The Weekend Sun - 13 March 2026

13 March 2026, Issue 1301

Back to business Bay of Plenty cricket fans are in for a treat this weekend, as Bay Oval hosts an international double-header against South Africa this Sunday, March 15.

The back-to-back action will begin 2.45pm with the White Ferns facing the Proteas women before the Blackcaps meet South

Africa’s men’s side at 7.15pm.

The Blackcaps squad is set to feature eight Blackcaps from the recent ICC T20 World Cup, including Mitchell Santner, pictured.

The Blackcaps captain and seven of his T20 World Cup squad have been included in an extended squad to face South Africa in the

upcoming KFC T20I series, which begins at Bay Oval on Sunday.

Devon Conway and Lockie Ferguson will join Santner in the squad for the first three games, while Kyle Jamieson, Cole McConchie, Jimmy Neesham, Ben Sears and Ish Sodhi will be available for the entire series

after comparatively lighter workloads in the T20 World Cup campaign.

Bay Oval gates are expected to open 1.45pm Sunday to accommodate the two matches, with organisers encouraging fans to arrive early. Read more on page 15.

Photo / Supplied

Friday 13 March 2026

The Weekend Sun

2

405 Cameron Rd, Private Bag 12002, Tauranga Mail Centre, Tauranga 3143.

Phone 07 578 0030 www.theweekendsun.co.nz ads@thesun.co.nz newsroom@thesun.co.nz

The Weekend Sun is published every Friday and distributed throughout the Western Bay of Plenty from Waihi Beach, through Katikati, Tauranga, Mount Maunganui, Papamoa and Te Puke and available to collect at many stand locations throughout the area. For a full list of stand locations see https://theweekendsun.co.nz/stand-locations.html The Weekend Sun is part of NZME - New Zealand Media & Entertainment. We keep Kiwis in the know. Locally produced at 405 Cameron Rd, Tauranga

Editor: Merle Cave Editorial: Letitia Atkinson, Rosalie Liddle Crawford, Hunter Wells, Ayla Yeoman. Publications Manager: Kathy Sellars.

Advertising: Cade Hughs, Jo Delicata, Sharon Eyres.

Design Studio: Kym Johnson, Caitlin Burns.

Buy, lick, stick, post…

something we had no control over. I had an urge to hug her. But no! Never hug the postmistress.

“How long?” “September.”

Pay bills, send parcels and letters, “Really? Not long!” “No. Not long. Just register your car, pay road user charges, long enough to get the affairs in order.” chat about the weather…but don’t hug She stared school ma’am-ishly across the her. Postmistresses are dignified people top of rimless specs while we processed of calling. the cold hard reality. I thought she was “We learned about it the way you did,” going to cry. she said disgustedly. “On the radio.”

Then we just shrugged in acceptance of Probably something like ‘News at the top of the hour, NZ Post closes 142 urban retail partner stores – more

shops than needed for mail volumes’.

Three of them in Tauranga

– Matua, Papamoa East and Cherrywood. Gone. Kaput.

“We found out on the news.

Lovely!”

NZ Post cushioned the

news by explaining 90% of

us urban Kiwis will remain

within 4km of a post shop.

Yeah, great! As another keen

scribbler pointed out, by the time you write the letter, trip " 4km to the Post Shop, pay !

the $2.90 standard medium ! mail rate, then trip home, it would be easier to deliver the letter yourself. Be your own postie, cut out the middle man.

I felt like a loyal old friend had just been given a terminal diagnosis.

I enjoy writing to, or receiving handwritten letters from, all my friends. Both of them. But I sense derision – foolish, worthless person. Who writes letters or sends cards now? Well, you are missing out on something deeply satisfying.

I understand people preferring the immediacy and convenience of an email or text. But an emoji doesn’t have the primal impact of an ink blot, a smudge or a thumb print. It doesn’t convey something deeply personal like that of hand-written messages.

emoji. It needed a letter, a strong flowing hand, water marked, rag-based paper stained with battle blood, and boiling with lust. And Napoleon didn’t have to ride 4km to the nearest Post Shop either. He requisitioned a corvette to deliver his love letters for him.

I also enjoy a difficult rapport with the postmistress. Every year, 10 days before Christmas I pop in with “stuff ” for the other side of the world. It’s met with exasperation. “I told you last year, and the year before, this needed to be posted a month ago to get there by Christmas.”

Apparently there are 2.3 billion Christians worldwide, who, like me, want stuff posted at Christmas. “Think about it,” she said. I didn’t, because I was kind of hoping she might order up a special FedEx A300 to fly my stuff where it needed to be on time. She didn’t.

‘I don’t want to know’

THE WEEKEND

Bitch and moan

If you are cold toast, like me, past your use by date, 4km is manageable. But it’s a whole lot less manageable and convenient than the short walk in the sun, with coffee, that it is now.

We’ve been down this old postal delivery route before. I bitched and moaned when NZ Post shunted its Tauranga CBD shop into an offroad, low profile, no profile, dingy cellar halfway down Cameron Rd. But this is worse. 142 shops! Gone!

I’m sure the business case is sound.

Lazy, soul-less people not writing letters.

So not enough mail to justify all the outlets.

But letters and stamps and post offices have worked well since someone put glue on the back of a Penny Black in 1840, licked it, and stuck it on.

The Weekend Sun is subject to NZ Media Council procedures.

First, email your complaint to the Editor at: newsroom@thesun.co.nz If not satisfied or for more details, go to: mediacouncil.org.nz

“Not tonight...”

Raw and explicit

Like this letter of 1796…famous and passionate, erotic and steamy.

“You are going to be here beside me, in my arms, on my breast, on my mouth?

Take wing and come, come! A kiss on your heart, and one…”

You’ll have to imagine where Napoleon Bonaparte planted that other kiss on the Empress, to whom he famously did NOT say: “Not tonight, Josephine!” – apparently.

But the point being, none of that explicit and raw affection would have transferred well to an email and an

Anyhow, Post Shops shouldn’t be surrendered lightly by rewriting a deed of business with the Government. If it is rewritten, why not just put a big red line through all the business imperatives and run it as a social service? Because letters and cards and connectivity are good for our mental wellbeing.

Messages about daily life, gratitude, condolences memories, milestones, deepest emotions.

Perhaps NZ Post could translate all that into numbers and weave it into their spreadsheets? Fanciful, but nice if it made a difference.

A young friend is symptomatic of NZ Post problems. When was the last time she posted a letter? “Mmm – wedding invites – six-and-a-half-years-ago.” That doesn’t help.

I do my best for NZ Post. I asked the Postmistress if it was safe to put $200 cash in with a late birthday card.

There were immediate signs of a mental health crisis and she said: “I DO NOT want to know” especially considering a spate of letterbox thefts. Regardless, the card and cash were very well received.

Just not by the person they were intended for. Oh dear!

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The Weekend Sun

Friday 13 March 2026

3

Councillors approve home security allowance but few plan to use it Tauranga City Council elected representatives will be provided with the option to apply for a home security allowance, but most say they do not plan to use it.

The Remuneration Authority introduced the allowance after reports of public figures experiencing abuse, harassment and threatening behaviour on the job.

It provides up to $4500 to buy and install a system at an elected member’s primary local home, and up to $1000 a year for monitoring, callouts and repairs.

Eligibility is based on a security threat and risk assessment authorised by the local authority.

In a Tauranga City Council meeting last week, the council unanimously voted to approve retrospective reimbursement of any home security found eligible and necessary by an assessment, under the Elected Members and Resources Policy.

Would they use it?

Local Democracy Reporting asked councillors whether they planned to seek the allowance.

Welcome Bay ward councillor Hautapu Baker said he had received threats during the past 18 months but did not plan to seek the allowance. “I’ve received threats along the lines of people wanting/going to get revenge against me for the decisions I’ve made/supported.”

Those included water fluoridation, a rainbow crossing and the establishment of Māori representatives on committees.

Tauranga City councillors have been given the option of applying for an assessment to get a home security allowance. Photo / File “Ensuring the safety and wellbeing of ourselves and our whānau is essential for us to carry out our roles effectively,” Baker said.

Deputy Mayor and Mount Maunganui ward councillor Jen Scoular said she’fd asked for an assessment to be done for the allowance. She declined to discuss any concerns leading to that decision.

“I have a good knowledge on whether there are risks that could be mitigated by having home security.

“We are in public-facing roles and I believe I should be safe at my home.”

Bethlehem ward councillor Kevin Schuler said he did not intend to use the security allowance, but felt it was “reasonable and justified”.

“We are public property to a degree, and people can turn up to our homes with relative ease.

“I have had one instance of an envelope being dropped off inside my house while I was out.”

While he did not feel unsafe, he said others may find the thought of an uninvited or unwelcome visitor unsettling. He said it would also be

valuable to have video evidence if something got out of hand.

Te Papa ward councillor Rod Taylor said he knew some “heated” exchanges had happened locally, including at elected members’ private residences and in front of their families.

“Personally, I haven’t had anything that would lead me to undertake installing extra security as the policy allows.”

threatened in a significant way”.

Arataki ward councillor Rick Curach said he had never been concerned for his personal security, and had not heard any current colleagues suggesting they needed a security allowance.

Mayor Mahé Drysdale said there had been incidents around the country that highlighted potential risks that came with holding public office.

“This allowance provides an option for elected members and their families if they believe there may be a perceived safety risk because of their role.”

He said it was important safety concerns did not discourage people from standing in local

– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

Ayla Yeoman

Clear policy vital

He still believed having a clear policy with assessment criteria was important and “the right thing to do”, in case it was needed.

Te Awanui ward councillor Hēmi Rolleston said he do not intend to use the allowance, but was comforted to know it was there if any councillor needed it.

Matua-Ōtūmoetai ward councillor Glen Crowther said he had not experienced any threats but supported the option for publicly funded security to be available to any elected representative “being

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Te Pou Whakawhirinaki o Tauranga

Former flanker hangs up stick Keith used to sit in the car while his wife did the shopping. Not because he was lazy.

But because walking through a supermarket had become an ordeal he’d rather avoid.

