Wednesday October 8, 2025
5-14Thursday 9-15
Darts perfection
By Frank Neill
Wainuiomata darts player Jonny Tata created darts perfection when he reached a winning game total of 501 with the minimum number of darts –known as a nine-darter. He did this when defeating Aucklander Ben Robb, who has been the New Zealand champion for the last four years, in the final of this year’s Darts Players New Zealand Pro Tour event in Christchurch.
Continued on page 2.
Wainuiomata’s Jonny Tata sends another dart on its way. Photo: Supplied.
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Over the moon with nine-darter
Continued from page 1
With his victory in the event, Jonny also won New Zealand’s only automatic spot in December’s Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) World Darts Championship.
“I was over the moon to score the first streamed nine darter,” Jonny says.
“Only a couple of players have done that in New Zealand ... and this was the first one in about 10 years.”
His nine-darter and winning New Zealand’s only automatic spot in the World Championships “was a good night for me,” he says.
“I’m pretty stoked about that.”
Qualifying for the World Championships
“was a big goal for me from the beginning of the year,” he says.
However, “the nine-darter overtook that.”
It came when he hit back-to-back 180s (three triple 20s) and followed that up with a triple 20, a triple 19 and a triple 8 to finish.
Jonny then built on these massive two achievements by winning the first leg of the inaugural Australia-New Zealand (ANZ) Premier League in Melbourne on 4 October.
This has seen him become the high flying Kiwi on the international darts stage.
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The Premier League is an eight-week competition, with seven rounds being played in Australia and one in Wellington. It began on 4 October and runs to 22 November.
Jonny and Ben are the only two New Zealand players competing in the tournament.
Jonny will then contest the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) World Darts Championship, which is being held from 11 December to 3 January at Alexandra Palace in London.
This will be his second world championship appearance.
There are two darts associations – the PDC and the World Darts Federation (WDF).
Jonny became the first New Zealander to reach the quarter finals of the WDF World Darts Championship in 2023.
After qualifying with a straight sets victory over Jim Widmayer, Jonny faced the top seed
and tournament favourite Andy Baetens, coming back from 3-0 down but losing 4-2. Earlier in 2023, Jonny scored a massive upset when he defeated two-time world champion Peter Wright at the 2023 New Zealand Darts Masters event in Hamilton on 4 July.
Stepping up to the darts world stage for the first time, Jonny took out the match with a big 6-3 victory.
Lance the Locksmith
team
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Good under pressure? Great with people? You might be exactly what we’re looking for. Join us Thurs 16 October 6pm Porirua to learn more about a career as a corrections officer. Register now or freetext ‘porirua’ to 4072 https://corr.nz/porirua
Locks Fitted / Replaced
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Jonny Tata lining up his next shot. Photo: Supplied.
Outstanding boxing performance
By Frank Neill
Wainuiomata boxer Raymond Seumanu performed outstandingly at the 2025 New Zealand National Boxing Championships, winning a silver medal.
Fighting at the elite level in the 70kg light middleweight division, Raymond won every round of his matches on his way to the final.
Raymond then found himself facing the vastly experienced Auckland boxer Wendell Stanley, who has won five New Zealand titles and secured the prized Jameson Belt, awarded to the most scientific senior boxer, in 2023.
A much taller boxer than Raymond, Wendell won the final on points.
Raymond won his first round bout by a walkover after his opponent clocked in sick.
He then defeated South Auckland’s Davide Ottonello, scoring a first round technical knock out.
His winning run continued against Hamilton’s Harley van Walraven in the next round, scoring a unamimous points decision after he outpointed his opponent in all three rounds.
“Obviously I would definitely have liked a gold,” Raymond says.
“However it doesn’t feel like a loss. It feels like a learning experience.
“Even getting to the final was a huge accomplishment in itself.
“Having to box twice to get to the final was quite a big deal,” he says.
Raymond, who boxes for the Wainuiomata Boxing Club, entered the New Zealand championships as the reigning Wellington Boxing champion, having won back to back titles in 2024 and 2025.
He began boxing when he was 11 years old and has been boxing for about 10 years, having taken around five years away from the sport.
He has now boxed in 43 matches over his career, winning 37 of them.
