over the past years. A celebration of Dawn's life will be held at Trinity St Paul's Union Parish, Queen Street, Cambridge on Thursday, the 15th of August 2024 at 11:00 am. Donations to Beattie Community Trust would be appreciated and may be left at the service. All communications to the Higgins Family c/- 3 Hallys Lane, Cambridge 3434.
Family Notices
• Engagements • Weddings
• Births • Anniversaries • Bereavements
ink level of approximately 220%.
Rate card: Rates are based over a 12-month period starting from the date the first ad publishes. Rate bracket e.g. 6 insertions, 12 insertions etc. chosen allows ad sizes to vary within the rate bracket. If the number of insertions chosen is not met then a bulk charge will be applied at the end/cancellation of your schedule based on correct rate reflective of the number of ads published e.g. if you have chosen the 12 insertion rate and only publish 6 insertions, the bulk charge will be the difference in price between the 6 insertion rate and 12 insertion rate multiplied by the number of ads published. You pay the rate reflective of the number of ads you actually publish. Invoicing and Payments: For advertisers on a regular schedule invoices will be sent at the end of the month and payment is due by the 20th of the following month, otherwise payment is required by end of day Tuesday in advance of publishing. Accounts in arrears +60 days may be subject to a $95 + GST late payment fee per month. Advertiser is responsible for all debt collection fees. Cancellation deadline is one week prior to publication. By confirming and placing advertising in Good Local Media Ltd publications you are agreeing to our terms and conditions of trade.
Limitation of Liability: Good Local Media Limited (including its employees, contractors, officers, or agents) shall not be liable for a failure or breach arising from anything beyond their reasonable control e.g. an act of God, fire, earthquake, strike, explosion, or electrical supply failure, unavoidable accident
PROPOSED PLAN CHANGE 14 TO THE OPERATIVE WAIPĀ DISTRICT PLAN: MANGAONE PRECINCT AND C10 INDUSTRIAL GROWTH CELL
Availability of Summary of Submissions and Further Submissions
Clauses 7 & 8 of Schedule 1 to the Resource Management Act 1991
On 20 June 2024, Waip-a District Council notified Proposed Plan Change 14. Submissions closed on 19 July 2024.
Council has prepared a summary of the decisions requested in submissions received on Proposed Plan Change 14 which is now available to view at www.waipadc.govt.nz/ planchange14, or at Council Offices and public libraries in Te Awamutu and Cambridge. Council now invites further submissions. Further submissions must be lodged with Council no later than 5pm on Thursday 29 August 2024.
FURTHER SUBMISSIONS
A further submission may only be made in support of, or opposition to, another person’s submission and can only be made by:
• Anyone representing a relevant aspect of the public interest;
• Anyone with an interest in the plan change greater than the interest of the general public;
• The local authority.
Further submissions must follow and provide the information required by Form 6 of the Resource Management (Forms, Fees and Procedures) Regulations 2003. The form can be accessed at waipadc.govt.nz/Form 6 - Further Submission
Further submissions can be made:
• Online at waipadc.govt.nz/Form 6 - Further Submission
• Emailed to: districtplan@waipadc.govt.nz
• Posted to: Private Bag 2402, Te Awamutu 3840
• Delivered to: Waip-a District Council offices, 101 Bank Street, Te Awamutu OR 23 Wilson Street, Cambridge
You must a serve copy of your further submission on the person who made the original submission within 5 working days of lodging it with Council. Please email districtplan@waipadc.govt.nz to request the contact details of the original submitter.
Notification Date: 15 August 2024
Further Submission Closing Date: 5pm, 29 August 2024
Ken Morris
Acting Chief Executive
CHURCH NOTICES
Cambridge Seventh-Day Adven�st Church
Cr. Shakespeare & Browning Streets Bible Study Each Saturday: 9.30am – 10.45am
Worship Service: 11.00am
Like us on Facebook: h�ps://www.facebook.com/cambridge.sda.9 email: cambridge.sda.nz@gmail.com
Phone: 027 677 6433
Hope Channel – Freeview Ch 27, Sky 204
We offer detailed study of the Bible and inspiring worship experiences.
All Welcome.
Come along to our church service 9:30 am Sunday with Children’
PUBLIC NOTICES
Te Awamutu Rotary Book Fair
355 Rickit Road Te Awamutu
August 22-25 Thurs-Sat 9am-5pm
Sun - $10 a box day 10am-2pm
NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM)
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Friends of Resthaven Foundation Trust will be held on Thursday 22nd August 2024 at Cambridge Resthaven Village Centre 2.30pm
Notice of AGM
The Annual General Meeting of the Cambridge Autumn Festival Trust will be held at 4pm Monday 26th August 2024 at 22 Dick Street, Cambridge.
