Franklin's Finest

Sport • elocal Digital Edition • January 2020

LIAM WHITER 2019 Captain Liam Whiter commits to Franklin United for 2020. Pukekohe local Liam Whiter, with 32 appearances in the red, black and white uniform, 20 in 2019, has signed on for another season. The former Pukekohe High School student has tw…

#Live Papakura #Christmas in Papakura

Community • elocal Digital Edition • December 2019

It’s that time of year again when, for all things, Jolly, Joyful and generally Christmassy, Papakura is your one stop Christmas stop! Having always had always had a strong community spirit, a varied retail base with 36 new shops opened this year alone, a…

Shine the Wright Way This Season

People in Business • elocal Digital Edition • December 2019

by Sally Sumner

Walking inside the newly renovated showroom of Wrights Jewellers on King Street in Pukekohe and you are immediately transported into a Christmas wonderland. Brimming with radiant sparkling gemstones, polished silver and gold chains adorned with seasonal…

The World of Cosplay

Community • elocal Digital Edition • December 2019

by Kerry Monaghan

Cosplay. To some people it’s a foreign word and they have no clue what it is. To others, they might have heard of it, but know little else, and Cosplayers themselves? Well, to them it can be a pretty big deal. Cosplay is short for costume play, an angl…

Merry Christmas from elocal!

Editors Note • elocal Digital Edition • December 2019

by Sally Sumner

Even though the pace of time is exactly the same every year, it certainly feels at times like it is speeding by far quicker than in previous years. I do wonder if this is because of the sheer amount we try to pack in to our daily lives and the way we ra…

Literary Greats (Part IV)

Edgar Allan Poe (Part II)

Profiles • elocal Digital Edition • December 2019

by Kerry Monaghan

Widely regarded as an originator of horror and detective genres, as well as a pioneer of the modern short story, with reoccuring images of murder, madmen, vivisepulture and mysterious women who rise from the dead, came an American writer, poet, and liter…

A Special Invitation

Senior Christmas Lunch

Community • elocal Digital Edition • December 2019

by Sally Sumner

The Christmas season is a time to celebrate being with family and friends. It can however sometimes isolate members of our community, especially our senior members, who are without a strong network around them or who’s usual network of friends return to …

Cops, Guns and Untruths

Opinion • elocal Digital Edition • December 2019

by Richard Prosser

Right now, in New Zealand, a quiet revolution is taking place. It isn’t technological, or a change to the education system, or a new and widespread understanding of an holistic approach to health and wellbeing. Rather, it involves the steady, systematic,…

House Prices, Again!

Opinion • elocal Digital Edition • December 2019

by Dr Don Brash

Regular readers of “elocal” will think I have a fixation about house prices. I’ve written on the subject twice already this year, most recently just two months ago. But several things have prompted me to write on the subject again. First, despite all …

Forget Twin Peaks, Pukekohe has the Five Summits!

Community • elocal Digital Edition • December 2019

by Sally Sumner

If you are looking for something to do as the weather gets warmer that gets you and the family out and about then you can’t go past the new Five Summits Walk and Bike Trail and accompanying map that has recently been developed in Pukekohe. A gift to the …

“The Strength of Eggshells” by Kirsty Powell

Books • elocal Digital Edition • December 2019

This debut novel by local author Kirsty Powell is highly recommended. The Strength of Eggshells is the story of Kate, a six-foot-tall rural girl with an uncertain heritage. It is firmly set in New Zealand, and the locations in the story (including King…

Electoral Boundaries Change The Landscape

Opinion • elocal Digital Edition • December 2019

by Andrew Bayly

Massive change lies ahead for voters in the Hunua electorate. Boundary alterations ahead of the 2020 and 2023 general elections will see the electorate’s name changed to Port Waikato, and its area shifted south and transformed from urban to rural. Hunua…

Ownership of Water in New Zealand

Opinion • elocal Digital Edition • December 2019

by Ron Howard

There is a well circulated expression of opinions including demands, rejections and mostly avoidance from the political parties who are inclined to view this subject as related to votes and this appears to nullify their ability to provide sound and meani…

Wild Bunch is back!

Motoring • elocal Digital Edition • December 2019

by Greg Stokes

Cast your mind back to the late eighties/early nineties at Champion Dragway (now Meremere Dragway), a new class of quarter mile drag racing was sweeping the nation – WILD BUNCH! This class essentially took the street appearing two door saloon car and stu…

Franklin Speaking Frankly

December 2019

Sport • elocal Digital Edition • December 2019

The appointment of Mark Holt as Head Coach for the Senior Teams is an exciting one for Franklin United. Here is the statement I made in the club release last week; “Over the last year we have recognised the need to keep aligning our senior team activitie…

“The Island” by Keith Fenwick

Books • elocal Digital Edition • December 2019

A South Auckland author who mixes sci-fi with satire has released his fifth book, tackling the topics of the day including corporate culture, immigration, environmental concerns and the election of Donald Trump. Keith Fenwick of Totara Park, Manurewa,…

Are You Living with A Frozen Shoulder?

Columns • elocal Digital Edition • December 2019

In the past few years at my acupuncture clinic, there has been an increase in patients coming in for treatment of shoulder pain. Mostly has gone for some western medical therapy such as taking anti-inflammatory, physiotherapy and local steroid injection.…

Everyone Needs a Little Help

Columns • elocal Digital Edition • December 2019

Ministry of Health Statistics on the obesity epidemic in NZ make for sobering reading. One third of adult New Zealanders are obese with a further third being overweight, three times what it was in the 1970’s, and the 3rd highest in the OECD. With studie…

Papakura Town Centre Christmas Scavenger Hunt 2019

1st to 21st December 2019

Columns • elocal Digital Edition • December 2019

Go in the draw to win one of three $100 Papakura shopping Vouchers which can be spent in Papakura Town Centre! 12 shops or places in Papakura town centre have a Christmas bauble with a special number on it located in their shop window. Follow the clues t…

We Love the ProNav App!

People in Business • elocal Digital Edition • December 2019

Not strangers to building a new house Maggie and Steve Bygate are truly enthusiastic when they describe how much they like Navigation Homes ProNav App Smartphone tool that they were able to utilise during their recent build in the Paerata Rise community.