What's on in October with the Papakura Business Association NEW BUSINESSES IN TOWN: We welcome Krish Indian and Takeaways in O’Shannessey Street, Executive Travel ( previously Travel Smart ) in Roselands Shopping Centre, Island Butchery and Veges in O’S…
Papakura Residents miss out on true Visionary who wanted to help move our town forward. Written by retiring Papakura Board member of 9 years Michael Turner and Papakura Board member of 6 years Bill McEntee We believe that Papakura missed out on a great o…
Another season has passed, my 19th season of winter football in Franklin. Another year of progression – slowly but steady improvements that continue to drive the football talent space forward in our community. I was MC at last week’s prize giving and whi…
At the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, California back in January it was an honour for us to meet Jim "Jake" Jacobs who was the other half of Pete & Jakes Hot Rod Parts which GMS Hot Rods are dealers for. Pete & Jakes were founded in 1973 shor…
Our Port Waikato community is on the edge, literally! Years of erosion have taken their toll on Sunset Beach, Port Waikato and the problem is now more serious than ever. Over half the car park has been lost, the community hall has been condemned, and…
Counties Cycle Classic The Counties Cycle Classic returns this year on October 13th at, Pukekohe Park raceway again using the world-famous VS track to start and finish the races. Fast become a fixture on the cycling calendar, the event organized by the R…
Building beautiful homes for families in Franklin Legacies can be amazing things, they shape who we are and where we have come from. They can also influence where we want to go and what we want to achieve. It was a family legacy of craftsmanship that inf…
How is South American rapid rail technology linked to Franklin's Horticulture It goes back almost 40 years when a young Kiwi business entrepreneur started offering his new seaweed-based liquid fertiliser to Franklin crop growers and farmers. Kevin Smith…
Franklin Football Update By Jim Evans, Operation Manager Franklin United The 2019 season is nearly at an end and it has been a challenging yet rewarding season for many reasons. At the start of the year, we decided to focus 100% on local talent at first …
This year, stories were "flash fiction' 300 words in length, and beginning with the starter, "you wouldn't believe" You wouldn’t believe it was that easy. In the dead of night, I crept out of my closet-sized room, across the rickety wooden floor. Their d…
A year on with Pukekohe High School Principal, Richard Barnett From his twelve years at Christchurch’s Burnside High School to now twelve months at Pukekohe High School, Principal Richard Barnett has been leading his school into its new chapter and is fe…
Credited with helping to advance the genre of ‘Confessional Poetry’ in the mid twentieth century; the style of writing that was written in an autobiographical manner and dealt with subject matter relating but not limited to, death, tragedy, trauma and de…
From the Editors desk Value your Free Speech – Sting and All! I’m writing this on deadline day, we print in four hours, and someone in their wisdom has decided to waterblast the office roof, think bees, many, many bees all angry and upset, disturbed and…
Auckland Football Federation Junior Coach of the Year 2019 Shane Thomas never imagined he would one day end up becoming a volunteer junior football coach, let alone winning the title of 2019 Regional Junior Football Coach of the Year for Auckland, that i…
You wouldn’t believe that it had never defined me because, once it was gone, I felt its loss immensely. Life is that simple, that complicated. Major decisions at that time focused on where to meet for lunch, what pest was eating the passionfruit vine, w…
This year, stories were "flash fiction' 300 words in length, and beginning with the starter, "you wouldn't believe" You wouldn’t believe why my grandson doubts my sanity. ‘What did you do in the war, granddad?’ I looked down at my grandson, about to sn…
Many people avoid going to the Dentist until they are forced to. Usually, a niggly pain suddenly turns into the toothache from hell, and the visit it not only necessary but urgent! Many people don’t realise that regular check-ups are not only affordable …
Captain James Cook part 4 of 6 Still believing a Southern Continent existed, and keen to locate it, Joseph Banks pushed hard for a second Pacific voyage. To his disappointment, the Admiralty called on Cook to lead the expedition, with instructions to fin…
Don Brash Opinion Piece One of the issues almost guaranteed to provoke a strong reaction at many a social gathering in New Zealand is any suggestion that New Zealand should be exporting more bottled water. There have been noisy demonstrations in public,…
Memories from a Franklin Photo News Photographer The feedback we had on last month’s Franklin Photo News story was amazing. What an incredible feat to scan all the pages of a magazine that 40 years ago was the social media of the day. The stories that h…