The couple behind plans to open a charter school in Cambridge have not given up on their plans following an announcement they are not among the latest to get the government’s green light.
Maxine and Ray Nelson of Ignite Arts Academy say they will plough ahead with their application hoping they will be among the next lot of charter schools.
Associate education minister David Seymour last week said charter schools in Christchurch, Kaitaia and three in Auckland would open for term one next year. They join a Christchurch school announced last month.
“We see this as just a delay at the moment and have received much positive feedback from the community and families in the Cambridge area,” Ray Nelson said.
“Our plan is to keep pressing forward and planning for a successful outcome.”
Seymour says charter schools will make New Zealand’s education system more flexible and responsive to family and student needs, and has indicated more announcements will be made.
“This is just the beginning. I hope to see many more new charter schools opening, and state and state-integrated schools converting to become
charter schools.”
The Nelson application was one of four submitted with the assistance of charter school pioneer Alwyn Poole who lashed out at Seymour saying the process was “deeply unfair”.
Asked by The News whether the spat between Seymour and Poole might
hurt their application, the Nelsons were unconcerned saying their proposal had already attracted significant support in the Cambridge community.
“We already have an existing facility, and we can start with 90 students,” said Ray Nelson. It was the lack of feedback
which was hindering them.
“We just need the go ahead.”
The Nelsons say they have backers, job applicants and students waiting. Their application is a mix of academia and culture with class sizes of 15 students to a teacher.
All charter schools have
contracted target outcomes related to student attendance and achievement.
These targets vary depending on student year level and school details but are set to deliver a high standard of overall student achievement, including managed progression, compared with current State
schools.
Among the targets, 80 per cent of students in years 7-10 achieving at or above the expected level, 95 per cent of students in years 11-13 achieving at least NCEA level 2 in maths, English, science and one creative art and 90 per cent attendance for all students.
Parking plans
I have now read several articles on parking recently that all put up an argument from different perspectives. Previously, I served at Heart of Gisborne for six years, including three as City Manager, an organisation dedicated to the CBD retailers.
while allotting a reasonable shopping duration for parked patrons. The busier the parking, the shorter the allotted time should be. Simplicity is crucial.
Tree issues
My research across New Zealand and globally reveals the complexity of parking, with no straightforward solutions, but I have deduced some fundamental principles regarding parking and consumer behaviour.
Customers invariably desire complimentary, unrestricted parking, whereas shop owners advocate for vehicle turnover to enhance their business. Different businesses seek parking durations that align with their operations. For instance, takeaway outlets and similar short-stay businesses prefer 15-30 minute parking, while the theatre requires a 3-hour limit to accommodate moviegoers.
I also enquire if a comprehensive parking survey has been conducted. Informed decisions require a thorough understanding of the issues at hand. Parking abuse, such as long-term parking by employees and employers, poses a significant challenge. Then there is the topic of enforcement. Not an easy discussion, but none the less, it goes with the parking restrictions. What other concerns arise from both retailers and customers remains to be explored.
I read an article about the Auckland homeowners suffering from poplar fluff. I too have this massive problem. My property backs on to the green belt and there is a row of huge poplar trees. The one directly behind me is a good 30 metres tall. Every year at this time the seed fluff falls continuously for 3-4 weeks. I cannot leave my doors and windows open which means the heat in the house is unbearable. I’ve had to buy pedestal fans to try and cool the house and myself.
The key is to align car park usage with a balance of turnover and demand. An optimal 80 per cent parking occupancy rate seems to be the target, theoretically leaving spaces available for potential customers
The recent move by Council to increase the parking time by 100 per cent to two hours in Te Awamutu, is interesting. Parking at times is already at a premium, especially along Alexandra St. You are in effect reducing the number of available parks in the CBD, at what is arguably the busiest period for retail. Is this really supporting retailers?
The debate continues.
GOLDEN TOURS
With the holiday season soon to be in full swing, the message is again one of protecting yourself from opportunistic crime, socialising sensibly and driving safely.
This week we have had a few reported burglaries, including where Christmas presents were taken, both from homes and in a vehicle.
Christmas presents like any other valuable item, when visible, attract the attention of passing dishonesty offenders. In doing so, they make your car and house more likely to be targeted.
Remove any valuable items from your car and obscure Christmas present placement with regards to a passerby’s view of your home. If having courier parcels delivered, leave instructions for them to be placed out of sight. Invest in CCTV if possible as this can be a deterrent and equally provides valuable evidence of crimes if committed.
Lock your doors, don’t advertise your absence and generally be security conscious whether at home or away.
In the past week, between Cambridge and Te Awamutu police, we dealt with three drink drivers.
If you plan on socialising and will be drinking alcohol, leave the car at home and organise alternative transportation. If you are the sober driver for friends, stay soberand don’t drive if that changes.
If you see someone about to drive when
intoxicated, step in. If you can’t prevent them driving, ring 111 with vehicle details, the identity of the driver, direction of travel and their intended destination if known.
And talking of driving, our traffic staff are urging all to exercise patience when it comes to travel in the holiday period. In the past week prior to writing, between Cambridge and Te Awamutu, we have had 17 traffic crashes. This at a time when holiday traffic is nowhere near their peak.
Allowing extra time into your journey reduces stress and prevents bad driving decisions that can have long lasting impacts. Take regular breaks, maintain a decent following distance, don’t speed and drive to the conditions.
Remember to also ensure all in the vehicle are wearing their seatbelts. If you see dangerous driving likely to cause a crash, ring 111. If possible, have a passenger take a video of the bad driving behaviour to provide to police.
To end, this is my last column of 2024. Thank you to everyone who has taken their time to read my contributions over the past 12 months.
I hope you have found the information I have provided to be helpful and interesting. Have a safe and relaxing Christmas and New Year.
When we had the cyclone earlier huge branches broke off and landed in my back yard and onto the roof. An arborist friend told me if the tree falls it’s going to land on my house. Recently my great grandchild and friends were here for a visit. They had bubble wands. The wind was strong, perfect for bubbles. To my horror there was a loud crack and a branch landed in my backyard. Fortunately there were no injuries, but some very frightened children and concerned adults. Both my neighbour and myself have contacted the council on several occasions without success. The trees need to be topped before there’s a catastrophe. I have no doubt if a councillor lived here the trees would have been dealt to long ago.
Margo Lee
Cambridge
Editor’s note: Waipā District Council was made aware of this letter and told The News arborists were checking on stands of poplars in Leamington this week.
Ken Huberts
Te Awamutu
Briefs…
April theme
The theme for Cambridge Autumn Festival’s short story writing competition is April Fools and entries close in early February. The festival will be in full swing on April 1 prompting organisers to come up with the theme. Cambridge’s Jan Mackenzie this year became the first Waipā author to win the competition.
Venues miss out
Cambridge Town Hall missed out on Entertainment Venues Association small venue of the year award and Simon Brew the team leader at the association’s annual awards in Auckland last week. It was pipped to the under 1000 seat title by The Turner Centre of Kerikeri. Mystery Creek Events Centre lost out to Go Media Stadium for the large venue of the year title.
Fluoride order
Director-General of Health Dr
Diana Sarfati has confirmed Cambridge’s water supply must have fluoride added to it, endorsing an original July 2022 directive. Her assessment is that the benefits of fluoridating the water in Cambridge outweigh the rights of individuals to refuse medical treatment. It will take about nine months to install equipment to add the fluoride.
Local expert
Te Awamutu waste to energy board of inquiry member Nicholas Manukau is the Environmental Protection Authority’s local expert. At December’s Strategic Policy and Planning Committee meeting Waipa District councillor Lou Brown asked strategy group manager Kirsty Downey which of the three board members who will decide Global Contracting Solution’s resource consent application had local knowledge. “My understanding is that Nichola Manukau fulfils that role,” Downey said.
Tower’s platform comes down
By Mary Anne Gill
Steel has been removed from Cambridge Water Tower’s exterior.
Pigeons were among the curious as Te Awamutu contractors Phillip McGough took off the corroded outer ladder and walkway first installed in 1902 and used by citizens as a vantage point for many years.
The removal of the corroded steel forms part of the consent that was obtained in 2022 for the removal of the water tank at the top of the tower.
While there, contractors assessed the bricks and mortar to form part of a detailed seismic assessment which the council will use to decide the tower’s future.
