Latest news with #Wairarapa
NZ Herald
15 hours ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Italian stallion Per Incanto new hero of New Zealand breeding industry
Hall of Fame stallion Savabeel's nine-year hold on the Centaine Award has been broken by the pride of the Wairarapa, Per Incanto. The Little Avondale Stud star has achieved worldwide progeny earnings of more than $20 million in the 2024-25 season, giving him a comfortable buffer over Savabeel ($17.85m)
Scoop
3 days ago
- Sport
- Scoop
The Fastest Guns In But NZ Shearers Still Beaten In Wales
Two Welsh shearers who've shorn numerous summers in New Zealand have struck the first blow to the hopes of New Zealand shearers Toa Henderson and Jack Fagan winning a new test series in Wales. Shearing Welsh lambs at the Cothi Shears, in Carmarthenshire, on Saturday, Gethin Lewis and Llyr Jones beat the Wools of New Zealand team Toa Henderson and Jack Fagan by a comfortable margin of 6.1pts. But while the Welsh dominated the quality points, it wasn't as comfortable in the race for best time points, with Northland gun Henderson shearing 11min 48sec, one of the faster times by a New Zealand shearer in a 20-sheep final, and putting a sheep around Welsh shearer-of-the-moment and second-man-off Lewis, with 34 seconds separating the pair on the clock. A short while earlier, King Country shearer Fagan, a former Royal Welsh Open winner, blasted through 20 lambs in 13min 1sec to be first home in the five-man Cothi Shears Open final, beating second-man-off and current World champion Gwion Lloyd Evans by 25 seconds, but had to settle for fourth place as Lewis claimed his third individual success in 11 days. Lewis, who shears for Hawke's Bay contractor Brendan Mahony, beat Henderson and Fagan to win the Great Yorkshire Open final in England on July 9, and last weekend shore 696 sheep in eight hours to set a new British ewe-shearing record, in what was also part of a successful bid for the two-stand record. Lewis had best overall points in the test, while Jones was just pipped for the honour and had the best quality points, while in the Open final Lewis had the best quality points. While Henderson's time in the test was more than a minute quicker then Fagan's Open final and both the test and Open final at Cothi last year, Fagan shore 11min 41sec in winning the Corwen Shears Open title last year, But Welsh commentator Huw Condron believes the fastest time ever for a 20-sheep final was the 10min 30sec by New Zealander Paul Avery in winning the Royal Welsh Open in 2007, beating a previous record of 10min 36sec attributed to Fagan's father, New Zealand shearing legend Sir David Fagan. Condron had a clear memory of Avery's achievement, saying: 'I was his pen-man.' Another New Zealand shearer to break 11 minutes in such a final in the UK was Hawke's Bay gun John Kirkpatrick, with 10m 59s at Corwen in 2009. The second test of the current tour will be shorn on Wednesday at the Royal Welsh Show, where Fagan had a big day last year, winning the Royal Welsh Open for a second time and, with Wairarapa shearer David Buick, a test match, and tie-up a series Wales ultimately won 2-1 with victory at the Corwen Shears a few days later. Fagan, who was second-fastest in the Open heats, which saw Henderson's early elimination after winning the French Open at his last start, said: 'It was good to make the final today. We have a clear set of goals for Wednesday, so we are preparing for that.' In March, he and Buick beat Lewis and Jones 3-0 in a series in New Zealand, and now he and Henderson, while out to keep the Wales series in the Northern Hemisphere alive in the last two tests, will also be out to at least keep the balance on the tour, with a 2-2 record to date, having had wins over England and France and losses to Scotland and Wales. Results: International (20 lambs): Wales 94.6pts (Gethin Lewis 12m 22s, 47.15pts; Llyr Jones 13m 3s, 47.45pts), New Zealand Toa Henderson 100.7pts (Toa Henderson 11m 48s, 49.7pts; Jack Fagan 12m 59s, 51pts). Weles won by 6.1pts. Cothi Open final (20 lambs): Gethin Lewis (Wales) 14m 15s, 52.1pts, 1; Gareth Daniel (Wales) 14m 26s, 53.45pts, 2; Gwion Lloyd Evans (Wales) 13m 26s, 57.2pts, 3; Jack Fagan (New Zealand) 13m 1s, 59.7pts, 4; Ian Jones (Wales) 14m 37s, 61.65pts, 5.
