The Wainuiomata Lions are the 2024 Wellington Rugby League champions after they defeated St George Dragons 40-30 on 10 August. This gave the Lions the Appleton Shield for the second year in a row, their
back-to-back championships since 1991-92.
Continued on page 2.
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Extra time victory for the Lions
Continued from page 1
It took both a major comeback and an extra time allotment after the scores were tied at 30-30 at full time.
St George began the first half in the ascendancy and scored three converted tries to take an 18-0 lead with nine minutes left in the first half.
The Dragons had dominated much of the first 30 minutes of the match, but the Lions came to life to score their first points when fullback Joshua Onekawa dotted down after 36 minutes.
Rhemus Rutene kicked the goal to cut the deficit to 12 points.
With just seconds remaining in the half Isiah Tuari scored a try which Rhemus duly converted to cut the deficit to six points.
Ten minutes into the second half
Rhemus scored a fine try for the Lions, running over the top of two would-be tacklers to dot down.
His successful kick levelled the scores at 18-18.
Rhemus then kicked a goal from a penalty to give the Lions the lead for the first time in the match.
The Lions extended their lead when captain John-Tahana Wharepapa-Rawiri made a break and offloaded to Lofa Lauvi, who raced through a gap between three defenders to score.
When Rhemus kicked the goal the Lions moved ahead 26-18.
St George, however, scored two more converted tries to take the lead back.
With the clock ticking down, the
Dragons must have thought they would win the match, but with just seconds remaining the Lions added a try to their tally.
All Rhemus needed to do to give the Lions victory was kick the goal. His kick went to the right
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of the posts, however, taking the match into extra time.
Just as St Geoge had dominated the first half hour of play, the Lions dominated extra time.
Joshua took them into the lead when he scored his third try,
which Rhemus converted during the first five minutes.
John-Tahana then put the outcome beyond doubt when he dotted down with just two minutes left on the clock to take the Lions into a 40-30 lead they held on to.
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The Wainuiomata Lions celebrating being the 2024 Wellington Rugby League champions. Photo: Six. ONE Creative.
Local completes longest swim
By Frank Neill
Wainuiomata resident Samantha (Sam) Ford-Hathaway chalked up a major milestone when she swam the longest distance in Coastguard’s inaugural Big Swim fundraiser.
Sam swum an incredible 120.5km during July in the Big Swim.
In doing so she raised $1,050 to support Coastguard’s volunteers who dedicate countless hours to keeping New Zealanders safe on the water.
More than 1,250 enthusiastic swimmers, including 130 teams, participated in the fundraising challenge and raised over $345,000 in just one month.
Together, they swam nearly 15,000 kilometers – approximately the length of New Zealand’s entire coastline.
Sam says she was “pretty stoked” when she found out she had swum the longest distance. Coastguard, she says, “is a good cause and I want to donate toward the cause”.
She also wanted “to see how far I could push myself over the month.”
Sam certainly did push herself, as she hasn’t swum for 15 years, although she was a competitive swimmer when she was younger – around 20 years ago.
Twice a day, before and after work, Sam travelled to the pool, mainly Huia Pool, although she also completed a couple of swims at the Stokes Valley Pool.
“On good a day I was swimming up to 9km. I’d swim for about an hour each session.
“The most I swam on a day was 11km.
“The more kilometres you swim the more money people will contribute,” Sam says.
“I’ve always loved the water.
“I saw them [Coastguard] advertise it and I thought it would be a good chance to get fit over winter leading into summer sport.”
Sam’s summer sport is racing stock cars, racing with Oceanview Speedway in Whanganui.
Not only did the swimming raise her fitness levels, it had another benefit.
“I feel better after swimming,” Sam says.
Throughout July, participants in the first ever Big Swim challenged themselves by swimming their chosen distances and
seeking sponsorship from friends, family, and colleagues.
Coastguard is powered by a dedicated crew of more than 2,000 volunteers and operates 100 rescue vessels across 63 locations nationwide.
The funds raised from The Big Swim will directly contribute to volunteer training, equipment and the maintenance and fueling of the rescue vessels.
Last year Coastguard volunteers gave their time to bring 17 people back home safely each day – from Cape Reinga to Bluff and across the coastlines, major rivers and lakes of Aotearoa.
People can still sponsor Sam, or any of the other Big Swim entrants, by visiting bigswim. org.nz.
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Slip work sees lane closure
By Frank Neill
The Wainuiomata hill road will be down to one lane from 7:30am to 4:30pm on Saturday 17 August as work on the hill landslide continues.
The need to close the lane for work is the result of recent wet weather delays on the project.