As part of its long term planning, council went to the community to find out its views on the earthquake prone tower
– save or demolish.
But there was some disparity between the figures council used – it said strengthening would cost $6 million while demolition would only cost $800,000. Most of the community went with the latter.
But a rear guard action by a group of residents calling themselves Save the Cambridge Water Tower resulted in demolition plans being put on hold and subsequently saw another price come through.
They figures they sourced, which suggested the tower could be saved using “adaptive reuse” – a term used by heritage architects - was $2 million.
The tower opened at 3pm on Wednesday 11 March 1903, the only wet day for weeks, newspaper reports of the day said.
Engineer Ashley Hunter said
at £6000 ($1.34 million today) it was the cheapest water supply in the colony. Mayor Frank Buckland started the pump in town and then walked to the tower where he turned the water on.
He headed back to Victoria St where a hose was attached to a hydrant to show the water pressure. Water spouted 40 feet (12.2 metres) into the air and the crowd cheered Buckland and Hunter.
After the formal opening, Buckland provided champagne at the Criterion Hotel for the councillors so they could toast the officers and contractors.
The supply closed in 1926 because the water from the Moon Creek Spring was polluted.
The tower is a Category A historic building in the Waipā District Plan and in 2010 became a Category 2 Heritage Building with Heritage NZ.
Copper thieves target church
By Chris Gardner
Copper thieves have targeted two of Waikato’s historic churches.
The raids on St Paul’s in Rangiaowhia Rd, Hairini, and on St John’s in Te Awamutu’s Arawata St have prompted church staff to start sleeping over.
St Pauls dates back to 1852 and the St John site includes Old St John’s which opened in 1854.
St John’s Anglican Church parish priest Julie Guest said staff began sleeping in the church and security systems were installed after a series of incidents beginning with the burning of a car parked in front of the church on George St early last month.
“As St John’s is a concrete structure, the building suffered only scorch marks, but the wreck was visited nightly by those seeking to further loot and destroy the remains. Shortly after that, a copper downpipe was stolen from St John’s,” Guest said.
“A couple of days later St Paul’s, our historic church in Rangiaowhia Road, Hairini, was violated when the spouting along one side was ripped off, causing damage to the remaining roof. Two days after that the thieves
returned to strip the spouting from the other side of St Paul’s. They just ripped it off with absolutely no care for the building. That this sacred taonga for the whole community should be ravaged in that way is hard to fathom,” she said.
“The worst and final discovery was that thieves have begun removing the flat roofing off St John’s, all of which is copper. A building without spouting or downpipes is messy, but a building without a roof covering is open to weather – on the way to ruin.
“This building has been there for 60 years, and it’s got another 60 years in it,” she said.
Guest told The News the vandalism and theft was a distraction of her church’s work to bring justice and reconciliation following the wrongs committed against Māori in the New Zealand Land Wars.
She has launched an appeal for help, asking the community to keep a close eye on her building, look out for copper roofing being offered for sale, and for financial help to assist with repairs.
Scrap metal dealers are quoting up to $11.30 a kilo for copper – and a three metre copper downpipe will cost about $100 to replace.
Contractors removed the damaged steel walkway and ladder from the Cambridge Water Tower.
Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
St Paul’s was stripped of its copper.
Maunga sets $42m target
By Chris Gardner
An endowment fund is being launched to fund the ongoing replacement of the world’s largest predator proof fence
If the fund reaches its $42 million target it would return $2 million a year, Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari chief executive Helen Hughes told Tuesday’s meeting of Waipā District Council’s Maungatautari Reserve Committee.
Hughes was presenting on the Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust trust’s annual operational management plan which council community services manager Brad Ward bought before the committee for approval. The trust’s service agreement with the council includes having the plan approved, Ward said.
“We are replacing segments of the fence as every breach happens, and an average is a 30-year life span,” Hughes said.
She expected the cost of full replacement of the fence protecting 3363 hectares of mountain reserve to be around $40 million – double what it cost to build about 20 years ago.
Parts of the fence are replaced periodically thought the trust’s maintenance programmesometimes it simply involves replacing rivets.
Hughes was responding to a question from Cambridge Ward councillor Roger Gordon who was concerned about the life of the fence and the cost of replacing it.
The trust made a $500,000 loss – most of it in depreciation – in the financial year to June 30 after the Department of Conservation
Notices issued
By Mary Anne Gill
Three Waipā food premises have been issued with improvement notices since October and two in Te Awamutu ordered to close because of unsafe food practices.
The other in Leamington was allowed to remain open.
And an unregistered mobile food business has also been issued with two infringement notices from Waipā District Council.
The notices were issued due to hygiene, food storage and related concerns.
The names of the outlets have been withheld as doing so would “unreasonably prejudice their commercial position,” said manager Karl Tutty.
Tutty said one of the Te Awamutu premises had now complied with the improvement notice and reopened, the other was working through the requirements.
All food businesses must be registered under the Food Act and have a Food Control Plan or a National Programme.
withdrew funding from the project.
When it was set up, the $5000 a day project was funded equally by the conservation department, Waipā District Council and Waikato Regional Council.
Following the loss of funding the trust had shed eight rangers. It is now operating with six, and as a result what Hughes called halo work – trapping predators outside of the predator proof fence – had been cut from the work programme.
The cuts have also pushed her team to their limits at times of storm damage when fallen trees and branches breach the fence and repair work is required quickly.
Hughes shared frustration that the trust’s application for a Lottery Grant for $400,000 had been declined, although it had been encouraged to resubmit a $250,000 application in the New Year.
The trust has also applied for further help from the Department of Conservation and had hired a tourism marketing specialist who was working on raising the project’s profile.
Hughes shared the vision of the project eventually becoming self-funded with the development of a new tour tailored to visitors to Hobbiton and Waitomo and the development of a Kiwi experience.
“We have 3000 kiwi that live on the maunga,” Hughes said. “There will be a point when Maungtautari might become full.”
Maungatautari Ward councillors and committee chair Mike Montgomerie said he regularly heard kiwi from his front door every night.
He described it as “a total taonga”.
The committee unanimously voted to accept the trust’s
More time please
Cambridge’s Chamber of Commerce has told the Waipā District Council it wants 60 minute parking in the town centre extended to 90. The chamber said a survey of retailers supporter more time, but they were divided over 90 and 120 minute limits. Waipā District Council was expected to confirm this week a trial for the new times.
Jockey top again
Waipā jockey James McDonald, soon to join the Cambridge Sports Walk of Fame, has been named the world’s best jockey for the second time in three years. Kaipaki born McDonald received his trophy in Hong Kong last Friday.
Double trouble
The double decker electric bus which was to have been on the Cambridge 20 regional bus service from this week has been delayed due to a power lines issue in Leamington. Driver testing discovered the issue and Waipā Networks will move the lines. The double decker is operating on the Te Awamutu-Kihikihi 24 service.
Lights on
The green space by Cambridge’s Jubilee Gardens – in front of Cambridge Town Hall - will be among town landmarks lit up from Sunday for the festive season.
Helen Hughes says Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust will launch an endowment fund to support the project.
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Chamber to elect new chair
By Mary Anne Gill
Outgoing Cambridge Chamber of Commerce chair
Tracey Olivier has urged the organisation’s board to listen, collaborate and innovate.
“There’s nothing we cannot achieve together,” she told the chamber’s annual meeting last week.
“The best days are still ahead and I’m excited to continue supporting this community, albeit from a different vantage point.”
Olivier has been chair since January 2022 and a new chair will be selected next week at a special meeting.
Homebrew’s Blair Paterson and Lewis Law’s Joanne Jogia were elected onto the board, replacing Jason Tiller and Olivier who retired by rotation.
Chief executive Kelly Bouzaid said the year was a positive and productive one for the chamber.
“Like the wider business community, we are not
It’s
immune to the pressures of rising operational costs.
“We have also observed with great interest, drive and forward-thinking strategies – developed during periods of underutilised capacity –testament to the resilience and adaptability of our business community,” she said in her report to the meeting.
Chamber highlights including the Hautapu Industrial Precinct, work on the Newcombe Rd quarry submission, dairy payout, the recovery of the real estate market and local tradie hook ups.
