Issue 1219 21st Jul 2026

BASKER ROAST NIGHT

Every Wednesday night from 5pm

Local mechanic off to Scott Base Antarctica

Hank Golaboski is a diesel mechanic by trade living in Whitianga and has been lucky enough to work out in the field in most of his jobs. He loves working on different projects in different locations because for him it makes the job more enjoyable and he experiences more challenges and gain different experiences. He has fortunate enough to be accepted to work on Scott Base in Antarctica for 13 months starting this September.

“I have never had the opportunity before now to consider something like this with life commitments, but currently have none so when I saw this opportunity, I thought I couldn’t pass it up. So I applied and was accepted on the basis of a lot of medical and suitability tests.’

THANK YOU

Hank wrote to The Informer to thank his community.

“This would not have been possible without the help of the amazing services we have in this town. As I will be wintering over in Antarctica, I needed to go through a rigorous medical and dental process within a short period of time.

Whitianga to Scott Base for over a year

The awesome work by many people to complete all the medical and dental checks at short notice was what made this Antarctica trip a reality.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all involved. Dr Jorritt and the team at the Mercury Bay Medical Centre, the nurses at Pathlab, Mercury Bay Radiology, Tamsin at Mercury Bay Smiles who fitted me in at short notice, the staff at the Mercury Bay Library for all the printing, scanning and emailing they helped me with, and Dive Zone for the First Aid course I needed. The only thing I could not compete in town was the ECG Tolerance test. Cardiac Services in Hamilton handled that, once again at short notice.

Thanks again, without all your combined efforts this adventure would not be taking place.”

We spoke with Hank about his expectations.

“I just want to go down there and do the job to the best of my ability, and learn as much as I can about Antarctica and the challenges it is facing with climate change. Also getting out and about when the weather allows is going to be spectacular.

“In the summer, Scott Base can cater for 150 people at a time. In the winter there will only be 12 of us left there. I grew up on Great Barrier Island and also went to boarding school which was a big plus for my application. We will see if that is enough to get me through the win ter with 11 other people I will have only just met.”

As a side note, the Ant arctic Summer average temperature is between -2 to -7 degrees and the Winter average is around -28 degrees . On a cold day it is around -45degrees.

We will be hearing from Hank on his return. We con gratulate him and wish him well for this adven ture of a lifetime.

Te Kai Whakarongo

Samara Nation, Violinist Events - pages 12 & 13

Pauline’s Piece

Editor of The Coromandel Informer

Good grief – living with it

Our community has lost some great people recently. Ray’s column refers to this and his friend’s experience.

At any one time the death of a great person occurs somewhere and grief creates a chasm in someone’s life somewhere – often it’s a chasm for a whole family and community.

My niece wrote a reflection on her experience of Assisted Dying (in Australia). Her Auntie had Motor Neurone Disease and the worst stages were causing great suffering.

You don’t know her Auntie or my niece. You don’t need to. You know your own grief and how you live with it or how you choose not to live

Grief

Grief is horrendous. People deal with it in so many different ways. Wailing with tears, quiet sobs, sobering reflection or gaming to try and redirect the focus. The latter is not something I would choose but each to their own.

with it. Some of you know too well what suffering is. It is definitely not a badge of honour but I believe it can resource us for living with meaning and empathy.

In that light, I asked my niece if I could share some of what she wrote down of her feelings and experience.

Watching sister’s try and make sense of losing yet another sibling. While knowing it’s coming it is still a traumatic and incomprehensible event to witness and be a part of.

It brings back memories of those loved and lost and how their departures were equally if not more painful as there was no warning.

The waiting is the worst. The silence and continual tears. What can you say to make it less painful? Absolutely nothing.

It’s heart breaking. Talking about the memories and past with times that were more cheerful with some laughs, helps for a little while and then you remember. You remember painful memories of

tragic losses and the conversations that didn’t happen in those times of grief.

I’m grateful we were given the opportunity to talk, reflect and re-live such painful memories in the hope of making sense of such senseless tragedies. Unfortunately no sense can be made of heartbreaking loss.

Life is short. Most of the time you don’t know how it will end as you don’t have warning. Other times, like now, you know it’s coming but it’s still incredibly difficult.

To watch your loved one have such strength and preparedness for something

so final is humbling. If only we could all have such foresight and wisdom in something so final so that suffering is minimised and time for good-byes is allowed and embraced.

It doesn’t erase the grief but allows time for loved ones to come together, support each other and offer comfort.

You were an amazing sister, devoted wife, loving mother and Nanna and an aunty who always found humour and positivity in life. It was a pleasure knowing and loving you. RIP Barbie.

Rest in peace Rick Moors

BY RAY VAN BEYNEN

It seems to be that time of the year when the grim reaper has come calling regularly and often. A couple of weeks ago, one of the stalwarts of the Hahei Community died from the effects of the Motor Neuron Disease (MND).

Whilst there are around 400 cases in New Zealand, MND NZ reports that New Zealand has one of the highest incidences and mortality rates in the world of this disease. The reasons are largely unknown, but environmental factors are suspected. New Zealand can expect around 120 cases each calendar year.

For the last two and a half years, Rick Moors battled this insidious disease with great courage, humour and without complaint. Rick and his wife Adair (universally known as Chic) lived permanently in Hahei for over 12 years. Although they were semi-retired, they ran a popular Air BnB and Rick supplemented their income with his window washing business.

One of Rick’s great loves was the local Hahei Fire Brigade and he was invariably one of the first to a callout and more often than not behind the wheel as the engine left the Fire Station. He was honoured by his fellow volunteers with the station flag flown at half-mast following his death.

Rick was also a foundation member of the Flat Plate Society (no breakfast in bowls) who meet every Thursday morning at the Hahei Beach Café for

breakfast. Apart from eating a convivial breakfast, the group does a variety of community support jobs.

One of Rick’s lesser-known activities was his work as a hospital visitor where he would drop in on patients for a chat and offer support. Rick was a tall imposing man with a loud booming voice and a constantly cheerful and positive outlook on life.

These days it’s almost unfashionable to be part of a mainstream religion but Rick was a staunch supporter of the Roman Catholic faith. This faith helped him considerably in living with MND.

Rick was also a keen rugby man and for many years was a member of the Marist Rugby Club in Auckland.

During his illness he was nursed and supported by his wife Chic who along with his sons Ben, Matt and Richard Junior and close friends, made his life as comfortable as they possibly could. Rick never lost his sense of humour or sense of community and even after losing his ability to speak would send out regular communiques and converse via modified text messages.

Rick was one of those key members of our community. A man who worked hard for his family and his community. An exemplary husband, father, father-inlaw and grandfather to his 5 grandchildren. He was a man who always put other’s needs before his own and someone who will be sorely missed. RIP Rick.

DOC has serious credibility issues

to the lookout.

BY LYNNE KINGSBURY

n addressing the statement DOC has used to defend their stance on destroying the two Cove tracks, it appears disingenuous. They say feedback from the community and business sector is that “Cathedral Cove is the priority.”

I am not aware it was explained to the community that we were asked to make a decision – ‘Choose Cathedral Cove over access to Gemstone Bay and the other Cathedral Cove tracks.’ Most people think Cathedral Cove includes these tracks but DOC is excluding them from their proposal.

Cathedral Cove is a vital tourist attraction but so is the whole Cathedral Cove reserve area of 840 hectares and this area needs to be maintained, particularly if DOC intends to charge visitors for walking and experiencing the area.

Snorkelling at Gemstone Bay is part of an overall Cathedral Cove experience. The Bay is an iconic tourist attraction offering a rich active educational experience for children and visitors. In its proposal DOC gives the excuse that increasing the Marine Reserves area has added other snorkelling opportunities that can replace Gemstone Bay. This is ridiculous.

Most of the boundaries of the

expanded marine reserve are out to sea and have no effect on increased snorkelling access. Gemstone Bay with its underwater snorkel trail is unique.

For those with a knowledge of the history of the Cathedral Cove area, around every 30 to 50 years or so, steps have been washed away in large storms and in the past have been rebuilt quickly and without huge expense. This latest storm event is not a reason to destroy access to Gemstone Bay forever.

For people walking to the lookout, it offers bush and seascape vistas. This is reason alone to keep it.

But there is another vitally important reason for not destroying the beach track. With the sheer number of people walking to the Cove, it would be the height of foolishness to take away an

alternative access from Cathedral Cove down to the village. Cathedral Cove beach can have in excess of 500 people on busy days. In the event of hillside fires, earthquakes, or a Tsunami, there should be multiple escape routes for the large numbers of people. Alternative access routes are particularly necessary for emergency services if the main road was disabled through a natural event. To not have more than one access route down from the lookout and out from a densely populated Cove area in summer is foolhardy and dangerous.

Regarding costs occurring with the Cathedral Cove tracks; the decision made to bitumen the previous existing soft dirt track was unnecessary and now results in constant maintenance costs. Tourist tracks in Italy such as the Cinque Tierra and the Amalfi

Walk of the Gods, attract 1,000’s of visitors and keep sections of dirt paths and rocks as part of the walking route.

In the Hahei area, DOC has a local community prepared to support DOC gratis with their skills and efforts. These include retired engineers and many others who can offer expertise and labour in support of the Cathedral Cove tracks.

If the proposal to charge visitors to walk down to Cathedral Cove goes ahead, this income should go to maintaining the Beach track and Gemstone Bay track as well as pest and weed control which is desperately required. We have no guarantee where the funds will go and whether they will be spent locally.

The beach track and access to unique Gemstone Bay are integral to the Cathedral Cove reserve estate. Cathedral Cove is not just Cathedral Cove beach. It is an area of 840 hectares and this whole area needs to be managed and protected with adequate access paths. We should be encouraging tourists to move more around the reserve area.

To destroy the beach track and access to Gemstone Bay which is part of the Cathedral Cove experience is short term bad planning for tourists and New Zealanders . In many parts of New Zealand, locals identify DOC as “Don’t or Can’t”. DOC has a serious credibility problem in communities who see DOC as not responsive to community needs or wishes. I hope there can be a positive response from DOC on this issue. „ Editor’s note: The Informer supports this Opinion Piece. Lynne’s submission is public on the Hello Hahei website. The petition to object to the proposal by DOC to save the tracks is now approaching 2,000 signatures. There is a responsibility by our elected people and the departments who work under their leadership to listen to the voices of their constituents.

We, along with other local Hahei volunteers currently manage pest control in the Cathedral Cove area as DOC does not take responsibility for pest or weed control. There are rat and possum traps maintained and checked including along the beach track and the Gemstone Bay track. Weeds over the entire Cathedral Cove reserve area are out of control, in particular gorse, woolly nightshade, wattles and invasive cherry trees. Pests, such as possums and feral cats have increased greatly. Destroying the two tracks will make weed and pest management more difficult.

Gemstone Bay

Benefits of the Backstop: Saving our local democracy

BY GEOFFREY ROBINSON

Unless TCDC negotiators pull an 11th-hour rabbit out of the amalgamation hat – complete with guaranteed long-term benefits and no loss of decision-making powers for the district – Council will be making the wise decision at its meeting July 28 to taihoa on all its rushed merger options and embark instead on a planning path toward truly local government by, and for, Coromandel Peninsula communities.

By choosing not to submit a high-level amalgamation proposal to the government by its August 9 cutoff, TCDC would be joining other New Zealand councils whose interests do not readily and naturally align with neighbouring districts. These councils will engage in the government’s (as yet not defined) “backstop” process as they work to develop simplified single-tier council structures that will best serve their constituencies.

Government’s “backstop” option appeared to genuinely spook TCDC leadership at their May 26 meeting, with councillors expressing fears of “losing control” of the reform process if they “failed to

act” quickly by picking partners. Councillors expressed concern (without evidence) that an unfavourable amalgamation would ultimately be forced on the district, against its will and interests, if they did not submit an amalgamation proposal by August 9. But while TCDC dismissed the idea from the start and jumped instead to identify three short-list merger options, other councils have been considering the potential benefits of the “backstop”. By declining to submit any rushed and half-baked amalgamation proposal to government now, those councils will be giving themselves time. And in a once-in-generations local government reform process, time is the council’s best friend. There is no emergency.

For councils that choose not to join an amalgamation proposal now, local council business will carry on as it has until the 2028 local body elections. After those next elections, according to present government plans, all districts will either be merged into neighbouring unitary councils – or they may form standalone unitary councils, if and where that is the best outcome. Both are real possibilities, and neither has been ruled out. According to the Department

of Internal Affairs, the decision process will be refined sometime in 2027, presumably in cooperative consultation with the affected local councils themselves. The “backstop” choice would give those councils time to work with government on the decision process itself. The “backstop” option also means:

• Time to substantively consult with peninsula communities, discuss options in depth, identify priorities, consider alternatives.

• Time to let pending RMA reform (Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill) run their legislative course.

• Time to properly incorporate iwi relationships into the planning process

• Time to learn what current regional council functions will migrate up to a national level.

• Time to identify further opportunities for shared services between councils.

• Time to consider available options for effective catchment management.

