Northland news in brief: Donations needed for Whangārei Hospital’s baby milk bank; Dobbie Track closed temporarily

Tiki Taane (Ngāti Maniapoto) will be performing with multidisciplinary artist Kereama Taepa (Te Arawa, Te Āti Awa) at OneOneSix in Whangārei. Photo / Alex Cairns

Dad and son life members

Brad Flower was awarded with a Northern Regional Football life membership at the AGM. He now joins his father, Chas, who was awarded with the lifetime membership in 2013. They are the only father-son duo with the NRF life membership in Northland.

Tiki Taane in town

Renowned musician Tiki Taane (Ngāti Maniapoto) and multidisciplinary artist Kereama Taepa (Te Arawa, Te Āti Awa) will be performing at OneOneSix in Bank St in Whangārei on Wednesday, May 29, from 7.30pm onwards. Mai Te Uira explores how innovation can be transformative when we open our minds to new ways of thinking. Told through the stories of three atua (Te Uira, the atua of lightning and new connections like technology, digital culture, and cyberspace; Tānemahuta, a creator himself, providing us with our own capability and capacity to create; and Hine-te-Iwaiwa, whose strength we seek when searching for knowledge to give, receive, and connect), this creative collaboration of music and digital animation reflects the transmission of knowledge and cements ancestral relationships. The event is a partnership between the Dowse Art Museum and Chamber Music New Zealand. Tickets are online at Eventfinda and start from $38.49 for adults and $17.45 for students.

Baby milk bank closer

A project to set up a human milk bank for Northland babies is now only $5000 away, thanks to community support. The bank at Whangārei Hospital’s Te Kotuku maternity unit will supply screened and pasteurised breast milk to young babies whose mothers are unable to breastfeed. A total of $32,000 is needed to start the milk bank, to fund a Sterifed T30 pasteuriser. The project has received $5000 from the Whangārei Lions Club, and Rotary Whangārei South previously raised $20,000. Donations are now needed to cover the shortfall. go to tinyurl.com/milk-bank to donate.G

Waipu Street Market

The Waipu Street Market is on this Sunday, June 2, from 9am until 2pm. The event will be open rain or shine with a range of offerings including arts, crafts, jewellery, clothing, accessories, crystals, garden ornaments and more. There will also be music to entertain and a range of food vendors on site. Over 160 stalls will feature and span from the main street of Waipu to Coronation Hall, Caledonian Park and the Celtic Barn.

Dobbie Track closed

The Dobbie Track at Parihaka has been closed for two weeks to install kauri protection upgrades on the track surface using a method that utilises a “geoweb” surface layer, free-draining aggregate, bark mix and then an aggregate layer to stop the spread of kauri dieback spores. You can still access the summit via the Ross Track off Dundas Rd. The Elizabeth Track at A.H. Reed Memorial Park will be closed for its resurfacing in June.