Bouzaid warned of challenges ahead including traffic congestion, infrastructural needs, workforce shortages and the “ever-evolving” business environment that requires chamber members to stay agile and responsive.
“Addressing these challenges will require strategy and planning. The road ahead will still require patience and perseverance,”
she said.
The chamber’s membership is 380 organisations - 79 new ones were added during the year. Membership and events manager Aroha Croft said the chamber created and hosted 56 events attended by 1736 people.
“Networking remains one of the most visible and impactful aspects of the chamber’s activities,” she said.
Life membership was awarded to Cambridge architect Antanas Procuta during the year.
grand for town hall
By Mary Anne Gill
If it’s true what they say about the pianothat it is the most versatile instrument in the world - then Cambridge Town Hall has been blessed.
The community trust in charge of breathing new life into the town hall has taken possession of a $36,000 grand piano that its general manager insists will “transform” the space.
And it is thanks to the Cambridge Lions and the Lloyd Morgan Charitable Trust that Simon Brew was able to choose a piano befitting its new environment.
The Yamaha C3 may be second-hand but it is ideal for the town hall’s acoustics. Brew did extensive research and consulted pianists before selecting the piano from Japan.
“It ensures a richer, more immersive experience for audiences and performers alike, significantly enhancing the hall’s appeal
for events of all sizes,” said Brew.
Pianos are welcomed in most musical situations because of their versatility and a first rate one is deemed essential by touring acts and musicians.
“Many touring operators and performance organisers specifically request information about a venue’s piano before considering it as a location,” said Brew, a conductor, classical saxophonist, and arts manager who can do a bit of tinkering on the piano himself.
He has already signed the New Zealand Trip and acclaimed pianist John Chen for a concert next year.
Cambridge Lions’ vice president Karen Johnson said the club wanted to ensure top pianists would feel confident performing in the town.
“Having a high-quality piano not only supports their needs but also elevates the hall’s reputation as a serious performance venue.”
Outgoing Cambridge Chamber of Commerce chair Tracey Olivier. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
From left, Town Hall Community Trust’s general manager Simon Brew, Monique Susilla and chair Kirsty Johnson with Lions’ representatives, Ian Crabb (trust chair), Karen Johnson (vice president), Julie Mayes (past secretary) and Brent Montgomerie (past president). Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
Network revived
By Mary Anne Gill
A networking group for Waikato women was launched last week in Hamilton with several Waipā residents signing up.
More than 120 women attended the Waikato Waahine Collective launch at Weave in Innovation Park where North End Law’s Keryn Noorland, a member of the advisory committee, said the aim was to provide a dynamic network to empower and support women at all stages of their career.
“Our collective aims to foster a thriving community where women from diverse fields can connect, learn, and
grow together,” she said.
“We are all passionate about making us a welcoming community for women working in all industries and at all stages of their careers.”
Waikato Chamber of Commerce leads the collective and Marketing and Events manager Rebecca Aston is on the committee.
Waikato had a women’s business network in the past but it “fizzled out,” she said.
“But we’re reinvigorating it today,” and adding a broader scope by empowering and supporting women at all stages of their career and across all professions in the region.
The aim was to become
Waikato’s leading women’s network.
“Our mission is simple. It’s to create opportunities for women to connect, celebrate success and share their experiences through events like this.”
The first event will be in March with a panel discussion and International Women’s Day breakfast at Waikato University followed by a speaker series, which will become the collective’s annual signature event.
“Our plan for this is to create a day where women can connect with one another from all over the Waikato and hear from inspiring speakers,” said Aston.
Pirongia’s Five Stags for sale
By Chris Gardner
Pirongia’s pub is up for sale after its owners failed in a final attempt to get their licence back.
Nora Fu, sole shareholder of Night Pearl Ltd, shut the Five Stags Restaurant and Bar in the middle of the year.
The Waipā District Licensing Committee declined to renew Fu’s licence early this year.
Link Business Waikato real estate agent Therese Bailey-Carter said the business was worth about $1 million but the vendor was open to offers.
“There’s been quite a lot of interest, but it’s about getting the right person in there,” she said.
The community’s social media Facebook page has discussed the announcement.
“It’s been a ridiculous fiasco for too long,” said Peter Bridgland. “Let’s hope the community gets its pub back soon.”
“Hope we get a proprietor who loves the place and knows how to run a successful tavernrestaurant,” said Brian Derbyshire.
“We all want the pub to do well and serve the
community well.” Fu’s appeal to the Alcohol Regulatory and Licencing Authority in June failed after it heard staff continued to serve alcohol on parts of the premises not covered by the licence between hearing dates, the bar served alcohol to an underage drinker during a policeled controlled purchase operation in November 2023, and Fu failed to properly appoint and notify a duty manager.
Earlier, the Employment Relations Authority ordered the company to pay more than $21,000 following the dismissal of an employee.
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Cambridge’s Kristi Paton of the ASB Bank with her colleague Freya Ammon and HDS Ltd’s Keelee Hoskin at the Waikato Waahine Launch.
Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
The Five Stags, pictured in May.
Coles take reins at Grey Power
By Viv Posselt
Cambridge Grey Power’s new president Philip Coles says the town’s growing number of seniors deserve a Grey Power that is reenergised and active in the community.
Coles, who is also a Waipā District councillor, came in as a mid-term appointee a couple of weeks ago. He joined Cambridge Grey Power last year, and now, at age 58, he reckons he is ready to take on the leadership role to help the group better answer the needs of the town’s seniors.
“Year after year we see the older generation showing a high level of interest in the community,” he said last week. “They make up most of our volunteers, and a higher percentage of seniors engage in the electoral process up and down the country.”
He said following the retirement of the group’s previous president David Wilson, there were concerns that if a replacement wasn’t found, the group might collapse.
“After thinking about it for a while, and brushing aside my initial fears of a conflict of interest, I put my name forward and was voted in.”
Although he comes in midterm, Coles takes over with immediate effect and will spend some of the Christmas break looking into new ways to make the group more relevant.
Grey Power differs from other seniors’ groups through its affiliation with the New Zealand Grey Power Federation and its strong advocacy for the wellbeing and welfare of those aged 50 and over. It has no political affiliation but collects the views of seniors and lobbies with government to make changes that might benefit that demographic.
Coles said one of his first steps will be to liaise with other seniors’ groups in Cambridge and see if they couldn’t work more effectively together.
“Are we all trying to do the same sort of things?” he queried.
He is excited at where an
invigorated Senior’s Forum might take Waipā after recent meetings in Cambridge and Te Awamutu set out the first steps in bringing them back.
Coles said he believes the communication he has long enjoyed with the town’s residents, including many living in retirement villages
and other senior facilities, will be a benefit.
“Through my time on the Cambridge Community Board and now council, I have already made a lot of the connections I think I am going to need,” he said. “I’m looking forward to seeing where I can take it.”
A matter of convenience
By Mary Anne Gill
Looking to spend a penny in Waipa?
The district’s most popular public toilets are in Victoria Square, Cambridge and Arawata St in Te Awamutu. They are both either across the road or next to information centres and so are popular stops for visitors.
Counters have been installed in 10 district council lavatory complexes and figures from September and October show the Cambridge town square’s facilities –dubbed Cambridge Superloo when they opened more than 30 years ago – hosted nearly 38,000 people.
The Arawata St toilets came a distant second with 16,000 followed by the ageing Hally’s Lane conveniences in Cambridge with nearly 11,000.
The Super Loo’s popularity is a far cry from eight years ago when the opening of the Waikato Expressway saw visitor numbers plummet prompting the Cambridge Community Board to order the doors shut to save money.
Until then the public was paying 50c per visit and an attendant was permanently on site.
Less than a year later, crumbling to retailer pressure and the increasing visitor numbers, the council agreed to reopen the toilets.
But it no longer cost to spend a penny and access to the shower facilities was with a token purchased across the road in the iSite.
Community Services manager Brad Ward told this week’s Service Delivery committee that knowing how many people visit each public toilet would help with maintenance schedules and an “appropriate” level of service.
The toilets in order of popularity are: Victoria Square, Arawata St, Hally’s Lane, Walton St (Te Awamutu), Kihikihi Main Rd, Keeley’s Reserve, Te Awamutu Events Centre, Albert St (Cambridge), Karāpiro Village, Ōhaupō Main Rd.
