One-year anniversary of NZME premium content launch celebrated with look back at best Bay of Plenty journalism

It has been one year since NZME launched digital descriptions. Photo / File

Todaymarks one year since NZME stepped boldly into a new era, becoming the first major New Zealand media business to unveil digital subscriptions, showcasing New Zealand's best journalism and commentary. To celebrate the milestone we look back at some of the best premium content published in the Bay of Plenty Times to date.

The future of kiwifruit is looking bright, says Braden Hungerford. Photo / File

The kiwifruit industry's amazing comeback

The 'Bust to boom: Kiwifruit's amazing comeback' series highlighted how the kiwifruit industry defied all odds after beating the scourge of Psa which wiped out Zespri's golden Hort 16A crop nearly a decade ago.

They were dark days, with growers losing their vines, orchards and money. But today kiwifruit is the biggest horticulture export out of New Zealand and the sector is booming.

The series was an all-access look at the kiwifruit industry in the Bay of Plenty today - how far it has come and what is being done to ensure further progress.

One year on from the two-car crash Hollie Snell has set her sights on a double major degree in order to help others. Photo / File

Hollie Snell on near-death car crash and her amazing recovery

Early on Sunday, November 18, Hollie was in a fatal two-car crash. She suffered serious head injuries and her family were told she would not survive.

Respecting Hollie's wishes, the family spent the first week preparing to donate her organs but, at the last moment, doctors noticed an increase in her brain activity.

Hollie was fighting to stay alive. And stay alive she did. Labelled a Christmas miracle, Hollie was soon learning how to walk and talk but she had a long way to go in recovering. A year later, you wouldn't know 12 months earlier she was - in her own words - "knocking on heaven's door".

Chief pilot for Volcanic Air Tim Barrow. Photo / File

White Island eruption: Heroic Volcanic Air pilot Tim Barrow speaks out

After White Island erupted in December, it was thanks to the actions of heroic Rotorua pilot Tim Barrow from Volcanic Air, and six other private helicopter company staff members, that 10 people survived the horrific tragedy.

We provided an exclusive insight into Barrow's actions and thoughts that day, during which he stated he would ignore the rules again in a heartbeat and land on a freshly erupted White Island if it meant saving lives.

He said he simply did what needed to be done, he knew the island well and assessed that, while there was a risk, it was one worth taking.

Bay of Plenty's 23 All Blacks. Photos / New Zealand Rugby Museum

All Blacks Special Feature: Bay rugby's men in black and how a former All Black rates 2019 squad

In September 2019, during the lead up to the Rugby World Cup, we took a walk down memory lane with Bay of Plenty rugby historian and statistician Brent Drabble to celebrate the 23 men who have worn the black jersey while affiliated with the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union.

The Bay of Plenty has a proud history of producing tough, uncompromising and innovative All Blacks, including Hika Reid - the hooker from Ngongotahā - who shared his thoughts on the current crop.

Police search State Highway 2 after a man was shot while fleeing police last night. Photo / File

Inside the gang tensions which brought a city to a standstill

Suspicious fires and tit-for-tat shootings, including nearly 100 rounds fired into a suburban house with five children inside, saw Tauranga caught in the middle of a gang turf war.

The fatal shootings of two men in McLaren Falls - believed to be unconnected to the previous violence - nevertheless created fear among law-abiding citizens when the violence spilled into a quiet suburban street.

We took a deeper look at how and why things escalated to the level they did.

A typical sight at Turret Rd in the mornings as Tauranga's traffic congestion gets worse. Photo / File

Gridlock: The Big Picture – Tauranga at a traffic crossroads

Monday to Friday, thousands of red brake lights line Tauranga's arterial routes as residents join the gridlock in a bid to get to work.

In May 2019, we looked at just how much worse the city's traffic may become before it gets better, a matter on which the jury was still out - Tauranga's transport future was at a crossroads. A stoush between the city's leading roading authorities – Tauranga City Council and the NZ Transport Association – has left the city in limbo.