• Time to explore a further cooperative relationship with the Department of Conservation.

• Time to sort which current regional activities are actually

Birthday Celebration

required and which activities are not.

• Time to commission and refine high-level financial analysis of a standalone unitary council. While TCDC’s mayor has batted away efforts around the Council table to assess community interest in a standalone unitary council (and resisted efforts to include that preference in the council’s public “engagement” process and communications), leaders of other districts have not shied away. In Northland Region, where several rural councils consider regional amalgamations far from ideal, Kaipara District Council voted unanimously last week to oppose merger plans with neighbouring Whangarei and Far North districts. The “backstop” pathway would be the process they will now follow as they continue to pursue a standalone unitary council arrangement. Far North District Council voted to support a plan that would have their district reorganised as a standalone unitary council for an initial period of at least 10 years. A majority of Far North survey respondents this month favoured the go-it-alone structure.

“Which way should we go?”

With TCDC’s overall “Head Start” strategy having been written by a former CEO of both Waikato Regional Council and Opotiki District Council (now a TCDC “strategic advisor”); with the Council’s Simplifying Local Government Working Group activity being managed by another former BOP Regional Council senior manager (now a TCDC “facilitator”); and with TCDC’s current CEO being a former Opotiki Council chief also with strong connections to BOPRC, it is not difficult to understand why serious consideration of the Unitary Coromandel Council option has not been in evidence. If anything, it appears to have been actively squelched. To quote the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a “backstop” is “something that provides dependable support or protection against failure or loss.”

And truly local government for Coromandel communities is at risk of being lost for good if an ill-conceived, lesser-of-twoevils amalgamation proposal is advanced now. Choosing a “backstop” on July 28 would offer that protection – so TCDC can get on with putting more “local” in local democracy, as the people have asked.

Two Freds – the best at the Shed 2026

BY PAULINE STEWART

Every year a ‘Sheddie of the Year’ is honoured as part of the Annual General Meeting formalities. This is a tradition established with the beginning of the Whitianga MenZshed in 2018 by Malcolm Brown now deceased. Each year at the AGM, The Sheddie of the Year is announced and the presentation is made by Pauline Brown, Malcolm’s wife.

This year President Glenn Schache announced two Sheddies of the Year. Both have the first name Fred – Fred Bonkavich and Fred Brinsden (a coincidence) and both men were part of the small and skilled building team who erected the new MenZshed in Abrahamson Drive completed this last April. This was no coincidence as both men were not members of the MenZshed, but when they learned about this big community project, both wanted to help in a significant way and they certainly did. In the course of working as part of this very successful building project, the two Freds of the MenZshed joined and in the words of Glenn Schache, “Their continuing commitment with their engineering and building skills plus their deep belief in contributing consistently to the friendship and fellowship of the MenZshed has been inspiring.”

The Whitianga Community MenZshed was officially opened

in 2019 by locals, Ernie Pitchfork and Malcolm Brown, both members of the Whitianga Lions Club.

In April this year, a new MenZshed was opened debt free and with much larger capacity to accommodate the growing membership and many different tool machines.

“MenZshed literally saves lives,” says Glenn Schache President of Whitianga.

“There are many stories from other Sheds in New Zealand and Australia, where Sheds have stopped men from suicide, because they’ve discovered a support network and a purpose. That in itself makes thie MenZshed a very special and necessary com-

munity service.

Glenn described the benefits of the MenZshed extend far beyond its members.

“Wives, partners, and families also experience the positive effects of having a thriving, engaged husband or father who is actively involved in the community.”

The MenZshed also supports local Mercury Bay charities and community organisations, with members often taking on projects that benefit the wider community. Builidng wil start soon on a storage and tool extension on the same piece of land as the new MenZshed.

Can this be restored?

An old cart over 80 years old was presented at the Whitianga MenZshed recently. Its timbers were rotting but the style was still there and it had great sentimental and family value to the owner who remembered it being a workable cart in her childhood.

The request was: “Is it possible to restore it?

“Fred Brinsden searched high and low for similar timber and carefully sorted what was redeemable from the pile of discarded remains. It took time and patience and some research. With the help of two MenZshed friends and some paint, a very close replica of the family heirloom was presented to a very happy customer.

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Fred Bonkavich (left) and Fred Brinsden (right) are presented with ‘Sheddies of the Year 2026’ by Pauline Brown (centre). Smiling in the background is President Glenn Schache.

Fred Brinsden with the old timber resources to repair and rebuild the heritage cart.

Two MenZshed members assist Fred (centre) to put the finishing touches on the cart.

The finished work.

1500 petitioners re-submitted is strong support for a Unitary Coromandel Council

BY GEOFF ROBINSON

Broad public support for a standalone unitary Coromandel Council was demonstrated in black and white when a petition bearing more than 1,500 signatures was re-presented to all TCDC councillors and staff last week.

The petition submission followed the close of a TCDC online public opinion survey that asked respondents to pick one of three proposed options for amalgamation with other Waikato or Bay of Plenty councils. Council’s twoweek snap “engagement” poll did not offer the option to reject all three short-listed merger suggestions and to express instead support for a single-tier unitary Coromandel Council structure.

Unlike TCDC, other New Zealand councils, including neighbouring Western Bay of Plenty and all three Northland Region districts, did give residents the opportunity to reject amalgamation and express their preference for a standalone council.

The Petition for a Unitary Coromandel Council was formally submitted to TCDC in support of the district’s original efforts to take on regional functions under the

leadership of former Mayor Glenn Leach. An initial 56-page tranche of more than 1,000 signatures was presented to the council on November 7, 2012. A second 29-page tranche of more than 500 additional signatures was presented in June 2013. Petitioners represent every district town and settlement from northmost Port Jackson to Whangamatā and Matatoki. Every signature is accompanied by the petitioner’s

home address.

The re-submitted petition seeks “To ensure improved local government service based on: 1) decision-making by locally elected and accountable officials; 2) policy development appropriate to our district; 3) affordability of rates; 4) increased council efficiency and elimination of waste; 5) more public service jobs and economic development opportunities for our communities;

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6) responsiveness to the unique concerns, aspirations, and wishes of district residents; 7) provision of local benefits and value for every rates dollar.”

While some years have passed since original presentation, there are individuals who will have moved away, and several will have passed away. But Coromandel community members perusing the 85 pages of line-by-line signatures today will recognise,

in addition to themselves, hundreds of neighbours, friends, relatives, workmates, and local acquaintances among those urging formation of a unitary council. A small number of residential addresses appear to be those of visitors or bach owners.

In contrast to an anonymous and unsecure online “tick one” contest, with programming that may have skewed results, the petition re-submitted last week demonstrates solid, hard-copy evidence of the depth and breadth of public opinion supporting the Coromandel Council option from residents willing to put their names on the line publicly. As a gauge of longterm, sustained public opinion in support of a standalone unitary council for the peninsula, the significance of the petition for next week’s Council decision would be hard to overstate.

The petition was retrieved in response to an Official Information Act request by The Informer. Council members and senior staff have been asked to post all signature pages online (with link) in conjunction with related Simplifying Local Government information and the results of the council’s other “public engagement” activities.

Image AI

A fixed 3D screening unit for Eastern Coromandel Women

The Mercury Bay Medical Equipment Trust (MBMET) has submitted a proposal for Breast-screening of the Eastern Coromandel women to BreastScreen Aotearoa (BSA) and BreastScreen Midland (BSM) which will deliver better patient outcomes and save money in the health budget.

It does this by:

• Transitioning breast screening to the more accurate 3D mammography from the current 2D technology which results in savings by finding breast cancers earlier.

• Moving to a more cost-effective, more accessible fixed mammography site in Whitianga rather than running a mobile unit.

• Giving access to women of all ages on the Coromandel Peninsula to have a screening mammogram through a public-private partnership.

The case for the transition to 3D tomosynthesis Breast screening for women on the Coromandel Peninsula 3D mammography is 40% more accurate than 2D mammography. It reduces the number of false positives compared to 2D Digital mammography used for screening mammograms in the public system. Still, the increased accuracy comes at an additional cost, as each 3D mammogram takes up more storage space in the medical imaging PACS system.

In our discussions with BreastScreen Aotearoa (BSA) they cite this cost as the reason for not transitioning to the newer, more accurate 3D technology.

Using the results of two published international research studies below and applying this to the “all of patient costs” of breast cancer, not just the screening costs, we can show that the savings outweigh the additional costs of storage and improve patient outcomes.

„ The websites for these studies and BSA’s article can be found in the footnotes at the end of this article

RESEARCH STUDY 1

Ten-year study shows that tomosynthesis improves breast cancer detection.

This research study is the first to compare 10 years of data on breast cancers detected by 3D mammography in comparison to 2D mammography detected cancers

The key findings of this study are:

• 2D mammography, in which a low-dose X-ray system pro-

Prepared by the Mercury Bay Medical Equipment Trust (MBMET)

duces pictures of the inside of the breast from 2 angles, fails to detect 20% of breast cancers.

• Screening for breast cancer with 3D mammography increases cancer detection rates and significantly reduces the rate of advanced cancers compared to conventional 2D digital mammography.

• 3D found more aggressive cancers at an earlier stage compared to 2D mammography.

• Cancer detection was improved when women had repeat 3D mammograms.

• Most true-positive cancer cases detected by 3D presented as masses, while fewer presented as calcifications and asymmetries(false positives).

• The recall rate for 3D was significantly lower than for 2D mammography.

“3D’s lower recall rate, higher cancer detection rate and lower rate of advanced cancers is a win, win, win,” Dr Philpotts, one of the co Authors said.

RESEARCH STUDY 2

‘3D mammography’ almost halves the incidence of breast cancer between the two screening tests.

The Key findings in this research are as follows.

• Almost 24,000 women were examined only with 2D mammograms, while another group of 16,000 was evaluated with both 2D mammograms and 3D mammography.

• According to the results, the interval cancer rate was 1.8 per thousand people in the first group, and 0.93 in the second. In other words, the likelihood of being diagnosed with an interval cancer was 49% lower in women who were also screened with the 3D mammogram.

A WIN/WIN/WIN

1. Patient Benefits

• 3D screening mammograms achieve higher accuracy, detect cancers earlier, reduce false positives, and lower rates of interval cancers, resulting in better patient outcomes.

• Fewer trips to Hamilton and less anxiety for the patient due to false positives.

• Fewer deaths due to the late diagnosis of breast cancer.

2. Savings for BSA, BSM and Health NZ budget.

• Fewer diagnostic workups at Waikato Hospital due to fewer false positives

Having more tests after a mammogram – EnglishHE10118

This is a document from BSA ‘s website and states:

When 100 women have a mammogram through Breast Screen Aotearoa, about 5 are asked back for further tests because something looks unusual. Four out of these five women will not have breast cancer, and one woman will be diagnosed with breast cancer. So this means 4 false positives per 100 patients

• Study No 1 shows that false positives are reduced using 3D screening, so if only two of the four false positives of the 100 women above did not have to travel to Waikato hospital for a minimum 2-hour diagnostic workup, the savings to Health NZ Te Whatu Ora would be at least $700 per patient or $1,400 per 100 women screened.

• Study No 2 shows the increased accuracy of 3D mammography means patients are significantly less likely to be diagnosed with Interval cancers.

Both research studies conclude 3D breast-screening finds breast cancers earlier meaning the downstream cost of treating these cancers is significantly lower for Health NZ Te Whatu Ora due to

• Reduced treatment times.

• Less invasive surgeries and fewer hospital bed days.

• Shorter outpatient times. We contend that the above savings alone will more than pay for the additional storage costs of 3D screening mammograms.

3. Fixed site versus mobile unit for screening mammograms on the Eastern Coromandel.

A fixed site unit provides weekly access for all women on the Coromandel Peninsula who wish to have breast screening, either through the public or private sys-

tems, compared to the existing mobile system, which provides access at set times to women between 45 and ultimately 74 during the year when women must be available to attend.

Our fixed unit will provide easy access to those with a disability by having covered in accessible parking, no stairs to navigate, wheelchair access through 2-metre-wide corridors to a waiting room, wheelchair friendly changing rooms and accessible toilets. These features are not available in a mobile unit.

Recent correspondence from BSM via the Minister of Health appears to offer 4 visits to Whitianga annually by the mobile unit to improve accessibility, which would substantially increase the cost of providing the existing service.

Our proposal outlines the benefits and cost savings to BSM of the fixed site as follows.

Mobile units are far more costly to run than fixed units.

In our offer to BSA, we clearly stated that the 400 private mammograms they took could be paid for at $100 per mammogram, totalling $40,000.

The lease cost of the fixed unit, including fitout and shared spaces and carparking for patients and staff at our brandnew site in 27 Campbell Street, would be approximately $20,000 per annum, so this cost is covered by the revenue from the private mammograms, with a further $20,000 to offset the other operational costs.

In comparison, the additional costs of running the mobile unit would include.