Philip Coles is the new man at the top of Cambridge Grey Power.
Photo: Viv Posselt
Brothers shin and wear it
By Rachel Lilburn
Two enterprising Cambridge boys have launched their own afterschool business, combining their passion for football with a flair for creative shin pads.
Lenny, 12, and brother Nate O’Leary, 11, originally from Liverpool, England, say they hope to earn a few dollars while learning about business, design and establishing a brand.
Lenny plays for Cambridge Football Club, while Nate is with Melville United in Hamilton.
Looking to earn some money, the brothers came up with a creative business idea: custom shin pads.
Step one was securing a loan from the “Bank of Mum and Dad”, and step two, watching YouTube tutorials detailing the heat press process. They experienced stages of trial and error as they worked out the process of design and printing.
Lenny says: “Myself and Nate have been learning lots about business, how much we spend, profit tax and things like that. We have been using logos and pictures from google to print onto our shinpads, and now we
are learning about copyright laws.
“We have been putting lots of time and practice into creating our own images and designs to help us grow our business and create our own unique brand.”
The boys have set up an Instagram page to showcase their work.
If anyone wants to have custom shinpads made, Lenny explains the process.
“It’s so easy; you can get in touch with us on our insta page. If you tell us which team you support and which team you play for and any other interests, we can make up a custom design for you.
“You can send us your own pictures of family, friends or even pets which we can put straight onto your shinpads. Using an art programme on our laptop, we can literally create anything you want.”
Lenny explains that once the design has been agreed, the brothers print it onto a special paper, use heatproof tape to secure it to the shinpad blanks, and then it goes into the heat press.
The final step is sticking cushions on the back, packing them up and getting them out the door.
Dad Ryan has been involved alongside when
needed, but he said the project has been driven by the boys. They’ve given shinpads as gifts for birthdays, and
their teammates have started asking for them.
Both boys were selected to be player escorts for an All
Whites international friendly when New Zealand played Malaysia on October 14. They took the opportunity
to give a custom set to Chris Wood of Nottingham Forest and Wellington Phoenix captain Alex Rufer.
No guessing who Nate and Lenny O’Leary support in England…
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Regatta starts
The Lake Karāpiro Christmas regatta which gets underway tomorrow for three days is the largest ever held in New Zealand with more than 2600 rowers competing on the lake. There will be a 2000m race held every four minutes over 10 hours each of the three days, organisers say.
New playgrounds
Designs for a new playground at Whakahaumako Reserve in Keri Rua Road – just before the Kaipaki Rd turnoff in Leamington – have been finalised and construction is underway. Another new playground in the Bridleways Estate, behind Patrick Hogan Ryman Retirement Village, will open in February. Meanwhile Leamington Domain playground renewal and upgrade starts early next year.
Street names
Ngāti Koroki Kahukura and Ngāti Hauā have provided three Kotare Park Developments road names for use in the subdivision off Silverwood Lane in Leamington. Mahi Kaari (gardening), Whakapiki (sustain) and Whakarawe (provide) lanes are a continuation of the gardening theme in the development.
Old oak to go
Two significant tree removals are scheduled for Cambridge, including the removal of a 100-year-old oak tree from Victoria Square and pine trees from the riverbank below the Meadow Walkway. The oak tree, one of the original plantings in Victoria Square, has developed two significant vertical cracks, and was assessed as a safety hazard to people using the park.
Spreading the word
By Viv Posselt
An increasing number of Waipā men are being exposed to potentially life-saving messaging about the dangers of prostate cancer, largely through the efforts of the Cambridge Prostate Cancer Support Group.
The support group falls under the umbrella of the Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand and is run by those who have experience of the disease. Its members urge men, and their partners, to take a proactive approach to their health, and to ensure they have annual prostate checks from the age of 40. It also supports those either undergoing treatment, or who have come out the other side.
Support group co-ordinator Ron Greenwood and his 2IC Ken Methven have been busy over the past few months taking that message to groups and businesses around the region. Just before hosting their final monthly dinner for 2024, they had spent two days talking to staff at Waikeria Prison – it is one of several larger workplaces they have been invited to over the past year.
“We’re getting more and more involved with the community as well,” Greenwood said. They were involved in a men’s health expo earlier this year and were at the recent Cambridge Community House Movember Tradies Breakfast.
“More and more people are aware of the need to catch prostate cancer early and are being proactive in getting themselves checked. At the end of the day, if we can prevent just one death from the disease, it will be good.”
The New Zealand Cancer Registry reports that every year more than 4000 men are diagnosed with the disease
and more than 700 of them die. One in eight will develop it during their lifetime.
Greenwood said that from what he hears on the ground, that figure is probably more than one in eight.
The support group is also finding an increasing number of members joining the regular exercises classes it holds.
Members attending the last support group dinner meeting for the year heard from guest speaker, New Zealand rower Ben Taylor.
Taylor was reserve for the men’s squad at the Paris Olympics and he spoke about his training schedule and hopes for the next games.
CAMBRIDGE VOLUNTEER FIRE BRIGADE CALLS OVER THE LAST WEEK
TUESDAY
11:18pm, Smoke from ceiling, Scott Street
WEDNESDAY
10:46am, Building alarm and evacuation, Alpha Street
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
8:16am, MVA car vs power pole, Cambridge Road 9:06am, Trees on fire, Mystery Creek Road
FRIDAY 9:04am, Building Alarm, Thornton Road
9:55am, Cardiac Arrest, Bryce Street 1:09pm, Building Alarm and evacuation, Ruakura Road 11:56pm, Building Alarm and evacuation, Hautapu Road
SUNDAY 9:54am, Medical, Cardiac Arrest, Tauwhare Road 6:57pm, Smoke alarm sounding, Hall Street
MONDAY
FRIDAY 8:42am, Building Alarm and evacuation. Maungatautari Road
SUNDAY 3:53am, Medical assistance, Karapiro Road
1:34am, Vegetation fire, Otorohanga Road, Otorohanga 7:11am, Building Alarm, Duke Street 1:43pm, Single carm MVA, Chesterton Drive 2:25pm, 3 vehicle MVA, Victoria Road
Ron Greenwood, left, and Ken Methven flank New Zealand rower Ben Taylor at the support group’s final dinner for the year. Photo: Viv Posselt
Trans-Tasman rower exchange
Rowers from St Peter’s School in Cambridge spent a week in Australia last week and are now hosting their Australian compatriots in readiness for a Lake Karāpiro regatta this weekend.
The 28 senior rowers stayed at Shore School in Sydney, trained on the Paramatta River and competed in the Rowing New South Wales Reindeer Regatta and NSW Sprints at the Sydney International Regatta Centre.
The Regatta Centre was the home of the 2000 Sydney Olympic rowing events.
The visit is the first since Covid restricted travel.
Two parents and four staff escorted the group who had the opportunity to have surf lessons in Manly, visited the Sydney Aquarium, Madame Tussauds wax museum, and explored the Blue Mountains.
St Peter’s and Shore School in Sydney have a reciprocal relationship where accommodation and boats are offered to the visiting school.
Shore rowers are staying at St Peter’s preparing for the Christmas Regatta.
ON SHAKY GROUND
Why we need social sciences
By Janine Krippner
As a scientist who studies the world we live in and how it impacts us, I deeply value the social sciences.
Join a week of celebrationsMonday 9 December to Monday 16 December 2024
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It is human involvement that turns a hazard into a disaster. When we have a large eruption, earthquake, storm, or tsunami, but it impacts no people, it is not a disaster. So if we change our behaviours, we can reduce the impacts of our natural hazards.
When it comes to behaviours and society, we need the experts who study them to guide us. We need social scientists to tell us how to effectively help communities.
During preparedness, response, and recovery stages we all have different needs depending on who we are and how we make our way through life. Children have different needs to healthy adults, to the elderly, disabled, or pregnant. We must consider different cultures and beliefs, financial means, coping skills, the diverse needs of farmers and businesses, and the stuff in life that make things harder. Humans are incredibly complex and just being one does not make us experts.
of how volcanoes work, but if we cannot use this knowledge to guide and assist communities that would be impacted by them what is the point?
We must understand how people respond to our advice, such as the decision processes people work through when facing evacuations. They challenge our assumptions and help us to ask better questions.