Saturday’s lane closure is in addition to traffic management in place from 9am on week days.
Work on the landslide is progressing well, Hutt City Council says.
“The team has been busy drilling, grouting and testing the permanent anchors.
“With the final testing of the anchors complete, they're now moving on to installing the mesh and promoting revegetation by hydroseeding to finish the repairs.”
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Helping to make a positive difference in people’s lives.
Samantha Hord-Hathaway in action in the pool. Photo: Supplied.
Local flood risk under consideration
By Frank Neill
The risk of flooding in Wainuiomata will soon be considered by Greater Wellington Regional Council’s Te Awa Kairangi Subcommittee.
The subcommittee expects to receive a paper on Wainuiommata’s flood risk at its meeting on 22 October.
The paper is being prepared by the council’s officers in response to a request from Greater Wellington Regional Councillor Quentin Duthie.
“Many Wainuiomata homes are built beside or near water, and across a valley floor which once had many meandering streams and wetlands,” Cr Duthie says.
“It’s important that councils and residents have up-to-date information on flood risk, whether from rainfall overwhelming the stormwater system, or from streams and rivers spilling over their banks.
“My council, Greater Wellington, has responsibility for the main river, which has a large 133 square kilometre catchment and runs 22 kilometres from source to sea, through many rural properties and past dozens of homes in South Wainuiomata.” Both Greater Wellington and Hutt City Council’s flood hazard maps for Wainuiomata are available online.
“They show the risk to property from a flood that has a 1% chance of occurring in any given year, often expressed as a 1 in a 100 year flood,” Cr Duthie says.
“Greater Wellington’s maps will be updated this year taking into account changes in the river’s meander pattern and the expected increase in size and frequency of high rainfall events due to climate change.
“We will also re-look at flood defences and discuss with the community how best to manage the risk.
“Greater Wellington’s Te Awa Kairangi Subcommittee, which includes members from Hutt City Council and mana whenua, is expecting to receive a paper on Wainuiomata flood risk at its meeting 2pm Tuesday 22 October at the Hutt City Council Chambers.
“Residents are welcome to attend and participate,” Cr Duthie says.
Flood risk in Wainuiomata is managed in two parts – Wellington Water on behalf of Hutt City Council for Black Creek catchment (most of the urban area) and Greater Wellington for the Wainuiomata River catchment (rural area and some urban areas near Homedale).
Greater Wellington Regional Council officers have indicated the paper will cover both catchments.
Lights. Camera, Buenos Aires!
Tickets are on sale this week for Wainuiomata Little Theatre’s latest production – Evita.
The production will take place from Wednesday 18 September – Saturday 28 September at the little theatre.
Based on the life of historical figure, Eva Peron, Evita follows her story from a newbie in Buenos Aires to her rise to prominence and fame whilst married to Juan Peron.
Written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, the show was the first British musical to win a Tony award and features well known songs like “Don’t cry for me Argentina” and “On this night of a thousand stars”.
Director Trevor Williams says he had always wanted to put on Evita as he had always been interested in the story.
“It’s always been an idea for a Wainuiomata Little Theatre show. The story of this remarkable woman drew me in, and I think
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it’ll be the same for audiences.”
It has been nearly 10 years since Evita was last put on by a Wellington theatre company, something which inspired Wainuiomata to give the production a go. The cast includes two young women playing Eva Peron at different stages of her life – a point of difference from previous productions.
“I’m really excited we have two talented women playing Eva,” says Trevor.
“Brenda La Grotteria plays Eva at the beginning of the story when Eva is still young and naive, then Ngarangi Sadlier takes over as we see Eva growing.”
Tickets are on sale from the 18th of August. Show dates are Wednesday 18 September – Sunday 22 September and Wednesday 25 September – Saturday 28 September at Wainuiomata Little Theatre, Orongorongo Terrace. Show starts at 7:30pm with a matinee on Sunday from 3:00pm.
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Community board meets tonight
The Wainuiomata Community Board will meet tonight (14 August) at the Wainuiomata library.
The meeting will start at 6:30pm. At its meeting the board will look to endorse the submission it made on Hutt City Council’s representation review. Submissions by a community board must have a formal endorsement and the board will look to make this retrospectively, as submissions on the representation review closed on 1 August. In its community engagement report on the representation review, the council put forward a proposal to disestablish community boards.
The council should retain community boards, the Wainuiomata Community Board said in its submission.
“It is crucial for our community to continue operating a community
board to ensure local responsiveness and representation of local interests,” the submission says.
“Community board members can mobilise activities within the community and facilitate public decision-making at the grassroots level.
“With rapid housing growth and numerous new developments, Wainuiomata faces both opportunities and challenges that require focused attention and localised decision-making.
