Our Community

MORE than 2000 people enjoyed Te Anau Tartan Festival at the weekend. Held at the Fiordland Community Events Centre, the festival showcased piping and dancing competitions in front of national judges, and the modified Highland Games, which were held at Memorial Park next door. Entrants came from as far away as Otago and Christchurch for the piping and Highland dancing competitions. Feature...

THOUSANDS of people punted and partied at this year's Riverton Easter races. There were 10 races at the Riverton Racing Club's Easter Carnival on Saturday but other activities at the event included mini-Jeep rides, bouncy castles and pony rides for children, as well as live music and plenty of food options. Club president Mike McCurdy said the weather was treating them...

IT has been used for shunting goods wagons in Invercargill and Bluff and as playground equipment by children, but it is hoped the 140-year-old locomotive F150 will soon be returned to its former glory. Southern Steam Train Charitable Trust member Lindsay Buckingham said the full restoration was expected to take about 20,000 hours of work time. "We've been granted $100,000 from...

Names: Bella (dog), and Gracie (kitten) Age: almost 2 years, and 3 months Breed: Border Collie x Golden Retriever, and domestic long-hair cat Pet likes: Playing fetch, climbing trees and chasing each other Pet hates: When it’s time to go to bed Favourite food: Anything, but their own Each Pet of the Week receives a $20 PetSmart.nz voucher. Thanks PetSmart.nz. To enter, email a pic of...

A TIGER Moth will arrive at Invercargill airport next Thursday as part of the nationwide Poppy Flight Project before Anzac Day. A fundraiser for the RSA (Returned Services Association), NZ Warbirds Association and The Starship Foundation, the relay would bring down a bag containing two 1m square canvases, one a giant poppy and the other a star which would be added...

SOUTHLAND'S mayor says they are hiding nothing after accusations over the way his council has handled a plan to expand the region's dump. The AB Lime Action Group was formed to oppose the Winton quarry and landfill's consent application to remove its 100,000-tonne cap on the amount of waste it can take per year. In its consent application sent to Environment...

IT is not about forcing diversity on to communities, it is about "respect, acceptance and common decency". Those were the words of Office of Ethnic Communities (OEC) executive director Anusha Guler who, among other office representatives, visited Invercargill last week to host a set of hui with various local government and ethnic group leaders. The purpose of the trip was to...

IF Invercargill ratepayers want the Southland Museum & Art Gallery completed before 2026, they need to tell councillors what projects can be sidelined or how big a rate increase they are prepared to accept. The Invercargill City Council debated the early completion of the museum at the performance, policy and partnership committee meeting on Monday, ahead of adopting the 2021-31...

THE Fiordland Community Garden at Te Anau Memorial Park has proved popular since its opening in November. Workshops held in the past three months including sauerkraut making, winter seed sowing, a tomato harvest and cook up, Bokashi composting and worm farms, have proved popular with members of the community. Surplus plants have also been donated and the community compost facility was...

INVERCARGILL will have a new attraction these school holidays. Following months of delay, the new hydroslides at Splash Palace were set to open on April 19 with an official opening and ribbon cutting ceremony. The project involved the construction of three new hydroslides at the facility, costing $3.2 million. Invercargill City Council aquatic services manager Stephen Cook said it expected 13% more...