Have you ever felt frustrated at how an event has been handled? This is where the social scientists come in. Social scientists help us anticipate community needs and what support is required so that disaster response is more effective. Living in a country with an array of weather and geological hazards we should all be able to appreciate that.
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As an example, in volcanology an important tool for communicating volcanic hazards are hazard maps. We have been making these around the world for quite some time, showing what areas could be impacted by what processes (for example, lahar and pyroclastic flow). In more recent times, social scientists have worked with volcanologists to identify how people understand these maps and what information people need. If we are providing information that people are not using or do not understand, we as scientists need to do better.
We can strive to understand every aspect
Understanding the human part of the equation is absolutely critical in making our communities more resilient to the natural hazards that we will face, and in helping us to recover faster when they strike. In financial terms, being more resilient and recovering faster means we spend much less money in the end. We need to spend the money first to help ourselves in the long run. Historically the social sciences fields have got some flak for not being a “real science”, but this is incorrect and honestly a bit silly. When you are in a crisis, you need people to understand your specific needs and how you can best be helped. Why would we downplay the field of science that does just that? The field that strives to understand how our society works deserves our respect and our support, and they certainly have mine.
Sydney experience for these St Peter’s under 18 girls’ squad rowers, from left Zara O’Leary, Regan Wright, Lucy Crampton, Kate Gardner, Olivia Henry, Abby Wilson, Caitlyn Silcock, Zoe Philips. Front: Molly McClintock and Sophie Hunter.
The real ‘heart’ of Christmas
By Murray Smith, Bridges Church
Recent wrestling over the Treaty Principles Bill has stirred up some unfortunate engagements around reinterpreting Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Beyond debate is the historical record of painful breaches by government that have dishonoured the Treaty’s intent almost from its signing. Reconciliation would be greatly assisted by revisiting history at face-value without revisionism. The story of the Treaty of Waitangi, why and how it came into being in 1840, is one of our momentous milestones. Allowing further drift from the original spirit of this founding covenant, given the opportunity for grace and peace that it affords our nation, would be tragic.
Waitangi and Pēwhairangi (The Bay of Islands) have often hosted such grace. At Oihi Bay on Christmas Day 1814 the Gospel of grace (Te Rongopai) was first declared. This locality pre-eminently figures in the history of Aotearoa - here many of our nation’s significant beginnings were witnessed.
In 1805, Ruatara, a young Ngāpuhi chief followed his penchant for travel signing up as a sailor on a whaling ship. It is said he desired to meet with King George lll. Sadly, he was cheated and ended up stranded in Sydney the following year. Nevertheless, after signing up on another ship he reached London in 1809. Ruatara noted with great interest, English agricultural practices. He also ‘happened’ to meet English clergyman, Samuel Marsden before returning to New Zealand in 1812. At the time these events perhaps appeared random and inconsequential, yet hindsight suggests they were ‘providential.’
Ruatara’s mana resulted in his people welcoming Marsden onto Ngāpuhi land. Thus 210 years ago on Christmas Day 1814, at
Oihi Bay, pākeha preacher Marsden used a cut down canoe as a makeshift pulpit to read from the Bible with Ruatara translating for a curious crowd.
“I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people…”(Luke 2:10).
What was healing about this message of ‘good news’ and could it really, as claimed, bridge divides bringing great joy to all people?
This was the good news first announced to a seemingly insignificant Jewish girl called Mary, from the humblest of backgrounds. An Angel announced startling news that she would conceive a child supernaturally. This baby was Jesus the Saviour, God’s Son sent to live among humanity - the perfect and exact expression of God Himself. His death and resurrection made wholeness possible for people of all nations, reconciling fractured humanity to God and one another.
The good news in the Christmas message is that a gift is offered… the gift of a ‘fresh start’… the chance to start over.
There’s brokenness in us all. We’re disposed to wrongdoing and making bad choices. The resulting regret, shame and frustration of someone’s past life, need not prescribe their future.
The Christmas story describes the Saviour’s coming. That first proclamation of Te Rongopai in Aotearoa over 200 years ago, declared the grace that Christ’s birth heralds. God’s ‘treaty’ extending reconciliation and forgiveness to all. This message carries undiminished power today for everyone who embraces it.
The year that was
By Peter Carr
Conscious that this is my last opinion offering for 2024 I have elected to be a little reflective with a wee touch of future thinking.
This has been – and continues to be – a turbulent year.
Politically it’s been rather messy, a huge list of promises not yet achieved, a rather silly tit-for-tat series of exchanges where the political authors know they can do better.
A socio-economic picture hints at third world experiences coupled with a mad scrambling to grow trees on land that is ideal for ‘proper’ farming - in the name of some foggy carbon credit idealism that many countries ignore. The idealism of the Paris agreement long gone despite all the rhetoric that abounds.
The Green Party, staggering from intradestructive embarrassment, the Māori Party showing their true colours and a tripartite political governance that struggles to hold together promises.
Back in 1993 I voted against MMP and still maintain that we were – and still are – going down a path which, when coupled with three-year parliaments, aids an appearance of little hope for our younger people.
My 16-year-old grandson who is achieving well at school shocked me with a statement that he doubts if he will ever be able to own a house.
Possibly the best advice I can give him – which grieves me – is that he looks at purchasing an Australian residence. Reading we are short of nurses, yet nursing graduates are turned away by employers just does not resonate for me.
And we now hear the Post Office is planning a major reduction in delivery
BE SWITCHED ON TO SAFETY THIS SUMMER
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services, possibly culling 300 outlets.
And we are about to lurch into about seven weeks of television darkness as regard current affairs
. The regular (and popular) Q&A has shut down until late January (or possibly beyond).
In the week prior to Christmas the now monopolistic TV1 will withdraw all morning news efforts until late January.
Imagine if the editors of the major dailies decided to take five weeks off from their regular work?
Yet freely distributed organs like the one you are currently reading only take a short break despite a very large number of them being culled at this moment.
But there must be some light at the end of the tunnel – even if we cannot find the entrance to it.
The pundits would have us believe that we move in cycles – which is partly correct – but the centres of the cycles keep lowering on each round.
My hope is always that there must be a brighter future for our young people.
I was enthralled by the frenzied dancing, singing and stamping of an intermediate school’s Māori group last week at Waipa council’s annual mayoral social and explanatory function.
Girls standing on the floor with the boys on the stage behind. The stomping by the boys’ feet was so thundering I feared for the safety of the stage floor.
But several people around me despaired at the waving of the (wrongly named) Māori flag by one of the students. Look up for power lines
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Thousands queue for Tryathlon
By Mary Anne Gill
A post-event review will be held to work out how to improve access and transit times to a huge competition at a Cambridge venue which resulted in long Waikato Expressway queues on Sunday.
The Weetbix Tryathlon attracted 2012 children aged 6-15 years to St Peter’s School on the western outskirts of Cambridge but the bulk of them used the Expressway to get there and the queues were described by many as horrendous.
Parents spoken to by The News said the biggest log jam came for south bound traffic at the first Cambridge turnoff rather than the Hautapu one.
Entrants were encouraged to get there early – the venue opened at 7am and a transition area for bicycles closed at 8.15am. The first races got
underway at 9am.
Sanitarium NZ general manager Michael Barton said he understood some families experienced delays.
“We understand that despite every effort taken to prepare attendees for possible traffic impacts for the new venue, some families still experienced minor delays on the day.
“Although frustrating for those impacted, the event ran as planned and Sanitarium has received significant positive feedback from attendees and participants who shared they had a great time.”
Hamilton competitors dominated the entries with 45 per cent – about 900 – followed by Cambridge, Tamahere, Te Awamutu, Morrinsville, Matamata and Ōhaupō. There was even a contingent of 32 from Auckland.
This was the first year St Peter’s had
hosted the Hamilton leg. Before that it was held at Waikato University but the closure of the pool there prompted organisers go look for another venue.
St Peter’s was chosen as the next best venue.
Since the event started in 1992, the event has attracted half a million participants.
Organisers worked with the school and traffic control staff to plan and manage the flow of traffic. They created digital display boards, told people to expect delays and allocated a large parking area adjacent to the school for parking.
“As part of our standard processes we will work with our event planning and execution partners to consider additional ways that access and transit times could potentially be improved should we explore returning to this venue in the future,” said Barton.