“Collaboration with the council is essential to ensure that infrastructure, services and community amenities keep pace with rising demands,” the submission says.
“We have heard from residents of our community about the value of having a community board who have also expressed their unhappiness and concerns about the proposed diestablishment for the boards.
“We have also heard the concern that disestablishment of boards would remove the layer of advocacy for the Wainuiomata community and that often there is a level of uncomfortability for residents in attending council led meetings due to the relationship between council and community not being close enough to have our community represented effectively.
“There is also a concern about how difficult it would be to reintroduce a community board in the future.
“To further support this concern, Smith (2015) identified that areas without community boards often struggle with lower levels of engagement and participation, leading to a sense of disconnection and dissatisfaction among residents, which can weaken local governance effectiveness.”
The board was quoting a paper by
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The Wainuiomata News requires deliverers in the following areas on a Wednesday each week:
AREA 1: Frederick St, Derwent St, Mackay St 260 papers
AREA 2: Faulke Ave, Burden Ave, part of Wood St 270 papers
R S Smith “Local Government and Community Boards: Assessing the Impact on Civic Engagement,” in “Local Government Studies”.
The report on representation presented for submissions was prepared by an independent panel.
“The panel’s report indicates a lack of understanding among residents about community boards, with 32% stating they were not familiar with them at all,” the Wainuiomata Community Board’s submission states.
“This should be seen as an opportunity for the council to improve communication and support for community boards.
“The report also identified that where the public was aware of boards, there was a general support for them (48% in favour compared to 25% against).
“This aligns with the engagements we have had with residents who see the value of community boards and do not support their disestablishment.”
Two calls to rubbish fires
The Wainuiomata Volunteer Fire Brigade responded to two calls that were initially thought to be house or garage fires, but turned out to be rubbish fires. The first call was made at 3:49pm on 10 August and the caller reported seeing smoke coming from a garage.
“People in the valley are very vigilant and they are on the phone straight away when they see smoke,” CFO Thompson says.
People can call the fire communications centre on 04 801 0812.
AREA 3: Parenga St, Ngaturi Gr, part of Wood St and Coast Rd 235 papers
AREA 4: Hamstead, Enfield, part Wellington, Kendall 220 papers
AREA 5: Naseby Gr, Bexley Gr, part of Wellington Rd 285 papers
AREA 6: Hair St, Rowe Parade, Gibbs Cres, part of Main 280 papers
AREA 7: Dover Rd, Westminster Rd, part of Wellington Rd 385 papers
The second call was made at 6:28pm on 11 August, where the caller reported they thought a house was on fire. Unnecessary call outs can be avoided, however.
“If people are going to burn rubbish, ring the fire communications centre before lighting the fire,” Wainuiomata’s Chief Fire Officer Peter Thomson says.
“That goes for hangis and umus too.
“It will save us coming out at night.
55. Chaos(inf) (5)
56. Showy display of boldness (7)
57. Boredom (5)
58. Home (9)
59. Lasting the entire evening (5-4)
1. Of sight (7)
2. Golf; two strokes under par (5)
Fortress, hold (6)
Elegance (5)
Neat (4)
Moist (3)
28. Class (5)
29. Deep-seated malice (7)
32.Profitable business; Concern (5)
33. Meadow (3)
34. Taxi (3)
35. Pair of performers (3)
36. Pirouette (5)
37. Inactivity (7)
38. Group of eight (5)
39. Vex (3)
41. Doze (6)
42. Provisions (7)
44. Chew steadily (4)
47. Covered vehicle (3)
49. Makes worse (10)
51. Seized (8)
Agnostic (7)
Expect (6)
Prententious language (12)
Answer (5)
Large battleship (11)
If the fire communications centre has a notification of a rubbish fire, when people make a 111 call they will be asked if the smoke they are reporting looks like the rubbish fire that has been notified.
As well as ringing the fire communications centre there are a series of precautions people should take when burning rubbish, CFO Thompson says. These include: structures or anything else that may catch fire.
Seabird (3)
Small budget; -string (4)
Sovereign (6)
Pragmatic person (7)
Austere, -laced (6)
Shimmer (7)
Sensible (4-8)
Nuptial ceremony (7)
Photo: Supplied.
Five star performance
Wainuiomata keeper Jared Cunningham stretches out to make another outstanding save. Photo: Imray’s Snaps.
By Ryan Imray
A man of the match performance from Jared Cunningham and a hattrick to Hadley Attewell gave the Wainuiomata men's first Football team all three points with a 5-3 victory over Brooklyn on 10 August.