“I’d let her go in while I waited,” the 72-year-old recalls. “It was easier than hobbling around with a stick, holding everyone up.”

For a man who’d spent his younger years charging into rucks as a flanker, the irony wasn’t lost on him. All those Saturday afternoons throwing himself into tackles, driving through scrums with his legs. His knees had given everything to the game. Now they were sending him the bill.

“Took a few too many tackles, I suppose,” Keith says. “It catches up with you.”

The decline had been gradual. First came the knee supports. Then the walking stick, which Keith told himself was temporary.

Before long, he’d mapped out which chairs were easiest to get out of, which routes avoided stairs, which social invitations were worth the discomfort.

His wife still did the things they’d planned to do together in retirement. Keith watched from the car park.

“I’d worked my whole life, raised a family, done everything right. And now, the idea that I wouldn’t be able to walk through a supermarket without planning it like a military operation is bloody awful.”

The worst part wasn’t the physical limitation. It was becoming someone he didn’t recognise. Keith had never been the type to sit things out.

Then a friend mentioned Koru FX. “I thought, here we go, one of those toogood-to-be-true things,” Keith says. “But I figured I’d give it a go. What did I have to lose?”

body elections.

“We want a wide range of people to feel confident standing for council and having measures available that may help them feel safe if they’re elected is part of that.”

He did not comment on whether he had received threats or intended to use the allowance.

Pāpāmoa ward councillor Steve Morris and Tauriko ward councillor Marten Rozeboom were also contacted for comment.

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Made in New Zealand with natural ingredients. His friend had been using it himself and professed how good it was.

“The first thing I noticed was how easy it was to use,” he says. “Just rub it in. No complicated routine.”

What surprised him was that something felt different. His knees weren’t suddenly twenty years younger, but the edge had come off.

“Initially I’d still use my knee support,” he explains. “Sort of hedging my bets. But after a while I thought, let’s see what happens without them.”

Within weeks, Keith was moving more freely. The careful calculations started to feel unnecessary.

“The old stick’s hanging in the hallway now,” Keith says. “I’m not worrying that I will need it anymore.”

These days, Keith and his wife do aqua aerobics together at the local pools. It’s not rugby. But it’s movement, it’s social, and it’s something they can do as a couple rather than something she does while he waits.

“I used to sit in the car while she did the shopping. Now I go by myself if I want to.

That probably doesn’t sound like much. But when you’ve lost that independence, getting it back is everything.”

His advice? Don’t wait as long as he did.

“I spent years assuming this was just my life now. Turns out I had options I didn’t know about.”

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Friday 13 March 2026

Public consultation opens on keeping free cash services Public feedback is being sought on a proposal requiring banks to provide a minimum level of free cash services, ensuring people, businesses and community groups can withdraw and deposit cash, and access change close to home.

The six-week consultation closes on April 10.

The proposal suggests urban residents should have walkable access to cash services, while rural communities should have a reasonable driving distance, with no unreasonable wait

times. It also assumes banks would share infrastructure, as they do through regional banking hubs.

Director of Money and Cash Ian Woolford said cash remains essential and access points have declined, particularly in rural areas.

The estimated annual benefit of improved access is $2.83 billion, compared with an added $104 million cost to banks. Research shows 72% of small businesses would be negatively affected if cash were unavailable.

The Weekend Sun

4

Mount RSA weighs

Mount Maunganui RSA acting manager Jonathan Clarke.

Photos / Kelly O’Hara

After proposed merger discussions with Tauranga RSA came to an end, Mount Maunganui RSA members will meet later this month to consider the club’s future, including how to address issues affecting its ageing building.

Mount Maunganui RSA acting manager Jonathan Clarke said a special meeting of members would be held March 30 to consider several options, including redevelopment of the current site, a possible sale, or exploring future partnerships.

Tauranga RSA president Morton Anderson said

discussions since 2024 about a possible merger with Mount RSA have now been discontinued, with the organisation deciding to focus its efforts on veterans and their families. “For now, we are concentrating on the core role of the RSA, which is supporting veterans and their families,” Anderson said.

Significant changes

Tauranga RSA, which has about 1000 members, had undergone significant changes over the years. The organisation was originally based on Cameron Rd near Tauranga Hospital before relocating to Greerton.

The Greerton property was sold last year to Turners Property Holdings Ltd.

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Friday 13 March 2026

5

future after merger falls through Clarke said many RSAs had closed in recent years, including in Katikati, as well as “some notable ones in Auckland and Christchurch”.

“Other ones have been forced to merge with other clubs,” Clarke said. “Clubs that are struggling financially have had little money to put into welfare. If you go back 30 years, they had tens of thousands to put into veteran support, but with the financial situation of most clubs, it’s now a trickle.”

After initially entering talks with Mount Maunganui RSA about a club merger, Tauranga RSA members voted at an extraordinary general meeting in February to cease the amalgamation process and instead concentrate on providing welfare and support services for veterans and their families “at this point in time”.

“The Tauranga RSA will consolidate and plan via our members the next step forward and investigate providing a hospitality service in the future to our members,” Anderson said.

To support that plan, Tauranga RSA has purchased a commercial building in Chadwick Rd. Part of the building is leased to tenants for income, while the remaining space will be used for its welfare office, meeting rooms and administration.

Substantial maintenance

The decision leaves Mount Maunganui RSA to consider its own financial and property challenges.

According to Clarke, the Mount RSA

had not recorded a profitable year for about a decade.

“If you go back 10 years the club had well over half a million in the bank,” he said. “Fast-forward to today, they’ve got very little in the bank and $350,000 worth of loans.”

He said the club building, which dates back to the 1960s, also requires substantial maintenance.

“One side of the building is actually sinking, and you can feel it when you’re walking downhill through the west wing,” Clarke said. “The roof needs hundreds of thousands spent on it to fix it. And there is a whole list of urgent maintenance ranging from electrical work to equipment upgrades.

“Tauranga RSA came to the conclusion that sinking a large sum into the building to renovate it and supporting a loss-making business wasn’t the best use of their money.”

Mount Maunganui RSA currently has about 4000 members and remains one of the larger RSAs in New Zealand.

At a recent meeting members discussed possible options for the club’s future, with further discussions scheduled for March 30.

Options

Options under consideration include selling the site, redeveloping the property with a commercial partner, or merging with another club. One possibility being explored is a potential merger with Club Mount near Blake Park. “We’re in discussions with them at the moment,”

Tauranga RSA manager Sue Martin and president Morton Anderson. Photo / Kelly O’Hara

Clarke said. “There are a number of different variations of how that could work.” Another option could involve redeveloping the Mount RSA site with a developer, potentially building a smaller RSA facility as part of a larger development.

Clarke said the Mount RSA occupies one of the last large commercial sites in Mount Maunganui, and the land has strong development interest.

“There aren’t many large main road commercial sites left on the Mount peninsula,” he said. “It’s pretty much our place or nothing.” Any major decision will ultimately be up to members. “All

VI

LLA

of the options are still being worked through,” Clarke said. “They’ll be presented in full to members and then they will decide the future direction.”

Anzac Day as usual

Despite the changes, both organisations said Anzac Day commemorations would continue as usual.

Mount Maunganui RSA will host a traditional dawn service at the Mount cenotaph followed by a gathering at the club, while Tauranga RSA will hold its dawn service at Memorial Park in partnership with Tauranga City Council.

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The Weekend Sun

6

Our Best Friends: Mural to celebrate service dogs Four service doogs have been selected by artist Sam m Alllen to be featured in a mural at Memorial Park. The Weekend Su un is running a series of six ‘Servicee Dog Mural’ stories.

Today’s Servicee Dog Mural #1 story is about artist Sam Alllen and how he came up with the concept for the artw twork. w At Memorial Paark, four remarkable dogs will soon be imm mortalised in paint – not for their tricks or trophies, but for their service.

Mural artist Sam m Alllen is preparing to unveil Our Besst Friends, a public artwork celebratin ng the quiet, powerful contribution serviice dogs make to the Tauranga commu unityy.

From search and d rescue missions to conservation workk and guiding the blind, each dog represen nts dedication beyond companionship.

The idea was boorn during Alllen’s travels to Nepal, where he witnessed a festival honouring dogs, with a full day devoted to gratitude for th heir loyaltyy and service.

Similar reverence in Japan reinforced the concept.

“It’s something everyone connects with,” Allen said. “No matter your background, people love dogs. It brings us together.”

Dogs that ‘w work’

After posting a call for nominations on local Facebookk pages, Alllen received more than 350 reesponses. While many nominated their own beloved pets, he chose to focus on dogs that ‘work’ to serve

the wider communityy.

The mural will centre on four service dogs, primarily depicting the animals, with only subtle hints of their human partners.

Importantly, Alllen plans to incorporate raised elements so the mural can be experienced through touch as well as sight.

While the dogs may be the heroes of the mural, it was photographer Nicholas Charles who first captured them through the lens. Charles, predominantly a portrait and events photographer, was tasked with creating the studio reference images that Alllen will use to paint the four assistance dogs. Allthough dogs aren’t his usual subject, he said the shoot was enormous fun.

“I’m predominantly a portrait and events photographer, but I do take on all kinds of work.”

His specialtyy lies in controlled studio environments, and for this project he used off-camera flash – carefully manipulating light to create dramatic, detailed images suitable for large-scale artw twork. w The majorityy of the photographs were taken in studio conditions at The Light Lab, the studio Charles opened in 2022 at Tauranga Historic Village.

Two purposes

For the mural project, the images serve two tw w purposes. Primarily, they are reference material for Alllen’s painting.

But as a ‘thank you’, each handler will receive personal portraits with their dog – something many had never experienced before in a professional studio setting.

“It was something different for them,” Charles said. “Most of these dogs are used

to working environments – bush, reserves, rescue sites. Coming into a studio was a new experience.”

That said, the dogs handled it with remarkable composure. Accustomed to discipline and control through their work – from search and rescue to conservation detection – they proved calm and highly responsive under the lights.

In addition to studio portraits, Charles also photographed some of the dogs in the environments where they work.