His ambitions are to box professionally, to represent New Zealand at the Olympic Games, to own his own gymn, to give back to boxing and help young kids.
Raymond already has five New Zealand titles to his name, having won cadets and junior titles for five consecutive years from 2013 to 2017.
Buses replacing trains
All Metlink rail services will be replaced by buses over Labour Weekend (Saturday 25 to Monday 27 October) as KiwiRail carry out planned rail infrastructure upgrades. These works will include slope stabilising and track replacement, bridge repairs and level crossing upgrades, as part of the ongoing rail improvements by KiwiRail and to prepare the network for faster and more frequent trains from 2028/2029.
Delays are expected and passengers are encouraged to check timetables before travelling. Bus replacements for all lines from Wellington will depart from Platform 10 at Wellington Station. Once the planned work is completed, delays are expected over the following two to three days as tracks settle. Selected interpeak services on the Hutt Valley line will also be bus replaced from 28 to 30 October to allow for further KiwiRail work. Metlink is advising passengers to plan ahead using the latest travel information on the Metlink website, app or by calling 0800 801 700.
He has also competed internationally. He won bronze while representing New Zealand at the Lithuania Boxing Tournmament in 2017.
He went one better a year later, winning silver at the 2018 Oceania Games in Samoa while representing his country.
Raymond’s boxing prowess saw him named Wainuiomata High School’s Sportsperson of the Year in 2015 when he was aged 15 years.
At the time he was the youngest ever to win the school’s Sportsperson of the Year award.
More than 200 of New Zealand’s top amateur boxers competed in the national championships, held at the Te Rauparaha Arena, Porirua, from 23 to 27 September.
Family fun day
The Wainuiomata Rugby Club is running a family fun day from 11am to 4pm on Saturday 25 October. Among the attractions featuring on the day will be hot rods, a fire engine, kids games, petting animals, bouncy castles, food trucks, market stalls and a side show alley.
The fun day is being held to raise funds for unfunded cancer treatment for Jo Cashmore, who is battling Triple Negative Breast Cancer and needs to fundraise $120,000 for life prolonging medication.
Jo was diagnosed around a year ago and despite intensive treatment the cancer has now spread to her bones.
She has been told her condition is incurable, with an average prognosis of 18 months.
A new medication, currently not funded in New Zealand, could help prolong Jo’s life. It will cost around $13,000 a month for 12 months.
Silver medalist Raymond Seumanu (in red) in action during the New Zealand Boxing Championships. Photo: Supplied.
Major play coming to Wainuiomata
By Frank Neill
A major new play “Out the Gate” is coming to the Wainuiomata Marae on 8 November, starting at 7pm.
Four of the actors in the play live in Wainuiomata, and “Out the Gate” director Jim Moriarty has very stong links to the valley, having worked here for 10 years doing up houses.
“We’ve probably done about 100 whare nui,” he says.
This has been taking place over the last five years with the Tuanui – Healthy Homes for All project.
The project’s 10-year vision that “every child, adult, kaumatua in Wainuiomata lives in a warm, dry, healthy home”.
Ace Godd, Saul Kolio, Jimole Crown and Piripi Kaa are the five Wainuiomata actors in the cast.
They are all Tuanui builders and painters and also work for K kiri Marae Social Services.
“Out the Gate”is a layered, embodied and communal response to the stories that follow people in the prison pipeline as they transition back to wh nau and hapori.
It features an ensemble of more than 16 performers, including people with lived experience of the criminal justice system
In 2024 Te R kau secured Health Research Council funding to present a play based on the TIAKIproject – kaupapa M ori led research that asks: “what happens to M ori following their release from prison and what do they need to thrive?”
“Out the Gate”is the community-facing distillation of that research.
The creative team has translated key
themes from participants’ lived experience into dramatic form so communities, service providers, policymakers and wh nau can engage with the findings in an immediate, embodied way.
A companion podcast, drawing on rehearsal conversations, interviews and material from TIAKI, will be released in 2026.
The core message is practical and humane: with appropriate support, people can change
SPRING SPECIALS!
and
The play interrogates how institutions, policies and colonial legacy shape disproportionate outcomes for M ori.