Flynn McCaul got the home team off to a flying start as he pounced on a fumble from the goalkeeper to give Wainuiomata the lead but that
only lasted two minutes as Ciaran Kelly equalised for Brooklyn.
Hadley Attewell put Wainuiomata back in front in the 25th minute but that lead only lasted five minutes as Callum Crawford once again equalised for Brooklyn.
Just before the half time interval, Hadley Attewell scored his second of the game to give Wainuiomata a 3-2 lead. Jared Cunningham produced a number of outstanding
saves for Wainuiomata but the biggest of them all came early in the second half as he saved a Brooklyn penalty. Ciaran Kelly made the scores level in the 60th minute but the scores only remained level for three minutes as Tyron Curtis put Wainuiomata back in front in the 63rd minute and Hadley secured is hattrick in the 68th minute.
The win means Wainuiomata cannot finish in the bottom two and
therefore will not be relegated which is a big achievement for a new and young squad.
In other games, there were two other 5-3 results but sadly Wainuiomata were on the wrong side of the scoreboard.
The Reserves suffered their defeat to second placed Wellington Olympic, despite a hattrick from Adam Faulkner, and the Fiddick's lost to Waterside Karori.
Six Ulalei teams make playoffs
By Vaegaau Isaac
Ulalei Wainuiomata Netball completed the final round of the regular season in a strong position with six out of its seven senior teams progressing to the play-offs.
Ulalei Aute gave the Wellington Mens team a good run, leading 22-19 at half time on 10 August. The Mens team fought back to tie the game 31 all at the end of the third quarter and completed the comeback to win 46-42. This is excellent preparation for Ulalei Aute in the lead up to their semi-final against St Orans Old Girls on 17 August for a place in
the Premier 1 Final.
Ulalei Puataunofo put up a good fight against Wellington Mens 2 going down 53-38, but they had already secured their place in the Premier 3 semi-final against Maidstone United 3.
Ulalei Moso'oi swept aside Maidstone 6 in a must-win match to ensure a place in the Senior 2 semi-final.
Moso’oi drew on all their skills and experience to ensure a 37-32 victory, leading from start to finish as they marched into the playoffs.
Ulalei Malili, the darlings of the 2024 season and the new addition to the club, have had a stand out
season thus far, with 10 wins, 1 loss and a draw.
Malili had to come from behind for a comprehensive 44-34 victory against MWNC Pango and go on to play Upper Hutt Rams Ma in the Senior 4 semi-final.
Ulalei Fuesina, the young college team, have made significant progress this season and earned their place in the Senior 5 semi-final, after a 31-25 win against High School Old Girls 3.
Ulalei Laga'ali played in another must-win match for a place in the Reserve 1 semi-final and did so with ease beating Upper Hutt Rams Kowhai 36-31.
Wainui’s Rugby representatives
By Frank Neill
Wainuiomata’s Peter Umaga-Jensen featured on the wing for the Wellington Lions in their opening match of the 2024 Bunnings Warehouse National Provincial Championship season on 9 August. The Lions defeated Auckland 29-21 after they led 19-7 at half time at Eden Park. Peter played outstandingly, scoring a brilliant solo try. He ran 40 metres, powering through two defenders before he was brought down. He then released the ball and got back onto his feet, picked the ball back up and then raced to the try line, to dot down near the posts.
Peter also featured in Wellington’s first try, beginning a counter attack before delivering a great pass that led on the Lions scoring against the run of play.
Two Wainuiomata players featured in the Wellington Pride team that played against Tasman in the opening round of the women’s championship on 10 August. Both Fanua Rimoni and Billie Va’a played their debut matches in the game. The Pride scored a big 51-12 victory over Tasman in the match, played at Jerry Collins Stadium.
The first half saw Tasman competitive at times and they scored all their points in the first 40 minutes, which saw the Pride lead 22-12 at half time.
The Undertakers narrowly lost 1-0 to Upper Hutt while the OC's kept a clean sheet in a 3-0 win against North Wellington. Friday night under the lights saw Halfbaked Roundballs face Miramar Rangers.
It's been a season of struggles for the Wainuiomata side but as they have done all season, they never gave up and were finally rewarded for their determination as they won 3-1.
Hadley Attewell runs away in celebration as the defender fails to keep the ball out of the goal. Photo: Imray’s Snaps.
Ulalei Fuesina, who will be playing for a place in the Senior 5 final. Photo: Supplied.
Ulalei Aute, who will be playing for a place in the Premier 1 final. Photo: Supplied.
Peter Umaga-Jensen in action for Wainuiomata. Photo: Ashan Wanasinghe.
