September 1
Whanganui and Waverley's race clubs breathed a sigh of relief on learning they had not been earmarked for closure in a major review into the racing industry.
Up to 20 racetracks are facing closure, while the TAB could be outsourced to an overseas operator, according to Australian racing administrator and breeder John Messara's report. Wanganui Racecourse operations manager Bret Field described the report as "bloody good news" for the tracks proposed to stay open. Field said the culling had to be done.
"There were just too many clubs - especially the smaller clubs like Stratford where they only race once a year. You're sitting on a big facility there probably incurring costs."
Waverley Race Club president Sam Lennox said good upkeep was one of the reasons Waverley was recommended to stay. "Waverley's been pretty proactive.
They look at buildings and things and we've demolished an old, old building and rebuilt a modern facility - that might have worked in our favour a bit." Another factor was that the land was leasehold.
September 7
Whanganui company Tasman Tanning has spent $1.8 million on a filtration plant that will not only benefit the environment, but may also save ratepayers money.
The new plant will remove chrome from Tasman's wastewater, reducing the toxicity of dried sludge produced by the Whanganui wastewater treatment plant.
Without toxic elements, the sludge can be sold as fertiliser; with toxic elements it has to be trucked to a landfill in Waikato for disposal, which is an extra cost. Craig Thiele, Tasman's technical manager, said the company had decided to take responsibility for its chrome waste.
Chromium is the main ingredient in the chemical tanning process. Thiele said it will cost the company to run the recovery plant, but it will make a small gain by being able to reuse the chrome.
Tasman Tanning is privately owned across three Whanganui families and is the last major producer of finished leather in Australasia. It exports 98 per cent of its product and its leather is used to cover car and aeroplane seats, and for furniture and footwear, with Range Rover, Air New Zealand and Blundstone among brands that use it.
September 8
New Zealand's oldest newspaper is having a change of name. NZME announced the spelling of its titles Wanganui Chronicle and Wanganui Midweek will change to include an "h" as in Whanganui.
Chronicle editor Mark Dawson said the paper had always reflected the district it represented, and prided itself on being a local paper serving the community.
"The district's name changed from Wanganui to Whanganui on December 1, 2015. A little belatedly, we are changing our name to the Whanganui Chronicle, a decision which acknowledges not only the name of our district, but also the correct Maori spelling.
NZME chief executive Michael Boggs said he was proud to see the Chronicle make the change. "Although one letter may seem small, it marks an incredibly important change for us.
We are looking forward to bringing the paper in line with the appropriate te reo spelling and continuing to celebrate the Whanganui community."
September 17
When they were 21, Richmond and Heather Harding would fly a Fletcher aircraft from Taumarunui to Whanganui to do their washing at Richmond's mother's place. And the couple are still flying high six decades later.
Heather celebrated her 80th birthday (September 15) in a rather special way - Richmond took her up for her first flight in his replica Spitfire. Richmond, a former topdressing pilot, has been flying since the 1950s, clocking up close to 28,000 hours.
He said Heather hadn't yet been in his Spitfire so decided it was the perfect birthday treat.
September 18
A housing development on a scale Whanganui hasn't seen for a long time has been given the green light.
Room for up to 500 new properties has been created with the Whanganui District Council's adoption of the Otamatea West plan.
About 50ha of rural lifestyle land will be rezoned residential on the south side of State Highway 3 either side of Tirimoana Place.
Minimum lot sizes in the rezoned land will be 800sq m which is double the 400sq m minimum in the rest of the city while existing residential land in Otamatea will drop from 1000sq m to 400sq m.
An independent panel of commissioners met in December to hear public submissions on the plan change. It endorsed the plan but asked for changes to identify any sites of cultural significance.
September 19
Anastasia Batelaan-Esera - or Ana as she is known by friends and family - is a student at St Anne's School in Whanganui but a student like few others.
This 11-year-old is a non-verbal quadriplegic which means she has no use of her legs and arms, is confined to a wheelchair and does not talk.
Ana is also an orphan and, in an act of remarkable courage and kind-heartedness, was adopted two years ago from an orphanage in Samoa by Whanganui woman Anneke Batelaan.
Batelaan worked for the Samoa Victim Support Group and most of her work was with children with disabilities. She developed a bond with Ana and made the decision to adopt her.
A TVNZ film crew chronicled Batelaan and Ana's journey together and it featured on the television current affairs show Sunday in November.
September 25
The daring rescue of stranded swimmers from a Kai Iwi Beach cove in powerful king tide waves won Wanganui Surf Lifeguard Service the rescue of the year awards from surf life saving's national body.
Two IRBs and swimmers were used to successfully extract a father and daughter from the cove over three hours on the afternoon of February 18 while the dramatic operation was co-ordinated from the club's new watch tower.
"It means a massive amount to the club," lifeguard Matthew Newell said. He was one of nine lifeguards along with James Newell, Phil Gilmore, Laura O'Keeffe, Clarissa Nowak, Sophie Couper, Laurie Gil, Alex Forlong and Kaya Dobbie who were involved in the rescue and received the gong at the Surf Life Saving New Zealand's Awards of Excellence.
September 26
The Matipo Community Development Charitable Trust was this year's supreme award winner of the Trustpower Community Awards.
The trust is behind a community garden that provides not only food but also a place for people to learn and grow, Trustpower community adviser Alice Boyd said. "They have transformed their community and are promoting positive change," Boyd said.
The trust was started by Craig Rippon, a Black Power leader who was murdered in 2015. He wanted more education and job opportunities for youth.
Through the trust, young people have trained in horticulture and carpentry, and worked toward driver licences The win gives the trust a certificate, a trophy and $2000. It will compete against other not-for-profit groups at Trustpower's national awards in Tauranga next March.
Chris Hipkins agreed to meet him in Wellington after the Prime Minister said 'no'.