Northland news in brief: Repairs to Whangārei’s Old Town Hall on track; Tractor Spectacular back

A sneak peek at repairs to the Old Town Hall in Whangārei. Photo / Whangārei District Council

Town hall repairs

The Whangārei District Council says repairs to the Old Municipal Building are on track to be completed in early 2025. The building, known as the Old Town Hall, was severely damaged in a fire in 2019. Repairs include reinstating fire-damaged areas, replacing the roof, seismic strengthening, redesigning the office spaces to make them more user-friendly, installing a new lift and stairs, and various accessibility improvements.

Tractor Spectacular

The annual Taupō Bay Tractor Spectacular is back on December 30. An array of tractors, many decorated, complete a circuit of Taupō Bay while a massive water fight takes place. Those taking part meet on the roadside between the boat ramp and playground before the event’s 5pm start.

Shellfish warning

New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS) is advising the public not to collect or consume shellfish gathered from the Northland west coast until further notice because of a high paralytic shellfish toxin risk. Routine tests on seawater from Hokianga Harbour showed very high levels of toxin-producing phytoplankton. This is likely to cause shellfish to contain paralytic shellfish toxins over the safe limit and that can make people sick, NZFS deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle says. Cooking does not remove the toxin.

Bush safety

Northland police are encouraging people to take care when heading into the bush. They encourage those headed into the outdoors to use the New Zealand Mountain Safety Council app called Plan My Walk. All information on Department of Conservation tracks, MetService weather warnings, watches and forecasts, track-specific alerts and interactive gear lists are available on the app.

Māori immunisation funding

Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has announced a $50 million package to help Māori health providers lift immunisation rates over the next two years. The package includes $30m to Whānau Ora providers to work with at-risk Māori and non-Māori pēpi, hāpu māma and kaumātua. Northland has the lowest rates of childhood immunisations in New Zealand.

Kiwi Christmas Books

Farm Source Dargaville won $5000 for their charity of choice, Kiwi Christmas Books, as part of Fonterra’s Christmas Giving campaign. Farm Source Dargaville is one of three winners and chose Kiwi Christmas Books for their charity because they wanted to give back to local schools in their area. Store manager Di Parsons said they wanted to make sure children in their area who may not receive a Christmas gift this year would get a book.

Lotto winners

A Whangārei Lotto player is one of two people in the country to win $29,572 in Lotto Second Division and Powerball Second Division on Wednesday. Ten players nationwide each won $22,417 with Lotto Second Division. The lucky Whangārei ticket was bought on MyLotto.

SH1 closed through gorge

State Highway 1 through Mangamuka Gorge remains closed during the summer holidays. The official detour route is still via SH10 and may add up to 40 minutes to motorists’ journeys. People driving heavy and freight vehicles can take this route. The Twin Coast Discovery Highway is also open but is only suitable for people in light vehicles and campervans. Work is underway in the Mangamuka Gorge on 12 of the 15 slip sites.

Truck stop petition

A petition has been launched in opposition to a reported plan for a 24/7 truck stop and un-manned service station on the corner of State Highway 1 and Mountfield Rd in Waipū.