Kawakawa's King's Theatre will host the national Flash Fiction Northland workshop on Sunday, starting 1pm, followed by afternoon tea and readings of flash fiction, including winning Northland entries. Participants should take a draft of their story, on a laptop if possible.
Crash victim named
A man who died after the vehicle he was driving went off the road and through a farm fence has been named by police. He was 50-year-old local Towai man, Shane Whatarau, also known as James Munro. Police were called to the scene on Ford Rd about 2am on Saturday. The vehicle had been discovered off the road and the Serious Crash Unit had examined the scene.
Missing woman named
A woman still missing after she is thought to have fallen from a dinghy while fishing near Matauri Bay has been named as Jana Marie Travers, 45, from Kaitaia. Travers was last seen around 4.30pm on June 11 with her dinghy located by searchers about 10.30pm that night. It was upright and drifting off the southern end of Matauri Bay about 4km from where she was last seen. Her jacket was also found floating in the water. A major search by land, sea and air the following day of 20km of coast plus the Cavalli Islands failed to find any further trace. A rāhui remains in place until further notice from Takou Bay in the south to Opounui Pt in the north. The head of Northland Search and Rescue, Senior Sergeant Cliff Metcalfe, said a Northland Coastguard Air Patrol plane had carried out a search every day this week. Another search by air and water was planned on Friday, weather permitting.
Twins trouble police
It was a case of double double trouble when police in Kaikohe had to deal with two sets of twins after a party got out of control. Officers were called to a property on Park Rd about 10pm on Tuesday. Two 16-year-old twin sisters were arrested by police and taken back to their parents' house. However during that process an older set of twins tried to intervene and obstruct officers. They were given a warning and released.
Erebus memorial request
Manatū Taonga - Ministry for Culture and Heritage is asking family members of the 257 people who lost their lives in the Mt Erebus crash to check the names that will be inscribed on the new National Erebus Memorial. "I'm pleased to see that the Memorial is now in the developed design phase where officials are working closely with Studio Pacific Architecture on the details of the memorial," said Ministry for Culture and Heritage chief executive Bernadette Cavanagh. "A strong desire from family members, and indeed a prominent feature of the chosen design, was for the names of those who died to be inscribed on the memorial. A list of names is now available to the public, and I encourage family members or family friends to check the list and get in touch with the Ministry for Culture and Heritage if there are any errors or questions. We are also keen to hear about preferred names.'' To view the list of names and provide feedback, visit the Ministry for Culture and Heritage website: www.mch.govt.nz/national-erebus-memorial/name-list