It’s a top racquet
By Mary Anne Gill
Cambridge Racquets Club has so much to celebrate, members decided to make an afternoon out of it.
The club recently won club of the year in two sports – tennis and squash.
Plus, club manager Suzie Halliday – who joined two years ago after nine years at Waipā District Council – picked up the Waikato Tennis administrator of the year award, Mike Causer won best volunteer and Annabel Chapman player of the year.
It was quite a haul, said Halliday, and a testament to the club’s hard working committee and members’ support.
So why not celebrate? And on Sunday, they will where invitees can play tennis, squash or the brash newcomer, pickleball. That club commitment is about to be put to the test as it embarks on a $2 million fundraising drive to upgrade its Thornton Rd clubrooms.
Cambridge architect and near neighbour Antanas Procuta has created concepts which makes use of one of its biggest assets – a deck offering a panoramic view of the tennis courts.
The plans also provide for new sports and activity lounges, plus tiered pavilion seating.
The site has been home to tennis since 1888 and in 1963 added squash to the mix. The club has 500 members and there are eight tennis courts – four astro turf and three plexipave with another available to the public - and four squash courts.
The club honours boards and photos are
a who’s who of Cambridge society and will somehow be retained, said Halliday who when not administering the club is a pretty handy B grade squash player.
Most nights there is something happening on the floodlit tennis courts – men’s on a Tuesday, women’s or mixed on a Wednesday and women’s on Thursday.
The men’s league is one of the most competitive leagues in the Waikato, said Halliday.
And in recent months a newly formed facilities committee has been politically active making a submission to Waipā District Council’s spatial plan Ahu Ake. The club leases the land from the council and says the council could help further by providing safer access, more parking, better connections between it and the other clubs on the Te Koo Utu reserve and more commercial flexibility.
The Best Heat Pump Solution
Zak’s ton wraps up the derby
By Steph Bell-Jenkins
Cambridge High School year 10 student Zak Anderson wrapped up his junior cricket season in style on Saturday afternoon, smashing 102 off 79 balls before retiring not out.
The ton helped his Colts team chalk up an impressive 258-run total off 40 overs in their end-of-season clash against Cambridge High’s other year 9-10 side, the Junior XI.
After watching his son in sizzling form, Anderson’s father Innes also came to the party, cranking up the barbecue for lunch. Players and their supporters demolished 70 sausages over the day, and a giant chocolate cake added to the festive atmosphere.
With full bellies, the Junior XI replied with 148 run off 37.5 overs.
Sid Manuvimal, who cocaptained the Junior XI with Rikki Cameron, was upbeat.
“It was nice, they were a very friendly team and it made the atmosphere very fun to play in,” he said.
He also put in his best batting performance of the
season in the local derby, coming in at number seven to score 13 runs off 53 balls.
“I’ve had a horrible season so far with my batting, a high score of three, so coming out here against a really important team and hitting my high score felt really good,” he said.
Colts captain Kaleb Barr was pleased his side, mostly made up of year 10
players who will graduate to senior cricket next year, had finished their season on a high.
“It was a good send off for the year 10s and hopefully we’ll be in the same team next year,” he said.
“It was just an enjoyment to have this team and to play with the boys.”
• More photos, see cambridgenews.nz.
Leamington Primary School had a good contingent taking part in the Tryathlon including, from left Zayden Rich, 9, Oliver Metcalfe, 10, Madden Connors, 8, Oscar Jones, 9 and Hunter Borsos, 9. More photos cambridgenews.nz
Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
Zak Anderson donned wicket keeping gloves for his Colts side after scoring an unbeaten century on Saturday.
Cambridge Racquets Club manager Suzie Halliday on the deck which has been kept on new plans for the club house. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
It takes a village to raise a child and we thank you for your support
Thank you for all your work with tamariki and rangatahi
The Cambridge Lifeskills Trust Board wishes to thank our Clinical Leader Sandy Wesford for her dedication throughout 2024 and her leadership of our team of counsellors. We especially want to acknowledge our counsellors and child play therapist - thank you all for the work you do with tamariki and rangatahi in your work for Cambridge Lifeskills. We wish you a safe and peaceful Christmas.
175
The total number of referrals in 2024 to date.
The average number of sessions per client is: 1215 plus meetings with parents/caregivers. Every week during school term time between 35 and 50 young people receive counselling or child play therapy in our Cambridge public schools.
Our 2024 Board
Marilynn Jones & Tina-Maree Thatcher – Co-Chairpersons
Sandy Wesford – Manager/Clinical Leader
Steff McNamara – Secretary
Larissa Gamble – Treasurer
John Bullick - Personnel
Sherry Herkes - Personnel
Kim Budd - Principal Representative
Shaun Higgins – Funding & Community Liaison
Phil MacKay– Funding & Community Liaison
The number of referrals we have already waiting to start in 2025.
Donate today and help us:
W: cambridgelifeskills.co.nz 11
Thank you also to our Club 83 supporters for your ongoing support and generosity. We also acknowledge our amazing sponsors who prefer to remain anonymous - thank you so much for your support of our work.
At Cambridge Lifeskills, every donation—big or small— helps provide vital free counselling for school-aged children in Cambridge. Your support enables us to offer young people the guidance they need to overcome challenges, improve their mental health, and thrive. No contribution is too small; together, we can make a lasting impact on the lives of local children.
ANZ: 06-0301-0229802-00
Please give your name or business name as a reference, as we would like to acknowledge your support.
Cambridge Lifeskills are here to help
This year our counsellors have addressed a range of issues with clients on a regular basis. Some of the common issues are:
• Anger management
• Anxiety and stress
• Emotional dysregulation
• Friendship issues
• Self-worth
• Grief
• Parental separation issues and blended families
• Dyslexia
• Neuro-diversity
• Self-Harm
• Bullying
Our counsellors remain committed to providing support and guidance, helping clients navigate these challenges and work toward emotional well-being and personal growth.
56 Queen Street, , Cambridge 3434
P: 021 190 1760
E: info@cambridgelifeskills.co.nz
Thank you to Cambridge Real Estate – our Foundation Sponsor – for your continued loyalty and support of our work. Your ongoing commitment has been instrumental in helping us provide essential counselling services to local children. We deeply appreciate your partnership and couldn’t do this important work without you. Your support truly makes a difference in the lives of many.
Our sponsors and supporters
On behalf of Cambridge Lifeskills, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our generous sponsors and supporters. Your continued commitment and partnership are invaluable to the success of our organisation, and we deeply appreciate the positive impact you help us make in the lives of those we serve.
Thank you to all of our Product Sponsors, who all go above and beyond with their generous support of Cambridge Lifeskills. Please support these businesses if you can.
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Seasons Greetings HOLIDAY HOURS 2024-2025
We
Find out when your favourite businesses will be open. Shop Local this holiday season!
20st Dec - 7th Jan 2024
Closed for the stats otherwise open for you Landscape supplies bring your greenwaste too
Our offices will close for the Christmas break on Friday 20 December 2024 and will open on Monday 6 January 2025 with a skeleton staff. Full staff will return Monday 13 January 2025.
The team at Lewis Lawyers wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year
Experienced professionals. Local specialists. Quality advice.
The Accounted4 Team wishes all our clients and business contacts a very Merry Christmas and a Safe, Prosperous and Happy New Year!
The Accounted4 Team wishes all our clients and business contacts a very Merry Christmas and a Safe, Prosperous and Happy New Year!
Thank you for your business and support in 2023 and we look forward to working with you all in 2024. Our office will be closed from 3pm Friday 22 December, re-opening 8.30am Monday 15 January.
Thank you for your business and support in 2024 and we look forward to working with you all in 2025. Our office will be closed from 4pm Friday 20 December, re-opening 8.30am Monday 13 January.
Cambridge Christmas Cheer Committee members, Amy Watkins, far left, Annette Willis, Marie Payne, left front, and Julie Epps, far right, were presented with a $1000 donation by Accounted4 Director Geoff Hurst and Business Manager Christine Stevenson. The donation is in lieu of client gifts and goes towards food welfare for needy families in the Cambridge community at Christmas time.