The search and rescue and conservation dogs were taken into nearby bushland for contextual portraits, helping ensure the mural reflects not just the animals but the landscapes in which they serve.

Tauranga mural artist Sam Allen is planning a mural at Memorial Park to celebrate the contribution that service dogs make to the Tauranga community.

Photo / Supplied

Big dog party tyy

Coordinating multiple highly trained working dogs in one space had its challenges – “like herding cats,” Charles joked – but the overall atmosphere was one of enthusiasm.

Handlers, photographer and artist alike enjoyed the process.

When the mural is unveiled, viewers will see painted figures on a wall. Behind those brushstrokes, however, is a carefully constructed photographic foundation – light shaped, moments captured, and working partnerships preserved.

“We’re going to have a big dog partyy at Memorial Park when the mural is finished,” Alllen said.

Next week: The Weekend Sun will showcase the first of the four service dogs chosen for the mural.

Rosalie Liddle Crawford

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Friday 13 March 2026

The Weekend Sun

8

Enrolments open for new conservation training People interested in protecting the environment are being encouraged to enrol in new hands-on conservation training launching across the Bay of Plenty this month.

Bay Conservation Alliance has opened enrolments for small-group, field-based training units as part of its newly launched Tauira Mahi Conservation Training programme. The initiative builds on the success of the organisation’s former cadet training programme, which helped place more than 120 people into conservation roles throughout New Zealand.

The original programme concluded early-2025 after government Jobs for Nature funding ended. During its run, the programme trained 135 adult cadets and became one of the most successful initiatives funded through the scheme.

The value

Bay Conservation Alliance recognised the value of the training for both the conservation sector and those working within it, particularly because the programme was industry-led rather than strictly NZQA-driven.

Graduates gained a broad understanding of conservation challenges and how their work contributed to protecting New Zealand’s environment.

Feedback from cadets – including some who’d previously worked in conservation – highlighted how the programme helped them feel more empowered and gave them a clearer picture of how their mahi fitted into the wider conservation

BCA cadets Brody Leathem, Isabella Nolan and Mitchell Watson learning freshwater monitoring techniques in the Bay of Plenty. Photo / Emma Richardson

effort. Rather than let the training disappear when funding ended, Bay Conservation Alliance has spent th he past year developing a new model designed to be financially sustainable and accessible to more people, including those who cannot take time off work or travel long distances to study.

The result is Tauira Mahi Conservation Training, a programme combining online learning with practical field-based training units.

Knowledge essential

Bay Conservation Alliance’s Michelle Elborn said knowledge is essential for effective conservation.

“Knowledge is key to successful conservation management. We

hope our new training continues to empower passionate people committed to protecting our taonga species and d important habitats.”

The programme launched this month, with in-person field training beginning late-March and online learning modules expected to become available from July.

Nine one-day field units are open for enrolment, covering Foundations in Conservation, Introduction to Pest Animal Control and New Zealand Bird Identification.

Three two-day units in Introduction to Freshwater Environments are also available.

These small-group field courses will be held at locations across the Bay of Plenty.

Later this year, online units will

provide deeper learning in areas such as freshwater environments, New Zealand pllant id dentifi fication, bird fi d id dentifi fication, fi bird monitoring and conservation project management.

Find out more

Each online unit will include four modules featuring video tutorials, readings, downloadable resources, selfguided activities and assessment quizzes.

More units are expected to be added over time as the programme develops.

People interested in enrolling or learning more about the training programme can visit: training. bayconservation.nz or email Clare Power at: comms@bayconservation.nz Rosalie Liddle Crawford

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Friday 13 March 2026

The Weekend Sun

10

When Veronica and the forces of nature collided Aged 6, and in the moment, she wouldn’t have stopped to read the signs.

No one did. The air had grown still, and oppressive. The sea, quiet and calm. And a most peculiar colour. Ominous, suggested reports of the time.

“I remember the morning vividly.” And for one tragic, destructive, life-changing reason.

Because Veronica Miles had been at school just an hour-and-a-half when a city heaved upwards, swayed and rocked like a ship at sea, then tumbled and crumbled in ruins. It was 7.8 on the Richter scale – energy likened to a 100 million tonnes of TNT, and the roar of an express train.

Then a city burned, with many of Napier’s wooden buildings fuelling the fire.

It was playtime at Napier Central Primary School, 10.47am, on February 3, 1931.

“We were all outside and suddenly kids everywhere were falling about uncontrollably.”

The earth was convulsing. “We had no idea what was going on.” But she clearly remembers the wall. Oh yes, the wall.

A survivor

“A huge brick wall, the side of a building, a classroom. It disintegrated in a big

heap of bricks right in n front of us. It just tumbled down.” She pauses, reflectively.

“Mmmmm…” A scaary moment 95 years ago. “I don’t know wh hat I thought. But I suppose I was scared. Very scared.” And when the dust and sm moke had settled, and the fires doused, the 1931 Napier Earthquake, New Zeaaland’s deadliest natural disaster, had claimed c 256 lives.

Veronica Miles (neee Thomas), now a resident at the Althoorp retirement community in Pyes Pa, P has just been to the 2026 reunion of 1931’s Napier earthquake survivors.

‘Refugees’ they calleed them. It’s on her reunion name tag – ‘V Veronica Miles,, nee Thomas, Refugee’. A refugee in her own land. People displaced by the earthquake.

There were many. But few these days.

“Perhaps just eight or 10 of us survivors this reunion.”

So 95 years after the event, and aged 102, nearly, Miles’ story becomes an increasingly significant document of record. “It was important for me to go back to Napier and say, ‘Yes, I was part of that’.” She’s a sliver of history. And a survivor.

Before the earthquake, she was ravaged by whooping cough, the virulent respiratory infection and a significant cause of child mortality. Then she was hospitalised with bacterial scarlet fever, another child killer.

She pulled through both.

Then the earthquake. “Things were different – not many health and safety

Veronica Miles survived New Zealand’s deadliest natural disaster.

Photo / Kelly O’Hara

protocols in those days,” Miles recently told The Weekend Sun.

hearing stories.” But she wasn’t completely spared of upset.

‘Go home’

Blood streaming

Especially in the face of a full-blown disaster. “The teachers didn’t know what to do with us. Finally they told us to go home. I can still see it.”

Miles and her sister, wandering bewilderedly down the street, not far from where a CBD had crumbled and burned.

Where the missing, the injured, the dying, and the dead, lay in the rubble.

“We were protected. Weren’t allowed to see that. Weren’t allowed anywhere near town.” The new entrant only got to understand the scale and gravity over time.

“It’s confusing – some is what you know and remember, but most is from reading or

One encounter, one image, is etched.

An injured woman, wide-eyed with fear, standing at her gate as Miles and her 10-year-old sister Lorna passed by. “There was blood streaming from her head.”

Two confused schoolgirls walked on by until they were rescued by their father out looking for them on his bicycle. “He’d been all over the road – he couldn’t ride straight because the road was rocking and rolling.”

Two minutes after the first rumble, after the first deadly jolt, it was over. Nature’s evil deed done. And what wasn’t levelled was burning – a hot, dry day and flames

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The Weekend Sun

Friday 13 March 2026

11 1

An aerial looking from Shakespeare Street over the business district in Napier, showing damage from the 1931 earthquake. Photo / New Zealand Herald

The Cosy Theatre aft fter t the 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake.

Photo / Hawkke’’s Bay Museum andd Art Galllery

fanned by a strong easterly breeze. A fire brigade stood by powerless because the quake had taken out the water supply. A perfect storm.

“No one, absolutely no one was brave enough to go home to sleep that night – just in case it tumbled on them,” recalled Miles. So the neighbourhood set up a tent village in the still-trembling college grounds across the road. There were more than 500 aftershocks in the fortnight after the quake.

In fact, Miles never lived in her “old, not flash, wooden home” on Napier Hill again. “It was still standing but a mess.

Cupboards thrown open, stuff flung everywhere. So sad.” Earthquakes take no account of a family’s feelings. A freestanding wardrobe had fallen across her Mum and Dad’s bed. “Now had they been

Palmerston North, that was the end. They would never return to Napier. Not as a family.

The refugee camp was a showgrounds pavilion. “Yards and yards of scrim.

Straw-coloured scrim. Partitioned off into scrim ccubicles. Each cubicle a temporary home, offering o some privacy, to a refugee family.” Later they would be billeted with local families, spend time with grandparents before establishing life again in Marton in Rangitikei district.

Now, 95 years later in Pyes Pa, the 1931 quake remains the defining moment of a long, ‘Refugee’ – the tag resilient life. “Oh yes, I think distributed to Veronica so.” Set aside World War II, Miles and other Napier The Apollo moon landing and earthquake survivors. all the technological advances.

in bed when earthquake struck…?” Miles winces at what might have been.

The Thomas family was spared personal injury but not psychological scars.

“Mum refused to go back to that house.

She was so upset, she was ill. [She] Almost had a breakdown. But I understand. As an n adult she would have been n more in touch with the catastrophe around her.” Later in life Miles pitied her “poor” father. “He must have nearly had a divorce on his hands.”

The refugee

When the Thomas family was evacuated from “tent town” to “refugee camp” in

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“The Napier earthquake is always there, [I’m] always thinking about it, I am always learning something new about it.” Not all of it uplifting.

Like a tragic act of mercy. Historic records tell of a doctor, and a husband, forced to make the decision to administer a fatal injection to the man’s wife trapped in the rubble as savage flames swept towards her. “Rather than let her suffer! It must have been awful.”

And that’s the reason Miles had returned to Napier for four or five survivor reunions.

“As I said, it’s important to be able to say you were part of that.” Part of New Zealand’s biggest natural disaster.

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Friday 13 March 2026

The Weekend Sun

12

One of three BOP students gains scholarship because of mum A Tauranga teenager who lost her mother to cancer has been awarded a $30,000 scholarship as she pursues a career inspired by her mother.

Mount Maunganui College graduate Faith Anderson said her mother, Lisa Anderson, died on Christmas Day of 2023 from breast cancer.

