Articles in ‘Community’

Hang on Puke! We’re teetering at the top of a roll coaster ride called ‘progress’. On the downhill slope we’ll see our town irrevocably changed and our lifestyle changing too. In some areas, back yards and tree lined streets become a thing of the past with increasing density of housing permitted. Pukekohe has been packaged and sold as an attractive little country town, complete…

Have you ever wanted to sand that table, build a sandpit for the kids, or cut the hedge in half the usual time but find yourself lacking the right tools or the money to buy them? Well, the clever folks at Waiuku Zero Waste have come up with the solution with the establishment of the Waiuku Tool Library. The idea is much the same as a book library but instead of a book, you can…

The recent Powhiri held at Papakura High School to welcome its new principal Simon Craggs was both moving and a reflection on the proud and passionate nature of every pupil, staff member and school community member associated with Papakura High. Something that Simon felt keenly when he accepted the challenge of becoming the new leader. He brings with him a wealth of education…

Change has come to Pukekohe. Less frequently are tractors seen on our streets, instead rows of houses march their way across the fertile growing soils which for many hundreds of years have sustained mankind in this district. Planned highways and high-rise buildings will further alter the character of this rural township, maybe beyond recognition. Historic buildings may fall…

You may have heard about ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and relate it to children that are hyperactive, disruptive and climbing the walls – but do you actually know what ADHD is and what it is like to have it? ADHD or ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) as it is also known provides advantages and challenges to on average one in 20 New Zealanders. It is often most…

Played with a simple pack of cards, Bridge is a mind sport, comparable to chess or 500 on steroids and millions of people are involved in playing it around the world. Famous players include Bill Gates, Omar Sharif, and Martina Navratilova, who is quoted as saying, “No matter where I go, I can always make new friends at the bridge table.” Franklin Bridge Club was founded in…

Pukekohe High School senior students have again earned a significant number of valuable tertiary scholarships for study in the years ahead. The range of financial grants from many tertiary providers totals well over six figures allowing these students a sound financial start to their academic pathway. In each case they recognise the hard work and application displayed at…

A series of photos from the Papakura Rotary Santa Parade on 6 Dec 2020. Photos by Poppa G's Pictures.

A series of photos from Last Night Festive Fun in Papakura on 10 Dec 2020. Photos by Poppa G's Pictures.

The North Island in the centuries prior to pastoral farming and introduced pests were cloaked in a fringe of red from coast to coast as the New Zealand Pohutukawa tree was in full bloom during the months of November to January, from the latitude of 38º south (New Plymouth/Gisbourne) upwards towards Cape Reinga in the north. The species formal botanical name is Metrosideros…

South Auckland Woodturners Guild will have more than 2000 hand-crafted items of woodturning exhibited at 245 Great South Road, Papakura, from 30 November to 24 December 2020. This shop is opposite the Countdown car park and just three doors south of Averill Street. Normal shopping hours apply. The range of goods from 20 club members is expected to be high everything from…

Labour MP Ibrahim Omer received a standing ovation after his maiden speech on Thursday. The list MP is the second refugee to enter the NZ Parliament, having fled his home country of Eritrea, which has been ruled as a totalitarian, one-party dictatorship since its independence from Ethiopia in 1993.

You don’t need to know a tea rose from a rhizome, to enjoy the Franklin Hospice Garden Ramble. Created and managed by two local women as a fund raiser for Franklin Hospice (more than $200,000 raised since 2012), people flocked to the picture-perfect gardens on show. Last year, Kaye and Steph decided to take a well-earned break and step back, generously gifting their shared…

Auckland Zoo is celebrating the birth of its first baby rhino in 20 years – a healthy female delivered by first-time mum Jamila in a speedy one-hour labour 12 days ago. The much-anticipated birth of the southern white rhino calf on 14 August to mum Jamila and 30-year-old dad Zambezi follows a 16-month pregnancy - confirmed last April by faecal hormone testing of Jamila’s…

On Friday 17 July 2020, Karaka Playcentre were extremely lucky to have Bunnings transform their wilderness area through the Bunnings community support programme. Bunnings is committed to participating in the communities in which they operate by contributing to local, regional and national causes, charities and organisations throughout Australia and New Zealand. The south facing…

When the doors open on Sunday November 22nd to showcase Pokeno’s formula manufacturing plant you won’t be bombarded with Yashili branded memorabilia. Because despite being partly responsible for the area’s considerable economic growth since it opened in 2015, the company is driven largely by its community involvement. The open day provides not only an opportunity for Yashili to…

In winter of 1864 the three masted clipper ship the ‘Ganges’ set sail from Cobh, Ireland for a 12,000 mile journey to Auckland. Amongst almost five hundred passengers and crew onboard the 192 foot (59m) ship were newly married couple, John and Sarah Fausett from Fermanagh County. Over the next three months they would brave the perils of putrid food, overcrowded and poorly…

James Sydney Heard was a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal New Zealand Artillery (RNZA) when he first served with 161 Battery in Vietnam. During a second Tour of Duty, he served with the 1st New Zealand Army Training Team Vietnam (1-NZATTV). He retired from the NZ Army with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Jim Heard died in December 2019. His surviving family recently discovered the…

The Rotary Club of Pukekohe Inc. was established in August 1945 and marks its 75th birthday on 22 August this year. The club today bears little resemblance to the one chartered the year World War 2 ended. In those days Rotary was a male-only affair with very strict rules which required members to attend pretty much every meeting, or do a “make-up” at another club. Formal dress…

ANZAC day 2020 will be a vastly different day to years previous, but still bears little resemblance to the horrors that young Sergeant James Stanton experienced during the First World War. Thanks to a canny series of events, we know a little about what he endured by the contents of his diary, written in the trenches and in the safekeeping of local man Mr Phil Gibbs for many…