Hikurangi Bulletin APRIL 2022 FRIENDSHIP HOUSE OPEN HOURS Mon 9.30am-12noon, tues 9.30am-12noon Closed Wednesday Thurs 9.30am-12noon, fri 9.30am-3.00pm Contact office 4338452 or linda 4338062
BULLETIN DEADLINE May 11th 2022 Mother’s Day Coming up On May 8th 2022 Hikurangi Friendship House would like to wish All Mother’s and Grand-Mothers a great day. Put your feet up and enjoy being waited on.
Why Do We Have The Fire Siren In Hikurangi?
And as many of you have heard and seen we have been busy this first part of our year we have turned out to over 70 calls in the first three months of this year alone. Many are medical and vegetation fires along with road accidents and structure fires. We are the 61st busiest fire brigade in New Zealand out of 374 stations. For a little town we are kept busy and as such are lucky to have the fire fighters we have here in our little town to support this. We are not paid fire fighters so as such do not work our shifts on station. The siren is there to alert our fire crews of the need to turn out to the station to an impending call. Yes, we do have other means to alert us, these include our pagers and also our AMS system. All three systems have flaws to them. Hikurangi’s little township sits on the outer rim of to receiving systems. What this means is that when the siren and paging system goes off to alert us if there is two people on the same property with one at the front and one at the back of the property, often only one pager will go off. There is a lot of dead zones for our pagers in Hikurangi district where they don’t work. It also requires the user to have their pager on them even when you are mowing your lawn to be alerted. As for our AMS system this is still a work in progress and as such doesn’t always work well to alert us. It is being worked on by our tech team at FENZ to fix the minor issues that appear as we upgrade it with more features. It also requires the user to have their phone on them even when you are mowing your lawn to be alerted. Lastly our Siren, obviously we can all hear it as it rings out across our township. It is still the most efficient way to bring to the attention of our fire personal that they are needed at the station urgently to attend a call. As long as we have power to the station. I realise that the siren is running for a long cycle and as such have asked the Tech team to come out and adjust the amount of cycles down to a lower number for us all. This will mean the siren will run up and down for less times. We will trial different amounts of cycles and run times for those cycles to find a better fit for all of our community and our fire personal. This will take place over the coming months. And remember for many hearing the siren go tells them the much needed help they are asking for in their time of need is on its way and that people are alerted to this. I hope this helps everyone understand a little more about how our alerting systems work. CFO Trevor Gallagher Hikurangi Volunteer Fire Brigade.
Hikurangi Volunteer Fire Brigade
RAINFALL MARCH 2022 HUKERENUI 169 mm HIKURANGI 144 mm MARUA 116 mm We would like thank the following people who give us these Rain Results each month. Hukerenui: Lillian Reid, Hikurangi Linda Vanstone and Marua Rob Roest These rain measurements are taken from their rain gauges in their local back yards.
Church Services In Hikurangi Hikurangi Village Church: Meet Sundays at 10am, in the Hikurangi War Memorial hall. Last Sun of month is a Shared Lunch. Phone/Text Stuart on 0274 575247. Anglican Church Services: Contact Betty 4338808. Hikurangi Catholic Church: Valley Rd Sundays 8 am Mass 1st Sun & Liturgy 2nd, 3rd & 4th 10 am. Hikurangi Christian Fellowship: Sundays 10am or contact 4338654 and please leave a message.
Hi Hikurangi Easter is already here, remember with a 4 day weekend and also Anzac Day the roads will be busier than normal so take care on the roads. While it’s a great time to get things done around the house if you plan on having a fire, check that its safe to do so. Checkitsalright.nz has all sorts of helpful safety tips or contact us via Facebook. We have had a busy year so far being ranked 61st busiest station in the country. Currently we are averaging a call every 1.4 days, this time last year we had had 49 calls this year we have had 74. In a real house fire, you have less than three minutes to escape. So give yourself a warning. Install working smoke alarms today. One third (33%) of the residential fires we were called to last year did not have smoke alarms. You are four times more likely to survive a house fire if you have a working smoke alarm. Need advice? Message us on Facebook or come see us on Mondays from 6.30pm.