It calls out racial bias and intersectional disadvantage and insists that artistic practice can generate greater public understanding and pressure for systemic change.
The statistics around that are horrible. A lot of those people then end up going to jail.
Who helps them, how do they make their way through that quagmire of early institutionalisation?
The play “is designed to help stop our people going to jail,” Jim Moriatory says.
“Out the Gate”, which is written by Helen Pearse-Otene, will tour marae, community venues and tertiary spaces across the lower North Island through to 15 November. Tickets are available atwww.terakau.org/ out-the-gate.
LETTERS to the editor
Path to peace
There will be no peaceon earth. Why?Mankind can't get onfriendly terms.
I have listedanumber of issues that cause wars, evenwars with neighbours.
1.Hate (whichis common).
2.Prejudice and racism (which is alsoa commonissue).
3.Greed (this onestands out like a sore thumb).
4. Pride.
5. A boasting attitude.
6. Mockingpeople.
7. Bullying(thisone comes underthe wordcowardlyactions).
8. Divisonbetweenold and young and treating the elderly likeidiots(which is not acceptable).
9. Gettingabusivetowards others.
10.Wanting the best out of life instead ofgiving the bestto others.
All thesefactorsleadtothe start of wars.
Unlessman gets rid of thesefactors oftheir charactorwarswill still go on,even within your owncommunities.
Oh yes.Peace has been mentionedover in the war zones – only a short term peace because the war zonesare within people not the countries.
PeoplesayIhate that person. Thatleads to war.
Peoplesaylook at thatpatched gang member. Wedon't want them in ourcommunity. That causes hate and wars.
Try some kindness to yourfellowneighboursand mankind.
Get rid of hate. The hate is getting imprinted into theyounger generations.
If you want true peace stop these issues today not tomorrow.
Tomorrow may never come.
Peter Wells
their lives
reconnect with wh nau.
Most of the cast during a rehearsal for “Out the Gate”. Photo: Frank Neill.
The four Wainuiomata actors taking part in “Out the Gate” with director Jim Moriarty (second from right) – (from left) Ace Goff, Piripi Kaa, Saul Kolio and Jimole Crown.
Photo: Frank Neill.
Voting closes on Saturday
By Frank Neill
Voting in this year’s local body elections closes very soon. The final time people can lodge their votes is noon on Saturday 11 October.
By Monday 6 October only 14,588 people, or 18.56% of voters had lodged their votes, with 19% of Wainuiomata electors having voted.
Wainuiomata people can vote for the Mayor of Lower Hutt, for the city wide Councillors, for the Wainuiomata Community Board candidates, for the three Greater Wellington Regional Council’s Lower Hutt candidates. There are two seats on Council that people will not be voting on, because only one person stood for each seat and they were elected unopposed.
Wainuiomata Ward Councillor, Cr Keri Brown, has been re-elected unopposed and Wainuiomata resident Te Awa Puketapu, has been elected unopposed to the one position on the Mana Kairangi ki Tai M ori Ward.
Wainuiomata’s Fauono Ken Laban is one of four candidates standing for the Lower Hutt Mayoralty.
Brady Dyer, Karen Morgan and Prabha Ravi are the other three standing for the city’s top elected office.
Eleven candidates are standing for the six seats on the Wainuiomata Community Board. They include the current board’s Deputy Chair Lesa Bingley and board member Daniel Chrisp.
The nine other candidates are Elle Abel, Simeon Collier-Foley, Sharon Page, Nohokainga Puletaitaha-Lai, Anaru Ryall, Lahraine Sagaga, Vatau Sagaga, Nicky Smith and Mailena Rawiri Woonton.
Twelve candidates are standing for the five “at large” seats on the Council, where they
will be representing the whole of Lower Hutt.
They are: Sherry Antony, Brady Dyer, Andrew Gavriel, Jonathon Gilbert, Semi Kuresa, Suzanne Levy, Kath McGuinness, Chris Paul, Prabha Ravi, Tony Stallinger, Mele Tonga-Grant and Karen (Kaz) Yung.
Eight nominations have been made for the Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai/Lower Hutt Regional Constituency, including one of the current Lower Hutt Regional Councillors, Quentin Duthie.