1. Repairs and maintenance and running costs of the mobile unit

2. COF for the unit.

3. Running a separate car for staff travel

4. Staff accommodation and meals

5. Truck drivers’ salary for the time they move the unit and set it up.

6. Annual Capital Provision for replacement of the mobile unit, assuming a 10-year life.

BSM would need to provide their own detailed figures for the above, but we estimate these to be $132,000 for the time it is on the Eastern Coromandel Peninsula

Besides leasing a $350,000 new mammogram machine at a small annual administration cost, our offer also includes a replacement Mammogram machine at the end of 10 years, which saves BSM the need to accrue $40,000 per annum for capital expenditure.

MBMET also recognises the staffing issues in New Zealand, where not enough new mammographers are being trained to replace those who retire each year, and provides a $20,000 grant to recruit a qualified Mammographer from overseas, if necessary, to operate the unit.

We therefore don’t agree with BSM’s claim that they need additional funding to operate a fixed 3D unit in Whitianga.

RURAL

MAMMOGRAPHY

FOR WOMEN OF ALL AGES.

Our Public-Private model ensures that women of any age who wish to have a screening mammogram on the Eastern Peninsula can have one without having to travel 6 hours round-trips to a private clinic.

It makes the best use of an expensive mammogram machine that the community raised money for, and the public-private partnership makes the fixed unit a cost-effective, viable, accessible unit for rural women of all ages and mobility.

SUMMARY

The proposal we have put forward to BSA and BSM requires them to make two changes to the way they operate on the Eastern Coromandel Peninsula:

1 To transition to a fixed unit in Whitianga that provides weekly access to breast screening for all women who wish to have a mammogram in our communities

2 To embrace the more accurate 3D technology to provide better clinical outcomes for our rural women.

In doing so, HNZ will save operational costs within a health budget under significant strain.

COMMUNITY HELP REQUIRED

Our community rallied behind this project and raised $350,000 in taxpayer funds for a 3D mammogram machine in a record 2.5 years.

This alone should show that the community’s need is evident. As a trust, we have not received evidence-based reasons from BSA or BSM for why they cannot support our proposal.

We wish to document the community’s support for this cause through a petition. Hence, there is no doubt in the Minister of Health’s mind that our community are serious about wanting this life-saving, more accurate, accessible service for all of our women at a fixed site located in Whitianga.

The petition can be signed at – Tairua, Get It On in the main street; Whitianga, Unichem Stephensons Pharmacy and Mercury Bay Pharmacy. Other sites including Coromandel town to follow shortly.

REFERENCES:

Research Study 1 ten-year study shows that tomosynthesis improves breast cancer detection.

Website: https://ecancer.org/en/news/25340-ten-yearstudy-shows-tomosynthesis-improves-breast-cancer-detection

Research Study 2 ‘3D mammography’ almost halves the incidence of breast cancer between the two screening tests.

Website: https://ecancer.org/en/news/24447-3d-mammography-almost-halves-the-incidence-of-breast-cancerbetween-two-screening-tests

BreastScreen Aotearoa’s article

Website: https://healthed.govt. nz/products/having-more-tests-after-a-mammogram-english-version.

3D digital mammography machine.

Imagine the Coromandel peninsula 30 years from now

Help us shape the future of the Coromandel Peninsula

PRESS RELEASE

hames-Coromandel

TDistrict Council is asking people across the district to imagine the Coromandel Peninsula in 30+ years’ time and share their views on what it should look like.

The Council is in the early stages of developing a district-wide spatial plan that will guide how towns, communities and the wider district grow and develop. It will also indicate where housing, businesses and infrastructure (such as roads and water) should go, and where there are valued environmental and cultural areas that should be protected.

Acting Mayor John Grant says hearing from communities is essential.

“Spatial planning is about providing a vision for communities.

“It is critical for future thinking in setting a longterm direction.

John Grant added this exercise was also about facing realities and understanding the challenges ahead, while making the most of opportunities and choosing the best path forward.

Even with council facing local government reform, he said it was important the spatial planning process went ahead.

“To make sure this plan is a reflection of what is important to our communities, we need to hear from everyone who lives, works and plays on the Coromandel Peninsula.”

The first phase of engagement, called Imagine Coromandel Peninsula, is about confirming the vision and outcomes for the district.

Council is using the vision and outcomes agreed in the 2009 Coromandel Blueprint, the last district-wide strategic plan, as a starting point for our engagement.

“Outcomes are the specific results we want to

achieve to make the vision real. Think of them as what needs to be done for the vision to be achieved.

“The vision and outcomes will shape how the spatial plan is developed and ultimately, what each town and the wider Peninsula will look like in the future. So, it’s important to get it right, and we can’t do that without you.”

WHAT WE ARE ASKING

From 15 July to 12 August, we’re asking people to tell us:

• If the vision and outcomes set out in the Coromandel Blueprint still reflect what you think is important for the future for the Coromandel Peninsula (these can be found at www.tcdc. govt.nz/imagine)

• What the Peninsula has today that needs to be kept, changed or removed, and

• The biggest challenges and opportunities you see ahead.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

You can have your say by:

• Visiting imagine@ tcdc.govt.nz and completing our online survey

• Completing a hard copy survey and dropping it off at any library or service centre, and/or

• Coming along to a community event and speaking with our team.

We’ll be holding a number of events across the district, and you’ll also see us popping up at sports games, markets and outside supermarkets. If you spot us, come and say hi. Event information and full details are available at: www.tcdc.govt.nz/imagine.

„ This is the first of several opportunities for people to contribute to the development of the spatial plan. We’ll continue to share updates with you as the project progresses.

Acting Mayor John Grant.

Community Book Nook – a new project

BY GEORGINA PARRY

This community project about to be launched called Building Connections.

This is a collaborative initiative between Big Brothers Big Sisters Coromandel, Mercury Bay Museum, and Aligned Builders to create a Community Book Nook is about to be launched.

It is a “Take a Book, Leave a Book” library that will be located outside the Mercury Bay Museum for everyone in our community to enjoy.

As part of the project, we’re also running a community competition inviting young people to design the mural that will be featured on the side of the Book Nook. It’s a wonderful opportunity for local rangatahi to showcase their creativity while contributing to a lasting community asset.

The competition closes on Friday, 24 July 2026, and the entry form is with this story.

We want to shine a light on the incredible partnerships that have made this project possible. It’s a great example of local organisations and businesses coming together to strengthen community connections and create something from which everyone can benefit.

You can download another copy of the entry form here: https://drive.google. com/file/d/1Q8C51GBTZhBO9Z6Z2kdvj8Zc-wne6mE6/view?usp=drive_link

Georgina is Mentor Coordinator for Big Brothers Big Sisters Coromandel

Hon Scott Simpson

On the back of New Zealand’s landmark free trade agreement with India, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have announced that our countries’ relationship has been elevated to a strategic partnership.

This is really exciting news and it signals New Zealand and India’s shared ambition to do more together. We have agreed to Roadmap to 2030, which includes a commitment to maritime security and an ambitious goal to double two-way trade in the next few years.

There are early reports which show that the New Zealand-India Free Trade Agreement is delivering before it even comes into force. Apple exports to India are up 63 percent on last season, and in just two years India has climbed from our seventh-largest apple market to our fourth.

This is the result of New Zealanders being ambitious, outward-looking and willing to compete on the world stage.

When the free trade agreement comes into effect, 57 percent of our exports to India will be tariff-free from day one. That will have a big impact on the Coromandel electorate, with kiwifruit growers alone expecting around $125 million in tariff savings over five years.

That’s more jobs, more investment and a brighter future for the Western Bay of Plenty and the wider region.

As a Government, the New Zealand–India Free Trade Agreement and the other trade agreements we have signed during this parliamentary term are part of our plan to fix the basics and build the future. We are backing our exporters by opening doors in fast-growing markets and enhancing our relationships with our existing partners because international trade is vital to New Zealand’s economy. One in four Kiwi jobs are tied to trade and when we make it easier for businesses to compete internationally, it supports jobs, lifts wages, and puts more money in people’s back pockets.

DISASTER READY CHURCH PROGRAMME

SERMON: 9 PRACTICAL STEPS TO PREPARE HEARTS 11:15AM, SATURDAY, 25 JULY 2026

WHITIANGA SDA COMMUNITY CHURCH (COMMUNITY SERVICES ROOMS)

SPEAKER: LUANA TUPOU (ADRA) PART ONE 2 COOK DRIVE, WHITIANGA. (LUNCH PROVIDED)

WORKSHOP: 9 PRACTICAL STEPS TO PREPARE FAMILIES IN HOMES 10AM–12:30PM, SUNDAY, 26 JULY 2026

PART TWO

VENUE: TOWN HALL, MONK ST, WHITIANGA (REFRESHMENTS PROVIDED)

DISASTER READY COMMUNITY CONTACT 021665958 (LAURIE BOWDEN)

‘The Light’ TourFour Coromandel concerts – 1-8 August

The Dylan Wade band is on tour with The Light- and the first concert will be at Whitianga on Saturday, 1 August hosted by The Embassy of Friendship - 5 Coghill Street, Whitianga 4.00 -6.00 pm

The concert in Whitianga is a celebration of the release of their new album The Light, with new drummer Nigel Sanderson, master of rhythms and Nur Peach, vocals, keys, bass and guitar. This will be the first of four concerts around the Coromandel Peninsula.

Dylan Wade’s music is a unique blend of masterful guitar music mixed with a mellow yet edgy voice and Inspiring lyrics. Spanning a wide range of styles from folk to rock to reggae to blues to world to jam rock and many other places in between, you can expect laid back tunes and also get up and dance bangers.....

Whitianga is Dylan’s hometown and several of the songs from the new album were written and played often in the Mercury Bay area. Special guest artists will also be featured alongside songs from his Daughter Nur Peach, a rising star vocalist herself. It’s an early start, 4.00pm so bring the whole Whanau - family and don’t let the entry price be a barrier.

TICKETS/ENTRY:

It’s a koha event with suggested $20 Adults and $10 for under 18 yrs and free for 5 yrs and under. Steffen Linden from The Embassy of Friendship has made the venue so ambient and welcoming plus the new bigger room and seating. We are super excited to start the tour in Whitianga on Sat 1 August at 4.00pm! We would love to see you there and join us for a high -vibe, lightfilled time.

It’s the perfect time to celebrate ‘’The Light’’

OTHER COROMANDEL SHOWS:

Thursday, 6 August ManaiaMana Retreat Centre 5.30pm; Friday 7 August, Thames - Richmond Villas Lodge 6.30pm; Saturday, 8 August, Waihi Beach - St Peter’s by the sea church at 4.00pm.

Walrus swim a chilly splash at Oceana Gold Waihi

Brave – or foolhardy – swimmers (depending on your point of view) are preparing to take the plunge when the Walrus Swim returns to the OceanaGold Waihi Polishing Ponds on 30 July, promising a mid-winter test of nerve and humour. The swim is a rare opportunity for participants to experience a familiar part of the mine from a very different perspective.

The annual event, known for its cold water, good-natured rivalry and distinctly local flavour, will see staff and contractor competitors tackle the pond in what has become one of the Waihi gold mine’s more unusual activities. While the 110-metre distance may be modest, the temperature is expected to pro vide the real challenge. Past events have featured plenty of encouragement from spectating staff, light-hearted prizes and the awarding of the coveted Walrus Trophy.

Held rain or fine, organisers say the event is as much about fun as it is about competition. The Polish ing Ponds are part of the site’s water-treatment system, where treated water is held and monitored and a final check completed before controlled release

into the Ohinemuri River.

This year is special as the Water Treatment Plant is undergoing a significant upgrade and capacity increase as part of the

Waihi North Project. Staff and contractors working on that project have been encouraged to swap their overalls for swimming togs and check out the ‘downstream aspects’ of their work. Bring a sense of humour, a towel and a strong tolerance for chilly water. Supporting staff have been encouraged to line the pond, cheer on the swimmers, and add to the atmosphere as the latest group of ‘walruses’ takes to the pond.

Free ‘Friday Lunchtime Concert’ features university instrumental students

Thames Music Group’s July Free Friday Lunchtime Concert will feature instrumental students from the University of Waikato Conservatorium of Music. For many years Thames Music Group has provided this annual opportunity to experience performances by talented young musicians from University of Waikato.

In this recital the University of Waikato is presenting a program of ensemble works. Three pieces feature Sitiveni Palei (trumpet), Indiana Williamson (violin), Samara

Nation (violin) each playing with The University of Waikato String Orchestra. Other pieces feature one trio (Thalia Kelly piano, William Zhang violin, Luke Hu cello) and a few quartets featuring combinations of the following musicians: Lara Hall violin, Samara Nation viola or cello, Indiana Williamson violin, Joelle Fordham violin, Tamsin Kreymborg cello, Jaxon Drabble piano, Nrusingha Rath violin, Isaiah Kaiawe violin.

The works being played include Handel’s Suite for Trumpet and Orchestra in D major BWV 341, Viv-

aldi’s Concerto in F minor, RV 297, “Winter”, Beethoven’s Piano Trio Op. 1 no. 1 in Eb major, Haydn’s String Quartet in G minor Op. 74, no. 3, “The Rider”, and more. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience this chamber music mélange.

