Hastings District Council to introduce high-tech parking management. Photo / Michaela Gower
Hastings District Council to introduce high-tech parking management. Photo / Michaela Gower
The Hastings District Council will introduce a new high-tech parking management system to help make parking monitoring more efficient and improve safety for parking wardens.
The new system will be introduced this month and is intended to reduce health and safety risks for wardens who are increasingly verbally abused by members of the public.
The new parking technology, Mobile License Plate Recognition (MLPR), uses a camera in a car to monitor metered and timed parking areas.
It uses license plate reading technology to capture images of parked vehicles’ locations, number plates and tyres and does not identify people.
All current time limits remain the same and areas where there are no parking controls will also remain the same, the Council said.
Napier City Council wants to hear the views of regular users of Carlyle St.
They are seeking feedback on the new safety improvements they’ve made.
The Council is being supported by NZTA Waka Kotahi to make the major road safer and more user-friendly for everyone. The goal is to calm traffic, increase feelings of safety, and make the area more enjoyable for all.
Based on your feedback from last year, NCC has made initial changes using semi-permanent features to improve safety and accessibility. These include:
A new roundabout at the Carlyle St/Faraday St intersection to slow traffic.
New raised crossings near Carlyle Kindy and at the eastern end of Carlyle St to slow traffic and add safe crossing points.
What do you think about these changes? Whether you walk, run, bike, or drive Carlyle St, fill in a quick survey at sayitnapier.nz and let them know what’s working for you.
Public toilets out of action
The Puketapu Park toilet block will be closed until early September. Photo / Hastings District Council
From Monday 15 July until early September, the Puketapu Park toilet block will be out of action to allow the remaining repairs following Cyclone Gabrielle to be completed and a new parent and child toilet facility constructed.
Portaloos will be available for park users while the main toilet facility is out of action.
Hastings Lotto player takes home $22,868
Eleven lucky Lotto players including one from Hawke’s Bay have each won a $22,868 second division prize in Wednesday’s live Lotto draw.
The winning ticket was sold at Woolworths in Hastings.
The other winning tickets were purchased in Auckland, Northland, Rotorua, New Plymouth, Wellington and Christchurch.
Foundation leader steps down
Hawke’s Bay Foundation is paying tribute to its founding Executive Officer, Amy Bowkett, who recently announced her departure from the role after six years at the helm.
Bowkett said the role had been “deeply fulfilling” and that it was a difficult decision to step down.
“We are at a really good place to allow fresh eyes on our work and to take it to the next level, with over 70 Named Funds and $11.5 million under endowment. I’ll be a lifelong supporter of Hawke’s Bay Foundation and of the Community Foundation model in general, so I look forward to watching it continue to grow.”
In 12 years of operation, Hawke’s Bay Foundation has distributed $3.37 million within Hawke’s Bay, with funding set to increase by 25% in 2024.
At a time when other significant funders are reducing distributions, Hawke’s Bay Foundation’s annual grant threshold has increased from a maximum $10,000 to $15,000 per charity.
Bowkett helped navigate the organisation through considerable endowment and profile growth, taking the fund from $3 million in 2018 to over $11 million under management today.
Central Hawke’s Bay local Alesha Hope will take over the reins. She has over a decade of experience delivering and creating sustainable fundraising strategies for charitable organisations.
“I’ve been hugely impressed observing the momentum and community support of Hawke’s Bay Foundation,” she said.
“I’m privileged to play a pivotal part in connecting people to organisations that make a real impact, and to help enable long-lasting philanthropy through a smart, sustainable model.”
Volunteers dig in at Tainui Reserve
About 40 people took part in a planting day at Hikanui Pā in Tainui Reserve last weekend, continuing ongoing work to repair severe damage caused by Cyclone Gabrielle.
Last Saturday, July 6, volunteers began re-planting the area in Havelock North with the first of 4000 eco-sourced indigenous trees and shrubs that will be planted this winter.
Eco-sourced plants are propagated from naturally occurring wild populations in the same area, making them more resilient as they are adapted to the local conditions.
