Gordon Finlayson, from the Mangawhai Heads Volunteer Lifeguard Services, has been recognised for his 50 years with the club Photo/ Tania Whyte
Gordon Finlayson, from the Mangawhai Heads Volunteer Lifeguard Services, has been recognised for his 50 years with the club Photo/ Tania Whyte
A Mangawhai man has been awarded a Surf Life Saving New Zealand 50 year service badge for a lifetime of dedication to his local club and his community's safety. Gordon Finlayson, from Mangawhai Heads Volunteer Lifeguard Services, was awarded the honour at the SLSNZ Awards of Excellence ceremony in Aucklandon Saturday night. Finlayson is also a life member of the club.
Black hole facts revealed
Northlanders interested in what happens when black holes collide can hear an international expert speak on the subject in Whangārei. Professor Paul Groot will present his talk, The Dawn of Gravitational Wave Astronomy, on October 3 at the Northland Events Centre (Okara Park Stadium). Groot's address is part of the annual Beatrice Hill-Tinsley Lecture tour, and he is visiting Whangārei as a guest of the Northland Astronomical Society. New Zealand astronomer Beatrice Hill Tinsley was a professor of astronomy at Yale University when she died, aged 40, in 1981. Admission: $10 adults, $5 students, door sales only.
Hawaiki cable upgrade
The fibre optic Hawaiki submarine cable that comes shore at Mangawhai Heads and links New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii and Oregon is undergoing an upgrade to boost its capacity to 67 terabits per second. The 15,000km, deep sea cable began commercial operations in July this year, delivering an initial 43.8 terabits per second additional capacity to the market, and within months was increased to 53 per cent capacity. The cable will now be upgraded again by networking systems, services, and software company, Ciena, using its GeoMesh solution.
Two French tourists who were initially reported as lost in the Ngataki area on Sunday were found, not lost at all,after their vehicle got stuck. A police officer from Kaitaia responded and, according to his colleagues, saved the day.
Reihana's work on show
Northland artist Lisa Reihana (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāi Tū) is amongst those who are contributing work to what is billed as the first major exhibition of work by South Pacific artists in the United Kingdom. The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, will open the Oceania exhibition at London's Royal Academy of Arts today, with Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni, who will be there representing New Zealand, saying the exhibition was a stunning display of the Pacific region's art and culture, and would provide rich insights before the Duke and Duchess' tour of New Zealand, Australia, Fiji and Tonga next month.