EVENT DETAILS:

Friday 24 July, at 12.15 pm, St George’s Church, Thames. Free entry, koha/donation gratefully accepted. „ Contact: thamesmusicgroup@ yahoo.co.nz

NEW tracked Scissor Lift available for hire, with 8.7m working height with stabilizing legs. 230kg lift capacity, non marking tracks, call today to secure your booking!!

Above, the swimmers at last year’s event; left, The Great Walrus Race Trophy.

Are you dusting off your dancing shoes?

BY SHAUN FAY

Yeah, maybe. Last time I had a crack – well let’s just say I’m better at golf than dancing. Whanga’s famous Coastal Rockers have Beginner’s Classes starting at Tuesday, 21 July at 6.30pm at The Whanga Club. Cost: 4 lessons $20.

WHAT’S THE DANCING LIKE?

Superb! Some of these guys have been dancing together for years.

Several moved to Whangamata because of the Coastal Rockers. The impact they give the town economically is considerable as they’re often the first to support music acts. The fun these dancers and their movement bring to the floor is brilliant. The Coastal Rockers – Beginners Classes, Tuesday 21 July.

„ Details on The Whangamata Club website. shaun@besidetheseaside.co.nz

Patchwork Unlimited Turua

We are a friendly group of approximately 40 members who meet fortnightly at the Turua Community Hall every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month. We do many crafts including sewing, hand quilting, and embroidery projects, even knitting.

We come from various background and have different skill levels, which makes

it a perfect environment for learning more tips and tricks, getting inspiration for future projects and to making new friends.

Throughout the year we organise workshops with renowned national tutors to explore different techniques and experiment using a variety of materials, i.e. paint or threads.

Then there are the fun bus trips to destinations far and wide or as we say, Fabric Acquisition Road Trips (FARTS), we have raffles along the way, lunch out, and shared camaraderie.

Come along to the exhibition in the Thames Civic Centre on Friday 7th August to Sunday 9th August, to see some amazing quilts, table

runners, bags, even quilted clothing, all made by club members.

Lastly 8 merchants will have popup shops selling that piece of fabric or sewing notion or ball of wool that you need.

„ Feel free to contact us, Kirstin 021 2110857 or Sheryll 021 665972.

A 3-course ‘Le Lunch’ awaits you

Tasty platters on long tables –stunning French style starters, delicious main courses and delectable desserts that’s what awaits you. Mercury Bay Lions is offering – a three course French style lunch to be held at Mercury Bay Club on Saturday, 8 August, 11.00am – 2.00pm.

L’escargot (snails) or frog legs are not on the menu , but there will be music, spot prizes and some wonderful raffles.

Make up a group of friends to enjoy a fun and generous lunch. (If your group wishes to be seated together, their tickets will need to be purchased as a group.)

Tickets are on sale at the Whitianga Information Centre – cost is $60 per person and a cash bar available. All proceeds will be used to fund local projects. Mercury Bay Lions have supported many projects over the last two years such as Bellyful, the Toy Library, Playcentre, the Guided Journey Charitable Trust and Te Tiihi Nui Trust. We could not do this without your support.

August 7th and 8th

Aroha Quilts, Tis’

Plus!! Explore a wide variety of handmade items in our members artisan

Digital Decoder

By Agent EJ

China Releases Next-Gen Real-Time 3D World Mapping

A Chinese team has released something that should turn heads here: LingBot-Map, an opensource tool from Robbyant division by Ant Group (owners of Alibaba and Alipay) that builds a live, accurate 3D map of any space using nothing but an ordinary camera. No LiDAR, no expensive sensors, just software doing what used to need tens of thousands of dollars of equipment. It’s free, and anyone can download it. For creatives, this is genuinely exciting. A film crew, game studio, or solo content creator could scan

a location and drop it straight into a production file. Its sister project, LingBot-World, goes even further, generating entire explorable 3D worlds from a single photo, built to rival Google’s own Project Genie. It was released just four days after Google announced theirs.

That speed is the real story. It signals how far China’s open ecosystem has pulled ahead. Analysts at the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission describe it as two reinforcing loops: open-sourcing models

to win global developers, while feeding the acquired data back into the next generation. Giving the tech away for free isn’t generosity, it’s strategy. Every developer who builds on it, including ours, deepens China’s foothold in spatial AI’s infrastructure.

There’s a human cost behind this race too. In India, factory and domestic workers are strapping on head-mounted cameras and smart glasses to record themselves folding clothes and sewing garments, generating the “egocentric data” that trains robots

to replicate human movement.

South Asia is being treated as the ideal place to teach a robot how humans work, given the scale of labour available. Bangladesh’s garment sector employs around 4 million people, and workers are, quite literally, training their own replacements, often without clear consent or pay.

The same capability that lets a robot understand a room can let it understand a task, and eventually a target. Militaries could use tools like this to send a drone into a building, map the space in real

time, and strike the instant a target is confirmed.

For New Zealand, that’s worth sitting with. We’re a small, trusting, low-regulation market, and we lack a clear policy conversation about where open-source spatial AI, and the labour behind it, is heading.

None of that means Kiwi developers shouldn’t experiment. But we should be going in with eyes open, asking who built it, who trained it, and what it costs the people on the other side of the data.

The Wellness Woman of Whitianga

BY VERNA CARR

Tucked behind the Westpac bank is a shop where the shelves are lined with big glass jars of tea, the air smells faintly of lavender and lemongrass, and the woman behind the counter will happily talk with you for twenty minutes about why you need it. Meet Tanja Lajunen – herbalist, aromatherapist, homeopath, massage therapist, Whitianga local, and the heart of the town’s newest wellness hub.

IN THE BLOOD

Tanja was raised in this world. Her family has always marched to its own beat – alternative thinkers, a little eccentric. Her grandmother grew all the food the family ate, long before “organic” became a buzzword.

When Tanja married, she found more of the same. Her in-laws lived and breathed the old ways – organic growing, biodynamics, and a deep belief that the earth provides if you let it. They’d remind her that back in the 1920s, everything a family needed to live could be found within 45 kilometres of home.

Tanja has raised her own chil-

dren the same way – as naturally and organically as possible, and through Rudolf Steiner education.

A LIFETIME OF STUDY

Tanja has spent decades chasing knowledge. It started at Wellpark College, a place steeped in old wisdom and unconventional teaching, where she studied herbal therapy, homeopathy, and aromatherapy – trying her hand at all of it.

Then came five years at the Waikato Centre of Herbal Medicine, studying exactly how and why plants work in the human body.

WHITIANGA THROUGH THE YEARS

Tanja is, without question, a Whitianga local. She’s lived here for over forty years. In that time, she has worked at three separate wellness businesses around

“It’s about listening to your own body”

town: first at All Things Organic on Monk Street, then running a clinic and massage practice out of The Earth Store, and later at The Wellness Store, until it closed.

So when an empty space came up behind the Westpac bank, Tanja took a deep breath and finally struck out on her own.

BIRTH OF THE WHITIANGA HEALTH AND WELLBEING CENTRE

Boxes arrived. Shelves went up.

Jars filled with teas promising calm, energy, and balance took their place along the walls – the Whitianga Health and Wellbeing Centre was born.

Tanja sources as organically and locally as she can, and over time she has steadily built knowledge and relationships with her suppliers. Some of her best products come from right here in the Coromandel.

Ask her for something specific and she won’t simply hand it over the counter. She’ll sit you down and explain exactly what it does in your body – or, if it’s an aroma-

therapy oil, why she chose that particular blend for you.

MORE THAN A SHOP

For Tanja, this was never just about selling products. It’s the culmination of decades of study, a lifetime of working intuitively with natural medicine, living close to the land, and years of listening to what people need.

“It’s about listening to your own body” is the message she gives everyone who walks through her door. That’s really what the Whitianga Health and Wellbeing Centre is all about – a place where people can have proper conversations about their health, and learn to pay attention to their own bodies again.

Tanja also plans to start a monthly herbal group, where locals can gather to explore a particular plant or herb together. She’s warm, easy going, and incredibly knowledgeable. If you haven’t met her yet, pop into the Whitianga Health and Wellbeing Centre behind the Westpac Bank and say hello. Health and wellbeing isn’t just her business. It’s her passion, and she’ll happily share it with you over a cup of liquorice and ginger tea.

by phone appointment

Waitaia Road, Kuaotunu Phone Colin or Cam 07 869 5910 www.waitaianursery.co.nz

Tanja Lajunen is ready to welcome you to her very well stocked health and wellbeing centre in Albert Street, Whitianga.

Peter – honoured by his community

Petrus Franciscus Maria van der Putten (Peter) - 1 May 1950-18 December 2025

BY PAULINE STEWART

Peter van der Putten was the Secretary of the Whitianga Community Services Trust. He helped set up the present structure and buildings although its work had begun several years earlier as the Whitianga Resource Centre.

Being Secretary was a position Peter held until his death on 18 December 2025. As this is written, it is seven months since Peter’s death and honouring his life and his achievements in this area is long overdue.

The Informer was in contact with his daughter Vanessa to enable us to know some of the earlier details of Peter’s life.

Peter was the eldest of nine children and first arrived in Whitianga in 1992. Before that he had lived in Auckland since coming from Holland at the age of 18 to begin a new life in New Zealand.

His career path in Auckland reflected his tremendous work ethic and natural leadership starting at a carpet company, moving into knife making and then Coronet Silverware and Hella New Zealand where he worked in senior management roles.

But after a few years, Peter decided to change direction. He had his eyes on a restaurant in Albert Street, Whitianga and he decided to purchase that lease and with his wife, Marijke, became the owner of a kiwi restaurant. This was a new venture for them. They changed the restaurant to a bar and grill and called it PJ’s. They renovated it and made it a music and gathering space for young people with a Music club and live instruments mainly on a Sunday. This was in 1992. Karaoke was popular and PJ’s became the town’s focus for

entertainment.

It was all going very well, but then Peter’s Dad passed away in Holland and he took a one -way flight back to his home country.

It was months before Peter could return to New Zealand and the turnover at PJ’s went down. Peter and Marijke sold their PJ’s venture in 1996.

Through his daily contact with the local community at PJ’s, Peter had seen a real need in the town to look after young people and to address loneliness. He decided to help out in the community and get to know it more. He became Chairperson of the Business Association. Back then, the Business Association was part of the Information Centre and it actually staffed the Information Centre.

For a period of time Peter was Secretary of the Information Centre and became involved in what was then called the Whitianga Resource Centre. He decided to become a member and two years later, became the Chairperson and applied himself to do the funding applications for this Incorprorated Society. In 2001, he

went to a three-day social agency conference in Rotorua where he learned that the Tauranga Council had brought together on one site, a lot of old buildings which had become a combined ‘Hub’ for all the social services. It was called Compass Village. This got Peter thinking about what could be possible in Whitianga. He met with the people at Compass Village, speaking with them about forming a Trust to replace the incorporated society and how they had formed the Hub. He asked for their help and brought the idea of the Hub back to Whitianga.

A public meeting organised for the local community received a lot of positive support. In August 2001, an inaugural meeting of the Trust was held and Peter was one of the first Trustees.

PETER AND THE VILLAGE HUB

The services of the Trust were growing and they were working in a very small building. For a time the Trust moved to the old hospital on Buffalo Beach Road. However, under the Treaty Settlement, it meant that if there was a

new owner, the Trust would have to vacate it within six months. So that decided for Peter to work towards a building of their own. This wasn’t to come for a few years. The Trust renovated the old hospital quite a lot, but all the time Peter was looking for a dedicated site.

The old offices of the District Council situated where the Skate Park is now, came up for tender as the Council was moving into the current Monk Street premises. Peter spoke to the Council - they could purchase the buildings, but they would need a place to put them. The most favourable was the site of 2 Cook Street. It was a larger site and not too far away from town. The TCDC buildings were not sufficient to accommodate all the services even then, so through the Trust, Peter applied to Trust Waikato and Lotteries who funded the current building to just over a million dollars in grants.

So the site and the suite of buildings, forming a village Hub at 2 Cook Street, Whitianga became a reality in 2010. It had been nine years since Peter first heard About Compass Village in Tauranga.

In other towns the resourcing of community needs was from separate buildings. Peter said at the time, “This is the best situation and with changes in policy and in community needs, we can be flexible with less red tape to deal with. I believe I have a heart for this work.” Peter didn’t seek this path, but along the way, made a conscious decision to put something good together for the community.

The Whitianga Resource Centre marked its 43rd birthday in March, 2026.

Peter often told the story of how the Resource Centre started.

“I came along well after things began. in 1983. Dr Dan, (resident Doctor of the Whitianga Hospital at the time) felt that the younger people and the unemployed needed support. These concerns were shared by Anglican Vicar, Rev Keith King and Presbyterian Minister, Rev Stuart McKenzie, who recorded a note in his diary on 17 March 1983 as, ‘Established the Whitianga Social Services Group at a meeting in Mercury Bay House. This was a small office in Albert Street he invited them to use. That’s where it began.”

Peter felt that the current building had been his biggest achievement; not because of the building, but because of what it has made possible and easier for people in the wider community. “It’s what I love to do.”