During the cyclone, many exotic trees were impacted around the historic pā site within the reserve, which Hastings District Council is charged with preserving.
This included about 30 exotic trees falling down, leaving other surrounding trees vulnerable and at risk of damaging the area, which is a registered archaeological site containing features such as ditches and banks, terracing, and pits.
In November last year following specialist advice, Council resolved to remove the remaining trees, in order to preserve the pā and keep visitors safe.
That work began in March this year, and once complete stabilisation matting was placed on the steeper areas where it was needed.
The planting day also included the ceremonial planting of a Tainui tree, gifted by indigenous revegetation and rongoā specialist Rob McGowan.
Tainui Reserve is now open for the public to visit but the interior of the pā site remains closed over winter.
Tom Parker Fountain to go blue for drowning prevention
The Tom Parker Fountain in Napier will “go blue” on July 25 to raise awareness of World Drowning Prevention Day.
Conversations at the latest Treaty & Me talk will focus on the topic, ‘What does honouring the Treaty look like?’ and will see local and out-of-town speakers inform and educate in a public forum.
MC and Napier City councillor Hayley Browne will host a panel consisting of Napier-based Tiriti educator and podcaster Gwyn John, Aucklander Kirsty Fong, who co-founded the group Asians Supporting Tino Rangatiratanga, and Hawke’s Bay Regional councillor Martin Williams.
Audience members are invited to put forward written questions before and during the evening.
One of the organisers, Neill Gordon, said the talks presented “inspiring and challenging” insights into the treaty.
About 260 people came to the opening talk in Napier on June 13, and 175 people braved terrible weather on June 27 to attend the second talk in Hastings.
Doors open at 6.30pm. The talk starts at 7pm and finishes by 9pm.
The series concludes with ‘Living a Treaty-based future – a youth perspective’ at St Matthew’s church in Hastings on July 25.
Speakers at the youth night include Te Uranga Lee Belk and Piripi Winiata of Hastings firm Kawea Law, researcher Henry Lyons and Layla Christison, a recent graduate of the University of Auckland Bachelor of Health Sciences who now works for Te Kura i Awarua Rangahau Māori Centre at EIT.
The series’ organising team include Napier City Councillor Maxine Boag, Hastings communications advisor Nick Ratcliffe, Napier event organiser Neill Gordon, Ani Tylee of Napier and Marilyn Scott of Hastings.
Organisations supporting the free lecture series are the Waipureku Waitangi Trust, Sustainable Hawke’s Bay, Tangata Tiriti Aotearoa, St Matthew’s Anglican Church and St Paul’s Presbyterian Church.
Seeking cricket history - 75 years on
If the Underarm, or that 2019 World Cup final are anything to go by, New Zealand has a taste for controversial cricket finishes.
One of the most remarkable, yet widely unknown, came in 1947 when Manawatu, playing Hawke’s Bay, walked off the field in protest at the umpires.
Devon Mace has been investigating this mystery – trying to understand why Manawatu abandoned the Hawke Cup, which they’d held since before the War.
Despite scouring newspapers, archives, libraries and books, one thing is missing: first-hand accounts.
Now, over 75 years later, none of the players on field that day are still around to tell the tale. The hope is that some of the spectators, out of the couple of thousand at the ground, can be found to give their story.
If you were at that game, please reach out to Devon Mace on 022 0455 077 or info@hawkecup.com
Two people airlifted from Kaweka Forest Park
Two people were airlifted from a remote location in the Kawekea Forest Park near Puketitiri in Hawke’s Bay on Tuesday.
Police were notified of the rescue at 6.30pm after a personal locator beacon had been activated near the Te Puia Springs Hut.
The temperature at the nearest weather station in Te Pōhue was reported as 2.5C at 7pm.
A police spokeswoman said the two people were rescued a short time later around 7pm.
Historian Michael Fowler on history of Eskdale
Hawke’s Bay Historian Michael Fowler will be giving a talk on the history of Eskdale.