Since the last bulletin we have had 30calls: 10/03/22: Hika 641, Kamo 191, Whan 121 127 Digger Rolled Opuawhanga. 11/03/22: Hika 641, 641, Kamo 191, Whan 121, Grass Fire Hikurangi. 11/03/22: Hika 641 6411, Kawa 741, Kamo 191, Towai 8771 Grass Fire threatening house Motatau. 12/03/22: Hika 641 6411 6429, Kamo 191, Whan 6171 House fire Whananaki. 12/03/22: Hika 641, Whan 6133, Medical Whananaki. 14/03/22: Hika 641 Alarm Activation Hikurangi. 14/03/22: Hika 641, Towai 8771, Kawa 741, Power lines Down Matawaia. 14/03/22: Hika 6411, Kamo 191, Whan 121, Bush fire Ruatangata West. 15/03/22: Hika 6411, Kamo 191, Whan 121, Fire on a Hill Pipiwai. 18/03/22: Hika 641, Whan 121, MVA Whakapara. 18/03/22: Hika 641, Towai 8771, Smoke in Riponui. 21/03/22: Hika 6411, Whan 121,127, Smell of Buring Maungatapere. 21/03/22: Hika 641, Whan 121, 127, Kamo 191, MVA Accident Kauri. 22/03/22: Hika 641, Kamo 191, Whan 121, Smoke in Area Kauri. 24/03/22: Hika 641 Medical Hikurangi. 24/03/22: Hika 641, Kamo 191, Alarm sounding Helena Bay. 26/03/22: Hika 641, 6411, Whan 6171, Scrub Fire Whananaki. 28/03/22: Hika 641, Port 151, Whan 121, House Fire Mangapai. 28/03/22: Hika 641,6411, Kamo 191, Smoke coming from BP Whakapara. 29/03/22: Hika 641, Kamo 191,192, Whan 121, Bush Fire Ruatangata West. 01/04/22: Hika 641, Smoke in Hikurangi. 02/04/22: Hika 641, Smoke in Whakapara. 04/04/22: Hika 6411, Whan 121, 127, House fire Titoki. 06/04/22: Hika 641, 6429, MVA Whakapara. 07/04/22: Hika 641 Medical Opuawhanga. 08/04/22: Hika 641, Whan 121 Domestic Flooding Hik. 08/04/22: Hika 641, Whan 121, 127, Paddock Fire Whareora. 09/04/22: Hika 6411, Kaik 651, 657, Keri 6711 Burnoff out of control - 2 Tankers required Taheke. 10/04/22: Hika 641,6411, Towai 8771, Bush Fire Hukerenui. Until Next Month OS Bain.
School Holiday Programme Have fun during the school holidays with our free Take Out Tasks and Crafts packs Choose from: Crafts Puzzles Baking - Anzac biscuits in a jar. Take Out packs are available from Tuesday 19 Win craft goodies Enter the draw for a boxful of craft goodies. Take a photo of your completed task and email it to: whglibrary@wdc.govt.nz Remember to include your name, age and contact details. Take Out Tasks and Crafts are for school-aged children, tweens and teens April to Friday 29 Maker Space Make a special bookmark for Anzac Day Come along to Whangārei Central Library and make an Anzac Ted bookmark. Look for the Anzac Ted table in the front foyer and help yourself. It's free, all materials supplied.
SERVICES AVAILABLE AT HIKURANGI FRIENDSHIP HOUSE
Hikurangi Village Church Transport: The Village Church runs a van for the w eek of pension payments, to Whangarei for shopping. It leaves Hikurangi at 10am on a Thursday. Please either Phone or text Theresa to book a place on 021 243 6889. Also someone is available to take locals to appointments etc in Whangarei when necessary. Phone or text Stuart on 027 457 5247.
Justice of the Peace: Shayn Rouse Phone 433 8471 YOGA FOR ALL MARUA HALL TUESDAYS 6PM-7.15PM Phone Allison 027 353 1812
SPCA Whangarei Drop-In Centre 2021 Hikurangi Rugby Football Club 11-15 Park St
Wednesday 1pm-2pm April 27th, May 25th, June 22nd, July 20th, Aug 17th, Sept 14th, Oct 12th, Nov 9th & Dec 7th. Cat & Dog Flea & Worm Treatment from $5 Pet Care Advice FREE Emergency Pet Food GOLD COIN KOHA ALL PETS MUST BE UNDER CONTROL 24/7 Enquires 09 4389161
Hukerenui Playcentre
Our centre is located at 9 Crows Nest Road. Contact us about visiting in 2022
Session Times
Email: hukerenui@playcentre.org.nz 2022 Fee Structure
Monday 8:45- 12:45 Tuesday Wednesday 8:45- 12:45 Thursday 8:45- 12:45 Friday 8:45-12:45
Under 1-Year olds are FREE. $20 per child per term. Discounts for more than 1 child and for full year payment in Term 1.