Peter van der Putten was a much-loved father of his four children with Marijke: Vincent, Marc, Yolanda, and Vanessa; a treasured Opa to his 10 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Peter became a resident of New Zealand in 1968.

He had been an avid sailor, a dedicated Freemason working his way up to the esteemed rank of Grand Master,

His family expresses heartfelt thanks to Maria and Guy, Phil, Stuart, Pauline and Jenny, for their true and loyal friendship to Peter and his family over many years.

He is remembered with deep love by his brothers, sisters, and extended family who live in Holland, with whom he always shared a special bond despite the distance.

Peter was a proud dad, a visionary leader, and a true pillar of the community. His legacy lives on across both sides of the world, in the family he loved and the town where he helped make possible a thriving community centre.

Looking Up - a different perspective

Whitianga Photographic Club members embraced the June competition theme, “Looking Up,” with a wide range of imaginative interpretations. It resulted members seeing familiar subjects from fresh perspectives.

Dr Neil Gordon APSNZ, generously gave his time to judge the competition and provide thoughtful, constructive feedback on the entries. He also selected the two winning images.

BEST IN SHOW:

“Skyward Through the Silo” by Anita Ruggle-Lussy LPSNZ

Judge’s comments: “Like discovering a forgotten passage back up into the forest,” He praised the striking composition, the circle of bright trees framed by dark, textured walls, and the mysterious atmosphere created by the mosslined opening. The viewpoint captured the “Looking Up” theme immediately. The photo is “A very mysterious, interesting image.” Awarded - Honours

PHOTO OF THE MONTH:

“Still Life with Yellow” by Chrissy Lawrence LPSNZ

Judge’s comments: The image’s careful styling and restrained colour palette is noted. The progression of yellow tones from the macaron to the flower and cup, with the lemon slice echoing the circular forms behind. It is a thoughtful composition with subtle textures, and the small green stem provides a perfect accent among the warm yellow hues. Awarded – Honours Congratulations to Anita and Chrissy. Their winning photographs, along with all the creative June entries, can be viewed on the Whitianga Photographic Club’s public Facebook page.

„ July competition theme: Wildlife/Nature.

Peter van der Putten at his desk at Whitianga Social Services - where he loved to be.

Photo of the month

Games & Puzzles WIN!

Issue 1219 – Grid 187

Crossword Puzzle

Proudly sponsored by

Win a $5.60 Wednesday Lotto ticket. Hand deliver, mail, scan/photograph or email your entry to The Coromandel Informer, 14 Monk Street, Whitianga, or info@ theinformer.co.nz to reach us by 12:00pm on Monday each week. The winner must please claim their prize from the New World checkout manager directly.

ACROSS

1. Leisure (4,4)

5. Largest West Indies island (4)

7. Geological eras (4)

8. Soothed (8)

9. Fuel oil (6)

12. Ouija sessions (7)

15. Reject (4,3)

19. Wildly impulsive (6)

21. Sang alpinestyle (8)

DOWN

1. Paddocks (6)

2. Lessens (5)

3. Incite to action (5)

4. Pass (of time) (6)

5. Infant’s drawing implement (6)

6. Certifies (accounts) (6)

10. Rank of peer (4)

11. Industry or trade exhibition (4)

12. Pose (for picture) (3)

13. China/Korea continent (4)

Name:

Last weeks winner CONGRATULATIONS Peter Finlayson

For last week’s solutions see page 21

22. Clay lump (4)

23. Mediterranean volcano (4)

24. Rubber overshoes (8)

14. Fashionable (4)

15. Rewrite on keyboard (6)

16. Allergy rash (6)

17. Clear (drain) (6)

18. Garden tools (6)

19. Cover girl mannequinor(5)

20. Arrives at wharf (5)

Win a fish and chips for one from Snapper Jacks in Whitianga. Hand deliver, mail, scan/photograph or email your entry to The Coromandel Informer, 14 Monk Street, Whitianga, or info@theinformer. co.nz to reach us by 12.00 noon on Monday each week. The winner must claim their prize from Snapper Jacks directly with ID with their published name.

Last weeks winner CONGRATULATIONS Sue Martin

Sudoku instructions

Fill in the boxes using the numbers 1 to 9. Every row and column, and every group of 9 boxes inside the thick lines, must contain each number only once.

• COMPANY AND COMMERCIAL LAW

• COMMERCIAL LITIGATION

• RESTRUCTURING AND INSOLVENCY

• PROPERTY LAW

• MEDIATION (ADR)

Proudly sponsored by Phone 021 594 705 FRasmussen@coromandelchambers.co.nz

• RELATIONSHIP DISPUTES / PROPERTY

WHITIANGA POLICE REPORT:

Wednesday 1 July

to Sunday 19 July

GENERAL:

Wednesday,1 July - a wilful damage report was made regarding a Kuaotunu address.

Also, on 1 July - a female was spoken to regarding her behaviour at a local commercial business.

Saturday, 4 July - a burglary was reported as having occurred at a Reweti Drive address. A large gas cylinder was taken from the property.

Monday, 6 July - an inflatable dinghy was stolen from the marina dinghy rack.

Also, on 6 July - a burglary was reported as having occurred at a Campbell Street property. Various items were taken from the address.

Tuesday, 7 July - a shoplifting incident occurred at a Joan Gaskell Drive address. The offending person has since paid for the item.

Wednesday, 8 July - a vehicle was stolen from a Wharekaho address. Enquiries are continuing to identify the offender for this matter and hold them to

account.

Also, on 8 July - a kontiki was reported as stolen from Opito Bay with the towline being cut.

Thursday, 9 July - a wilful damage report was made at a Hilton Ave address. The offending party will be spoken to regarding this matter.

Also, 9 July - a shoplifting incident occurred at a Joan Gaskell address. The known male is now facing charges in court.

Friday,10 July - a burglary was reported as having occurred at a Cooks Beach address. An ATV was stolen from the property.

Also, on 10 July - a serious Intentional Damage incident occurred from road rage on Cook Drive. The offending male has been identified and will be spoken to regarding his actions.

Saturday, 11 July - a burglary was reported as having occurred at a Cook Drive address. Large gas cylinders were taken from the property.

Monday, 13 July - an Unlawfully in Enclosed Yard report was made for a Matarangi address. The offending person has been captured by CCTV climbing into the property.

Thursday, 16 July - an assault

Police Report

report was made as having occurred at a Raumati Lane address. Enquiries are continuing to speak with all parties involved.

Saturday, 18 July - a burglary was reported as having occurred at a White Street address.

Sunday, 19 July - a male was located Unlawfully in a building at a Cook Drive address. He was subsequently removed from the address by police.

ARRESTS:

Nil arrests made in this period.

OCCURRENCES:

Wednesday, 1 July - a Family Harm incident occurred at a Bruce Street address. A verbal argument occurred with both parties spoken to.

Also, 1 July - an argument occurred at a Cook Drive address where the offending party then broke various windows on the property.

Friday, 3 July - a drunken argument occurred at a Kuaotunu address. Upon police arrival, the parties had separated.

Saturday, 4 July - a Family Harm incident occurred at a South Highway address. A verbal argument had occurred requiring

Inspiration Alley

parties to be separated.

Sunday, 5 July - a Family Harm incident occurred at a Cook Drive address. The offending party had already left the address upon police arrival.

Tuesday, 7 July - a Family Harm assault was reported as having occurred within the Whitianga area. The victim was unwilling to disclose any further information to police.

Thursday, 9 July - a Family Harm matter was reported as having occurred in the Matarangi area. The offending person has been spoken to regarding the incident.

Saturday, 11 July - a family harm incident was reported as occurring at a Joan Gaskell Drive address. All parties were spoken to regarding the matter.

Monday, 13 July - a family harm incident occurred at a Cook Drive address. The offending party was removed from the address by police.

Tuesday, 14 July - a family harm incident occurred on Buffalo Beach Road. The offending party was restrained by police and removed from the area and handed into the care of an external agency.

By Ananda Laberge

The power of living with choice

One of the most beautiful things in life is having experiences. Some people might say…well, only if they are good experiences. What makes it good? It’s the preferences we give to them. We all have preferences, things we like to do, a million things… travel, joy with loved ones, the list goes on and on. But what about the “bad” things. Why are they bad? Mostly because we might attribute them to our own suffering.

So then, do we have a choice in our suffering? When I think about those things I realize that because of them I usually don’t repeat them. If I do, then why? Haven’t learned the lesson, I guess. Once learned, I don’t need to go through them anymore. Then I’m on to the next experience.

The attributes we give to every experience defines our current state. What if everything we go through is taken at face value without attaching a good or bad to it? I strive for this, to just live the experiences and enjoy them all because that is where personal growth is. So, I try to experience as much as possible, especially new things, things that will challenge me, that will make me feel or see things differently. That is a form of learning about myself and the world. I struggle with suppression; I shouldn’t eat this or that, I need to work out today because I didn’t yesterday even though I just want to be lazy today. If we constantly suppress ourselves

we are suffering more because the suppression is in abstinence of desires. But what if our desires are ‘bad for us?’ Who defines it as bad? Us or social media or a friend? We have to experience life not suppress it. Through the experience we learn when something feels good to us or not and therein is the learning so we don’t have to suppress it anymore, we have learned from it and it may not be a desire any longer.

The world and all its experiences are going to happen, but they don’t happen to us, they happen for us. If we want to evolve and be in a place of peace, we must be open to the experiences, even those we may not enjoy.

But why don’t we enjoy some of them? We might say it hurt. Why

did it hurt? Was it because you had a preference? The pain we attribute to the situation is one we have created. That is why you see some people going through similar experiences without the pain.

Think about a trip you might have taken in the past. When the flight is delayed, you see people react all kinds of different ways. Some people pick up their book and keep reading, others might go to the desk agent and get irate with them. A choice, your choice. Who is more at peace in that situation?

But what about something more serious, you might ask. Say you have lost a partner. You weren’t ready to lose that partner. So, you grieve. You experience deep grief; it’s not good

Also, on 14 July - a physical assault occurred at a Cook Drive address. Both parties were separated by police.

TRAFFIC:

Several reports have been made regarding drivers travelling through the road works on Joan Gaskell Drive during nighttime closures. Vehicles have been driven around the cones to gain access through the area. This is unacceptable behaviour. The road is closed for the safety and wellbeing of staff working within the area. Any person identified conducting this behaviour could face charges in court.

Sunday, 12 July - a traffic collision occurred on Hannan Road. The intoxicated driver struck a pedestrian on the road. The driver is now facing charges at court. Tuesday, 14 July - a minor traffic collision occurred on Albert Street. Two vehicles both reversing from opposing sides of the road collided. Drivers are reminded to check their blind spots while reversing or turning.

„ Police are targeting Restraints, Impairment, Distractions and Speed this month.

or bad, it is what it is and it’s healthy. If the grieving continues for the rest of your life, whose choice is that? Is it still healthy for you? How has that impacted your life? Has it made it better or worse? There is also a choice that exists for each of us to be joyful or not. If we continue to do things that do not bring us joy, what is that? Why is that? We either enjoy being sad or we don’t know how to get out of it. I do not speak of this lightly having lost many loved ones over the years. What I have learned is that sadness begets sadness and making a choice to enjoy all experiences for what they are has made this life journey much more exhilarating. Having preferences is part of the human experience. It’s how we look at those preferences and the power we attribute to the outcomes that dictates our mental state often. This brings the issue of expectations into this conversation and these I find to be very dangerous. Think about a movie someone recommended to you; they rave about it. You go and think ehhh, it was okay. What if you had gone into it without having heard how great it was?

Each experience we have is unique to us and only us. How we react to that experience is also unique to us. Having a choice is a wonderful option, let’s choose wisely.

„ Feel like reaching out? Email me at: ananda.laberge@gmail. com

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OP SHOPS

Mercury Bay Cancer Support Trust

Bookshop – Blacksmith Lane, Whitianga. Open every Mon-Sat 10am-2pm.

On

From a small town to packed theatres across Australia What’s

Mercury Bay Resource Recovery Centre ReUse Store 239 South Highway, Whitianga Open Tues-Sat 9:30am-3:30pm

FROM INTERVIEW WITH KOLBIE AND HER DAD, BLAIR

St John Opportunity Shop – 29 Albert St, Whitianga. Open Mon-Fri, 9.30am-4pm and Sat 9.30am-2pm.

KMercury Bay Quilters – 10am-4pm on the first and third Mondays and second and fourth Saturdays of each month. Contact Margaret on 021 140 4016.

Whitianga Tramping Group – Every second Sunday at 8.30am. Phone Wally 021 907 782 or Lesley 021 157 9979 for more information.

WEEKLY OR MORE

If you have an activity or group or the existing information is incorrect, let The Coromandel Informer know. Call 07 866 2090, email info@theinformer.co.nz. Our What’s On page is not guaranteed to run every week as often space is restricted. Consider paying for a classified advert if you want to guarantee your activity runs every week.

Monday5.45-7.15pm at the Mercury Bay Area School music room. Friendly non auditioned choir. All comers welcome. Phone Kate 0272709058 for details.