“It was her favourite holiday…she was just saying, you know, ‘I have to make it to Christmas’…and she did."

It was hard to lose her so young. “It was always like, me and her growing up, so she’s had like a massive influence on every kind of area of my life.

“I’m doing uni and I’m doing it all because of her.”

Anderson is one of three Bay of Plenty first-year university students and 18 nationally who received a Milford Foundation scholarship this year.

The foundation said it provided $10,000 for each year of undergraduate study, along with mentoring and other support, to help reduce inequity in access to tertiary education.

Influenced by mum

ON NOW

Anderson, 18, said she had just started her three-year Bachelor of Social Science degree at the University of Waikato, majoring in criminology and minoring in forensic psychology.

She said the love of crime shows and books that sparked her interest in this field was heavily influenced by her mother. “She loved that stuff...we’d watch them together and then I was always so hooked into figuring it out.”

Anderson said her mother would have

been proud she even managed to finish college. “If I didn’t have all the people around me that I did, and if I didn’t deal with my grief the way that I did, I know I would never have gone back to school, so I would never would have had this opportunity.”

Anderson said she was in disbelief when she found out she received the scholarship. Without it, she could not afford to go to university and she did not want to take out loans. “This was kind of like a make-or-break thing for me.”

The self-described “homebody” enjoyed sewing, cross-stitch, painting, and reading. “All of that my Mum taught me.”

Her main career goal was to become a forensic psychologist. She was also interested in victim advocacy work.

Former Mount Maunganui College student Faith Anderson pictured as a child with her mother Lisa Anderson, who died on Christmas Day of 2023 frr breast cancer. from

Mount Maunganui College graduate Faith Anderson is one of three Bay of Plenty first-year university students and 18 nationally who received a Milford Foundation scholarship this year.

Can focus

Former Te Puke High School head girl Bella Ngawhika, 18, won a scholarship towards her Bachelor of Environmental Planning studies. This would go towards her tuition and student accommodation at the University of Waikato in Hamilton.

“It means that I can focus on my studies instead of having to freak out over money...”

Ngawhika said her goal was to “show rangatahi Māori that we don’t just have to go into kiwifruit or into the meat works or...the workforce”.

“We can go to university; we can go further than just polytech. That university is a space for us, and we can absolutely thrive in it too.” Former Mount Maunganui College student Alexi Lassey, 18, said she had moved to Dunedin to study a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Otago, majoring in human

Photos / Supplied

resource management. She hoped to eventually work in human resource management for a large company.

Lassey said she was “speechless” when she found out about the scholarship, which would make “a very big difference” financially and with academic support.

Game-changer

Mount Maunganui College principal Alastair Sinton said the Milford scholarship had been a “game-changer” for several of its students.

He said Lassey and Anderson had “incredible potential” and had shown “considerable fortitude throughout their teenage years”. “Watching Alexi’s academics grow from strength to strength

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each year has been immensely satisfying, and Faith’s resilience throughout her senior years is nothing short of inspiring.”

A Milford Foundation statement said the scholarships provided financial support to school leavers for whom cost was a barrier to study.

Since launching in 2022, the programme had committed more than $550,000 in scholarship funding and supported 55 students.

Foundation general manager Lucy Doyle said the scholarships were about backing capability and removing financial barriers.

“As a country, we need to keep removing barriers to quality education, particularly for those who face hardship in their personal lives.”

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The Weekend Sun

13

Friday 13 March 2026

Mentors sought for Project K at Tauranga Girls’ College The relationship is designed to complement a youth’s existing support network of parents, caregivers and teachers. Arnold said mentoring can be “incredibly powerful” for a young person.

“Many of our young people simply benefit from having someone outside their immediate circle who believes in them and walks alongside them. Project K gives our rangatahi the opportunity to discover their strengths, set goals for their future, and realise what they’re capable of, and mentors play a really important role in that journey.”

“Mentors often say the experience is just as rewarding, as they build meaningful connections and support a young person to realise their potential,” Arnold said.

Graeme Dingle Foundation Western Bay of Plenty Project K coordinator Annaliese Arnold. Photo / Kelly O’Hara

The Graeme Dingle Foundation is calling for volunteer mentors as it prepares to launch its youth development programme Project K at Tauranga Girls’ College.

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Tauranga Girls’ College to bring Project K into a new school community this year,” coordinator Annaliese Arnold said.

The 14-month programme is designed for Year 10 students and aims to build self-confidence, life skills and motivation through outdoor challenges, teamwork and one-on-one mentoring.

Project K has three stages: a wilderness adventure, a community challenge, and an individual mentoring partnership with a trained mentor. “Twelve Year 10

students will be selected to take part in the programme, with the 19-day Wilderness Adventure scheduled for early-June,” Arnold said. “The programme is presently in the selection phase, which is an exciting time as we begin identifying the students who will take part.”

Key part

Western Bay of Plenty manager Neil Alton said the mentoring phase is a key part of the programme, providing students with ongoing encouragement and support as they work toward personal goals.

“Volunteer mentors are paired with a student and meet with them regularly, offering guidance and a listening ear while helping them maintain the positive changes developed during the earlier stages of the programme,” Alton said.

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The foundation supports nearly 30,000 young Kiwis annually via its programmes.

Mentors are now being recruited for the Tauranga Girls’ College programme, with 12 required. Those interested should email: annaliese.arnold@ dinglefoundation.org.nz

More needed

“We are also looking for mentors across our other Western BOP Project K programmes at Te Puke High School, Mount Maunganui College and Ōtūmoetai College,” Arnold said. “Both male and female mentors are welcome, with a particular need for male mentors.”

Email: pietiera.tuhura@dinglefoundation. org.nz.

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Friday 13 March 2026

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14

The Weekend Sun

Festival sup pport for emerging artists

A past workshop of emerging artists with Tauranga artist Rob McGregor. Photo / Supplied

Have artistic flair but not sure what to do with it? Want to be involved in the Bay of Plenty Garden & Art Festival?

Fear not – the festival team has you covered, with a not-to-be-missed opportunity.

Fledgling artists are being encouraged to apply to be one of a dozen selected emerging artists who will receive free tuition in the lead up to the November 19-22 festival. They will enjoy two full days with Tauranga artist and festival supporter Rob McGregor.

Those interested have until April 15 to lodge their interest at: www. gardenandartfestival.co.nz – go to ‘Register your interest – Emerging Artist Award’.

Festival director Marc Anderson said the intention of The Weekend Sun Emerging Artists component of the festival was to encourage would-be artists to develop

their skills, or to prompt existing, nonprofessional artists to take their work to the next level.

“It will provide a platform from which non-professional artists, or would-be artists, can improve. It’s about learning, gaining confidence, and artistic exposure,” Anderson said.

One piece by each of the emerging artists on the programme would be displayed at the festival gallery, at Bloom in the Bay sponsored by Craigs Investment Partners, during the festival. From those, one artist will be named the winner – and receive entry to exhibit as a festival artist in the 2028 festival, plus a cash prize.

While the expectation is that most of the emerging artists would use canvas as their medium, carvers and sculptors were also invited to apply, Anderson said.

Artists do not need to reside in the Bay of Plenty. Bayleys returns as the festival’s principal partner.

Cambridge Rd to close for water upgrade

A water supply infrastructure upgrade in Tauranga will begin Monday, March 16, and requires the temporary closure of Cambridge Rd. Tauranga City Council said the closure will continue through to late-2026.

Water pipes located beneath Cambridge Rd were being upgraded to ensure residents have access to quality drinking water, and for the network to better handle population growth and service disruptions, the council said in a statement.

“Regular water supply to properties will not be impacted during construction.

“To get this work completed safely and efficiently, a road closure is required

on Cambridge Rd with detours via surrounding routes.”

The council said resident and business access is available during the road closure.

The first phase of construction, between March 16 to August 2026, is between St Andrews Drive to Wakefield Drive.

A detour is available via St Andrews Drive, Castlewold Drive and Wakefield Drive, the council said.

The second phase of work, between August to December 2026, is from Wakefield Drive to Sterling Gate Drive.

A detour is available via Wakefield Drive, Castlewold Drive and Sterling Gate Drive.

The Weekend Sun

Friday 13 March 2026

15

Double-header showdown with South Africa International cricket returns to Mount Maunganui this weekend as New Zealand’s men’s and women’s teams prepare to face South Africa in a double-header at Bay Oval.

The Blackcaps and White Ferns will both take on South Africa on Sunday, March 15, giving Bay of Plenty cricket fans a heady dose of international action at the Mount Maunganui venue.

The back-to-back action will begin 2.45pm with the White Ferns facing the Proteas women before the Blackcaps meet South Africa’s men’s side at 7.15pm.

Build momentum

For the White Ferns, the clash presents another opportunity to build momentum against a competitive South African side. South Africa have been one of the most improved teams in the women’s game in recent years and will provide a stern test.

The Blackcaps, meanwhile, finished runners-up in the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, losing the final to India by 96 runs after India posted a huge 255/5, with the Blackcaps bowled out for 159. In the semi-final NZ were outstanding, beating South

Africa by nine wickets, with opener Finn Allen smashing a record-fast T20 World Cup century (100 off 33 balls). Tim Seifert also scored 58 in the chase.

They also won a historic ODI series in India earlier in 2026, the first time New Zealand had done so on Indian soil.

Larsen said the Proteas would provide a stern challenge to finish the BLACKCAPS home international summer. “It’s a great opportunity for Kiwi fans to see many of our guys back on the park so quickly after the World Cup and I know those in the squad are looking forward playing in front of their home-crowd again.”

Five-match series

Full day

The Blackcaps will be looking to t present a strong home form for the t start of the five-match T20 seriess against South Africa in front of what is traditionally a lively Mou unt crowd. The squad is set to featurre eight Blackcaps from the World Cup including Mitchell Santner.

BLACKCAPS selector Gavin Larsen L said the squad for South Africa reflected the balance between loooking after those returning from India and planning for the future. “Wee’ve certainly had to be pragmatic in selecting this squad,” Larsen said d.