Tai-Chi:
Every Wednesday afternoon at 1.30pm held in the Hik Mem Hall. Cost $4 per session. We will have a break during school holidays and return on May 4th. Contact Linda for any more Information if required. 4338062.
Please note!! Hikurangi Transfer Station Will change from Summer Hours to Winter Hours
This changes after Easter Weekend. The hours will change to 8.00am to 1.00pm Monday to Sunday
JP and Marriage Celebrant: Paul O’Dea 0275348374
LAMINATING: per sheet A5 @ $2.50 A4 @ $3.50 COLOUR COPYING: per sheet A4 @ $1.50 A3 @ 3.00 EMAILS: Standard fee to send and receive $2.00 Attachments @ 20c per page SCANNING available too TYPING SERVICES: Ask us about our rates. PHOTOCOPYING SERVICES
Banana Cake with Chocolate Icing Ingredients 125g Butter, softened ¾ cup Caster Sugar or Raw Sugar 2 eggs 1 cup mashed banana (about 2 large bananas) 1 tsp vanilla essence 1 tsp Baking Soda 2 Tbsp hotMilk 1¾ cup Flour 1 tsp Baking Powder Method Pre-heat oven to 180°C conventional (160° fan bake). Grease a deep 20cm round cake tin and line the base with baking paper. Beat Butter and Caster Sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in bananas and vanilla essence until combined. Mix Baking Soda and Milk together before stirring into the banana mixture. Sift in Flour and Baking Powder, fold into the mixture until combined. Spoon mixture into prepared tin and smooth the top. Bake for 40-45 minutes until cooked (insert a clean skewer, if it comes out clean it is cooked). Stand for 5-10 mins before inverting onto a wire rack to cool. Ice with chocolate icing when cold. Icing: 1½ cups Icing Sugar 1-2 dessert spoons Cocoa (depending on how you like it) 1 Tbsp Butter (softened)
NOT THE SHARPEST PENCIL…. One morning a call came in to the school office. “hello, please mark William absent today. He’s sick,” said the caller. “Okay,” said the secretary. “May I ask who is speaking?” “My uncle,” said William.
Children’s Lighthouse & Playgroup 20 George Street Hikurangi Public Sessions Open Hours Tues: 9am to 1pm Music Session & Movement Thurs:9am to 1pm Community Walk & Free Play New Email: playgroup@hikurangi.co.nz
Contact Sharlene on 021616755
Hikurangi Community Notices. Badminton (Social): Wed 9 - 12noon @ Hiki Memorial hall $2 per session. Rackets available. Contact Robyn 433 8718. Bus: Leaves Hik @ 9.50 opposite Miners Rest Café & returns from Whg @ 1.30pm arriving at Hik 2.05pm Children’s Lighthouse Playgroup: Geor ge St. Tues & Thurs 9.30 am – 12.30pm. Contact Sharlene 021 616 755 Fire Brigade: Tr aining Monday Nights at 6.30pm in the Fire Station. More Volunteers needed. Friendship House Trust: meets ever y 4th Tues of the month at 5.30pm held in the Hikurangi Hall. All welcome. Phone 433 8452 for more information. Hikurangi Business Association: Meet 2nd Wed of each month, 7.00pm Hikurangi Bowling Club. All Welcome. Hikurangi Freemasons Lodge No 140: Contact Ivan Berryman 4335847 or Steve 435 5601. Hikurangi Transfer Station Please Note Winter Hours Open Hours: Monday to Sunday 8am-1pm. Hikurangi Golf Club: Phone Blue on 4337453 Hikurangi Hall: For Hir e. Phone 433 8452 Jack Morgan Museum, Hukerenui: Open 10am-4pm daily. Justice of the Peace: Shayn Rouse Phone 433 8471 JP and Marriage Celebrant: Paul O’Dea 0275348374 Kindergarten: 5 Park St, Phone 433 8535 Library Hours: Mon, Wed, Fri 10 am - 2pm Tues & Thurs 10am - 6pm Sat & Sun closed. Ph 433 8773. Hikurangi Lions: Meet 2nd & 4th Tuesday of each month. Contact Cyndy Verryt Phone 9460081 or cellphone 021544531 or Colin 435 0717 Hukerenui Playcentre:Email Hukereui@playcentre.org.nz Marriage Celebrant: Jeanette Logie Contact 0210359313 Museum: Hours are: Tues, Thur s, Sat 10am-11.30 am, or