Mercury Bay Environmental Trust – Every Tues and Fri from 9-11am, location advised prior. For more information, phone 022 104 1701 please email mbenvironmentaltrust@ gmail.com or go to www.mbet.co.nz.

Whitianga – Wed 5-6pm, Room 10, Whitianga Social Services, 2 Cook Dr. Support to lose weight wisely. Check out our Facebook page or phone Cecily on 027 294 1750 for more information.

Yoga for Everyone - Whitianga - beginners, retirees, inflexibles welcome. Mon 2.30pm, Tues 5.15pm, Thurs 4.20pm, Fri 8.45am, Sat 8.15am. Gentle Simple. $25 for a 90 minute session. Text Rosemary 0274 489326 for info.

St Andrew’s Church Op-shop – Owen St, Whitianga. NEW HOURS - 9.30am-1pm Tue-Sat. Social Services Op-shop – 15 Coghill St, Whitianga. Open Mon-Sat 9.30am-2pm. Donations welcome.

SPCA Op-shop – 2 Blacksmith Lane, Whitianga. Open Mon-Sun 9am-5pm.

olbie Fraser is seventeen and until the beginning of 2025 she was in Cooks Beach preparing to go to Wellington for her post-MBAS college studies at the New Zealand School of Dance.

MONTHLY

Alcoholics Anonymous – The Whitianga Big Book Group meets every Thursday at 6.30pm at St Peter the Fisherman Church, Dundas Street. Phone 0800 AA WORKS (0800 229 6757) for more information.

Al-Anon Serenity Group – For those affected by someone else’s drinking. Every Wednesday at 1.30pm. Phone Pauline on 021 086 10955 for more info.

Mercury Bay Indoor Bowling Club. Every Thursday evening, Whitianga Town Hall 6.45pm.New members, beginners and visitors very welcome. Phone/txt Cheryl 027 452 7887 or Sandie 021 825 666 for more information

DANCING

Argentine Tango Dance Class – Fridays, Town Hall, Whitianga, 5.30-7.30pm. No prior experience or partner necessary. Text Sergio for questions 027 410 2454.

AA Driver Licensing – NEW LOCATION. Monday 27 July and Friday 14 August, Whitianga Community Service Trust Centre, 2 Cook Drive, Whitianga.

American Muscle Street and Custom Club Whitianga – Club meetings first Sunday of the month, 11am at Buffalo Beach Reserve for cars and coffee. Phone Reg and Julie Smith on 027 493 5822.

She is quietly proving that talent backed by grit goes far. Late last year almost at the end of her first year at the dance school, Kolbie earned the invitation to a fiveweek paid professional contract with Rising Ballet Company BIG Live, performing Nutcracker productions across Australia.

Badminton – Whitianga Badminton Club –Thurs 5-7pm, MBAS school gym. Four courts. Now open to new members wanting to play competitive Badminton. Coaching provided for those wanting to improve their skills. Phone Steve for more details 027 211 3568.

Boys Brigade – An adventure, activity, and values based ministry for boys. For boys aged 5-13 years old. Tues 5.30-7pm For information contact Robyn 020 409 39674.

Under directors Joel Burke and Khalid Tarabay, part of one of the highest-selling ballet companies in the Southern Hemisphere, she completed 45 performances, dancing five ballet roles, some lasting nearly seven minutes, performing to around 80,000 people. She was also trusted with partner work, which was an honour and embraced wholeheartedly.

Cooks Beach Garden Circle –Last Thurs of the month 11.15am-2.30pm. New members welcome. Ph Anne on 021 0247 7460 for more information.

Craft Group – Meets first Saturday of the month 10am-3pm at Whitianga Social Services, 2 Cook Dr, carpark end. Work on your own craft (stitching, colouring in, scrapbook, card making anything goes). Bring your lunch and enjoy mixing with other crafty people. Any queries ph Alison 021 0508 772 or Sally 027 3962 383. Kūaotunu Dune Care – Every third Wed of the month. To get involved, please email kuaotunudunecare@gmail.com.

Kolbie could hardly believe the experience she was getting and being chosen to be part of the elite ballerinas in the country.

Hauraki U3A (University of the Third Age) has interesting speakers every 3rd Tuesday of the month. All are welcome. Paeroa Baptist Church, 2 Wood St, Paeroa. $10 at door. To book email event_registration@u3ahauraki.nz

She knows her achievements to this point are not just about hours in the studio. There were

Hei Mara Garden Club Hahei - We meet on the first Monday of each month at members’ homes, 11am - 2.30pm. New members from Hahei and surrounding areas are welcome. Phone Liz on 0210649232 for more information.

Chess Club – Mondays 6.30-9.30pm, MB Bowling Club. Players of all levels. Cost $2. Contact Brett Soanes 0272117195 or brettsoanes16@hotmail.com

Coroglen Farmers Market every Sunday until Easter at Coroglen Gumtown Hall (SH25), from 9am-1pm.

Coffee and Discussion Group – Every Sunday, 2-4pm, at The Lost Spring. Topics are open and respect shown. No charge. Convener Peter H. Wood.

Cooks Beach Care Group – Meet new friends, learn about coastal conservation and make a difference. Hands-on weeding and planting, Thursday mornings. Register at:www.cooksbeachcaregroup.org.nz; www.facebook.com/ CooksBeachCareGroup

nights walking 30 minutes uphill after training, soaked by Wellington rain and buffeted by wind, legs burning and body exhausted. Shared houses, different cul-

Cooks Beach Indoor Bowling ClubWednesday at 1.45pm. Come and join us at the Community Centre (Hall). New members are most welcome, please contact Coral ph. 0212303944.

Mercury Bay Pickleball Club - At the Mercury Bay Area School Gymnasium, Tuesdays Members Only 5.30-7.30pm; Saturdays Social & New Players 9-11am; Sundays All Players 4-6pm. Members/ Guests/Visitors $5, a complimentary session is available to new players wanting to trial pickleball. Current membership only $10 to 30/09/2026 www.mercurybaypickleball.co.nzContact Tony 021426150. Moewai Sportspark sessions are weather dependant & advised on our facebook page Mercury Bay Pickleball. Matarangi Pickleball Club (Matai Pl Courts) Thurs 3-5pm (Winter) 5-7pm (Summer) Saturday 9-11am Contact Grant 0223836351. Mercury Bay Squash Club – Lyon Park, Albert Street - New members/enquires please email mercbaysquash@gmail.com

Mercury Bay Table Tennis – Every Tues, 9-11.30am at the Whitianga Town Hall, Monk Street. All welcome. Ph Anne on 07 869 5162 or 027 565 5575 for more info. Mercury Bay Tennis Club – Social tennis at Lyon Park on Thursdays at 5.30pm. All welcome. Ph Jason 022 186 7992 or Carl 027 680 5570.

Oneness Meditation Centre – The centre focuses on the meditative art of going deeper within. Learn how to meditate, breath, calm the mind, relieve stress, anxiety and be a calm, peaceful, courageous, dynamic human being. Every Monday, 9.30-11.00am. Further info. text Linda 027 650 4881 or email linda_c@orcon. net.nz

tures, and strict dancer nutrition became unexpected hurdles, and Kolbie made the tough call to move, prioritising her health and training.

Cooks Beach Pickleball – Community Tennis Courts, 9am Saturday morning. Weather permitting. Nets and bats provided. $5 each, first time free. Contact Kevin 021 396 062.

Hon Scott Simpson

COROMANDEL-COLVILLE

BETTER HEALTH CARE

Hospice Waikato’s Bereavement Support Group – Lost a loved one? Join Hospice Waikato’s monthly bereavement support group. Connect over morning tea with others who understand. Held on the fourth Tuesday of each month. 10.30am to 12.00pm at Whitianga Social Services. Registration required. Contact Hospice Waikato to register at 07 859 1260. Mercury Bay Model Railway Club – Monthly meet. Contact. Damon 0273551650 Mercury Bay Shooting Federation – Muzzle loader, rimfire, centre fire, military, pistol. Email mbsfsecretary@gmail.com

Access to healthcare is one of the biggest concerns for people in rural and remote areas and our government is committed to ensuring New Zealanders can get the care they need, when they need it, no matter where they live.

Ohuka Garden Club meets 2nd Wednesday of the month. New members welcome. Contact Beverley Sheppard Ph 02109028855 or emailbeverley@annabells.co.nz

Cooks Beach Table Tennis – Every Thursday night 6.00-8.00pm, $5pp each night. Cooks Beach Community Centre. All welcome. Contact Stu 0274 572 243 or Kevin 021 396 062.

MP For Coromandel

Coromandel ‘Growers & Artisans Market’ – Every Saturday from 9am - 1pm at The Anglican Church Hall, Coromandel Town. Dog walking group – Every Thurs, 2pm, Lovers Rock, Robinson Road. All breeds and sizes welcome to a very sociable group. Ph Jenny on 021 186 5797.

Self-defence classes – Town Hall, Tues/Wed 6-7.30pm. Ph Tony 027 333 5146. Spiritual Conversation Mornings – Every Tues and Wed, 10.30am-12pm, 15 Mill Rd, Whitianga the Starlight Centre. Grab a coffee and join in some great conversation where we talk about topics and subjects that have meaning. $5 donation. Contact Verna 027 320 0079.

Kolbie’s success is inspiring others back home. Eight-year-old Harlow Macaw from Tairua also joined the Adelaide and Sydney legs of BIG Live’s Nutcracker tour, a remarkable achievement for someone so young. Performing in the Party scene’ in front of thousands each day, Harlow thrived on stage and says she loved every minute of it. She has since returned home full of inspiration and will continue training under Sarah Fitzsimons at Thames Hauraki Dance Theatre where all the girls have come from, united by their love of dance.

Belly Dancing – Contact Catherine Corcoran, 021 210 2438 or smile@catherinecorcoran. com. Weekend classes twice a month at 4pm. Mercury Bay Line Dancing Club – Held in the Whitianga Town Hall. Tuesdays beginners 11.30am-12.30pm, Seniors 12.45-2.30pm; Thursdays Seniors 10.15-11.15am, Absolute Beginners 11.30am-12.30pm, Improvers 12.45-1.45pm. Night class held at Whitianga Town Hall for Absolute Beginners 5.25-6.25pm. Contact Margaret 027 463 8850, Glynis 021 1099 155, Kathleen 022 154 1702. Silver Swans Adult Ballet Class – Tuesday’s weekly 10am to 11.10am $20, Whitianga Town Hall supper room. All ages welcome.Marilyn Swan, experienced professional teacher of Dance.M: 0273365263 E; swanebbs@gmail. com

The Coromandel Peninsula’s presence in national dance continues to grow, with Kolbie training in ballet and Liarah Anderson – 2nd year, Izzy Fitzsimons and Neka Woolf - now accepted into the New Zealand School of Dance, first year contemporary programs.

Whitianga Line Dancing Club Classes –Town Hall, Monk St, $7 per session. Beginner/ Improver classes Monday 10.30-11.45am, Intermediate classes Wed, 12-1.30pm; . Contact Kathy 027 4321 353 or Cecily 027 294 1750 Zumba – Wednesdays at 5.30pm at gym for Zumba and Step Zumba on Mondays at 4.45pm at the Whitianga Town Hall in Monk St.

GROUP INFO

That resilience and decision to change her situation, soon turned into opportunity as it was after that she earned the invitation to dance in Australia

Tai Chi for all levels – Town Hall, Mondays 6-7pm. Gold coin donation. Ph Tony 027 333 5146 for more info.

Proudly carrying her Coromandel roots into every lesson, Kolbie’s journey is proof that big dreams are being built right here at home. Kolbie has just now begun her second year – carrying with her the lessons of life away from home and the experience of professional dancing for several weeks and there will be more to come!

Grey Power Mercury Bay – our next gathering will be on Thursday 6 August “Mad Hatters Luncheon at The Mercury Bay Club Further info please phone Grey Power Mercury Bay07 866 5516 or email:- greypower.mercurybay@ gmail.com. Come and join us for our next get together.

Well done!

Mercury Bay Athletics – For info contact mercurybayathletics@gmail.com

Mercury Bay Lions Club – New members are welcome. Email mercurybaylions@gmail.com. Phone Cecily 027 253 3088 or Chrissy 021 177 4226.

Peninsula Penultimates (ex Probus Club) Fourth Monday of every month, 10am at the Mercury Bay Bowling Club, Cook Drive, Whitianga. Phone Jo on 021 264 3753. Tairua Market takes place on the 1st Saturday of the month all year at Tairua Community Hall, 9am till 1pm. Food, fruit and veges, crafts, clothing, home decor, plants, furniture, books and much more.

FORTNIGHTLY

Last year’s Budget invested $164 million to strengthen urgent and after-hours care nationwide, meaning 98 per cent of New Zealanders will be able to access these services within one hour’s drive of their home. One of the initiatives funded was a pilot programme to enhance urgent and after-hours healthcare in six rural communities, including Coromandel and Colville.

