Letters: Vaping/smoking policy, morphing magnolia, food queen Wendy Bennett

The stump of this severely damaged magnolia tree, which was removed, was turned into a "fairy house" at the Gisborne Botanical Gardens.

Letters to the Editor

Morphing magnolia (Re: Gisborne Herald P5, Saturday, July 26)

I walk through the Botanical Gardens three to four times weekly en route to the YMCA.

One spring day, the glorious magnolia tree stopped me in my tracks with its magnificence of blooming grandeur.

A few days later, it split in two. Oh, my! A few days later still, it was cut down. How sad! Only a large stump remained as a grim reminder of a life taken for granted.

I never could have imagined the stump morphing into an enchanted fairy house.

What a blessing that someone(s) did. It’s brilliant! The once glorious magnolia lives on for our collective delight.

Thank you, Gisborne District Council and the stewards of the Botanical Gardens. Well done!

Deborah White

Gisborne

Re: Vaping: ‘It is epidemic’ (Gisborne Herald P5, Tuesday)

It’s no wonder ratepayers are angry with local bodies like Gisborne District Council.

Rates are becoming unaffordable for many, yet the council keeps on wasting time and money on dealing with things like vaping and smoking.

Residents did not elect councils to start dictating people’s personal behaviours.

What next? Telling us how we should dress? Banning certain hairstyles?

Dictatorial policy is not acceptable. Such matters are none of the council’s business – and I say this as a former smoker who now dislikes the smell of cigarette smoke and the clouds puffed out by vapers.

That the council even discusses such matters is beyond belief when ratepayers are being asked to pay more and more for council spending.

Councils here and elsewhere have steadily become involved in things that are far from the basics – things that are either non-essential or should be directly paid for by users or those who benefit.

The council disgusts me with its mule-headed refusal to respond to residents’ financial struggles.

It really is time for this council’s reach to be reined in ... and for the council to get out of our pockets.

Roger Handford

Gisborne

Gisborne food queen Wendy Bennett recognised

The Kauta Hall of Fame Award was presented to Wendy Bennett for her outstanding contributions in all things culinary and community.

Top Māori chefs gathered for the fifth anniversary of the national Tohunga Tumau dinner degustation in Rotorua for a Matariki 2025 celebration showcasing the best of modern Māori cuisine.

Gisborne’s own food queen Wendy Bennett (Te Atiawa, Te Arawa) has been shaping the future of indigenous New Zealand food with 40 years of dedication, pushing boundaries, honouring traditions and creating her unique style of innovative food presentation and excellence.

In 2003, Bennett won Māori Business Woman of the Year for her catering company Food Queens.

She has curated, managed and designed menus for large events, including a New Zealand Food and Wine Promotion in Dubai and California, New Zealand and international film crews, the America’s Cup, the All Blacks and the opening of the Pacific Wing of the Auckland Museum.

In addition, Bennett has owned restaurants and cafes, including vegetarian Flamingoes and The New Cafe at Auckland Art Gallery.

Today, this passionate foodie lives in Gisborne, where her professionalism precedes her.

Wiki Oman

Gisborne

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