"We’re lucky to have strong dep pth across the different skill sets whicch has afforded us the opportunity to rest a few players and introduce some others.

“That provides an excellent opportunity for many to stake their claim for regular inclusion in the T20 team moving forward as we begin a new World Cup cycle.”

Event organisers said the event format offers fans a full day of cricket entertainment, big hits, fierce rivalries, and unbeatable summer vibes, with two international matches for the price of one ticket.

The T20i showdown also highlights the growing profile of the women’s game, placing the White Ferns and Proteas women on the same stage as the men’s international fixture.

Gates are expected to open

1.45pm to accommodate the two matches, with organisers encouraging fans to arrive early.

TVN NZ+, TVN NZ 1 and Sport Nation will again be the free-to-air host broadcasters for the five-match T20 series against South Africa, with the Alternative Commentary Collective coveringg Blackcaps p matches via their digital channels.

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The Blackcaps squad is set to feature eight Blackcaps from the World Cup including Mitchell Santner. Photo / Supplied

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Friday 13 March 2026

The Weekend Sun

16

Lock down your number plate in 60 seconds

To help curb the theft of vehicle number plates, the Tauranga South Community Patrol is bringing back its popular tamper-proof screw day this month.

The patrol will be installing tamperresistant screws in the lower car park at Tauranga Crossing tomorrow, March 14, from 9am-1pm.

Chair Maureen Kathan said the initiative is a simple but effective way to deter criminals.

“It takes us about 30 seconds to a minute to do a car,” Kathan said. “We put one screw in the front and one in the back. One of our team removes the old screw and another puts the new one in. It’s very quick.”

Motorists can remain in their vehicles while patrol members fit the specialised screws, which require a special tool to remove. A gold coin donation is appreciated.

Number plate theft remains an ongoing issue, with stolen plates often used in ram raids, petrol drive-offs and other criminal activity. Kathan said unprotected number plates were easy targets for thieves, especially if parked on roadsides outside the owner’s property.

“It takes a criminal about 30 seconds to get your standard number plate off,” Kathan said. “They flog your number plate, put it on their car and commit offences, and it’s your plate that gets photographed. With a tamper-proof screw, they can get one out, but the other one has a special head. They can’t remove it without the proper tool.

“The more time they spend trying to

Call to protect life-saving buoys Just two months after a new beach safety sign and rescue buoy were installed at Anzac Bay, the equipment was credited with helping save a life.

Constable Bex Biss, Tauranga South Community Patrol’s Wayne Price and Senior Constable Rob Everitt installing a tamper-resistant screw. Photo / Kelly O’Hara get the plates off increases the chance The Community Patrols of New the police, community patrols and Zealand affiliated group is always members of the public have of spotting looking for new volunteers. Anyone the crime taking place.” wanting more information about While the day acts as a fundraiser for joining the patrol can find the the volunteer patrol group, Kathan said Tauranga South Community Patrol the primary focus is community safety. on Facebook or via the national “It is a fundraiser, but it’s more about Community Patrols of New Zealand keeping crime down and helping Facebook page. protect people.”

The tamper proof screw event will be The last event was held in 2024, when held at Tauranga Crossing in the lower more than 150 vehicles were fitted with carpark from 9am-1pm on March 14. the tamper-resistant screws.

Tauranga South Community Patrol Tomorrow patrol members will wear members will occupy part of the high-visibility clothing and signage Tauranga Crossing carpark to add a to direct drivers to the lower carpark, tamper-resistant screw to each number Rosalie Liddle Crawford which now has direct driveway access. plate on cars.

On February 18, off-duty surf lifeguard Josh Coombridge was at Bowentown beach with family when a friend of a group of swimmers urgently approached him.

One of three people in the water – an older man – was struggling to stay afloat, a statement from the Waihī Beach Lifeguard Service said.

Coombridge immediately grabbed the newlyinstalled rescue buoy – part of a Western Bay of Plenty District Council and Waihī Beach Lifeguard Services Inc. initiative – and swam out to the group, the service said.

“Two swimmers were attempting to support the distressed man, but with no ability to touch the bottom and the tide pulling them outward, they were being swept toward deeper water. Josh reached them quickly, provided the buoy to stabilise the man, and guided all three safely back to shore.”

No further medical treatment was needed.

The rescued man thanked Coombridge, telling him: “You saved my life”.

The incident underscored the importance of the expanding network of beach safety signs and rescue buoys, according to Waihī Beach Lifeguard Services Inc’s Natalie Lloyd.

She said Waihī Beach Lifeguard Services Inc. was asking the community to help protect the equipment.

There are 12 safety signs installed, and beachgoers were encouraged to report missing buoys, damaged ropes, or vandalism by texting or calling 027 863 5108 or emailing: info@ waihibeachlifeguards.co.nz.

The next goal is to install six to eight more safety signs at key coastal locations.

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The Weekend Sun

Friday y 13 March 2026

17

Resurrection livingg whille using wheelchair A Rotorua Roto ua pasto pastor w whoo lost ost 92% of his bodily function in a split-second mountain bike crash is bringing a message of hope and “resurrection living” to Tauranga later this month.

Timothy Lee will speak at Matua Baptist at 10am on March 22, sharing from 1 Corinthians 15:35-49 in a message titled The Body Transformed. He said the resurrection of Jesus is not only a future promise, but something that can transform lives now – even in the midst of suffering.

He hopes that the message will resonate, no matter who comes.

In 2010 Lee’s life was irrevocably altered when he crashed on a mountain bike trail in Rotorua’s Redwood Forest.

He went over a drop-off at speed and sustained a devastating head injury. He has no memory of the impact but knew something serious had happened after being knocked out. His helmet was split in two and the impact damaged his spinal cord, leaving him to live with tetraplegia.

“It really changed everything. It had a huge impact on my family, my vocation, my world. I so very nearly lost my life,” he said.

Lee spent 40 days and nights in intensive care at Middlemore Hospital; the first 10 in an induced coma. He said that his pathway to recovery was drawnout and, at times, frustrating,

but he never lost hope. p His deep p Christian faith sustained him and d continues to do so.

Take for granted

Today he has limited movement in one arm, just enough to operate his wheelchair. He requires assistance with everything else for daily life.

“It’s very challenging,” he admitted. “You take mobility for granted – until it’s gone.”

At the time of the accident he was senior pastor at Rotorua Baptist Church. Now an itinerant preacher with more than 25 years in Christian pastoral ministry, Lee continues to teach, mentor and serve across church and community settings.

His recently-released autobiography, Hopes, Fears and Wheelchairs, was a story of faith and hope after the trauma of his life-threatening accident. In it, he recounts the day that changed everything and the long, slow road of rehabilitation that followed.

“What happens when your whole world changes in the blink of an eye?” the back cover asks. “In the face of tragic circumstances, the framework of life is no longer the same.”

Accessible

The book was dictated using voicerecognition software – with lee’s hands no longer able to type.

In the book he blends practical insights with reflections on grief, loss

and faith. Timoth hy said he wrote it to be accessible, not academic, and to address diffi fficcult questions about suffering in everyd day Kiwi life.

Instead of retreatting from the community he lovves, Lee is deeply immersed in it. He serves as a hospital chaplain, mentors people who are new to liffe in a wheelchair, works with the hoomeless, and chairs the Rotorua’s Acceess Committee, collaborating with h Rotorua Lakes Council for greateer mobility access.

He’s also involved d in Sailability, helping provide saailing experiences for children with special needs in the Bay of Plen nty. In addition, he enjoys doing professional supervision with colleagues.

Born in Pukekoh he and raised with a strong rural heriitage, Lee trained and worked as a diesel mechanic before entering paastoral ministry.

He and his wife Jeenny have two tw w sons, a daughter-in-law, grandson and granddaughteer.

Others’ wellb being

One of his manttras, he said, was simply: to invest in others’ wellbeing for as long as he has breath. “God’s kept me alive, and d by His grace, I will endeavour to make the best of each day.”

Lee’s book will be available for purchase at his tallk for $30. It was also available as an e-book via Amazon. “I really want to convey to people that whateever is going on in their lives, there iss always hope.”

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Friday 13 March 2026

The Weekend Sun

18

Repair challenge issued to Kiwis As more Kiwis opt to fix all kinds of items instead replacing them, a popular rural lubricant brand is offering a repair challenge where they can win cash for themselves and their community.

The WD-40 Repair Challenge 2026 from March 1-April 18 invites doers, makers, fixers and professionals alike to showcase the repairs that keep homes, tools and treasured belongings in circulation for longer.

WD-40’s New Zealand distributor E-Products NZ director Malcolm Macnaught said the challenge was a global initiative that recognised projects of all sizes, proving no repair is too small to make a difference.

“Repairing our well loved items is not only about saving money and working towards a

more sustainable future, it’s also about empowerment and selfexpression,” Macnaught said.

“The Repair Challenge is the perfect opportunity to inspire New Zealanders to share their journeys in extending the lifespan of their tools, worn down equipment, bicycles or just about anything else and keep them in circulation for longer.”

In its fourth year, the challenge had grown to support community-based repair initiatives, partnering with nonprofit organisation Menzshed New Zealand for 2026.

This year the winning entry would receive $5000 in prize money and would direct an equal donation to a local community repair initiative.

To enter, Kiwis can share their DIY or restoration projects showing how they use WD-40 and submit videos demonstrating their repair process at: https:// repairchallenge.wd40.com.au

Shania Cooke tees off on the Midson’s family sheep and beef farm-turned golf course for the Kaimai Classic. Photo / Supplied

Farm golf tournament raises $20k for school Teeing off from a wooden pallet over a river, chipping into water troughs, navigating rolling hills and dodging the odd cowpat – the Kaimai Classic isn’t your typical golf tournament.

But, it’s one that this year has raised more than $20,000 for Kaimai School.

Sponsored by James Bell Bower real estate, the annual fundraising event invites golfers to play 12 holes on 58ha of the Midson’s family sheep and beef farm.

Bell, who has been one of the greenkeepers for the past 10 years, said the tees and greens were mowed a week before the event, and the holes were a 200mm pvc downpipe set flush with the ground.