Another current Lower Hutt GWRC Councillor, Ken Laban, is standing for Mayor of Lower Hutt.
There are three vacancies, and the candidates are: Quentin Duthie, Nigel Elder, Omar Faruque, Mike Fisher, Tom Murphy, Matt Shand, Mike Stevenson and Gabriel Tupou.
Gabriel, who lives in Wainuiomata, is currently an “at large” Hutt City Councillor, representing the whole of Lower Hutt.
There are also three referenda people can vote on.
Two referenda will decide whether Hutt City Council and Greater Wellington Regional Council retain their M ori Wards for the 2018 election.
The result of these referenda will be binding.
There is also a non-binding referrendum on whetherHutt City Council should "explore amalgamation options with Wellington, Upper Hutt and Porirua City Councils, and the Greater Wellington Regional Council, which combine relevant services and functions, while keeping appropriate local services and decision-making local."
The Hutt City Council election uses the First Past the Post electoral system, meaning that the candidate or candidates with the most
votes will win.
The Greater Wellington Regional Council election uses the Single Transferable Vote system (STV). Under STV, voters rank their preferred candidates by placing a ‘1’ in the box next to the candidate they most prefer, a ‘2’ beside the candidate they next prefer, and so on.
People can rank as many or as few candidates as they like. They don’t have to rank them all.
A detailed explanation of how STV works can be found at stv.govt.nz.
The four Mayoral Candidates and Moderator just before they presented at the Mayoral Candidates meeting in Lower Hutt (from left) Jehan Casinader (Moderator), Brady Dyer, Karen Morgan, Prabha Ravi and Ken Laban. Photo: Frank Neill.
One of the bins where people can post their votes. Photo: Supplied.
LOCAL TRADES
Easier to report problems to Council
It has just become easier for residents to report issues and track progress thanks to Hutt City Council’s new customer portal, Te Manu Kairangi I My Hutt City, the Council says. While people could previously submit online requests, the new portal takes this further by allowing customers to log in and see updates in real time.
Council Chief Executive Jo Miller says the change is a direct response to community feedback.
"In 2023, 96% of customers told us they wanted more transparency on issues they’d reported to Council.
“Te Manu Kairangi | My Hutt City delivers that by allowing residents to report an issue and track progress on the work being done to resolve it.
"Our new system not only provides greater transparency but boosts confidence in how we’re responding.
“As an example, if you report a fallen branch
blocking a footpath, you won’t have to wait until it’s no longer there to know that our team is onto it."
The Customer Relationship Management (CRM) project is at the heart of Council’s wider Go Digital programme to upgrade Council systems, improve the customer experience and equip staff with the right tools, Jo Miller says.
"Our previous system was long overdue for replacement and the new system puts in place foundations for us to integrate more services into it - including more use of AI and automation.
"Other future enhancements planned include the ability to manage dog registration, rates and other payments through the portal." Customers can start using the new portal now by visting the Council’s website and using the ‘Report a Problem’ button on the homepage.
School touch returns for season 2
By Vatau Sagaga
Ulalei Wainuiomata Sport and Rhino Touch are bringing back their popular schools touch competition for all Wainuiomata primary schools this summer at Wise Park.
Season One was a huge success, with 52 teams entered – including composite teams made up of tamariki who live in Wainuiomata but attend school over the hill.
“We’re stoked with how the first season went,” says Rhino Touch’s Nui Ririnui.
“There were certainly some learnings, but with the whole community behind us, we made it work. It was a special debut season.”
Games will continue to be played on Friday afternoons, and this season will coincide with the opening
of the park’s new amenities block, which includes changing rooms and toilets.
“Having the new changing rooms is a welcome addition to the park and much needed, with over 800 people coming through our events on Monday and Friday nights,” says Ulalei’s Jacob Topp.
“We’d like to think the success of our events played a small part in helping make this project happen.”
Rhino Touch and Ulalei Sport also acknowledged the generous support of Nuku Ora, Hutt City Council, One Foundation, Bunnings Warehouse, and Hutt Mana Charitable Trust, which has allowed them to run the competition free of charge.
Round 1 of season two kicks off on Friday 7 November.
