Northland news in brief: Brynderwyns to reopen; and young farmers face off

A digger moves some of the thousands of tonnes of dirt that has blocked SH1 over the Brynderwyns for months. The road will finally fully reopen on Monday.

Brynderwyns to fully reopen

In good news for motorists, State Highway 1 over the Brynderwyns, south of Whangārei, will reopen in both directions from Monday.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency said it will reopen SH1 over the Brynderwyn Hills to all traffic in both directions from 6am next Monday, May 1.

Access over the Brynderwyns, about 45km south of Whangārei, has been restricted since it was closed due to several slips caused by Cyclone Gabrielle in early February, following an earlier closure due to storm damage.

Since then, SH1 over the hills has been largely been fully closed or down to one lane as work continues to repair the numerous slips. Both lanes were reopened temporarily over Easter, before the road was closed again for a permanent fix on April 17.

Honour for Clendon whānau

A whānau who have played a key role in keeping and preserving documents spanning almost 150 years of New Zealand history will receive special acknowledgment from the Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage on April 29. Descendants of James Reddy Clendon from around the country will gather at Clendon House in Rawene to mark the addition of the 3000-strong Clendon Papers to the Unesco Memory of the World Aotearoa New Zealand Register. Associate Minister Willow-Jean Prime will present framed certificates of the inscription to the family. Clendon was an early Northland trader, merchant, settler, farmer, government official and the first US consul in New Zealand. He was also a signatory to He Whakaputanga (the Declaration of Independence) in 1835 and Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 1840, making history as one of the few Europeans to have his signature on both documents.

Young farmers to compete

Northland’s top young farmers will vie for regional supremacy, a place in the national finals and a share of $70,000 worth of prizes at Kaikohe Showgrounds starting today. The Northern Regional Final of the FMG Young Farmer of the Year was to have been held in February but was postponed due to Cyclone Gabrielle and is now taking place on April 28-29. The spectator highlight is likely to be tomorrow when eight contestants go head-to-head to complete a range of tasks within a 30-minute time limit. Day two concludes with a formal dinner and buzzer quiz, giving contestants one last chance to seize the lead before the winners are announced. Competitions will also be held for AgriKidsNZ and FMG Junior Young Farmer of the Year. Kaikohe Showgrounds are at the corner of SH12 and Ngawha Springs Rd.

Area school teachers to vote on strike

Area school teachers across Northland and the rest of the country will vote on whether to move to industrial action this term, including taking rolling strikes, says NZEI Te Riu Roa, New Zealand’s largest education union.

Area school teachers have only had one collective agreement offer, which was back in December 2022. The vote on industrial action includes three actions: a relief teacher work ban, a ban on meetings outside of school hours, and rolling strikes from Tuesday May 9, to Thursday, May 11.

The ballot runs until 5pm on Monday, May 1.