Latest news with #Waimarino
NZ Herald
05-08-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Whanganui netball: Kaierau and Kaiwhaiki secure wins in netball finals push
Tech goal shoot Shannon Watana-Slade could only look on as Waimarino goal keep Hana Manihera-Double soars through the air to take a well-timed intercept. Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech. Already a subscriber? Sign in here Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen. Tech goal shoot Shannon Watana-Slade could only look on as Waimarino goal keep Hana Manihera-Double soars through the air to take a well-timed intercept. The last round robin matches of Netball Whanganui's David Jones Motors Premier 1 and 2 competitions delivered an evening of fierce competition and impressive performances at Springvale Stadium. In Monday's Premier 1 action, Kaierau Mitre 10 Mega A1 extended their winning streak to five games, with a commanding 46–28 victory over Whanganui Collegiate Senior A. The young Collegiate side started strongly, winning the first quarter 13-10 but struggled to keep pace once Kaierau's defensive prowess and speed through the midcourt kicked in. In the early evening match, WHS Phillips Electrical A1 also impressed, notching up a convincing 37–25 win over Marist Mint A1. WHS's cohesion and defensive pressure made the difference, forcing turnovers and converting them into scoring opportunities.
RNZ News
04-08-2025
- Science
- RNZ News
Our Changing World: Turning Taupō green
Project Tongariro staff and 'wicked weeders' volunteers. Photo: Claire Concannon / RNZ On 9 December 1982, a helicopter accident on Mt Ruapehu claimed five lives. The pilot and four National Park staff had been testing a new lighting system for night-time search and rescue. Two years later, a living memorial, the Tongariro Natural History Society, was established in their honour. The society's aims were to care for, and connect people to, Tongariro National Park. Today, more than 40 years later, the work of this group continues. Follow Our Changing World on Apple , Spotify , iHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts It's on the drive from Tūrangi to the Waimarino wetland that the problem becomes apparent. "This is known as the willow corridor," says Kiri Te Wano, current CEO of the Tongariro Natural History Society, which today goes by Project Tongariro. Both sides of this stretch of State Highway 1 are thick with a dense forest of grey willow. Shirley Potter in an electric buggy at Oruatua Reserve. Photo: Kiri Te Wano "Absolute nightmare," says volunteer Shirley Potter. "And when the grey willow are seeding you're just floating through a cloud of seeds and you think, oh, how many of those are going to grow?" Grey willow is known as an ecosystem transformer - when it invades an area it completely takes over, excluding native plants and the animals who need them. Cutting it back doesn't work - you need herbicide and, because of its ability to produce seeds and reinvade, you also need persistence and careful planning. That's why ecologist Nick Singers is applying detailed precision to the operation. Mapping grey willow with a drone. Photo: Nick Singers. In his home office in Tūrangi, aerial images stitched together from drone pictures are marked with the location of each willow tree in the wetland area they are trying to restore. An area is assigned for treatment, either from aerial control via a helicopter or ground control, in which contractors hand-drill and inject herbicide into each tree stem. After the operation, the images are updated with the GPS marks from both teams on which plants have been poisoned. This means Nick can track what's done, as well as what's left to do and how much it will cost. The wetland area is important for native wildlife. Its lagoons are home to some of New Zealand's most cryptic and threatened birds. Shirley Potter and Nick Singers at Waimarino Wetland. Photo: Claire Concannon / RNZ "The latest population count for bittern is that there might be 700 to 800 left in the entirety of New Zealand," says Nick. "And so, these areas are critical. And really what we've been doing is to try and maintain the habitat in a healthy state. So, they've got somewhere to feed, they've got somewhere to nest. And that's the best sort of management we can do." Project Tongariro are working with DOC and local hapū to help conserve large wetland areas beside Lake Taupō. Not just battling willow, but also pest trapping and replanting. But restoring wetlands is just one of the conservation efforts that the project is involved in. The initial efforts of the society in the 1980s were focused on Tongariro National Park. The society was a network of people who loved the park