Trees take out power
An overgrown shelterbelt touched powerlines causing a fire and a four-hour power cut near Kerikeri. Kapiro Rd resident Katy Jane Taylor said she heard a big bang and an electrical explosion and saw the fire. She phoned the fire brigade just before noon on Sunday. A person with a hand-held extinguisher came and put out a good majority of the fire before firefighters arrived. A large part of Kapiro Rd lost power, which was restored about 4pm.
Boiler replaced
The Bay of Islands Vintage Railway Trust has a much bigger job than fixing steam engine Gabriel's boiler on its hands. Operations manager Mike Bradshaw said the current boiler cannot be repaired, and will have to be replaced, lifting the cost from $80,000 to $200,000-plus. About $27,000 has already been donated, including via a Givealittle page. Bradshaw said the trust was fully committed to returning Gabriel to service, which would take 12 to 18 months.
Later Anzac service