“When you play, you don’t need to use a putter.

You just have to chip the holes.”

Trading manicured greens and groomed fairways for more rugged terrain, the Kaimai Classic course means golfers have to be driven to their tees.

A cow’s trough

For the fifth hole, for example, golfers tee off from a wooden pallet over a river “fairway”.

“Another hole is just a sink basin, and the first hole is a cow’s trough,” Bell said. “It just blows people away.”

The tournament begins with a corporate day for businesses, which sponsor a team to enter for the day, followed by a community day.

The corporate golf day includes an auction, with items including a signed rugby jersey by Black Ferns Portia Woodman and signed rugby balls by Black Ferns Jorja Miller and All Black Damian McKenzie up for grabs. All proceeds go to Kaimai School.

Bell said businesses this year raised more than $20,000.

“It all comes back to the community. It’s a big

thing to do for a small rural school.

“We couldn’t do it without the support of the community and everyone mucking in for a great cause.”

380ha farm

The event has been held on a section of the 380ha farm, owned by Mike and Julie Midson, for more than 25 years.

Their son, John Midson, said it was the family’s way of giving back to the school.

“It’s pretty fun,” said Midson, who plays every year in the community day.

While he never had a hole in one, many golfers have. “One of the holes is a water trough with a net in it, so of course someone is going to get one in there,” he said with a laugh.

Kaimai School principal Matthew Jackson said funds raised from this year’s event would go towards a Beat Station music programme, designed to empower teachers to bring the joy of music into their classrooms.

Past events have helped fund new rugby posts and soccer goals, as well as the school’s skate park.

“It makes a huge difference to what we can achieve.

It means that rather than focusing on the musthaves, we can invest in some of the nice-to-haves for the kids.”

Jackson thanked the school’s Parent Teacher Association, who were the “masterminds” behind the event, and the Bower Group for coming on board as major sponsors.

“Being a country school, we are so closely tied to our community and to have a day where people can come and not only have fun, but have the intent of supporting the school is incredibly humbling.

“Everyone was there for the school. I can’t wait for next year.” Supplied by Bower / Written by Zoe Hunter

The Weekend Sun

Friday 13 March 2026

19

Past winner urges young people to enter Young Grower comp nter BOP Y A last-minute decision to enter the Bay of Plenty Young Grower Competition has propelled horticulture adviser Phoebe Scherer to regional and national victories, despite early doubts about her ability to compete.

Now, she’s encouraging other young growers to give the competition a go.

Contestants compete in practical and theory-based challenges th hat test their hi skills, knowledge, and leadership in the horticulture industry.

In a statement from the New Zealand Kiwifruit Grower Incorpoorated, Phoebe Scherer said she once o sat in the audience and quietly hoped h she might one day have the coourage to compete herself.

Six years later, nearing th he competition’s age limit and d encouraged by friends, shee finally entered – despite feeling unsure of herself.

Right moment

“I was really hesitant.

Everyone experiences impostor syndrome at some level, and I was no different.

“But I had so much support around me.

That made me realise it was the right moment

to give it a go.”

Scherer said the competition pushed her well outside her comfort zone.

While her day-to-day role focuses on technical advice in fertilisers, agrichemicals, and biosecurity, the practical modules were daunting.

“Learning to drive a tractor and reverse a bin trailer was absolutely terrifying,” she laughed.

“I’ll never forget the moment I got off that tractor and realised I hadn’t completely messed it up. I almost cried with relief - that was when I thought, ‘I can actually get through this’.”

Surreall

She prep pared intensively for the Gala Dinner speech, practising in front of ccolleagues, family, and with help p from a speech coach.

“It was a topic I really cared c about, so I wanted to deliver it well. Performing in front of 500 people was scary, but by then I was prepared and grounded.”

When she was announced the winner, Scherer said it felt surreal.

“Honestly, it was pure shock and disbelief. I genuinely BOP 2025 Young Grower did dn’t expect it.” of the Year Phoebe Scherer.

Winning the regional Photo / Supplied comp petition - and then the

Fieldays puts call out for volunteers for June Last year, 151 volunteers contributed their time to Fieldays – and the New Zealand National Fieldays Society is looking for new volunteers to join their returnees for this year’s event on June 10-13 at Mystery Creek.

Fieldays’ people and culture executive Beth Jobin said as valued volunteers relocate or step back after years of dedicated service, they must invite the next generation to come on board. “Our volunteers are the reason we have reached 58 years,” Jobin said.

“Their commitment and passion are what keep the tradition alive. Every year, we look for new faces to join us and become part of something truly special.”

Retired seed industry specialist Peter Fisher has volunteered for seven years. He began volunteering in 2018 at the 50th anniversary Fieldays event, helping in the New Zealand International Business Centre, and now supports the mobility parking space.

“I had always enjoyed coming to Fieldays during my working life and wondered what it would be like to volunteer. I had good knowledge in the seed industry and an interest

in agriculture and felt I could add value,” Fisher said.

“I enjoyed meeting many people from across the world, all coming to Fieldays at the bottom of the world to do business.”

For Fisher, he loved Peter Fisher has working with a great volunteered at group of people.

Fieldays for seven “Volunteering is a years. Photo / Supplied good social thing to do, enabling you to give back to the community. You make lifelong friends.”

The roles the society is looking to fill this year included event support, ticketing, hosting, administration, customer engagement, parking and more.

Fieldays welcomes volunteers with all backgrounds and experience levels, as training and support were provided. Applications close March 27. Visit: www.nznfs.co.nz/ working-with-us/volunteering

national title - has been career-defining.

It broadened her outlook on what horticulture offers and strengthened her belief that she belongs in the sector.

“It made me realise how broad my skill set actually is,” she said.

“It also opened doors I’d previously assumed were closed, because I didn’t have the confidence to knock on them.”

Evolving

Scherer said the competition highlighted how the definition of a “grower” has been evolving.

“As orchard ownership becomes more difficult for young people, we’ll see more rural professionals, consultants, and advisers

stepping into that space.

“We’re all part of the same growing system, making decisions that contribute to better, bigger, tastier fruit.”

Give it a go!

Her message to those considering entering is simple: “Give it a go.”

“Even if you don’t have support immediately around you, the competition itself is full of people who want you to succeed - module runners, previous contestants, organisers. You just need to commit and give it 110%.”

Applications for the 2026 Bay of Plenty Young Grower Competition are now open and close on Friday, April 24, at 12pm.

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Th Weekend The W k d Sun S

20 0

Wand der gard dens for growiingg inspiration and connectiion Food growing is taking centre stage in the Bay of Plenty this weekend as backyard and community gardens open their gates to the public.

Tauranga’s Sustainable Backyards calendar, run by Envirohub Bay of Plenty, offers a full month of activities throughout March, with the Community Garden Festival Day on March 14 and the Edible Garden Tour on March 15 offering a glimpse of what can flourish just beyond the fence.

Show how

Envirohub BOP project coordinator for Community Garden Festival Day, Te Ara

Dirkse, said the aim was to show people how community growing works and to inspire them to give it a try.

“It’s really about opening the gates and letting people see what’s possible.”

Participating gardens – which would open their gates from 10am-1pm – would include Ngāti Kahu Māra Kai in Bethlehem, Merivale Community Garden, Ōtūmoetai Railway Community Garden, Rock Pāpāmoa Community Garden, Giggles Childcare Centre Community Garden in Te Puke, Linton Park Community Centre in Rotorua, and Kai Rotorua. Each site would offer its own mix of activities.

At Rock Pāpāmoa Community Garden,

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Kevin Collins at the Otūmoetai Community Railway Gardens, which will be open March 14-15 for Sustainable Backyards month. Photo / Brydie Thompson chef James Broad will host a live cooking own food. demonstration using char grilled garden The aim was to inspire others and highlight produce and gourmet dips. how practical gardening can strengthen Ngāti Kahu Māra Kai will showcase its communities and reconnect people with newly-planted food forest, with permaculture what they eat. teachers leading guided tours and explaining One stop would feature a tiny garden how the garden will help supply kai to the created less than a year ago, where the local community. homeowner had been harvesting vegetables within a few months.

Kids’ scavenger hunt Another property had long replaced its lawn And no matter which garden families visit, entirely with fruit trees, vegetables and flowers. a children’s scavenger hunt will be waiting.

Other sites would demonstrate creative use Dirkse said support from the Tauranga of space, including a once-weed ridden strip Western Bay Community Event Fund of unused railway land now growing kūmara meant organisers could offer even more and kamokamo alongside chickens. demonstrations and workshops at no cost to the public.

A ‘street garden’ On Sunday, March 15, the focus would The tour would also include a shared shift to backyard growing at the Edible “street garden” where neighbours cultivate Garden Tour in the Ōtūmoetai area from a communal plot and spend time together.

12.30pm-5pm.

Visitors would hear directly from the gardeners themselves, who would share their ‘Fun food revolution’ experiences and answer questions.

The tour is organised by Grow on To find out more about the Community Ōtūmoetai, an initiative working to build a more connected and food secure community. Garden Day Festival on March 14 and the Edible Gardens Tour on March 15, visit: Facilitator Ruth McLean said the tour was https://envirohub.org.nz/programmes/ part of a “fun food revolution” showcasing sustainable-backyards suburban residents already growing their Zoe Blake

Moth plant drop-off day next month A moth plant drop-off day is being held in Katikati next month to allow the community to rid their backyards of the invasive pest plant.

The Western Bay Weedbusters Moth Plant Drop-off Day will be held on Monday, April 13, from 10am-2pm at The Big Avocado carpark, off State Highway 2, in Katikati.

Hosted by Bay of Plenty Regional Council, the day would allow the community to drop off the invasive species they gather for disposal.

“This time of the year is prime pod time for moth plants. Help stop the spread of this invasive species by collecting its pods before they burst,” said council.

Those with moth plants need to gather the pods, bag them and bring them along and the

weedbusters team would deal with the rest.

According to council, the moth plant or kapok plant (Araujia hortorum) was introduced from South America to New Zealand as an ornamental species and recorded as naturalised in 1888.