Bupa to provide $580,000 funding
Community organisations across New Zealand will have the opportunity to share in a total of $580,000 in grants, aimed at supporting programmes that contribute positively to mentally healthy and sustainable societies.
Individual organisations will be able to access up to $10,000 as part of the Bupa Foundation’s Community Grants Programme which started in 2019 and has now committed more than $1.5 million to support communities across Australia and New Zealand that are helping prevent and control mental and physical diseases via nature-based and peer-support initiatives. In 2023, the Bupa Foundation awarded $400,000 to groups such as Big Brother and Big Sisters, Blind Low Vision NZ, Skylight Trust and the Youth Climate Collective in New Zealand.
“By expanding the Community Grants program by more than $130,000 in 2024 we are hoping to help make an even greater difference over the coming year and we encourage organisations who want to expand their impact to express their interest,” Michael says.
Community organisations can apply for a grant at https://bupa. good2givegrants.org with applications closing on Friday 6 September. More information about the Bupa Foundation can be found at www.bupa.com.au/about-us/ bupa-foundation.
Government cuts will hit Wainuiomata
By Frank Neill
The Chief Children’s Commissioner, Dr Claire Achmad, has “significant concerns” about cuts the government is making to frontline children’s services – cuts that will affect Wainuiomata wh nau.
“In past days, social service organisations across the country have learned that contracts of 190 providers will be discontinued, and more than 142 providers will have their funding reduced,” Dr Ahmad said on 9 August.
“These providers work with children, young people and families, including those experiencing significant disadvantage and risk of harm, and include vital services like parenting support for newborns, services for at-risk youth, violence prevention, teen parent units, addiction counselling services and more,” she said. Hutt South-based MP Ginny Andersen has also come out strongly against the discontinuation of contracts to 190 service providers.
“Wainuiomata families will be directly affected by these cuts,” Ms Andersen says.
“Families will not be able to access the support they need when they are struggling.
“It means that more children will be uplifted from their and that’s really wrong.” The services provided by the organisations whose funds have been cut focused on prevention “and it keeps the family as a unit.
“Prevention is what’s meant to happen,” Ms Andersen says.
Under the Oranga Tamariki Act,
prevention is listed as one of the major aims, and yet the Minister has come out saying that the focus now was not on prevention, but only on the care of children in state care.
“That’s a disgrace.
“This government has once again manufactured a crisis in order to justify their heartless cuts.
“They have prioritised tax cuts for
landlords over keeping people safe in their homes,” Ms Andersen says.
“This year I asked Oranga Tamariki to make sure the hundreds of service providers having their contracts reviewed, were properly assessed – line by line,” Minister Chhour says.
“Their challenge has been to unpick years of complacency and lack of rigour in the way contracts have been managed.
“These contracts are valued at more than $500 million,” she says.
In her statement Dr Ahmad also said that she had not received “adequate assurance that there are transition plans in place for all the children, rangatahi and families who will have services and supports removed.
“Such plans are essential for safety and wellbeing.
“Just because services and supports are being stopped, doesn’t mean the needs of children, rangatahi and families stop,” Dr Achmad said.
“From the information that is available about the services being cut or reduced, I can see that these focus largely on prevention or early intervention.
“Evidence shows this is where we can make the biggest long-term gains and reduce harm.
“Prevention and early intervention forms a foundational part of any social investment approach, and decisions that are made to remove, reduce or start new supports for children, rangatahi and families need to be based on sound evidence, and made transparently.”
Dr Achmad says that preventative measures, such as those provided by community organisations who have just learned of the funding cuts, form a core element of Oranga Tamariki’s work, as legislated under the Oranga Tamariki Act.
“We need more focus on prevention – not less.
“I’m calling on the Government to pause and ensure that all decisions being made here truly put children, rangatahi and families at the centre, supported by documented evidence that shows how the decisions are being made, that the process is fair, and that we don’t make short-term decisions that jeopardise child safety and wellbeing in the longer-term.”
In a media release saying that
“Oranga Tamariki is finally taking financial control of its funding for external service providers”, the Minister for Children Karen Chhour made it clear that funding would not be provided to organisations that provide preventative services and support services.
The funding Oranga Tamariki provides “is for the care and protection of children in state care. Nothing more, nothing less,” Minister Chhour said.
“For too many years Oranga Tamariki has been the cash cow for community service providers who say they will provide services, and then don’t.” If you are a family that is no longer receiving services as a result of the cuts, you are welcome to contact the “Wainuiomata News” reporter Frank Neill, phone 027 490 3916, email frank@wsn.co.nz.
MP Ginny Andersen. Photo: Supplied.
The Chief Children’s Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad. Photo: Supplied.
