A Mangawhai man has been awarded a Surf Life Saving New Zealand 50 year service badge for a lifetime of dedication to his local club and his community's safety. Gordon Finlayson, from Mangawhai Heads Volunteer Lifeguard Services, was awarded the honour at the SLSNZ Awards of Excellence ceremony in Auckland on Saturday night. Finlayson is also a life member of the club.
Black hole facts revealed
Northlanders interested in what happens when black holes collide can hear an international expert speak on the subject in Whangārei. Professor Paul Groot will present his talk, The Dawn of Gravitational Wave Astronomy, on October 3 at the Northland Events Centre (Okara Park Stadium). Groot's address is part of the annual Beatrice Hill-Tinsley Lecture tour, and he is visiting Whangārei as a guest of the Northland Astronomical Society. New Zealand astronomer Beatrice Hill Tinsley was a professor of astronomy at Yale University when she died, aged 40, in 1981. Admission: $10 adults, $5 students, door sales only.
Hawaiki cable upgrade
The fibre optic Hawaiki submarine cable that comes shore at Mangawhai Heads and links New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii and Oregon is undergoing an upgrade to boost its capacity to 67 terabits per second. The 15,000km, deep sea cable began commercial operations in July this year, delivering an initial 43.8 terabits per second additional capacity to the market, and within months was increased to 53 per cent capacity. The cable will now be upgraded again by networking systems, services, and software company, Ciena, using its GeoMesh solution.
