Local Opinion

Standing in South Crater, Ngauruhoe towers above you to the south and all around are thick, old lava flows. Along the Tongariro Alpine Crossing the path takes you up some of these lavas towards Red…

The flax mill at Ōhaupō again started operations after new owners updated the machinery.  A washer and scraper, which washed and cleaned the fibre of all vegetation after it left the stripper leaving it ready for…

There were no smiling faces to be seen in Pirongia during a grim week in November 1899 when two of the Te Awamutu district’s residents died within days of each other. One was a popular…

Observant residents of Te Awamutu would have noticed recent demolition work on the corner of Racecourse and Ōhaupō Roads. The church building that has stood on that corner since 1988 is gone. Naysayers and gossips…

“We are so small” I said as I looked up at Ngāuruhoe ahead of us, standing between ancient lava flows towering above us on either side. The younger, black, glassy lava flows that were erupted…

I recall as a young fella watching the All Blacks performing the haka in the 1950’s; 60’s, 70’s… they were all arms and legs flailing wherever, and so unco. Come the Buck Shelford era and…

Andrew Johnstone put his views forward last week in support of an incinerator plant for Waipā. Today, Nick Cantlon, representing the Don’t Burn Waipā lobby group, responds. Don’t Burn Waipā is a group of local…

Te Awamutu police are hoping to be inundated with people at their station on Saturday. They are hosting an open day from 9am to noon. Community Constable Ryan Fleming said the day would also feature…

This week our country officially moves into the season we call autumn. In the church year, we are in the season called Lent. It’s a bit of a weird name for those not used to…

Meghan Hawkes looks at some the headlines in Waipa in 1937. A whirlwind hit the Orakau farm of Mr J Cullen causing extensive damage in just a few minutes. It demolished a milking shed and…