BOARD Wanted - for mature lady always out & about, or room with bathroom. Ph 022 457 1142. Refs available. Are you a dynamic, hardworking individual with a passion for Construction.
PACKHOUSE WORKERS REQUIRED
Boyds Asparagus is well established in the industry, and we have vacancies available for our upcoming season.
Based in Hautapu, Cambridge, we require seasonal workers who are hardworking, honest, reliable, and willing to work on a roster basis, including weekends. We have positions available in our packhouse for: PACKERS/GRADERS approx. 45 to 50 hours per week
The asparagus season runs from Mid September to 22nd December 2024.
Experience is not essential as full training will be provided.
Please email your interest along with your contact details to: admin@asparagus.co.nz
When
GRAY
We are a busy engineering company with a well equipped workshop, working in the Mining, Quarry and Transport industries.
• CONFIDENTLY MANAGE A TEAM ON SITE
PUBLIC NOTICES
Notice of Public Annual Meeting of Beneficiaries
Availability of the 2024 Chairperson’s Annual Report, Financial Statements, 2024-25 Annual Plan, and Waipa Networks Ltd Statement of Corporate Intent.
I hereby give notice that on Friday the 23rd of August 2024, commencing at 10.00am, a Public Annual Meeting of Beneficiaries (Connected Consumers) will be held at Waipa Networks, 240 Harrison Drive, Te Awamutu.
At the meeting the Trustees will report on:
The operation of Waipa Networks Trust for the year ended 31 March 2024.
The Financial Statements of Waipa Networks Trust for the year ended 31 March 2024.
The performance of Waipa Networks Limited for the year ended 31 March 2024.
• The compliance of Waipa Networks Limited with its Statement of Corporate Intent for the year ended 31 March 2024.
The Annual Plan 2024/25 of Waipa Networks Trust. At the meeting the Beneficiaries will be given the opportunity to:
Appoint the Auditor for Waipa Networks Trust for the 2025 financial year.
Speak on all matters being considered at the Annual Meeting.
Please note that the above named documents are available for public inspection on the Trust website or at the offices of Waipa Networks Limited at 240 Harrison Drive, Te Awamutu during ordinary business hours.
K M Heeringa - Trust Manager
CAMBRIDGE OPEN HOMES
• RELEVANT TRADE QUALIFICATIONS WILL BE ADVANTAGEOUS
• COMPETENT IN TAKING ON JOBS FROM START TO FINISH
• POSITIVE CAN DO ATTITUDE
• OPPORTUNITY FOR CAREER ADVANCEMENT Phone Peter : 021 964 187 OR Send your CV to: peter@grayconstruction.co.nz
• QUANTITY SURVEYOR •
•
Competitive Remuneration Packages & Future Pathway Opportunities Available.
Waikato Construction Management specialise in commercial, industrial,
and multi-tenant development Design and Build Projects. Our goal is to add value at all stages of the project, from budgeting, unique design, cost effective engineering solutions, timely construction, and comprehensive project management. Don’t Let This Chance Pass You By - Be a
Our Restonic Plush mattress o ers a night of pure bliss in this medium-soft feel that melts to your touch. The 5-zone Posture Pro pocket springs are dynamic to provide world-class body support, and the charcoal memory foam, on top of molding to your body in a pillowing embrace, provides comfortable temperature regulation. Together this creates the perfect tonic for a refreshing rest.
SPECIFICATIONS
Size: Queen (152 x 202cm), King (167 x 202cm), Super King (180 x 202cm), Cali King (202 x 202cm) Spring: 5 Zone Posture Pro® pocket springs Foam: Charcoal Memory Foam,
1. 5 Zone Posture Pro Pocket Springs:
Experience world-class body support with our innovative 5 Zone Pocket Springs. These springs are intelligently engineered to adjust with your body movements, ensuring proper spine alignment and dynamic conformity to your body contours.
2. Charcoal Memory Foam: Our This specialized foam not only eliminates odors but also absorbs excess moisture, regulating temperature throughout the night. Additionally, it is an excellent choice for individuals with allergies, as it o ers superior breathability and hypoallergenic properties.
3. Medium Density Foam: This layer adds an extra level of cushioning and contouring, cradling your body in sublime comfort. Sink into the plushness and let your worries melt away as you indulge in a peaceful night's sleep.
4. Organic Cotton Fabric: The Restonic Plush bed is wrapped in premium organic cotton fabric, sourced and manufactured right here in New Zealand.
5. 10-Year Warranty: We stand behind the quality and durability of our Restonic Plush bed. With our 10-year warranty, you can sleep soundly knowing that your investment is protected. Visit us at: 19 kaniera terrace, Cambridge 3493 Hours: Mon-Tue,