by appointment. Contact number 433 8062 Museum Committee: Meet in the Museum ever y 3r d Sat of the month at 9.30 am. Phone Linda 433 8062 or please Email: hikurangi.museum@gmail.com. Plunket: Will get info from our Plunket Nurse for next month’s Bulletin. Eureka Taekwondo: Self Defence for all age gr oups. Hik Sch Hall, Tues & Thurs 6pm -7pm. Please just turn up on those nights for more information. Thanks. Tai Chi: Held in the Hikur angi Hall @ 1.30pm ever y Wednesday except school holidays. Please Phone Linda on 4338062 for more info. Whakapara Pony Club: Steve Martin Whakapara Women’s Institute: Contact Marie 433 9900. Whangarei District Council: Phone 430 4200. Yoga: Mar ua Hall. Thur sday 6pm $8. Allison 09 434 4330 If there any changes needed to these notices please let us know before our deadline which is on the front page. We are not responsible for information that is wrong if people do not let us know of any changes.
HIKURANGI TAKEAWAYS 59 King St PHONE 4338 448
CHINESE, FISH & CHIPS, FAMILY MEALS, BUFFET BAR FROM 5pm Mon 4pm - 8.30pm, Tues - Sun 11am - 9pm
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK
Hikurangi Historical Museum On the 26th of May, 1918, Rifleman Harry Eric Ball - son of Derrick and Edith E Ball – was killed in action in France at the tender age of 21. Harry served in the 1st Battalion of the 3rd NZ Rifle Brigade; he enlisted on the 22nd August 1916, and had sailed over eighteen months prior to his death. Born in Hikurangi, he had been a butter-maker at the Hikurangi Dairy Factory, and was considered ‘one of the best-known and popular lads in the district’. Harry’s older brother Sergeant Cliff Ball had been the first volunteer to enlist from Hikurangi. Cliff returned to NZ after three years in Gallipoli and France. Although we are a long way from the Hebuterne Military Cemetery in France where Harry is buried, a memorial stone for Harry can be found in the Hikurangi Museum. Please visit and pay your respects to Harry and all the many other men and women of Hikurangi who have served in military conflict. The Museum will be open on ANZAC Day from 9am to 12 noon. Drop in before or after the parade. Help us build a wreath of paper poppies where you can contribute your thoughts and prayers for all of those affected by war.
Besides our usual opening hours we can also open by appointment. Contact us for more information: hikurangi.museum@gmail.com
National Volunteer Week 2022
HIKURANGI COMMUNITY LIBRARY OPEN HOURS
National Volunteer Week (NVW) celebrates the collective contribution of all volunteers who enrich Aotearoa New Zealand. NVW includes a wide variety of events, activities, and awareness-raising campaigns.
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10am to 2pm Tuesday & Thursday 10am to 6pm
When: 19-25 June 2022 (Covid regulations permitting There are always organisations looking for volunteers, like the Hikurangi Library, the Hikurangi Museum, places like that. So if you have a spare few hours come and see if you can help.
Contact No 09 4338773 or Email:library@hikurangi.co.nz Call into the library to check out our NEW VOLUNTEERS
We would welcome new volunteers on board. If interested please call into the library and talk to the other volunteers to find out what is involved. MORE STORIES NEEDED.
If you have any short stories or jokes for the bulletin please either come and see Linda in the office or email them to us if possible. Email: friendship@hikurangi.co.nz.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this Bulletin are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Friendship House or the Editor and we reserve the right to edit or not publish inflammatory material.