The pest plant grows rapidly, forming large, heavy, long-lived masses in the canopy and produces masses of viable seed that travel long distances via wind. The plant could be found in any frost-free habitat, council said.

“Left unchecked, this invasive species can quickly take over. You can make a real difference by collecting and disposing of its pods before they burst and spread their seeds on the wind.”

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Th Weekend The W k dS Sun

Friday 13 March 2026

21 1

Plants and knowlledge to help The five Ps of you transform your backyard autumn gardening With autumn upon us, Grower Direct in Te Puna has all the plants, trees, vegetable seedlings, ceramic pots – and knowledge – to help you transform your backyard.

Autumn is officially here. As the days cooll down and d th he sun sets earlier, it’s time to start the five Ps of autumn gardening: Pull, Prune, Propagate, Prep, and Plant.

Pull

The tomatoes are looking sad, the beans have turned to straw, and the flower beds have had their day. It’s time to start pulling out all your annuals. Avoid throwing anything diseased in the compost.

Prune

Pruning is highly dependent on the plant. Some plants like lavender can be pruned in autumn to encourage winter flowering. Others, like feijoa, should not be pruned this time of year because they are still fruiting. Remember that pruning usually encourages regrowth, so it’s important that if you are pruning, you are also simultaneously adding slow release fertiliser and organic compost to help the plant regrow and heal.

Propagate

There are two types of propagation: sexual (seeds) and asexual (cutting, grafting, dividing). How you propagate a plant depends on the type of cultivar.

Tomatoes, capsicums, calendula, beans

and other varieties all create seeds that can be easily gathered and sown later. Other varieties like dahlias and lilies multiply their tubers or corms underground, which can be dug up and divided.

Prep

How well you prep your beds now will determine how well your garden does in spring. Autumn is a great time to prep your beds with a generous amount of organic matter like compost, coffee grounds, chopped banana peels, shredded cardboard, grass clippings, shredded leaves and slow release fertiliser. Rain in winter will break it down, giving your plants in a healthy start ahead of spring.

Plant

Thanks to Bay of Plenty’s virtually frost-free growing zone, I find that most plants do better in the long run when they are planted in autumn and winter.

This is because the winter rains help them get established faster, resulting in a stronger plant in spring. This doesn’t work for heat-loving varieties like tomatoes, but it does work for bushes, shrubs, trees, and succulents.

Melissa Cox is owner of Papamoa Pick Your Own Flowers, a garden offering affordable pick-your-own flowers for weddings, parties and special occasions. Learn more at: tinyurl.com/papamoaflowers

“Here at Grower Direct we are a wholesale nursery open to the public seven days a week,” said Jaclyn Phillott, who with husband Sean purchased the business late-2025.

“Autumn is the perfect time to be planting out your hedges and undertaking larger landscape projects – so we have a few specials below our already low prices.”

Their current 50% off specials include the following products: Corokia frosted chocolate large 5L grade native hedging plant, up to 1.2m, was $20 each – now $10 each.

Ficus benjamina large grade, a lush hedge for shade areas, was $45 each – now $22.50 each.

Olives EL Greco large 5L grade olives, great as a specimen or hedging variety, was $45 – now $22.50 each.

Fraxinus Griffithii (Evergreen Ash) 2.5L feature tree, great for creating an umbrella style shade area, was $25 each – now $12.50 each.

“As we grow our stock here on-site, our staff have extensive knowledge on what will be best for your garden or landscape

New owners of Grower Direct at Te Puna, Sean and Jaclyn Phillott. Photo / Supplied

project,” said Jaclyn.

“So come on in and talk to us about any projects you want to tackle this month or anything you’re not sure about. We’re more than happy to help and talk plants all day long!”

As always, Grower Direct has an extensive range of vegetable and edible seedlings with winter varieties now available.

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Friday 13 March 2026

The Weekend Sun

22 news and views for the over 55s

Village residents strut th heir stuff for charityy Age is no barrier to a good runway “strut”, and a Bay of Plenty retirement village has proved just that as residents took the catwalk for a charity fashion show.

From fighter pilot to fashion model – one BOP retiree said he rarely gets nervous, but modelling had now made the list.

“I’ll tell you what, I thought that dentists and women were my two scary things, but now I’m adding being a model.”

Twelve ladies and three gents from Pacific Lakes Retirement Village in

Pāpāmoa perfected their walk, twirl and pose after 10 weeks of training.

On Tuesday, they modelled outfits from Mount Maunganui boutiques to a crowd of more than 160 – all to raise money for the Cancer Society.

He said he learnt “the basics” of how too walk, strut, and posee.

“Also, the complexities of the logistics of who comes in where, whaat goes on backstage, Surprisingly challenging Resident-turned-model Mike Rudd said and all that, there’s a little bit more to it a fashion show was outside his comfort than meets the eye.” zone but thought he’d give it a go. rom Pacifi ficc Lakes Retirement Villagge “Interestingly, it’s been quite challenging, Rudd said what he Twelve ladies and three gents fro took to the catwalk for a charity fashion show. Photos / Kelly O’Hara actually, surprisingly challenging. It looks enjoyed most was gaining greater selfeasy, but it’s not so easy.”

“I just felt it’d be a lovely have assistance with dresses awareness. way to present something and everything.”

“I think it’s good to and be part of a team, Washer said her advice push yourself outside and the team has been to other’s thinking about your comfort zone marvellous.” trying something new was and challenge yourself, She said training was to just do it. particularly in later years.” “excellent” and she “Really it’s given me The residents modelled couldn’t have wished for confidence in myself if clothes from shops along anything better. anything and once you Mount Maunganui’s The group learnt how to learn how to do it, you get Mainstreet. walk down a runway, turn, up there and strut your disrobe and redress in time stuff, it’s just fun.”

Just do it! with music.

Proceeds from tickets to Village resident Julie “You think you’ve got a the fashion parade were Washer said she took part lot of time when you get donated to the Cancer as a way to give back to off the catwalk, but you Society. the village. haven’t; you must actually Kaitlyn Morrell Woodlands Boutique Retirement Village has an exceptional clubhouse for its residents. Photo / Supplied

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operator Sarndra Newman. Each villa is designed with solar panels, double glazing and high ceilings for energyefficiency, ensuring a comfortable and cost-effective lifestyle.

Located across from Bethlehem Town Centre, residents enjoy the convenience of shops, medical facilities and cafes are just a short stroll away.

Plus, the village has exceptional communal facilities that include a clubhouse, gym, hobby shed, a serenity space and raised vegetable gardens.

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It’s never too early to tell your life story but it can easily become too late.

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The Weekend Sun

Friday 13 March 2026

23

Game bird hunters urged to get sorted for early Mark-up Day

National Jazz Festival to transform Tauranga The 11-piece band Boogie Nights will play at the April 5 Hurricane Party in the Port of Tauranga National Jazz Festival. Photo / Supplied

The sound of jazz will once again fill the streets, venues and public spaces of Katikati, Tauranga and Mount Maunganui when the Port of Tauranga National Jazz Festival returns to celebrate its extraordinary milestone of 63 years.

Festival director Marc Anderson said the longevity of the festival reflects the enduring appeal of live music and the power it has to bring people together.

“For more than six decades, the festival has been a vibrant expression of music, creativity and community,” Anderson said. “It’s filled with talented

musicians, enthusiastic audiences and the unmistakable spirit of celebration that jazz inspires.”

Across the 11-day celebration from March 27 to April 6, audiences can expect a diverse programme of concerts, performances and special events taking place.

The Katikati Jazz Street Festival – a week ahead of Easter – sets the tone, with the popular Uptown Downtown programme filling bars, restaurants and hospitality venues across Tauranga and Mount Maunganui with jazz, blues, funk and soul over Easter weekend. Good Friday’s Jazz Village at The Historic Village brings a lively New Orleans-style atmosphere.

A festival highlight is the Baycourt

Concert Series at Baycourt Community & Arts Centre, which will showcase an impressive mix of international and local talent.

Inspiring musicians young and old is the 48th Wright Family Foundation National Youth Jazz Competition, which will take place from March 30 to April 1 at Baycourt.

The festival will also feature a lively mix of outdoor performances, concerts and late-night events, ensuring there is something for everyone – from dedicated music lovers to those simply looking to soak up the festival atmosphere. For more information, go to www.jazz.org.nz Rosalie Liddle Crawford

Game bird hunters are urged to purchase their 2026 licences now, with Mark-up Day falling a week earlier than usual this season and licences now on sale.

Because Easter falls early in 2026, Mark-up Day is March 29. This day is when licence holders stake their claim on preferred maimai sites ahead of the new game bird season.

Fish & Game New Zealand chief operating officer Richie Cosgrove encouraged game bird hunters to buy their licence now.

“Buy your licence, get your claim tag sorted, and secure your spot before someone else does,” Cosgrove said.

Hunters who held a maimai site last season can reclaim it on March 29 before 10am by purchasing their 2026 licence and attaching the claim tag. After 10am, any unclaimed sites become available to other licence holders.

Key rules apply to maimai sites nationwide: Mark-up rules cover both private and public land, though landowner permission is still required; on public land a marked-up maimai must be occupied before 7.30am or it becomes available to others for that day; and a 90-metre minimum distance between sites applies unless parties agree otherwise.

Full details are in the Game Bird Hunting Regulations available online or at Fish & Game regional offices. Licences can be purchased at: fishandgame.org.nz or through licensed agents nationwide.

Friday 13 March 2026

The Weekend Sun

24

A deluge of blues and more “Humankind cannot bear very much reality,” said T.S. Eliot.

At least so said the bird in Eliot’s poem Burnt Norton. We do seem to be getting a lot of it these days. I can’t remember more people saying they’ve stopped watching or listening to the news. Too much bloody reality.