RNZ News
4 days ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Vigilance, not luck, helping NZ avoid widespread measles outbreak
A paediatrician specialising in infectious diseases says the increase in measles cases in the lower North Island is an unfortunate example of just how infectious it is. The current outbreak in Wairarapa and Manawatū reached eight cases on Thursday. Health NZ says the cases stemmed from overseas travel. Dr Emma Best from the Immunisation Advisory Centre said measles "seeks out" people and young children who were not immunised. "If you're not immune to measles, and you are in the space of somebody who has measles or doesn't know they're getting measles, there's a very, very high chance that you will get measles," she said. "The spread, the fact that the close contacts of the returned traveller sequentially... we're getting more cases, is unfortunately expected." With outbreaks in Canada, Australia, parts of the United States and southeast Asia, Best said it was important overseas travellers were vaccinated against measles. Auckland also saw a measles outbreak earlier in the winter . Best said vigilance, not luck, meant New Zealand had avoided an outbreak on the scale of other countries so far. "We've been incredibly vigilant, which is great, and really carefully managing this should there be any single cases that occur, but actually, this has got away from most other countries in the world. "We know that it's out there, so with any traveller or returned traveller from pretty much any region in the world now, there's going to be some risk. "New Zealand is working incredibly hard to keep ourselves safe from measles, and that primarily starts with making sure we vaccinate our own population really well and making sure that anyone who travels know they need to be vaccinated, including infants younger than one." In New Zealand, babies typically received their first measles vaccine (MMR) at 12 months of age and the second at 15 months, but Best said young infants travelling abroad could receive the vaccine to protect them before they go away. It was "really stressful and concerning" to see people in hospital with diseases, such as measles, that there were vaccinations for, she added. "Most people want the best for their kids, they want to get vaccinations, they want to have conversations about it. We have got poor rates of vaccinations since Covid, but we're working extra hard to get the message out there." Anyone travelling overseas with a young child needed to make sure they had all their vaccinations. "Definitely having a conversation about the measles vaccination, which we can give early in the context of travel, means we can give it to younger than one year of age to protect an infant who's going on a plane, in transit, those types of thing. "Prepare yourself for travel and stay vigilant when you return for measles-type rashes as well." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
4 days ago
- RNZ News
Masterton police crack down on illegal hunting in Wairarapa
By Kajal Nair , RNZ An illegal firearm seized by Police. Photo: Supplied / NZ Police Masterton police have ramped up efforts to tackle unlawful hunting in Wairarapa with multiple arrests and firearm seizures in recent months. On Wednesday, a 50-year-old man was arrested after police discovered three firearms and cannabis at his Masterton address during a search. He is due to appear in Masterton District court on 4 August, facing charges for unlawful possession of non-prohibited firearms, cultivating cannabis and unlawful hunting. Another man, aged 44, was also arrested at the same address on unrelated charges, including kidnapping and indecent assualt. The arrests came off the back of work done by the Wairarapa Rural team to hold poachers accountable, police said. Wairarapa Area Commander Inspector Nick Thom said poaching was a serious and often under-reported issue in rural communities. "Poaching has real effects on the community and any offenders will face real-world consequences," he said. Two other men were charged with unlawful hunting earlier this year, with both cases linked to illegal firearms. Both men are due to appear in Masterton District Court on 24 July. "This should serve as a reminder that people should not be shooting from vehicles or targeting deer on private land," Thom said. "People must have a firearms license and get permission to hunt prior to going out to do so. "You can expect to face enforcement action if you are found to be breaching these rules." He asked locals to report any suspicious behaviour or vehicles to police. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
6 days ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Three more cases of measles detected in Wairarapa and Manawatū, bringing total to eight
The patients have been in quarantine, but one may have been infectious before this. (File photo) Photo: 123rf Another three cases of measles have been detected in the lower North Island, taking the latest outbreak to eight . Two of the latest cases in Wairarapa and one in Manawatū, were connected to the others in Wairarapa and stemmed from overseas travel, Health NZ said. The patients had been in quarantine, however, it was believed one person may have been briefly infectious beforehand. Health NZ had identified six new locations in Feilding that the potentially infectious person visited last Friday, Medical Officer of Health Craig Thornley said. The risk to the public was considered low, because the visits were brief, he said. "We are however advising anyone who may have visited the Feilding locations at the same times as the case to monitor themselves for symptoms, such as a high fever, cough, runny nose, sore eyes or a rash that spreads down the body." The new locations of interest are: "If anyone is concerned, they may have symptoms, or needs advice, they should contact their GP or usual healthcare provider or call Healthline on 0800 611 116 for free support and advice 24/7," Thornley said. Measles symptoms usually start within 10 to 14 days after being first exposed to the virus, but can start anytime between seven to 21 days. The rash develops three to four days after the other symptoms and appears as pink or red spots or bumps which start on the face before moving down the rest of the body. The rash is not usually itchy, but can last for a week or more. Thornley said the best protection against measles was vaccination. "The best form of protection against measles is to get vaccinated with two doses of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine after 12 months of age, which is safe and effective for 99 per cent of people." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
