Tararua District news in brief: Auction of huia pair fetches more than $100K, income stats for Tararua District and Memory Walk

A group of walkers assembled at the Hub in Dannevirke for last year's Memory Walk for Alzheimer's.

A pair of taxidermy huia birds have been sold for more than $100,000.

The birds, owned by a private collector in the UK, went up for auction earlier this month.

The huia, preserved and mounted on a tree branch within a glass dome, were sold by Roseberys Auction House in London. Photo / Roseberys

Roseberys auction house in London handled the auction and stated the birds went to an international buyer for £52,240 ($111,526.65).

In 2023, a pair of huia broke auction records after being bought for £220,000 ($469,304) at a British auction.

Census

Tararua District residents earn an average of $33,600 annually, according to statistics from the 2023 Census.

The figures were based on a population count of 14,925 over the age of 15 of those who filled out the Census.

That was an increase on the 2018 Census which stated that the average annual income was $26,300, with a population count of 14,067 over the age of 15.

Memory walk for Alzheimer’s

Dannevirke residents are invited to participate in the Memory Walk for Alzheimer’s on October 17.

The walk, organised by Alzheimers Manawatū, is to raise awareness of dementia, and how it impacts people in the community.

Those wanting to take part in the walk are asked to wear their favourite purple clothes and meet at the Brass Band Hall in Dannevirke by 10.30am.

Property values

Latest figures released by OneRoof show that regionally property values have dropped by 2%.

In the Tararua District, Dannevirke has also experienced a drop of 2% and Eketahuna 4.2%.

Both Pahiatua and Woodville are bucking the trend with an increase of 3.4% and 4.5% respectively.

Pavement crews putting down layers of asphalt on Te Ahu a Turanga: Manawatū-Tararua Highway.

Highway update

More than 5km of the Te Ahu a Turanga: Manawatū Tararua Highway is now covered with asphalt, according to the latest update from NZTA.

Asphalt placement began in June and more than 37,000 tonnes had been laid up to the beginning of last week, about a third of the total needed to complete the road.

Work is continuing on placing the lower subbase layers at the Woodville end.

Landscapers have just finished their latest planting season, putting more than 420,000 plants in the ground since it began in April, bringing the total number of plants planted since construction began in 2021 to 1.5 million.

The remaining planting will be done early next year.

The project remains on track for completion mid-2025.

Head here for more information or to see the latest flyover.