The talk on Thursday at 5.30pm is open to the public and will be on at the MTG Century Theatre in Napier
Tickets can be bought at the door for $20.
Funds will go towards the MTG archive and storage centre in Hastings.
Overnight closures between Whirinaki and Tutira next week
New Zealand Transport Agency is advising motorists to plan for overnight closures between Whirinaki and Tutira while recovery work is carried out on State Highway 2.
The closures will be in place from Monday 15 to Wednesday 17 July, 9pm-5am each night while various works are carried out at multiple sites along the route.
Work will include critical rock blasting and clean-up at Waikoau Hill, resurfacing and drainage installation at Devil’s Elbow and new drainage at Tangoio Falls.
There are no alternative routes available, works are dependent on various factors and may be rescheduled.
Seaweed exhibition at Napier’s National Aquarium of NZ
Forests of the Sea celebrates the unsung heroes of the moana (ocean) - seaweed.
“We have carefully recreated different species so people can see how beautiful they are, without us damaging real algae,” National Aquarium of NZ general manager Rachel Haydon said.
“Journey beneath the waves and into the heart of some of the ocean’s most enchanting ecosystems.
“From the majestic bull kelp to the delicate sea lettuce, these botanical marvels will deliver people deep into the world of marine flora to learn about these wonderful organisms that give so much to the world – including the oxygen for every second breath we take.”
The exhibition opened in late June and runs until Sunday, September 1.
National Aquarium of NZ is presenting the exhibition in collaboration with Love Rimurimu from the Mountains to Sea Trust.
Police encourage open conversations to avoid sextortion
Police are urging parents and guardians to have healthy and open conversations with their young people about the risks of being online, and to be proactive with online safety.
A quick and easy way to avoid being a victim of child exploitation and sextortion is to ensure you verify the people you are communicating with online.
When instances of sextortion occur, the offending generally begins with a direct message on social media to the victim, they are then asked to continue chatting on a different app, and gradually the conversation becomes sexualised.
From here, the victim is coerced into sharing photos and/or videos of themselves, their school friends or their family.
If you are a victim of sextortion avoid sending further images or video, save all online chat, block the profile and report the content to the platform.
To report this type of offending, contact police on 105, or an online report through Netsafe at netsafe.org.nz/report.
Vehicle fire not suspicious
A vehicle fire near Wairoa on State Highway 2 is being treated as not suspicious.
Both the Nuhaka and Wairoa fire brigade were called to the fire at 12.04am near Cricklewood Rd on Tuesday.
The Nuhaka appliance was later stood down according to a Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman.
“I believe it had been sitting on the side of the road,” the spokesman said.
Police said nobody was in the vehicle at the time.
Hawke’s Bay Power Consumer Trust election of trustees
Nominations are open for the triennial election of trustees to the Hawke’s Bay Power Consumers’ Trust board.
Five trustees are elected every three years by consumers of electricity in the Hawke’s Bay Power Consumers’ Trust district which is roughly all the Napier City Council and the Hastings District Council areas.
To be eligible for nomination, a candidate must be a consumer of electricity, with their principal place of residence in the Trust district.
Nomination forms are available from the Trust office in Hastings, by downloading from the internet or by phoning the returning office.
Completed nominations must be received by 5pm on Wednesday, July 31.
Irish comedian Ed Byrne to headline comedy festival
Acclaimed Irish comedian Ed Byrne will bring his deliciously dark stand-up comedy to Hastings Toitoi stage at the end of the month with his Tragedy Plus Time show as part of the 2024 Laugh Your A** Off comedy festival.
Tragedy Plus Time has garnered five-star reviews and outstanding critical acclaim as “Best Reviewed Stand Up Show” at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2023.
Ed Byrne will bring his Tragedy Plus Time show to Hawke's Bay as part of the 2024 Laugh Your A** Off comedy festival.
In the show, Byrne will “mine the most tragic events in his life for laughs” in a performance that promises to be both poignant and uproariously funny.
The show will take place on Saturday July 27 at 8pm at Toitoi - Opera House. Tickets are available via Eventfinda and at the Hastings Isite.
