Northland news in brief: Relay for Life raises over $135k

Relay for Life in Whangārei on Saturday.

Active fundraiser

This year’s Relay for Life in Whangārei raised more than $135,000 for the Cancer Society.

The annual event - in its 40th year globally - was held on Saturday at Trigg Sport Arena. Hosted by More FM and compered by John Markby, participants included Northland police staff such as Detective Heidi Sullivan.

Sullivan said she believed the event was a good opportunity for a big organisation like NZ Police to help raise funds and awareness.

She was personally motivated by the memory of her grandad, who lost his battle with cancer in 2011, and by her gran, who has twice beaten breast cancer.

Originally the brainchild of Dr Gordon ‘Gordy’ Klatt, the event began in 1985 when Klatt ran for 24 hours around a track in Tacoma, Washington, to raise money for the American Cancer Society. The Global Relay For Life movement now involves 35 partnering countries, including New Zealand.

Henderson claims the double

Northlander Toa Henderson sheared 25 second-shear sheep in under 20 minutes to complete a 2025 Golden Shears and New Zealand Championships Open titles double in Te Kūiti last night. Henderson won his first Golden Shears final over 20 sheep, in Masterton four weeks ago and stepped up to a new challenge by shearing the first 25-sheep final in more than three decades in 19m 57.44s, averaging 49.64s a sheep caught, shorn, and dispatched, to finish 28.65s before next-man-off Mark Grainger, of Te Kūiti. He was a total of 49.08s ahead of Scottish shearer and Southern Hawke’s Bay farmer Gavin Mutch, who made the pace early and hung-on to claim second place, Henderson winning by 1.534pts, with a further 0.274pts back to Marlborough shearer Angus Moore in third place.

Poetry events

Event organisers throughout the motu are invited to register creative ways to bring people together for this year’s Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day on August 22. More than 100 poetry events are expected to take place nationwide, including open mic nights, school initiatives, public displays, live performances, or small, contemplative gatherings. Organisers wishing to apply for seed funding are encouraged to do so early, with applications closing at 5pm on June 3. For more information, visit www.poetryday.co.nz or email poetryday@nzbookawards.org.nz.

Tsunami testing

Northland’s six-monthly tsunami siren test will take place at the end of daylight saving on Sunday, April 6. This year marks the first test of the newly installed upgraded sirens. They will sound once at 10am for around a minute, and their performance will be monitored for any faults. Unlike the old system, the new sirens can be largely monitored remotely, reducing the need for prolonged testing. Northlanders can check whether they live, work, or play in a tsunami evacuation zone, and plan the quickest route to safety, using the interactive maps at: www.nrc.govt.nz/evacuationzones.