The Bay of Islands Vintage Railway is back in action, with trains departing Kawakawa Saturday to Sunday at 10.45am, noon, 1.15pm and 2.30pm. Trains were halted after a large tree swept downriver in the July flood, hit a rail bridge near Taumarere and damaged two of the piles. Until they are replaced trains can't go all the way to Long Bridge, but they can go as far as the damaged Tirohanga Bridge. Since the railway siding at Long Bridge, which normally allows the locomotive to swap ends, can't be reached either, trains will operate in the meantime with a locomotive at each end.
The Beast cancelled
The extension of Covid-19 alert level 2 restrictions in Northland has forced the cancellation of Saturday's Fullers GreatSights Bay of Islands Beast. The event is described as a super-tough cross country course over rolling hills, competitors navigating swamps, river crossings, and rugged, uneven terrain.
Exhibit explores kinship
Dutch ambassador Mira Woldberg will open an exhibition at Whangārei Art Museum todaycelebrating artistic kinship between New Zealand and the Netherlands. The exhibition, called Distant Kinship / Verre Verwanten, features work by 18 printmakers from Grafiekgroep Bergen in the Netherlands and the New Zealand Print Council. The opening will take place at 5.30pm with the exhibition running until November 15. It has already been shown in the Netherlands.
Byelection voting opens
Voting is now open in a byelection to fill a vacancy on Te Hiku Community Board left by the late Lawrie Atkinson. Voting packs for Whatuwhiwhi Subdivision electors started arriving in mail boxes on Wednesday. They can be filled in and posted back immediately. Voters can also hand-deliver voting documents to the council's Kaitaia Service Centre at Te Ahu during office hours. The three-week voting period closes at noon on September 17, although anyone returning voting documents by post should do so before September 11 to make sure they arrive on time. The four candidates contesting the seat are Eddie Bellas, Boyd Rupapera, Whetu Rutene and Bill Subritzky.
Water use hearings
The much-anticipated Northland Regional Council hearings into 24 water use consent applications totalling 6.2 million cu m a year by the Aupōuri Aquifer Water Users Group are now due to start on Tuesday, September 1, after being delayed by a day. The hearings have also been condensed into three days instead of the original five. They will be led by independent commissioners and will take place at Kaitaia's Te Ahu Centre starting daily at 9am.
