Northland news in brief: Kiwi Coast finalist in NZer of the Year; body found; SH12 detours and more

Northland's Kiwi Coast Project - which supports kiwi recovery, including releasing birds into the wild, above, - is a finalist in the New Zealander of the Year Awards.

Kiwi Coast a finalist

Northland's Kiwi Coast project is the only finalist from the region in the New Zealander of the Year Awards. Kiwi Coast - set up to support, enable and connect community-led kiwi recovery throughout Northland with the goal of creating New Zealand's first kiwi corridor - is a finalist in the Mitre 10 New Zealand Community of the Year category. The winners will be announced at the New Zealander of the Year Awards Gala in Auckland on February 13. The Kiwi Coast stretches over 200km from Mangawhai to the Aupouri peninsula in the Far North.

Body found at property

A body has been found at an isolated rural property in the Whau Valley area in Whangārei.
Acting Detective Inspector Lloyd Schmid said the remains of a person were discovered around 9am on Thursday morning. Schmid said police were still working on the process to formally identify the person and could make no more comment at this stage.

SH12 detours

Two detours will be put in place on State Highway 12 when construction on the Matakohe Bridges replacement project resumes. The first detour becomes active next week, just north of the Anderson Bridge on SH12. Traffic will be diverted on to a 100m-long unsealed section of temporary road suitable for all vehicles. Traffic management crews will direct traffic and there will be a reduced speed limit. The detour will allow crews to cut into the existing highway to form the new alignment. The second detour, of 5km, will start about a week later from just south of Anderson Bridge. All traffic will be diverted off SH12 onto Matakohe East Rd. Traffic will follow the detour through Matakohe, past Matakohe School and back onto SH12. It will allow crews to form the new intersection into Matakohe and tie in the western end of the new alignment into the existing highway. Both are expected to remain in place until the end of February.

Speeches made available

Treaty education group Network Waitangi Whangārei has commissioned annual reflections on the State of the Pakeha Nation since 2006. Founding member the Rev. Joan Cook died in 2010 and the essays since that time commemorate her pioneering Waitangi Treaty and anti-racism work. The 2018 Joan Cook Memorial Essay – The State of the Pakeha Nation was written by Dunedin-based Suzanne Menzies-Culling. The speeches and essays are free to download from the NWW website nwwhangarei.wordpress.com, along with Treaty of Waitangi Questions & Answers.

Heritage Trails app

Visitors or locals this summer can download Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga's free Heritage Trails app to add a whole new dimension to their Northland experience. "Path to Nationhood" is a suite of six road tours to places in Northland that are central to New Zealand's history. Packed with historical snippets, the tours tell the big stories – and some of the quirky details – of pre-Treaty New Zealand. The tours work with either Android or Apple phones or tablets. To download the Heritage Places app go to http://www.heritage.org.nz/apps

Women still critical

A woman remains in critical condition after she collided with a truck while walking on Western hills Dr in Whangārei. Senior Sergeant Ryan Gray said the woman was on the road near the Caltex Station when she was hit about 11pm on Thursday. An ambulance passing the scene at that time stopped, collected the woman and took her to Whangārei Hospital. Police are investigating.