Cambridge Christmas Cheer Committee members, from back left, Julie Epps and Amy Watkins and, from front left, Marie Payne and Annette Peake, were presented with a $1000 donation by Accounted4 Director Kim Antonio, back right, and Business Manager, Christine Stevenson, front right. This donation is given in lieu of client gifts to bring some joy to needy local Cambridge families at Christmas.
Seasons Greetings HOLIDAY HOURS 2024-2025
CambridgeTiles would like to take this opportunity to thank all our clients for their continued support throughout 2024.
We will be closing on Friday 20 December 2024 @ midday and reopen on Monday 13 January 2025 @ 8am.
We would like to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year for 2025!
- Julie & Paul
We will be closing on Friday 22 December and re-opening Monday 8 January 2024 On call sta will be available through the break for urgent refrigeration breakdowns.
250 437 Rickit Road, Te Awamutu
• Monday 23rd Dec 8am-8pm
• Tuesday 24th Dec 8am-6pm
• Wednesday 25th Dec 9am-1pm
• Thursday 26th Dec 9am-3pm
• Friday 27th Dec 8am-8pm
• Saturday 28th Dec 9am-3pm
• Sunday 29th Dec 9am-3pm
• Monday 30th Dec 8am-8pm
• Tuesday 31st Dec 8am-6pm
• Wednesday 1st Jan 9am-1pm
• Thursday 2nd Jan 9am-3pm
• Friday 3rd Jan 8am-6pm
• Saturday 4th Jan 9am-3pm
• Sunday 5th Jan 9am-3pm
CountryLife
DECEMBER 2024
Dairy farmers grow natives
By Chris Gardner
Dairy farmers Dave Swney and Alice Trevelyan turned to growing native plants to earn a secondary income to complement their farm.
Trevelyan drew on her experience as a Waikato Regional Council catchment management officer four seasons ago to turn the tennis court on the family farm between Te Awamutu and Ōtorohanga into a native plant nursery.
The enterprise puts the couple among 26 per cent of farmers a recent survey revealed were supplementing their farming business with non-farming income.
The Native Dairy Farmer, as they called their add on business, is in its fourth season growing around 30,000 plants per year, predominantly for use in riparian plantings schemes on farms.
“It was getting harder and harder to be able to run your own farm,” Sweny, a former DairyNZ field officer, said.
“We knew we had to think outside of the box a little bit. If we could do something that was not dairy farming it was a win,” he added.
“When we started the Native Dairy Farmer things were tough financially so any extra dollar of income, we could generate through this other revenue stream was invaluable,” Trevelyan said.
“Like any new business it has been tough to get started and create a customer base, however now we have a couple of years under our belt we have developed some really cool relationships with our customers.”
“The pressure on the Native Dairy Farmer to produce a profit has been a true reality.”
The native nursery, with its irrigation system, allowed Trevelyan to leave her council job and mother two boys – Walter, aged two, and Rex, aged one.
Orders come in large and small.
“They buy five plants, or 1000,” Trevelyan said of her clients.
“A big part of my role is working with farmers to improve environmental best practice.”
She said she didn’t know a farmer who was not interested in improving the environment. In the last three seasons the pair have turned
to providing their natives in biodegradable pots, meaning farmer do not have to remove and recycle plastic pots when planting, halving planting time.
Riparian planting improves water quality, reduces erosion, lowers water temperature, and increases biodiversity on farms.
“Alice and I are strategic partners,” Swney said.
The couple welcomed Fonterra record Farmgate Milk Price forecast of $10 per kilogramme of milksolids, but as Olam Food Ingredients (OFI) suppliers will wait until the end of the year to learn how it has affected their milk price.
Fonterra raised the 2024-25 season forecast by 50c on December 5.
“Great to see payout looking stronger for the 23-24 season. It is welcome news after a couple of tough seasons,” Trevelyan said.
“With improvement in milk price and a reduction in interest rates it means we can catch up on some capital improvements, repair and maintenance and debt reduction that have been put on hold for the last couple of years.
“OFI will review our milk price based on data at the end of each month.”
OFI opened a dairy processing plant in Tokoroa last November.
“It was just right for us and our family,” Swney said.
The couple are contract milking 410 Jersey cross cows producing 190,000 kilograms of milksolids on a 124ha dairy farm between Ōtorohanga and Te Awamutu on Ōtorohanga Road. They are in an equity partnership with Swney’s parents Phill and Deb who has owned the farm for 35 years. The farm also employs second in command Jayson Jacinto and farm assistant Boota Singh.
Swney, who also sits on the national committee of Smaller Milk and Supply Herds (Smash), prefers to graze calves on the property for their first year rather than send them off farm.
He grows 10 hectares of maize and five hectares of chicory and lost some to hungry insects earlier in the season.
“We milk every cow once a day when she calves until we are happy with her eating and appetite (gut fill), typically seven to 10
Native Dairy Farmer owners Alice Trevelyan and Dave Swney enjoy their
with their boys Walter, aged two, and Rex, aged one
days post calving,” Swney said.
“Both herds are then milked twice a day until the heat starts to ramp up around Christmas when we put the young cows on once-a-day milking for the rest of the season. The other herd continues to be milked twice a day but kept close to the cowshed.”
“We have a long skinny farm,” Trevelyan said.
“Because of that we do things a bit differently,” Swney added. They have also installed a feed pad at the approach to the milking shed to give their herd a boost.
native nursery
‘Shovel’ jobs done well
By Stu Kneebone, Waipā-King Country Councillor
Waikato Regional Council recently closed down its “Shovel Ready Programme” of work, following a successful completion of a number of relatively significant projects that delivered considerable benefit to our region.
As background, as part of the response to Covid 19, the government of the day called for interest in what they termed “Shovel ready” infrastructure and environmental restoration projects that would stimulate the construction and environmental economy, provide public and regional benefit and create jobs.
The regional council applied for and received grant funding for more than 20 hard infrastructure and environmental projects. Because of the nature of the accountability requirements for this funding and the size of the work programme in the Waikato region, council established a specific project to manage and oversee this work over the four years it ran for. The project was a combination of environmental and infrastructure works across the region. Key outcomes from an environmental perspective included over 1.6 million native plants in the ground, over 660 hectares of land not suitable for livestock retired, 127 hectares of wilding pine control and the creation of a nationally significant wetland for wading birds.
The hard infrastructure projects included upgrading of some of our flood protection stopbanks and constructing two fish friendly pump stations. This amounted to a programme of works totalling nearly $60 million, and the council received $30 million in grant funding from the government. This “shovel ready” work programme met and in many cases exceeded the original targets set. Over 200 full time equivalent jobs were created, with a big focus on employing Iwi local to the various projects.
Throughout this programme, the regional council was able to demonstrate its ability to deliver and create constructive relationships with central government agencies, which will support the exploration of future funding opportunities with central government for projects and work programmes that can benefit the Waikato.
The council is now underway with planning for its 2025-26 annual plan budget. Councils are required to project a Long Term Plan budget every three years, and an annual plan in the intervening two years, which provides an opportunity to make amendments in response to changed circumstances.
There are a number of issues that have arisen since the Long Term Plan was signed off. A few key ones are The release of the National Land Transport Programme which sets out how Waka Kotahi-NZTA will work with its partners to invest in the land transport system.
NZTA has produced a discussion document on increasing the private share of public transport operating expenditure – this will be a key ingredient of council’s decision making with regards to what percentage of bus running costs are met by passenger fares verses rating.
Another issue is the government’s pause to the requirement for farmers to have freshwater farm plans. There are a number of other issues as well, and council will be working through these over the coming months, with a view to adopting a final annual plan budget by June 24, 2025
Confidence bounces
By Chris Gardner
Farmer confidence is lifting with beef, sheep and dairy prices.
Sheep and beef are fetching an estimated 30 per cent more at stock sales compared to last year, said PGG Wrightson sheep and beef rep for Piopio and Te Kuiti Bill Harrison.
Dairy giant Fonterra raised the midpoint of the 2024/25 season forecast Farmgate Milk Price by 50 cents to a record $10 per kilogram of milksolids on December 5 less than a month after lifting the midpoint to $9.50 on November 11.
The lift in fortunes follows Federated Farmers national president Wayne Langford’s revelation that farmer confidence was at a record low.
Harrison said the sheep and beef market was up around 30 per cent
Wools of New Zealand national wool manager Simon Averill said the market had been steady for the last few sales. Confidence was improving, especially with positive forecasts coming out for both the beef and lamb markets.
