News in brief
Liberation museum talk
Museum marketing manager Jacob Siermans, seen here on a guiding tour around Le Quesnoy, will present a talk on Te Arawhata on Wednesday evening.
A talk updating Cambridge on Le Quesnoy’s New Zealand Liberation Museum Te Arawhata will be at Resthaven Community Centre on Wednesday evening, presented by the museum’s Kiwi marketing manager, Jacob Siermans. The evening will give the first public update on events at the museum since it opened in the French town in October 2023. Le Quesnoy is one of Cambridge’s sister cities; the talk has been arranged in conjunction with the Cambridge-Le Quesnoy Friendship Association.
Talking Tamahere
Waikato district mayor Aksel Bech pictured with Tamahere-Woodlands ward councillor Mike Keir (right)
Waikato district mayor – and Tamahere resident – Aksel Bech was pictured with Tamahere-Woodlands ward councillor Mike Keir (right) on Saturday at a community open day. Issues aired at the Tamahere Community Centre included plans for a huge equine hub in the area, the future of the Tamahere reserve and issues around the figure of eight roundabout being constructed on Morrinsville Rd.
See: Mike Keir’s column
Off to Harvard
Cambridge High School graduate and top young swimmer Olivia Emmett will attend Harvard University in the US this year. Primarily a pool swimmer, Karāpiro based Emmett achieved the first criteria to represent New Zealand at the World Junior Open Water Championships in Argentina this year by winning last month’s national open water championship 10km event on Lake Taupo.
Car in lake
The stolen car in Lake Karapiro
Police say enquiries are “ongoing’ after a vehicle was driven off the ramp at Lake Karāpiro Domain and into the lake on Sunday afternoon.
St John stats
Hato Hone St John Ambulance Cambridge area committee chair Jim Goddin cleans one of the town’s ambulances, an ongoing gift from Wash Cambridge. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Hato Hone St John ambulance crews responded to 50,907 incidents in the Waikato region last year, up 2.7 percent from 49,577 in 2024, and up 15.4 percent from 44,129 in 2020. The most common reasons for calling 111 for an ambulance included referrals from a health practitioner, breathing problems, chest pain, falls and people feeling generally or medically unwell. Water related incidents were significantly up last year.
Te Huia backed
A “Stack the Station” rally supporting the Te Huia passenger train service between Hamilton and Auckland attracted about 300 people last weekend.
Train fans pictured at Frankton last weekend.
Rally organisers want a permanent future for the service and have launched a petition calling on the government to expand the service into a network linking Auckland, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty.
The event was attended by MPs Tama Potaka (Hamilton West) Ryan Hamilton (Hamilton East) incoming list MP Georgie Dansey and local and regional councillors.
Event organiser Lindsey Horne said the turnout sent an undeniable message to the Government as key funding decisions approach.
“Stack the Station showed just how much Te Huia is valued. The community is no longer just asking for the service to stay, they are asking for it to grow. We want to see more frequent services and a network that finally links Hamilton and Auckland with Tauranga.”
The New Zealand Transport Agency will make decisions on Te Huia’s future in coming weeks.
Harness awards
Ken and Karen Breckon
Waipā featured in two major categories at harness racing’s Horse of the Year held at Addington on Saturday. Benjamin Butcher of Cambridge won the Newcomer to Training award for his eight winners last year in his second season of training. He also drove 300 winners. Ōhaupō breeders Ken and Karen Breckon picked up the Outstanding Contribution to Harness Racing gong.
Road closure
The Desert Road will be closed overnight between February 15 and March 9 to allow the completion of surfacing in the area known as the Three Sisters. Three sites, Mangamate, Oturere Hill and Mangatoetoenui, spanning a total of 3.5km, are affected. The road was closed for two months early last year.
Hornets found
Ten more yellow-legged hornet nests have been destroyed on Auckland’s North Shore- thanks to the use of radio tracking devices which have been attached to worker hornets. The technology combined with more than 1000 traps has resulted in 49 queens and 51 nets bring destroyed.