and were prepared to chip in alongside park staff. It supported small restoration projects through an annual membership model and publishing books about the park. Over the years, the society grew, became more financially stable and eventually employed dedicated staff, increasing the organisation's capacity to get involved in larger conservation efforts in the area. Predator and weed control, planting projects, wilding pine removal, environmental education - today the society is involved in a wide range of projects and it employs nine staff in the region, spread between Raetihi, Tūrangi and Taupō. Heidi Pritchard from Kids Greening Taupō with student leaders Emily, Jack and Taylor from Taupō Intermediate school. Photo: Claire Concannon / RNZ In 2012, Greening Taupō was established under the Project Tongariro umbrella. Its goal is to enable urban restoration within the town. It was swiftly followed by the Kids Greening Taupō and then Predator Free Taupō projects. Kiri Te Wano sees Project Tongariro's role today as providing opportunities for people to be involved, however they can, and having projects close to where people are is key to that. "Our vision and goals do talk about Tongariro National Park and our hearts and minds are there, but we also talk about its environs," she says. "So, we took that to mean that we could also expand outwards a little bit. Doing restoration work next to small communities is quite difficult. So, we made the conscious decision to move closer to a larger community." Kiri Te Wano, CEO of Project Tongariro. Photo: Claire Concannon / RNZ Rachel Thompson is a bit of a local celebrity around Taupō, getting spotted wherever she goes. Through her role as lead education coordinator with Kids Greening Taupō , she's known by most kids in the area. It currently has 46 schools and kindergartens that have restoration planting projects with it, either on their own grounds or on neighbouring council land. Robyn Ellis, the coordinator of Greening Taupō. Photo: Rachel Thompson She's also credited with the idea for 'Greening Taupō Day' - an annual festival in which local schools and community members are encouraged to dress in green, plant trees and get involved in different activities run by the 50 or so stall holders that also come along. This year's effort, on a soggy 5 June, saw 2000 people show up and 3000 trees planted. The focus of these planting projects is to create 'bird corridors' - green forested veins though Taupō to connect Mt Tauhara to the south with the Waikato river corridor and Wairakei Golf and Sanctuary to the north. But a further goal is to educate and inspire the next generation of environmentalists, who are also bringing their whānau along with them, says Rachel. The 2025 Greening Taupō festival. Photo: Rachel Thompson "We've got over 100 children signed up to our extracurricular student leadership team, they all come along to the planting days with their families and they lead the planting days. They show everyone how to plant. They've brought the community on board with them." Project Tongariro began as a way to remember local environmentalists, people who cared deeply about the place they lived and worked in. Over four decades later, this living memorial is still going strong, powered by those same kind of people, says Kiri. "People who are just so passionate about what they do and where they live ... I just feel so lucky working with these people and absorbing, you know, their knowledge." Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.
RNZ News
18-06-2025
- RNZ News
Great ride Te Hangāruru opens: ‘A gift to the community for Matariki'
The 9km southern section of Te Hangāruru, from Horopito to Pōkākā Road, features two new suspension bridges. Photo: Supplied The opening of a long-awaited cycle and walking trail connecting Horopito to Waimarino (National Park village) has been heralded as a major milestone for the Mountains to Sea - Ngā Ara Tūhono Great Ride. "This is our gift to the community for Matariki," trail champion Lynley Twyman said at the Horopito trail head in the central North Island. Twyman said Te Hangāruru, the new section of the Great Ride, was a vital piece of the vision to complete a 320km journey from Ruapehu maunga to the Tasman Sea. "The trail honours the stories and abundance of this land, and builds a legacy for future generations." The rising of the nine stars of Matariki (Pleiades) marks the beginning of the Māori new year. This year's national observance day ceremony, being broadcast from the foot of Ruapehu maunga at dawn on Friday, recognises both Matariki and Puanga (Rigel), one of the most important stars for Māori in the Ruapehu and Whanganui regions. Twyman said the region had come through a