In terms of the Coromandel pilot programme, it began in mid2025 and is being delivered at the Coromandel Family Medical Centre and Colville Health Clinic practice. They’ve been benefiting from extra support, better access to information and working more closely with an Emergency Care Paramedic which can treat urgent care patients in the clinic, while also available to respond to local 111 calls.

Hahei Contract Bridge Club – Every Tuesday 12.30pm at the Hahei Community Hall. Learners and casual welcome. Contact Don Barry 021 741 959 or Robyn Hogg 021543015.

Hahei Tennis & Pickleball Club - Thursday & Sunday Contact Tim 0278432683 or refer their facebook page.

Meditation Classes – Thursday evening. Spiritual, heart, soul development. Sacred energy, chakra activations, working with spiritual guides. Open forum conversation, Thursdays, 6.30pm at Flat 1, 15 Mill Rd, Whitianga. Cost $10. Contact Verna 027 320 0079, vernajcarr@gmail.com.

Tairua Contract Bridge Club – Every Monday at 12.30pm at the Tairua Bowling Club, 44 Hornsea Rd. Contact Lynnette Flowers 021 252 4709 or Johanna Bonnar 027 466 3726. Whenuakite Area Playgroup – 9.30am12.30pm every Wednesday morning at the Hahei Community Centre. Ages newborn-5years. We invite all parents, carers, visitors and grandparents. Contact whenuakiteareaplaygroup@gmail.com

Whitianga Art Group – Every Thurs/Fri 10am-3pm, 23 School Road. Visitors and new members welcome. Phone Margaret on 027 635 1615 for more information.

SeniorNet Whitianga, Inc. – Learn, update your skills using smart phones, etc. in a friendly setting. Call Carol Wood on 021 022 62504 or email Carol on seniornet.whitianga.admin@ gmail.com.

Greeting Card Making – The second and fourth Fridays of the month, 10am-12pm at St Peter the Fisherman, 7 Dundas St. All materials provided. Contact Rev. Gillian Reid on 021 781 081 or just turn up.

I was thrilled to hear the announcement from Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey that these pilots have been rolled out and have shown the positive impact that locally led approaches can make, with faster care, better access to treatment, and stronger links between rural health services.

I’m hoping that there will be even more support for similar projects around our region and the rest of the country in the coming year. People in rural areas can often travel long distances for care and rely on small teams supporting large regions, that’s why this investment is so important.

Mercury Bay Badminton – Every Wednesday 9-11am, at the Whitianga Town Hall, Monk Street. Social badminton. Casual players and visitors are welcome. Players of all levels, ages 16+. Phone Carol 027 474 7493 for more information.

Whitianga Menz Shed – 18 Abrahamson Drive, Open Tues/Thurs, 9am-12 noon. Phone Glenn 0274-952-015. All welcome.

couple of weeks ago alongside the Associate Minister of Emergency Management and Recovery Chris Penk.

Whitianga Playcentre – Every Tues/Fri 9am12 noon, 1F White St. Contact whitianga@ playcentre.org.nz or 027 880 3947. Whitianga Senior Citizens Club – Indoor bowls and card games. Mondays at the Whitianga Town Hall, Monk St, 1pm-4pm. Join us for a fun time and afternoon tea, 55+ age group. Phone Lionel Lawrence (president) on 027 274 6964 for more info.

Knit for a Purpose – First and third Fridays of the month, 10am-12pm at St Peter the Fisherman, 7 Dundas St. Ph Gillian Reid on 021 781081 for further details, or just turn up. Mercury Bay Creative Fibre – Spin, knit, weave, crochet. First and third Wednesday every month, 10am-1pm, supper room of Town Hall. Phone Sue 021 274 7899. Email suzyed@ outlook.com

In other news, our region is still recovering from January’s heavy weather event, but it’s encouraging to see communities rebound so quickly and contractors working to stabilise our roads. There are parts of the Peninsula which are still affected by storm damage, and I visited these areas a

Mercury Bay Bowling and Sports Club – 92 Cook Drive, Whitianga. Social Bowls, Thursday & Sunday at 12.30pm, Contact Steve Williams 027 855 2772.

Mercury Bay Bridge Club – Every Wednesday at 1.00pm and every Thursday at 7.00pm at the MB Bowling and Sports Club, Cook Drive, Whitianga. For more information contact Gavin 021 146 9203.

Mercury Bay Community Choir – Meets

We received a briefing from the Thames-Coromandel District Council, which outlined the impact of the storm and the work ahead. It was stressed throughout these visits that support is available, such as Civil Defence payments through the Ministry of Social Development.

Whitianga Bike Park – 144 Moewai Rd, Whitianga. Open 24/7. Many bike tracks available, picnic areas, BBQs and walking trails. Donations welcome on entry. If you wish to volunteer or for programme enquiries, contact Jon Maud 027 366 4606.

“Major events are critical for our hospitality and tourism sectors, especially here in the Coromandel. Accommodations fill up, restaurants and cafés thrive, and local businesses see more customers, creating jobs and lifting incomes.”

Whitianga Gun Club – For information, phone Mike Deverell 0274 959 477 or Neville Crawford 021 276 2169.

Whitianga Community Patrol – Monitors the township and neighbourhood. If interested in volunteering, ph Gary 027 391 3043.

COURTESY VEHICLE DRIVERS

Addition to Scott’s column Excerpt from his Press release Wed 11 Feb.

GOVERNMENT FUNDING FOR OCEANS FESTIVAL

Whiti Stitchers – Embroiderers meet every Tues 9am start. For more information phone Margaret on 027 7802 744. All levels welcome.

Whitianga Toy Library - Tummy Time sessions for parents/caregivers and babies under 12m. Every Wednesday 9:30am at the toy library - Shop 4, Blacksmith Lane, Whitianga. Members and non-members welcome. Contact librarian@whititoylibrary. co.nz for more information

Women’s Wellbeing and Weight Loss

“I’m excited that the Coromandel will once again host the Whitianga Oceans Festival in September 2026, attracting visitors from around New Zealand and overseas, as part of the national $70 million Major Events and Tourism Package. “

“Across New Zealand, Tourism directly contributes $17 billion to national GDP and just under 200,000 jobs. Tourism makes up almost 12% of Coromandel’s GDP. The economic ripple effect of major events is huge, supporting our local businesses and growing our economy.”

The Mercury Bay Club is looking for a new volunteer to drive our courtesy vehicle on Tuesday & Friday evenings. This is a volunteer role, but each night the driver is given a $40 food & beverage voucher to reimburse reasonable expenses considering the driver can’t go home for dinner etc. This is a valuable service for our members. If you have a full, valid drivers licence, and would like to support the Club in this way, please leave your contact details with the staff. The courtesy vehicle drivers are entered into a roster system and you might typically be rostered on once every 4 weeks or so.

“Events such as the Whitianga Oceans Festival don’t just bring visitors; they bring life and energy to our region and to our towns which helps to create vibrant communities and unforgettable experiences.”

“This funding is a significant boost to Whitianga and the wider Coromandel, and I’m looking forward to our region hosting another great event which encourages locals and visitors to celebrate all that we have offer.”

Kolbie posing infront of The Nutcracker promotion in which she featured; Kolbie with young ballerina Harlow.

Scott Simpson and Chris Penk; Oceans Festival.

Peter’s quiz

Issue 1219

Quiz 12

1) What is the birthday sign about fish?

2) What do the letters DMV stand for?

3) What is the price of a postage stamp in 2026 for a standard letter?

4) What makes the sky blue?

5) Which planet is closest to the Sun? For solutions see pg 21

VOTING RIGHTS FOR COMMUNITY BOARD CHAIRPERSONS AT MEETINGS OF THE COUNCIL

The Local Government Act 2002 needs amending so that a Community Board Chairperson may vote at meetings of the council, on matters directly affecting their community board area. At present, Community Board Chairs may attend and speak, but they hold no vote - which leaves the democratic voice of the communities that elected them heard but not counted.

I note the recent announcement by David Seymour ACT Party, restricting council com-

Letters to the Editor

mittee voting rights to elected councillors, and the reasoning behind it: that those who vote should be directly accountable to voters. I raise this because that same reasoning supports my request. Community Board members, including the Chair, are elected under the Local Electoral Act 2001, by the same democratic process as councillors. They carry the same direct accountability to the people who elected them. The current position - where an elected Chair can be outvoted by co-opted or appointed committee members on matters affecting their own ward, yet has no vote at all at the full council table

Whitianga

- sits oddly alongside a policy built on exactly this accountability principle. David Yeomans Pauanui

HAVE MY SAY ON AMALGAMATION

My sentiment is shared by a number of Ratepayers that I have spoken to across our district who value local democracy and financial accountability. Our Council has worked hard to get ahead. Forcing a merger with surrounding Councils that are in poor financial health is a massive step backwards, this decision unfairly penalizes our community for the fiscal mismanagement of others.

Thames-Coromandel has unique needs around Roading, Coastal issues and Tourism that are best understood by a local Council, as a district with a relatively small population we face a severe risk of being marginalized.

In a larger, centralized structure, funding and

resources will naturally gravitate towards higher population areas, and our local voice will be diluted and decisions will be made further away by people who do not know our communities, leaving Thames-Coromandel with less money and fewer resources to maintain our own infrastructure and services.

This erosion of local autonomy and shift towards centralized control feels far from democracy.

I urge Council to advocate strongly on behalf of Ratepayers and resist any forced amalgamation. Terry Carter Ratepayer Whitianga

Trades & Services

CoromandelBlinds

Trades & Services

surrounded by family on 11 July 2026 in Whitianga. He was well loved by his late wife Bev, children Kim and Jane and his sister Tricia.

Please join us for an informal gathering at the Mercury Bay Rugby Club at 2pm on Sunday 2 August to raise a glass, have a laugh and share tales of Gubay’s (Jim’s) well lived life. If anybody wishes, a donation to the Cancer Society would be appreciated.

In loving memory of Petrus Franciscus Maria van der Putten (Peter)

1 May 1950-18 December 2025

Much loved father of his four children with Marijke: Vincent, Marc, Yolanda, and Vanessa. A treasured Opa to his 10 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. The eldest of 9 children, Dad left Holland at 18 to build a life in New Zealand. Growing up in a large household instilled

Sports

TAIRUA BRIDGE CLUB

Shoe Pairs round 2

Monday 13 July

North/South: 1, Johanna Bonnar & Peter Clark 67.06; 2, Chris Death & Robyn Waters 64.68; 3, Lee Hughes & Peter McNeil 51.19. East/West: 1=, Celia Young & David Wilkinson, Sue Poland & Kim van Diepen 58.73; 3, Ray & Sharon Verrall 51.98.

HAHEI BRIDGE CLUB

Mahurangi Pairs

Tuesday 14 July

North/South: 1, Robyn Waters and Alison Tichbon 57.50%; 2, Maggie Urlich and Sue Gill 53.75%; 3, Angela Butterworth and Robyn Hogg 50.42%

East/West: 1, Lee Hughes and Ngaire O’Brien 68.33%; 2, Denise Knutson and Tia Ormsby 52.92%; 3, Peter Clark and Johanna Bonnar 51.67%

MERCURY BAY CLUB DARTS

Tuesday 14 July

26 players this week, so 501 doubles were played. Only one team went through unbeaten for the night and they were John McGregor & Richie Nieghbours. Well done for a great win. Highest finish for the men was 119, scored by Jason, No finishes over 50 for the ladies this week. One player scored a 180 this week and that was Peter Reekers.

MERCURY BAY INDOOR BOWLING CLUB

Thursday 16 July

Winners: Ray Rout and Ian Mitchell Runners Up: Alan Henderson, Colleen Holmes and Christine Mitchell

Good Sports: Cheryl Henderson and Shirley Marshall

MERCURY BAY BRIDGE CLUB

July Competition

North/South: 1, Bob Schibli and Sue Gill 59.17; 2, Terri Lipanovic and Ischelle Stevenson 56.67; 3, Alison Tichbon and Jan Autumn 55.00.

East/West: 1, Robyn and Pete Hogg 64.17; 2, Giorgio Allemano and Jenny Layton 57.92; 3, Susan Swan and Augusta Canegallo 50.83.

MERCURY BAY CLUB INDOOR BOWLS

Club Drawn triples

Monday 13 July.

1, Ken, Maureen and Doree; 2, Ian, Lee and Jan.

