The burned-out remains of the Mercedes Benz campervan found torched at Whangaruru Beach near Rawhiti.
Last week on Wednesday morning, a Mercedes-Benz campervan was discovered torched on Whangaruru Beach, which is on the road from Rāwhiti to Whangārei. It had been stolen from Waipiro Bay near the Huirangi Inlet the day before and was last seen in Rāwhiti about 8pm.
The campervan belonged to two French nationals who live on a boat in Waipiro Bay and who spend lengthy periods in Northland. They have lost a substantial number of belongings including tents, binoculars, battery starters, bedding, pots, pans and dishes but they were insured.
Russell’s sole-charge policeman, Mike Gorrie, appealed to the public for information, asking anyone who has seen the campervan or who has dash cam or CCTV footage from Whangaruru North Rd, or anyone who noticed a strange car following the campervan or hanging around the area to contact police.
He believed those who set the campervan alight are the same people who set a car on fire at Elliot’s Bay a few days previously.
Gorrie said the two vehicles were torched because their fingerprints and DNA were all over them.
“Having people in and around our community who are setting things on fire, particularly at this time of the year, is not good for any of us.”
A number of people wanted to know if a community-based help line had been started in order to assist the French couple. There was nothing organised at edition time.
Anyone with information can contact Russell Police on 09 403 9090 or Crime Stoppers Anonymous on 0800 555 111.
Irish couple Paul and Wendy Moody are intrepid travellers. They have visited more than 85 countries, completed 26 road trips and have travelled by road from Gibraltar to Australia across Africa and the Silk Road.
In 2020 their plan was to travel by the Voyager of the Seas for a once-in-a-lifetime experience with what they called 4000 other “ageing wannabes”. They had heard about a virus originating in China and had bought masks in England before departure.
In early March, they arrived in Russell, booked into a hotel, and did a tour of the houses of local residents who had opened them up as a fundraiser for the local tennis club.
That evening, while sipping wine with their host Liz, they heard that Australia had closed its borders to all foreigners which threw their plans to visit their daughter in Adelaide into disarray.
“We made the decision to stay in Russell so I asked our host if she could advise us where to stay and without hesitation she said we could stay at her place because she was leaving for Auckland on Thursday.
“Liz had offered two perfect strangers her retreat, declined any recompense, and we will always be indebted to her for that act of kindness.”
What was to have been a weekend in Russell turned into something much longer. They filled their time getting to know locals and visited all the local and historic haunts and the eateries.
“As the weeks passed we felt safer in New Zealand as the global news worsened and our regular calls home to our children in Ireland were tense at times because we had tickets on a repatriation flight which was still weeks away,” he said.
“We called friends in Spain who were incredulous we would want to leave New Zealand when they had no freedom whatsoever.”
Eventually they got a flight to return to Ireland. Their “romantic weekend” in Russell had turned into 32 days. That was four years ago but now they are back, without restriction this time, to say thank you to those who cared for them as strangers in 2020.
The second annual summer Jazz Festival takes place in Kerikeri on February 25 at the Bay of Islands Golf Club.
A major drawcard is the husband-and-wife duo of Dave MacRae and Joy Yates who are both from New Zealand originally but moved to Australia before spending 15 years in the UK. They are now back living in Australia.
In addition to their musical collaborations which include the likes of Chet Baker, Buddy Rich Band, Ronnie Scott, Van Morrison, Gladys Knight, Cilla Black and Tina Turner, they have also released three albums.
Requested back this year is The Basin City Big Band, a 20-piece orchestra from Whangārei, who will perform classic big band jazz from the 50s to the 90s, including the music of Michael Bublé, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald..
Also performing is Evan Silva, who has been singing since the age of 15 and has 11 albums to his credit. He is joined by The Collaborators who include Ernest Semu, Alex Griffeth, Chris Neilson and Lance Bentley, all accomplished musicians in their own right.
In the line-up is Havana Groove, an Auckland-based Latin quartet featuring Mark Baynes on keys, Mike Booth (trumpet), Marcelo Valencia (congas and vocals), and Ale Held (vocals and maracas). They bring the passion of Cuban music with Afro roots, from Boleros to Cuban Sun cha cha and salsa.
Local (Kerikeri) jazz band Thelonious Punk will round off the late afternoon with an eclectic mix of jazz featuring original tunes and standards.
The festival is sponsored by Craig Investment Partners in partnership with Our Kerikeri Community Charitable Trust. Tickets can be obtained from Eventfinda and The Sound Lounge in Kerikeri.
In 1995 Murphy Shortland of Jack’s Bay, which is on the back road to Whangārei from Russell, produced a map of Ipipiri, the eastern part of the Bay of Islands. It was a limited edition run of 450 and has since been sold out.
He has decided to produce a second version of the map which has just been completed. This time the map includes Ipipiri along with the western side of the Bay – Ōpua, Paihia, Waitangi and Kerikeri.
The map has been designed by Murphy and his wife, Barbara, along with Raewyn Harris, an artist based in Napier, whose brief was to turn the map into artwork by softening the contours and the hills using the colours they chose from her other works.
All of those involved in the production of the map used old-fashioned methods of construction, mostly crafting everything by hand.
What could be called an unconventional way of production involved a template from 1905 and a truck with a frame on the back but Murphy isn’t about to reveal the precise method “because of copyright”. He said the map preserves certain historical aspects of the area.
“The original names on the map were used by my ancestors and, without their preservation, they could have been lost forever.”
There are two maps. The larger map is a limited edition and retails for $1200. The smaller map costs $600.
The map was unveiled three weeks ago at Pukematu Lodge by Gayle Clifford and Barbara. It is available at local galleries and by contacting ranginuifarm@xtra.co.nz
'At what point do we say enough is enough?'