difficult period, including ski industry troubles and the closure of major employers like the Chateau Tongariro and WPI Mills . The trail would help build regional resilience and act as a catalyst for sustainable economic growth and community wellbeing. Ruapehu mayor Weston Kirton said Te Hangāruru had been delivered despite enormous challenges, including funding hurdles and environmental consents. "This trail is the product of sheer determination, long-term vision and real community mahi," Kirton said. "Te Hangāruru represents not just connection on a map, but a pathway for locals and visitors to explore, reflect and rediscover the beauty of this place." The newest section of the Mountains to Sea - Ngā Ara Tūhono Great Ride was opened on Thursday morning in the central North Island. Photo: Supplied Twyman said the Mountains to Sea - Ngā Ara Tūhono trail was one of New Zealand's most diverse cycle trails, traversing dual World Heritage landscapes, native bush, alpine streams, the volcanic plateau, historic viaducts and the Whanganui River. The 9km southern section of Te Hangāruru, from Horopito to Pōkākā Road, features two new suspension bridges, including a 30 metre bridge over the Mangaturuturu River, a dramatic waterfall and a heritage tramway. The 9km northern section follows part of the restored Marton Sash & Door tramway. The final section of the trail - awaiting funding for construction - includes a 225m suspension bridge over the Makatote River . Te Hangāruru was due to open at Horopito on Thursday morning with a community celebration bringing together iwi, council representatives and the wider community, including students from National Park School and Raetihi Primary. The Mountains to Sea initiative is a collaboration between iwi, local government and the community. A charitable trust that leads and supports work on the trail includes representatives from Ngāti Rangi, iwi collective Te Korowai o Wainuiārua, Ruapehu and Whanganui district councils, the Whanganui Māori regional tourism organisation, trail users and community leaders. "Te Hangāruru is a tangible expression of partnership," Te Korowai o Wainuiārua chair Aiden Gilbert said. The name Te Hangāruru was gifted to the trail by Uenuku, one of three iwi represented by Te Korowai o Wainuiārua. It refers to the native forest - traditionally a place of abundance for local Māori. "The name Te Hangāruru recalls a time when the skies of the Waimarino forest were dark with birds such as kākā," Gilbert said. "It was a place where tangata whenua gathered kai and lived in harmony with the taiao (earth)." Gilbert said the trail winds through regenerating ngahere, past waterfalls and toward the proposed iwi-led Pōkākā alpine ecosanctuary. "Through this trail, our people have opportunities to care for the land and to welcome visitors through manaakitanga. It's part of a bigger journey, one where we walk together." Whanganui mayor Andrew Tripe, who chairs Ngā Ara Tūhono Charitable Trust, described the Great Ride as "a true regional treasure". He said the Mountains to Sea ride literally connects the Ruapehu and Whanganui districts and strengthens their shared future. "This project brings economic opportunity, supports healthy communities and invites manuhiri from all over to experience something unique to Aotearoa." LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
NZ Herald
24-05-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Pastures Past: Butter churning in New Zealand in the 1930s
Butter Making To the editor. Taranaki Herald, May 5, 1886 Sir,—A good churn is such a luxury that you will kindly permit me to say that the new barrel churns manufactured by the New Plymouth Sash and Door Factory supply a long felt want. I got one a short time since from them, and I am splendidly satisfied with it. It churned 91lbs. at one churning in three-quarters of an hour; there was no waste, no splash, and with the little glass panel that I had inserted in the side, one can tell the exact moment to put in the salt and water without opening the lid and looking in. These churns are good, and cheap, and by purchasing them one is supporting a local industry, instead of sending the money to America for little churns that require from 1 to 12 hours' turning, according to the state of the weather, and then only turn out 20lbs. of butter.