Good Sports: Alan, Cheryl and Betty

THE DUNES GOLF CLUB, MATARANGI

9 hole Men’s

Monday 13 July

Two-man Ambroses winners: Noel Rogers and John Schoutens

9 hole Ladies Net and Putting

Tuesday 14 July

1, Pip Perry 35 net

18 hole Men’s Matchplay (Net Medal)

Wednesday 15 July

1, Robert, Fisken 70; 2, Wally Hayes 71; 3, Doug Smith 71; 4, Kerry Mason 71; 5, Paul Anderson 72 18 hole Men’s Match Play (Gross)

Wednesday 15 July

1, Wally Hayes 76; 2, Gary Bancroft 81; 3, Graham Harrison 83

Twos: Mark Hall #5, Chris Palmer #14, Wally Hayes #18 9 hole Men’s Stableford

Thursday 16 July

1, Lance Croawell 25; 2, Paul Anderson22; 3, Graham Kemp 19 18 Hole Ladies 4BBB or 3BBB

stableford

Thursday 16 July

1, Ann Dale 39; 2, Polly Lambert 35; 3, Sandra Bowen 34

Saturday Haggle stableford

Saturday 18 July

1, Rowan Toms 39; 2, Polly Lambert 38; 3, Robert Smith 37; 4, Peter Hunt 37; 5, Allison Drake-Wells 36

Twos: Peter Hunt #5 and #7, Noeleen Mulligan #18, Graham Harrison #18

NTP: Graham Harrison

MERCURY BAY GOLF CLUB

Men’s 18 hole scramble

Saturday 11 July

Gross Senior winner was Sam Murphy with an under par 70, and the Junior winner was Patrick Gonthier with a cheeky 85.

Stableford: 1, Patrick Gonthier 41; 2, Sam Murphy & Matt Kurth 39.

Twos: Rohit Ranchhod #18, Matty Menzies #4, #14 & #18.

Men’s 9 hole stableford

Tuesday 14 July

1, Gavin Brinkley 16; 2=, Les Walbridge & Patrick Gonthier 15

Ladies 18 hole stableford

Wednesday 15 July

1, Diane Andrew 33; 2=, Marg Maher & Dianne Gilmour 31

Closest to the Pin on 18: Dianne Gilmour. Longest putt on 9: Marg Maher

Men’s 18 hole scramble

Gross: Senior Dominik Szparagowski 79 and Rob Baines took out the Junior 99

Stableford: 1, Patrick Gonthier 41; 2=, Ken George, Mickey “The Brickey” Henderson & Kevin Smith all with 35 points. Patrick winning by a whopping 6 points, he is in a real purple patch at the moment, but assures me that this will change!!

Twos: Rohit Ranchhod #4 & #12, Mickey Henderson #4.

Men’s 9 hole stableford

Friday 17 July

1, Jeff Dixon 18; 2, Graeme Heathcote 16;

Proudly sponsored by

THAMES VALLEY RUGBY UNION

These towns are all part of the Thames Valley Rugby Union – the home of the Thames Valley Swamp Foxes.

Thames · Whangamata · Tairua · Ngatea · Whitianga · Coromandel · Paeroa · Waitakaruru · Te Aroha · Waihi.

Each town has at least one or more

3=, Gordon Brain & Don Maguire 15

Men’s 18 hole

Saturday 18 July

Gross winner: Nathan Wilson 73 & Wayne Kettle won the junior section.

Stableford: Neal Robinson 34; 2, Sam Murphy 33; 3=, Chian Ho, Justin Wilson, Mickey “the Brickey” Henderson & Cam Walls all on 32 points.

PURANGI GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB

Tuesday 14 July

9-hole Stableford plus putts 1=, Ryan Cochran, Mark Bell; 3=, John Hamilton, Catherine Borlase.

9-hole Stableford and Fairways

Thursday 16 July

Stableford: 1, Jason Godward; 2=, Mark Bell, Callum Murray; 4=, Catherine Borlase, Annelise La Roche.

18 Hole nett

Saturday 18 July

1, Grant Webster; 2, Annelise La Roche; 3, Jock Peacock; 4=, Di Gilmour, Mike Farrance.

4BBB nett: Annelise La Roche & Phil Ander.

MERCURY BAY CLUB SNOOKER

Wednesday, 15 July

Dave Colman was in great form in section-play to emerge undefeated with 3

Astronomy Tours and B&B

STAR and SPACE STATION GAZING IN 2026 – your guide to the night sky

Tuesday 21 July to Wednesday, 29 July

The early morning sky before the Sun rises shows two red gems. The red giant star Aldebaran lies almost directly above reddish Mars and to the right of Matariki with Aldebaran climbing higher each day as the separation from Mars gradually increases. Bright Venus continues to dominate the northern evening sky right after dusk and gets steadily brighter each week as it approaches us in its seven month orbit around the Sun. There will be some Chinese Tiangong and International Space Station (ISS) passes to view this week but, as usual, timings may change especially towards the end of the week if they have to be moved to avoid space junk. It is always best to check the website heavens-above.com for updated timings.

Tuesday, 21 July: The Moon now lies half way between Venus and the red giant star Antares in Scorpio at dusk. Thursday, 23 July: There is a good Tiangong pass in the SW from 6:19am. Friday, 24 July: The Moon is just below the red giant star Antares in Scorpio. Saturday, 25 July: There will be a good Tiangong pass high overhead from 6:02am. Sunday, 26 July: There will be a Tiangong pass from 6:41am in the west. Monday, 27 July: There is a good Tiangong pass starting high overhead at 5:46am when it pops out of the Earth’s shadow and a very low ISS pass in the south from 6:50am moving just above the Southern Cross. Wednesday, 29 July: There will be a low ISS pass in the south from 6:51am.

teams playing at one of the levels. Saturday 18 July was a day for semi-finals and finals for the Women’s Rugby. Set out are the teams and their scores for Saturday’s play on one the rugby fields across Thames Valley and on the Peninsula.

wins, taking the top prize for the day. Peter Schultz, Doug Pascoe, Ian Baumgren and Bob Haase all had 2 wins each with Bob also taking out the High Break prize with an excellent break of 36.

Saturday, 18 July

Section-play saw some very close frames being contested but it was Bob Haase with some excellent break-building who came through undefeated with 4 wins to take top honours and also scoring the day’s highest break with 27. Players with 3 wins each were Doug Pascoe and Ian Baumgren. Snooker raffles are on this SaturdayLove to see you there.

Please

Mercury Bay – the sun, the

moon and the tides

Movie Lovers!

This week’s schedule includes a three-day closure for our winter break 27, 28, 29 July.

We’ll be back just in time for the release of Spider-Man: Brand New DayScreening times: Thursday, 30 July 12:15pm; Friday, 31 July 6:30pm; Tuesday, 4 August 10:30am and 4:30pm.

NOW ... You may not know this, but the Spider-Man films are among the top five best-attended movie franchises here at Mercury Twin Cinemas, and we’ve certainly had plenty of calls asking if we’ll be screening the latest instalment.

have heard. Be sure to catch it before Sunday, 26 July, as we’re only screening it for a limited period due to its 3-hour running time. Odyssey screening times: Thursday, 23 July 2.00pm; Friday, 24 July 1.15pm; Saturday, 25 July 6.00pm; Sunday, 26 July 12.45pm.

United Makers Gallery

- Beautiful world-class art and community energy

The United Makers Gallery is a destination. It sits opposite the wellknown Café Melbourne in the historic Grahamstown end of Thames - a brand new workshop/exhibition/class space set in a beautiful refurbished heritage building. It has just recently opened and is the newest creative hub to call Grahamstown home.

The opening was a great success - lots of people coming and the displays of art, sculpture, photography, pottery were of such high calibre and the work of many locals who have achieved internationally but made the Coromandel Peninsula and particularly Thames, their home.

This United Makers Gallery is exactly what the name says – it is a unified effort by creators to present their works in a gallery but at the same time offer space for working studios, an exhibition space, and teaching rooms where visitors can watch local artists, shop for ceramics, or take hands-on pottery and art classes.

The space was founded by three local artisans, Viv Kernick, Kirsty Griffin and second-generation potter Amanda Ewing. These three women are between them – sculptors, potters, film makers, documentary award winners, teachers of their art and have travelled the world and lived overseas because of their achievements in their artistic fields.

The Informer was hosted by Viv Kernick soon after the opening day and evening and also had the pleasure of meeting and watching Amanda Ewing creating pottery. These extraordinary women love to demonstrate their craft and teach others, but also document the work of other artists and document the issues that face our society and the achievements of small communities. There are plans afoot to enhance the United Makers Gallery space with extending their film presentation aspect.

One of the attractions for the gallery is the Richard Naylor workshops at 121 Martha Street studios in Thames. Richard Naylor will help you form your own special handmade cups using two traditional Japanese techniques that are simple forms of pottery which are often thought of as sculptural, slow and intentional ways of creating, but ways that can

result in a beautiful organic shape that is individual to the maker. Some of Richard’s work and that of his students are exhibited at United Makers Gallery.

During the winter season, the gallery is open from 10:30am to 3:00pm. 738 Pollen Street. It is a must visit. There are always classes to register for and special school holidays class series for children and young people. Some come especially from Auckland to participate in what are high- level tutorial experiences.

MORE TO VISIT

While you’re heading into, or through Thames, be sure to check out the other amazing arts spaces too – including the local arts Co-operative, Vessel Art Thames which is just a few doors up from United Makers Gallery, the Thames Art Gallery in Tararu in the historic school building, and the Thames Public Art Trust sculpture trail along the Thames Coastal walk and Hauraki Rail Trail.

„ www.unitedmakers.co.nz to book or find out more.

Our Movie Lovers have been thoroughly enjoying The Odyssey – epic, spectacular, and absolutely a film that deserves to be seen on the big screen are some of the comments we

July‘26

As August is one of our quieter months, we’ll be taking Wednesday evenings off to enjoy Open Mic at The Monkey House, Roast Night at Basker, or simply relaxing in front of the fire at home. Of course, we’re happy to consider hosting a special event on a Wednesday, but you’ll need to book quickly before we make our own plans!

See you at the cinema!

www.mercurytwincinemas.com

Shade

Everyone’s home is different, and your shade should match. With Archgola, you can customise your canopy and outdoor blinds

We’re about making your space, yours.

Above, Amanda Ewing renowned potter at work in the gallery; Viv Kernick, below, a host of the gallery; and Japanese pots by Richard Naylor.

Off to serve in Tonga for 12 months

Melissa and Chris Baily are local Whitianga residents who have decided to travel to Tonga for 12 months as part of Volunteer Service Abroad, New Zealand (VSA).

“We have lived here for 5 years and love being part of this vibrant community,” says Melissa. “This year we have an amazing opportunity to do some volunteer work overseas.”

Both have been working locally for the past five years – Melissa as an audiologist in Whitianga and Thames, and Chris as an electrician. They have taken a keen interest in local community groups, participating in the fishing club, community choir, beachcare, mosaics group and yoga.

“We were looking into options for volunteer work and I was surprised to find an audiology position on the beautiful island of Tonga,” said Melissa.

This position and this opportunity have come about through Volunteer Service Abroad New Zealand (Te Tūao Tāwāhi). They will be going to Tonga for 12 months, living in Nuku’alofa on the island of Tongatapu. Using her years of experience, Melissa will train an Audiology Assistant at Vaiola Hospital, and in the same vein, Chris will help with various projects in the community,

many of them requiring electrical knowledge. “It is a great chance to give back and I am impressed by the goal to train local people to produce sustainable services for the long term benefit of the Tongan people,” says Chris.

“In the weekends we are looking forward to exploring the islands, snorkelling and fishing,” says Melissa. “At this time of year, the humpback whales come to Tonga to have their babies so that

would be amazing to see. We are keen to learn about the Tongan culture and live in the community and take part in local activities, although I can see that learning the language will be a challenge.”

For more than 60 years, VSA volunteers have shared their skills, knowledge, and experience with communities across the Pacific and beyond. They bring expertise from many different fields and work alongside local partners

to strengthen skills, build confidence, and support community solutions that last. At the heart of volunteering are connection, respect, and a willingness to learn from each other. Many VSA volunteers return to New Zealand with new perspectives, lasting friendships, and a continued desire to give back to their own communities.

VSA will be supporting Melissa and Chris by providing flights, simple accommodation and a basic living allowance. Each volunteer is asked to each raise the sum of $1000 to contribute to the expenses. VSA is a non-religious, non-political registered charity that focuses on building partnerships and creating sustainable change. The NZ government, via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), covers 90% of the costs involved as part of the Pacific Aid programme, with the remainder coming from donations and fundraising.

Melissa and Chris have set up a Raisely page for people to make donations. To thank their supporters, every donation will go into a prize draw to receive a gift

voucher for a Half Day Pool Pass for two valued at $150, generously donated by The Lost Spring, our local fabulous Pacific Island Resort. The prize draw will take place on 10 August. All donations are tax deductible, with receipts sent directly from VSA.

Donations will help VSA continue their vital work - from training local leaders and promoting education and development, to ensuring VSA can keep supporting volunteers and the organisations they work with. Every little bit counts and will directly contribute to a brighter future for Pacific communities.

Melissa and Chris would really appreciate your support.

Whitianga Boat Repairs & Chandlery

Mitch has over 40 years experience with an Advanced Trade Cert Wooden Boat Building quali cation to back

in woodwork repairs & maintenance, including teak decks &

To donate, use the QR code shown here, or go to Volunteer Service Abroad - Te Tūao Tāwāhi Incorporated online at: https:// volunteer-service-abroad.raiselysite.com/melissa-and-chris-baily If you’re interested to learn more about VSA, take a look at www.vsa.org.nz for more information about VSA and the assignments currently on offer.

Locals, Melissa and Chris Baily – with Volunteers Service Abroad.