Northland news in brief: Helping hunger, traffic diversion and 'amazing' new exhibition

Jane Molloy-Wolt's work is part of an exhibition in Kohukohu.

Motorists driving on State Highway 1 south of Whangārei will be diverted on to a temporary road at the intersection with SH15 (Loop Rd) from Saturday, November 2. The temporary road was built to start construction of a new roundabout at the intersection. About 19,000 vehicles pass through the intersection each day, with many logging and freight trucks turning right on to SH1 at Loop Rd (SH15) to get to Northport. Preparation for the traffic switch will start on Wednesday with the removal of barriers, asphalting of the tie-in points and new road marking. There will be periods of stop/go traffic control and potentially nightworks, The temporary road will have a speed limit of 30km/h; the rest of the constructions site will remain at 50km/h. The works are due to be completed in late-2020.

Rotary inaugurates corporate member

Tomorrow will be a red letter day for Rotary Club of Whangarei South as it inducts its first Corporate member - Tauraroa Area School. Principal Grant Burns will formally accept the membership on the school's behalf. While the club has over 50 regular members, a corporate membership is extremely special, and very rare. It essentially means any staff member of Tauraroa Area School can attend any of the club's meetings - on Thursday evenings - and receive the same benefits of other members. It also means that, if needed, the students and staff can assist the club with their community activities and fundraising, and the club will hopefully be able to assist the school with some of their projects as well - either with a donation, or in other ways.

World Sandwich Day at Subway

Subway Kaitaia and Kerikeri will once again be helping to tackle hunger on Friday, World Sandwich Day. Everyone who buys a sub, wrap or salad on Friday will get another one free, and Subway will donate a meal through KiwiHarvest. Last year World Sandwich Day saw more than 100,000 meals donated across the country, and this year's target is 150,000.

Kerikeri bincentennial marked

Tūhono Kerikeri, a six-month programme of events marking Kerikeri's bicentennial, was launched at a dawn blessing at Kororipo Heritage Park on Sunday, led by Ngāti Rēhia hapū. The gathering included representatives of the FNDC, DoC, Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, Northland Inc, Far North Holdings and the Bay of Islands Whangaroa Community Board, marking 200 years since the missionary settlement was established.

New Kohukohu gallery exhibition

Kohukohu's Village Arts Gallery is promising "something truly amazing" when it opens a new exhibition at 11am on Saturday, featuring installations and svelte hand-thrown shapes and vessels by one of New Zealand's major ceramicists. John Parker, known for his ribbed, modernist ceramic pieces that result in sell-out shows, is equally known as an award-winning theatre designer, and in Colour Explosion he will draw on the drama of his theatre design to make startling light-responsive ceramic installations, with lighting designed by John Wigglesworth. The exhibition will also feature bold gestural works in explosive colour by Jane Molloy-Wolt, one of Northland's most productive and experimental professional painters, who explores themes of unstable geography and suspended belief. Both artists will be at the opening, with the exhibition running through to November 26.