Meeting tonight on Coast Road clean fill
By Frank Neill
A public meeting to discuss the proposed clean fill at 1044 Coast Road and explore what people may be able to do about it will take place tonight, Wednesday 8 October.
The meeting will be held at the Wainuiomata Primary School Hall from 7pm to 8pm.
The meeting has been organised because of community concern about a resource consent application lodged with Hutt City Council to create the clean fill.
The Council has decided that only immediately affected parties need to comment on the application.
The Council has notified nine property owners about the application and given them until 16 October to make a submission.
Tonight’s meeting has four main aims. These are to: known facts;
concerns now; to make broad, evidence-based submissions; and
input is needed to strengthen those submissions.
The meeting has been organised by Nicky Smith, who has been working with some other residents on the project.
Over the past week she has been talking with many local residents and they are “very worried about the effect of what this development could do to the road, could do to the community.
“But they are not being given an opportunity to voice their concerns through the submission process,” she says.
“They are really feeling left out.
“The consensus is that the impacts will be much wider than the immediate neighbours.”
The reason she became involved was not related to the Community Board but because she is a Wainuiomata Primary School Trustee.
“One of the residents on the Coast Road gave the school a call to let us know this is happening because they are really concerned about traffic movement,” she says.
“Of course we are really concerned about traffic movement past the school as well, with heavy trucks going through the school zebra crossing.
“I’m concerned about the impact not only on the school crossing but on the school bus that goes down the Coast Road because the road is narrow.
“The kids are potentially at risk when they are getting on the bus and when they are disembarking from the bus when there is extra heavy traffic on that road.
“I wrote to the Council and said
as a school we are concerned about this and can we make a submission and the answer was no because we are not an affected party,” Nicky says.
“We must stand for the safety of our tamariki.”
Nicky put a post on her “Nicky Smith for Wainuiomata Community Board” Facebook page encouraging people who were interested in attending a public meeting to register their interest.
By 6 October about 55 people had officially signed the form.
“But I know interest will be wider than that as well,” Nicky says.
Kakariki Estate Limitedhas lodged the resource consent application.
The clean fill would only be used by or on behalf of contractors working for Friday Homes.
The clean fill would be separated into eight stages with progressive filling and rehabilitation occurring
with each stage being returned to pasture once complete.
Only one stage will be in operation at a time.
The total area would be 9.37 hectares across eight stages with a total maximum volume of 196,500 cubic metresand a maximum height of 3.5 metres.
To control dust the maximum area of unstabilised fill will be 2,500 square metresat any one time. Mitigation planting is proposed around parts of the site.
Only single unit trucks would visit the site with no more than 18 trucks per day.
A new site entrance will be formed along with warning signage.
Fernlea School playing Arakura School during season one of the successful Ulalei-Rhino Touch module.
Photo: Supplied.
HOURS
Monday — Closed Tuesday — Saturday 11:30am–2:30pm, 5:00–9:30pm Sunday 5:00–9:30pm
By Frank Neill
The “Wainuiomata News” is urgently looking for people to deliver papers. Doing a paper run is great for fitness. In fact this is the main reason some people do the run, as it means they are getting paid while they are doing exercise they would be doing anyway.
Another interesting aspect of paper deliveries is the increase in the number of people aged 65 and over who are doing paper runs as a way to keep fit while earning money.
The “Wainuiomata News” is delivered weekly on a Wednesday. People wanting to apply to become a deliverer, or people wanting more infomation can contact Sandra, email accounts@ wsn.co.nz.
The “Wainuiomata News” is looking for deliveres for the following areas: Norfolk Street; 290 papers. 220 papers. Mackay Street; 260 papers.
part of Wood Street; 270 papers.
KOKIRI MARAE HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES
Measles is here Are you prepared? Paper deliverers needed
Check your Plunket / Well Child books, or call your GP.
If you’re not sure, no worries. Contact your doctor to check. It’s safe to get the vaccine again if you have no record of receiving it.
0800 611 116 for advice.
Kokiri are able to check to see whether you have had the MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) vaccination as well – this saves you a call to your GP. If there is no documentation as having received the MMR vaccine, then it is safe to have.