Favourite news

No. 1975 Across 1. Racecourse (NI) 5. Swallowed (8) (8) 6. Freight (5) 7. Thrive (7) 6. Manage (4) 12. Sleeplessness (8) 8. Doubtful (4) 9. Previous NZ crick- 14. Refuse (7) et captain (2,6) 16. Pivot (7) 18. Beg (5) 10. Smooth (5) 20. Monk (5) 11. Slapdash (6) 21. Cab (4) 13. Fruit (6) 15. Exertion (6) T I L T E S T R I M A C H 17. Maniac (6) A F O O C H R I S A M O N U R G E E R L D M T T A S 19. Town (SI) (5) P E I C H I N D I E D G E 22. Flower (8) O N C E D L G L X E M U T 23. Shower (4) A O C S I L V E R D A L E Y C L S OWG T O I A A O 24. Lap (4) 25. Artificial lake (SI) A T T E N D A N C E K T M A U T A I R G E T T E E N (8) T R I M E E D G Y I L L A Down Z N P O E A I A I S O R T W A I T E M A T A E P V T 2. Unpleasant (5) F L T H E Y E E O D E N Y 3. Hot springs (7) Solution 1974 4. Invalid (4)

But things will pass you by if you stop paying attention.

One of my favourite annual news story has just dropped.

It’s the list of rejected baby names. In my generation boys were called sensible things like John and Michael. And occasionally Winston. Girls? Mary, Susan, Jane...no friends were named Chelsea or any spelling of Britney.

Not that I object to today’s free-form approach to baby names and their spelling.

But some of the declined offerings amuse me.

Most disallowed names are titles – Queen, Judge, so on – but I do wonder about calling your baby Heil? Lucifer also seems iffy.

What was weird was the attempt to get round the ‘no titles’ thing by using similarlypronounced words. Who wants to be named Qwen or Jhudg?

Omnipresent

Fortuitously this column is largely about music, one of humankind’s greatest escapes from reality. As another poet said: “Rock ‘n’ Roll might not solve your problems, but it does let you dance all over them”. Thanks Mr Townshend.

Trevor Braunias at The Matua Bar. Photo / Sally Garner

Currently music is omnipresent. A deluge is about to occur on Friday, March 20.

There’s a lot of blues: for the first time Black Coffee night at the Tauranga Club is shifting sideways into the blues, with a tribute to the great Fleetwood Mac guitarist, the late Peter Green.

A treat

If anyone in town was doing that I’d want it to be guitarist Trevor Braunias, a master of 1960s blues styles, and so it is, along with his trio comprising Julian Clark, bass, and Stefan Braunias, drums.

Braunias has played Green’s music a lot over the years, from hard-edged shuffles to cool miniatures such as Jigsaw Blues. For blues-lovers this will be a treat.

The same night at The Matua Bar from 6.30pm there’s Autumn Blues, old-timey sounds with Mike Garner and Joanne Melbourne. No charge.

And – blues adjacent – at Totara Street, Dutch/New Zealand trio

My Baby is touring New Zealand to celebrate their most recent album Echo, bringing their modern bluesy, roots-driven grooves. Excellent stuff.

Hard to describe

Same night at The Jam Factory brilliant a cappella Lancashire punk folk singer Jennifer Reid returns to New Zealand.

She’s hard to describe, continuing the tradition of using music as social provocation, an archivist, storyteller and fantastic singer, who has opened for Pulp and toured the world. Local duo Poetic Justice – of Meshell Hardman and John Baxter – open.

On March 21 The Harmonic Resonators will perform at Baycourt, and punk rules at Ōkahukura on Grey St with Pipeline Punk, Raglan’s Critter and Hamilton band Hoon.

It will be a busy weekend...

Hear Winston’s Latest Playlist Scan the QR code, or visit:

www.tinyurl.com/sst8u5yj

Skateboarding Nationals return to Mount Maunganui

The Skateboarding NZ 2026 National Championships will see the country’s top and emerging riders compete in Park and Vert in Mount Maunganui on March 28. Hosted by Skateboarding New Zealand, the 2026 championships are split across two locations for the first time, with Street to be held in Auckland on May 2.

Park and Vert showcase skateboarding’s most

progressive disciplines, combining speed, style and technical skill. Park features flowing lines and transitions, while Vert highlights high-flying halfpipe action.

Open to all ages and skill levels, there is a fee to compete, but spectators can attend free.

Register at: https://skateboarding.nz/park-vertnational-champs-2026-register-now/

SUDOKU

Five exhibitions and new Villa Studios launch at Historic Village

VERY EASY

9 8

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Fill the grid so that every row and every 3x3 square contains the digits 1 to 9

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8 4 1 2 7 5 3 2 7 9 8 6 5 9 6 3 4 1 6 1 2 8 3 7 7 8 4 1 5 9 9 3 5 4 6 2 2 7 8 5 9 3 1 6 9 7 2 4 4 5 3 6 1 8

The Incubator Creative Hub has five new exhibitions opening tonight, March 13, and the official launch of the Villa Studios.

Thin Skinned, an Exhibition of Extraordinary Ceramics by Z – which is Tūrangi artist Zed Snook – has come back to the gallery for his second solo exhibition, on display until April 4.

Te Manaia Jennings’ exhibition Revival, which explores freedom and transformation through abstract realism, will run until April 5.

Nick Eggleston’s Dogs with Sticks returns with his beloved, attitude-filled canine characters in a pop-up exhibition until April 4.

A group exhibition brings together In Quiet Company, a collective of Aotearoa-based women artists –Rhianna May, Rose Ackland, Hollie Teutscher, Jessica Crowe, Rose Kennedy, and Lisa Billing – of Heymaker Studio.

The Space of Pause, on until April 4, will showcase their painting, textile, photography, and objectbased practice invites stillness and attention.

Lastly, the Artist Window Gallery will have a new rotation of 40 artist and jewellers. Find out more at: www.theincubator.co.nz

The Weekend Sun

Friday 13 March 2026

25

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The Weekend Sun

Te Puna rugby’s new $5m clubrooms build plan It’s game on for Te Puna Rugby Club with upgraded clubrooms on the horizon.

Te Puna Rugby Club is home to about 400 members from all walks of life. People as young as five and as old as 60 played in the club’s leagues.

But the club is now home to more than just rugby.

President Rawiri Kuka described the club as a “rugby, sports, and cultural club”.

The club now had netball and softball teams, a kapa haka group, and up to 18 cricket teams played every Thursday night.

But the rugby crowd was still going strong, with several teams across the junior and senior leagues.

At the junior level, there were two teams for under-5s and two teams for under-13s, while the senior league had a premier team, a development team, a women’s team, and a ‘Golden Oldies’ team.

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Friday 13 March 2026

27

overdue for the 107-year-old club. It was founded in 1919, but the clubrooms were built in 1971. A second storey was added five years later.

The current infrastructure was 50 years old, and leakage problems had arisen through maintenance neglect.

The last renovations took place in the 1980s, when the internal toilets were expanded, a viewing deck was added, and the kitchen was extended.

“We decided that it’s easier to build rather than try and renovate, because you don’t know how long renovations will last,” Kuka said.

The club’s building committee came together in 2024 to formulate plans, deploying the skills of Valiant Building Services and Mod Architecture.

The new club would be twice the size of the current one, with greater capacity for functions.

Features included a commercial kitchen, bar, an outdoor tuck-shop, and a miniature grandstand.

Te Puna Rugby Club president Rawiri Kuka said the new club would be twice the size of the current one. Photo / Kelly O’Hara With designs prepared, the next Applications for funding would be step for the club was to present to the necessary, but at this stage, the club Western Bay of Plenty District Council was asking the community for pledges to obtain consents and permits. to help reach the estimated $300,000 Kuka said the club hoped to do this in permit-related costs. within the next three or four months.

Kuka said the club was advertising for The estimated cost for the plans and $1000 pledges from people who can permits was $300,000, and the build help out, while other fundraising ideas was projected to cost $5 million. were in the works.

Bijou Johnson

New liquefaction maps for Te Puke

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According to Western Bay of Plenty District Council, liquefaction occurs when shaking from an earthquake causes soft, wet soil – typically silts and sands – to behave like a liquid, potentially affecting homes and property.

In a statement the council said the new maps take into account soil type, groundwater levels and earthquake strength. Three risk categories are identified, with some properties having one or more of these categories mapped: • Liquefaction damage is unlikely – a probability of more than 85% that liquefaction-induced damage will be minor in a 1-in-500-year earthquake shaking event.

• Liquefaction damage is possible – a probability of more than 15% that liquefaction-induced ground damage will be minor to moderate (or more) in a 1-in-500-year earthquake shaking event.

• Liquefaction category is undetermined – a liquefaction assessment has not been undertaken for this area, or there is not enough information to determine the appropriate category with the

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required level of confidence.

Council said the new maps replace previous maps from a regional study in 2021, which was based on a basic level of assessment. A more detailed study has since been done, which improves the accuracy of the maps.

“As a result, many ‘undetermined’ areas have been re-categorised as ‘unlikely’, including the large majority of residential properties. The number of properties shown as ‘possible’ has also significantly reduced.”

Western Bay of Plenty District Council and Bay of Plenty Regional Council regularly update the natural hazards maps for the district because the Resource Management Act and Bay of Plenty Regional Policy Statement have requirements relating to how councils manage natural hazard risks.

As the mapping of each hazard is completed, landowners are notified and the information is put on Western Bay of Plenty District Council’s website, property files and in any Land Information Memoranda (LIMs) requested for properties.

The maps are also used when processing resource consents, project information memoranda and building consents, to ensure that the risk from natural hazards to people and buildings is assessed.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council interim general manager strategy and community Emily

Liquefaction possible

Liquefaction unlikely

Category undetermined

A comparison of Te Puke in the Regionwide Study in 2021 to the Te Puke study in 2025.

Image / Western Bay of Plenty District Council

Watton said the new information would improve understanding of how properties in Te Puke may respond during an earthquake. “Updating the accuracy of liquefaction maps is important to meet legislative requirements and ensure that natural hazard information is current. “The mapping information will help people make informed decisions about building, buying property, and preparing for future events.”

Watton said letters had been sent to landowners affected by the latest liquefaction maps and the new information had been included on council’s Natural Hazards’ webpage at: www.westernbay.govt.nz/propertyrates-and-building/natural-hazards

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