Roto-o-Rangi dairy farmer and Fonterra Co-Operative Council member Andrew Myers welcomed Fonterra’s
record Farmgate Milk Price.
“I have talked to one or two dairy farmers, and they are over the moon. There are signs that things are improving. We are just happy that we can contribute to our communities.”
John Hayward
Ongoing compliance costs had hurt farmers, he said.
Upon hearing the news of a record Farmgate Milk Price, Open Country Dairy supplier
John Hayward said: “That’s pretty cool news, isn’t it?
It’s positive for the whole community.”
Open Country Dairy had paid him $8.81 per kilogram of milk solids last month and he was
using the capital to pay off farm debt. He was expecting further rises as Open Country Dairy generally paid more than Fonterra. Sharefarming Consultants founder Louise Gibson cautioned restraint, urging farmers to use the opportunity to reduce debt and invest in tools that drive efficiency.
“Next year is not the year to rush out into a variable order sharemilking agreement without testing your budgets against historic lows - think $5 or less - or rush into taking on too much debt just in case this is a repeat of cycles of years gone by,” she said.
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DRAINAGE
Celebrate with seafood
Summer isn’t summer without seafood— and it is the perfect pick-me-up after all those enjoyable, but heavy, indulgences of the festive season. And seafood is the taste of good heath packed with high-quality protein, omega-3, a variety of B vitamins, several minerals and usually very little fat. However, the number of calories consumed will depend entirely on how the fish is prepared. Fish dipped in batter and fried has 1270 kilojoules (303 kilocalories) per 100 grams whereas the same amount of fish baked has 519 kilojoules or 124 kilocalories. When shopping for fish, buy the best species available on the day rather than deciding on a particular fish ahead of time. Many different varieties of fish can be adapted to the same recipe. Ideally, fish should be kept on ice instore — or on chilled trays — in a cold atmosphere with air circulating around it. Once you’re home, unwrap the fish and rinse quickly under cold water. Pat it dry with paper towels then have a sniff. The smell should have a fresh, ocean-like quality, not sour or sharp. Store the fish on a clean plate covered loosely with baking paper in the refrigerator.
Consume within 12-24 hours of purchase, depending on the variety.
Salmon with lemon & asparagus
500g salmon fillet
4-6 spears asparagus, trimmed
1 large red-skinned potato, finely diced
2 spring onions, diced
1 lemon
2-3 tablespoons dry white wine
freshly ground salt and black pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Using tweezers, remove the pin bones from the salmon. Cut any thick spears of asparagus in half lengthwise. Cut the asparagus into 3cm lengths. Combine with the potato and spring onions.
Cut a sheet of wide foil large enough to enclose the salmon completely. Lightly oil the dull side of the foil. Place 4 thin slices of lemon in the centre. Place the salmon on top. Top with the vegetables, allowing the excess spill onto the foil. Sprinkle with the wine and seasonings.
Bring the two sides of the foil together in the middle and fold the edges over to seal. Continue to fold the seam until it’s within 2cm of the fillet. Fold both ends over to hold in the juices. Make sure there is a little space for the steam to circulate in the packet. Place in a large roasting dish or on a baking tray. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the fish is done. Allow the package to stand for a few minutes before serving. Serves 3-4.
Steamed fish cabbage wrap
Large iceberg lettuce leaves could be substituted for the Chinese cabbage leaves.
250g-300g skinned and boned thick white fish fillets
4 large Chinese cabbage leaves
Marinade: 1/4 cup good orange juice
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 teaspoons sambal oeleck
1 teaspoon finely chopped lemon grass
Sauce: 1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon grated root ginger
2 tablespoons rice bran oil
1/4 cup coconut milk
salt and pepper to taste
Cut the fish to create 2 equal servings. To prepare the cabbage leaves, remove a small triangle of stalk from each end so they will lie flat. Bring the water to boil in a wok and quickly blanch the leaves. Refresh in cold water then pat dry.
Combine the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add the fish and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
To make the sauce, sauté the onion, garlic and ginger in the oil until soft. Add the coconut milk and seasonings.
To cook the fish, lay 2 cabbage leaves on a flat surface,
overlapping slightly. Repeat with the other 2 leaves. At the top end, place a piece of the fish. Drizzle each with 2 tablespoons of the marinade. Roll up folding in the sides. This will make 2 wraps. Reserve the remaining marinade.
Pour about 3cm of hot water into the wok. Place a cake rack or trivet in the wok at least 4cm above the water. Place the wraps on the rack. (Precooked kumara pieces can be place on the rack to reheat at the same time.) Cover and steam for about 8 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish. Add the reserved marinade to the sauce and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Remove the wraps from the wok, drain briefly on paper towels and serve topped with the sauce. Serves 2.
Seafood & nectarine salad
Salsa: 3-4 firm but ripe nectarines, stoned and thinly sliced or cubed
1/2 red capsicum, diced
1/4 cup each: sliced basil, chopped coriander
1 teaspoon diced chilli salt and pepper to taste squeeze lime juice
Fish: 3 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon each: sugar, grated root ginger, crushed garlic 600-700g skinned and bone thick fish fillets spray olive oil
Combine the ingredients for the salad in a bowl. Combine the teriyaki sauce, olive oil, sugar, ginger and garlic. Brush over the fish.
Spray a non-stick frying pan with oil. Pan-fry the fish for about 2-3 minutes each side or until cooked to your preference. Serve topped with the salad. Serves 4.
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BRINKWORTH, Robert (Robin) – Passed away peacefully on the 4th of December 2024 aged 89 years at Ultimate Care Oakdale, Cambridge. Dearly beloved son of the late Bob and Minnie Brinkworth, brother of Lewis and Ann, and uncle of Raymond.
CLARK, Marie Rangiwaerea
– Passed away peacefully at home on Thursday, 28th November 2024, aged 66 years. Dearly loved by all her whānau, Marie will be deeply missed by everyone whose lives she touched. Special thanks to all those who attended the tāngi, and for the love and support shown to the family during this time. As per Marie’s wishes, a private tāngi has been held. All communications to the Clark Family, c/- 3 Hallys Lane, Cambridge 3434.
FOSTER, Millie nee Marshall – Passed away peacefully at Waikato Hospital on Wednesday 4 December 2024, in her 95th year. Wife of the late Frank and former wife of the late Alf Williams. Much loved mother of Jocelyn, Eric, Paul and the late Kevin. Adored Nana of Kerryn, Melanie, Catherine and Kennedy and great nana of six. In accordance with Millie’s wishes, a private service has taken place.
JENKINS, James Lesley
(Jim) – Passed away peacefully at Bupa St Kilda Care Home on Thursday, 5th December 2024, aged 97 years. Father of Suzanne, and cherished godfather to Chris and Sarah. A dear friend to Lyal. Jim, a respected jockey and horse trainer, has now run his last race. The family extends their heartfelt gratitude to the staff of Bupa St Kilda for their exceptional care and kindness over the past eight months. At Jim's request, a private farewell has taken place. A memorial gathering to celebrate Jim's life will be held at the Rangiriri Hotel, with the date to be announced. All communications to the Jenkins Family, c/- 3 Hallys Lane, Cambridge 3434.
MILTON, Alan John –Born 18 February 1936, passed away peacefully on 3 December 2024. Beloved husband of Gill, father of Claire (deceased), Richard and Ruth. Grandfather to Amelia, Calvin, Jono and Maddy, and father-in-law to Simon and Pippa. Alan will be greatly missed and forever in our hearts. A funeral service to celebrate Alan's life has been held. Special thanks to the staff at Bupa St Kilda Care Home, Cambridge, for taking such good care of Alan.
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Call for Trustee
The Waipa Community Facilities Trust have a current board vacancy and are calling to the public for registrations of interest for a New Trustee.
The Charitable Trust was established to enhance the health and well-being of Waipa District communities by promoting the effective and efficient provision, development and operation of community facilities (Livingstone Aquatic Centre and Perry Aquatic Centre) and programmes throughout the District.
The position is voluntary and trustees are expected to attend 11 meetings per year, as well as the Trust AGM.
Please send your CV and cover letter to the Secretary ruby@offsiteadmin.co.nz