Thanks for supporting our Hikurangi Bulletin. 2022 Donations are now due. Your $10.00 annual Bulletin Donation would be very much appreciated, this helps to keep this community publication operating. Unfortunately due to postage going up each year we have to raise our postage, so if you would still like it posted to your address, then please add $16.00 for postage.
Thanks this is very much appreciated. Suggested ways to pay:Call into Friendship House Office. Drop off at the Hikurangi Library (addressed to the Hikurangi Bulletin). Please name. Can be posted to 10a King St Hikurangi, Or direct to our bank account number: ANZ 06 0996 0093533 02 (ref. your name please). Name…………………………………………………………….. Address………………………………………………………….. Donation $………………….
Postage $..……………………..
Whangarei Mobile Library Bus This arrives outside the Hikurangi Community Library at 1.15pm. The next Library Bus will be on April 21st. Please contact the library on 4338773 for more details. Thanks. J C Godfrey Certified Plumber & Drainlayer & Digger Work PO Box 53 Hikurangi 0150 Ph/Fax (09) 4338858 Mobile 027 4976632 johncg1943@gmail.com
Funny Stories: If anyone has any of these that would be suitable for the Hikurangi Bulletin please call into Friendship House with them or email us at friendship@hikurangi.co.nz. They would be very much appreciated. Thanks Linda (Editor).
-General Electrical -Heat
Pumps
Hikurangi Police
Policeman Pete A current topic, one of many may I add regarding Policing is the focus on response times for Police attending jobs which has blown out since 2017. The cities in the north island by far have the largest increase in attendance times with Auckland not surprisingly out in front. The attendance time for Auckland City has gone from on average 25 minutes 51 seconds since 2017 to 1 hour 49 minutes. Northland as a District is unfortunately not much better going from 31 minutes 44 seconds in 2017 to 1 hour 18 minutes in 2022. I can only speak for the area Lisa and I police which is in itself huge and spread wide from close to Towai in the north to Kauri in the south. We also cover the coast from Matapouri through to Punaruku in the north and everything in between. The issue we have is exactly that fact, we are huge and spread wide. When we are not working (yes, we have down time) Whangarei must cover the area mentioned. Of course, response times suffer during these times and even if we are called out ourselves getting to the coast quickly is difficult. Each job is different, some require extra staff and extra resources, some are dealt with quickly with one police unit sufficient. All jobs are given priority levels with a P1 (Priority One) job being the most serious and therefore resources and numbers are crucial. Whenever you witness police vehicles with lights and sirens, they are going to a P1 event. To police in the rural environment, brings many challenges for both of us. We are predominantly single crewed which means we are it initially. To get back up for assistance, takes time and certain occurrences develop quickly so it takes a special type of person to police rurally. Experience and the smarts certainly help and again that takes time to develop. In short, I want to say we endeavour to attend all jobs with the speed they deserve. Being in the right place at the right time is rare so the old saying of being caught red handed does happen but not always. Our call takers want to capture all the information they can and quickly, identifying people and vehicles is not as easy as it sounds. We require detail to assist our enquires further on so it is crucial to get that picture saved to the memory bank whenever you witness something, write down your observations as soon as you can. Its no secret police have notebooks for just that reason for later recall if needed. Registrations of vehicles is also crucial to identifying people, the colour of a vehicle makes it a little difficult in the long run get used to looking at number plates. To have notes on times and events you witnessed is pure gold to us and we can work our way through to a better outcome. Take care out there summer has ended and it’s cooling down. Look after yourselves and your neighbours and I’ll be seeing you around the traps. Senior Constable Pete THOMAS.
Hikurangi War Memorial Hall available for hire Large Hall with Supper Room and Extra Large Kitchen. Hireage for Social, Birthdays Weddings etc.
To enquire please contact Friendship House on Phone 4338452 during open hours or email us at friendship@hikurangi.co.nz
BOTTLE STORE
OPEN 7 DAYS Mondays 12 noon till 7pm Tuesday - Thursday 11am till 8pm Friday & Saturday 11am till 9pm Sunday 11am till 8pm HIKURANGI BUS SERVICE: THURSDAYS Leaves Hikurangi @ 9.50am opposite Miners Rest Café. Leaves from Whangarei @ 1.30pm arrives back in Hikurangi at 2.05pm. $3.00 each way.