Supercars, Mama Hooch sentencing and Heidi Paakkonen: the big stories of August 2023

As the year draws to a close, Waikato Herald is taking stock of 2023. What moved readers most? As part of a 12-day series, Waikato Herald reporter Danielle Zollickhofer looks at the top stories each month. Welcome to day eight: August.

Nationally, August 2023 was the month that the Mama Hooch rapist brothers were sentenced to 16 and a half and 17 years in prison and Lauren Dickason was found guilty of murdering her three children.

The demolition of the Waiwera Thermal Resort kicked off and Auckland toddler Willow sparked a frantic search.

Also, Supercars announced their return to New Zealand next year - when Taupō International Motorsport Park will host the championship.

Elsewhere in the Waikato, Hamilton Zoo welcomed several new residents, including breeding tiger Scout, and Lake Taupō highway woes continue at Bulli Pt.

Other big stories in the region were:

Closer look at 1989 Swedish tourists case

Ryan Wolf, host of The Guilt Podcast: True Crime, took another look at the 1989 disappearance of Swedish tourists Heidi Paakkonen and Urban Höglin near Thames.

Wolf said he has found new information that will change what people think about the case and he hopes to help finally find Heidi.

In September, Wolf and a group of volunteers combed an area of private forestry land near Whangamatā in the hope of recovering the remains of Heidi.

Swedish tourists Sven Hoglin and Heidi Paakkonen.

Hamilton boys on adventure of a lifetime

An adventurous group of 12 took part in the special car rally Poles of Inconvenience.

Three weeks of getting lost and stuck in different countries sound like a nightmare to many, but to the group, it was the ultimate adventure.

Hamiltonians Jim Pepper, Simon Miles, Kip Bardsley, Cody Findsen and eight of their friends took 1200cc cars for a trip around Europe and northern Africa to seek out inconvenient locations chosen by the rally organisers, The Adventurists from the UK.

The rally only has a set start and finish location near Prague, Czech Republic, as well as a total of 87 poles in inconvenient places that participants can pick from - everything else, including routes, accommodation, food, visa, insurance and how many poles to head to, the rally drivers have to sort out themselves.

Hamiltonians Kip Barbley, Simon Miles and Jim Pepper have embarked on the Poles of Inconvenience car rally.

Pin-up queen sets eyes on overseas title

Waikato pin-up pageant queen Hollie Henderson, aka Miss Polly Rose, had a tilt at the Miss Vintage Australasia pageant.

The Te Kowhai woman started pageantry in 2016 at Frankton Thunder and has since collected an impressive list of titles.

She has been crowned Miss Retro Motorama in Morrinsville, Miss Retro Car-O-Rama in Matamata, Miss Coastie Pinup, Miss Hibiscus Vintage, Miss Rebel Roundup, and Beach Hop Waihī Warm Best Dressed.

Hollie Henderson.

Danielle Zollickhofer is a multimedia journalist based in Hamilton. She joined NZME in 2021 and is writing for the Waikato Herald.

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