—I am, &c., W. R. Wright. New Zealand butter New Zealand Herald, October 20 1930 Sir, —I read with interest the letter of Mr. Hartley on Danish butter and New Zealand butter. Has distance from the market no bearing on the situation? The Danes are a matter of hours, while we are weeks away. It is a matter of solemn fact that we have the finest pastures in the world of English grasses and clover, etc., and no feed is more suitable for the production of butter, cheese, milk or cream. A man told me that he worked in a butter factory in the Old Country and that when they ran short of their own butter they made a practice of putting New Zealand butter in their churns with their own buttermilk, giving it a little rolling in the churns and finally selling it as finest English farmers' butter, a butter which always brings a higher price than even Danish. CREAM FARMER. Churns too large Pahiatua Herald, December 15, 1931 'I'm rather afraid of those big churns,' remarked Lord Bledisloe, when inspecting the butter making room at Te Rehunga dairy factory, where the 'small' churns deal with a ton of butter at a time and the larger one with a ton and a half. 'The Danes don't use any of larger capacity than 9 cwt.,' he explained. 'They think the great weight being dashed about tends to break up the fat globules, and in New Zealand butter that is done.' Outsize in churns Largest in world 100 boxes of butter Advertisement Advertise with NZME. (Special to the Herald.) Poverty Bay Herald, October 12, 1937 AUCKLAND, this day. Made in Christchurch for a Waikato dairy factory, what is described as the largest butter churn in the world was unshipped at Auckland from the steamer Waimarino yesterday. Its barrel alone weighs more than nine tons, and its gear box weighs three tons 6cwt. In one churning it can produce 100 boxes of butter or 5600lb, and for each full churning it takes 1400 gallons of cream. The churn was made almost entirely in Christchurch by the engineering firm of Andersons, Limited, who have been making churns since 1918. In that time the sizes of churns manufactured have increased from those producing 22 boxes or 160lb of butter, to this latest one producing 100 boxes or 5600lb, and enough butter for 56,000 persons for one meal.
RNZ News
19-05-2025
- RNZ News
Treaty settlement renames iconic sites in central North Island
A large scenic reserve extending from west of Waimarino south to Horopito has been named Ngātokoerua Scenic Reserve. Photo: LDR/Moana Ellis Tribal place names have been restored for prominent landmarks and places across the central North Island. Eleven name changes to mountains, a lake, scenic reserves and other places have been made following the treaty settlement of iwi collective Te Korowai o Wainuiārua. The changes gazetted by Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa New Zealand Geographic Board include seven new and altered geographic names, including two Crown-protected area names. Four Crown-protected area names have been discontinued. Lake Hawkes, a lake 19km west-northwest of Waimarino, which feeds into Waikauwau Stream, is now Lake Pohoare. Mount Dawson, 24km west-northwest of Waimarino, is now Ōruru Maunga. Tahora, a small site on State Highway 43 Forgotten World Highway, 14km north-northeast of Whangamōmona, is now Tahorapāroa, and Tahora Saddle, a pass on the highway about 10km north-northeast of Whangamōmona, is now Tahorapāroa Saddle. The fifth altered name is Mount Humphries in the Matemateaonga Range, 45km east of Stratford, which becomes Whakaihuwaka Maunga. A new Crown-protected area name has been created. A large scenic reserve extending from immediately west of Waimarino, south to Horopito, has been named Ngātokoerua Scenic Reserve. The reserve has been created through the reclassification of Erua Conservation Area and Erua Forest Sanctuary as a scenic reserve. Another Crown-protected area - a scenic reserve on State Highway 43 Forgotten World Highway, about 15km north-northeast of Whangamōmona - has been changed from Tahora Scenic Reserve to Tahorapāroa Scenic Reserve. The names Erua Forest Sanctuary (for a sanctuary area 6km south-southwest of Waimarino), Ngapakihi Scenic Reserve and Raetihi Scenic Reserve (for scenic reserves immediately south of Raetihi), and Pipiriki Scenic Reserve (for a scenic reserve at Pipiriki) have been discontinued. The Te Korowai o Wainuiārua Claims Settlement Act 2025 came into effect in March, bringing an end to decades of claims work by the people of Uenuku, Tamakana and Tamahaki (represented collectively as Te Korowai o Wainuiārua) over breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi. The Geographic Board gazetted the changes last week. In December last year, Land Information Minister Chris Penk approved changing the name of National Park Village to Waimarino, following a request by Te Korowai o Wainuiārua researchers. Waimarino is the original Māori name for the area, referring to "calm waters" pooling on the plains as they leave the mountain. The Geographic Board considered more than 2000 submissions on the proposal. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
