Northland news in brief

Te Haa o te Ao or Breath of the World

Attack dog put down

A dog has been surrendered by its owners in Hihi, Doubtless Bay, and put down after an attack on a child. The victim, a young girl, had to be taken to Starship Hopsital in Auckland with facial injuries after Sunday's attack. Far North District Council environmental services manager Darren Edwards confirmed animal management staff had removed and destroyed a dog from a Hihi address following an attack on a family member. The request was made by the dog's owner. No further action would be taken because no one outside the family was involved and no complaint had been laid, he said. The dog was a 10-year-old terrier cross which had been with the family all its life.

Hui mate for motorcyclist

The motorcyclist who died in a head-on crash with a truck on Kawakawa's Three Bridges on Monday afternoon was 48-year-old Judea ''Jude'' Mayne Cooper from Moerewa. His hui mate at Otiria Marae in Moerewa was to have taken place at 12.30pm today but it is believed to have been brought forward and held on Thursday instead. He was buried at Waiheke Wahitapu in Orakau, south of Kaikohe. It is thought Cooper was overtaking at the time of the crash on the middle bridge.

Sculpture for roundabout

A Bay of Islands hapū has used the blessing of the long-awaited Waipapa roundabout to put in a plug for a sculpture at the top of Bulls Gorge on State Highway 10. Called Te Haa o te Ao (The Breath of the World) and designed by renowned Kerikeri sculptor Chris Booth, it would serve as a welcome to Kerikeri/Waipapa as well as a symbol of local efforts to combat climate change. Te Runanga o Ngāti Rehia trustee Nora Rameka told Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and visiting NZTA representatives on Wednesday that the hapū had managed to raise some of the money needed but had some way to go, so suggested it be incorporated into the roundabout project due to begin this year.

Dead woman farewelled

A woman found dead near Mangawhai Beach on December 27 has been farewelled by her family and loved ones. Auckland woman Denise Marie Crombie, 48, was found lying on the sand at the Mangawhai Estuary by a member of the public. She was staying with her parents - Mangawhai locals - and other family when she died. Police said she had been socialising with family at her parents' home, just two minutes walk from the estuary, on Boxing Day. It is understood she left to go for a swim and when she did not return her family started a search. A member of the public discovered her body lying on the beach at 6.20am the next day. Crombie's name was released yesterday. It is understood her family farewelled her at a funeral on Wednesday.