Rachel Kearney and David Yanke, who have been breeding queen bees in the Paranui Valley, inland from Taipa, for more than 30 years, have no doubt that many of their hives were maliciously poisoned over Easter weekend.

Sir Graham Latimer, who died yesterday, was remembered for helping raise status of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Jason Gardiner is obviously a traditional sort of bloke, so when it came time to propose to Gia-Dene Laing he did it properly, on bended - and in unparalleled style.

Sir Graham Latimer helped make the Treaty of Waitangi a cornerstone of modern New Zealand society. Prime Minister John Key has led tributes.

Muriwhenua's Te Puhi Rudolph and Penetaui Jones featured for the New Zealand Maori Residential side which overwhelmed an Auckland representative XIII in Taranaki over Queen's Birthday Weekend.

MANY of our reserves are beautifully-preserved time capsules that have remained largely unchanged over the decades, which contain some wonderful heritage values and history.

I wake most mornings and my first thoughts inevitably are, "Isn't it great to be alive?" I'm so privileged to live in the greatest country in the world, and IMHO (in my humble opinion) Northland is the best part of this great country.

WE ARE all familiar with the fact that New Zealand is home to haves and have nots. And that the gap seems to have become a chasm.

The 51-year-old Kaitaia man accused of murdering 29-year-old Joseph Rowland Keogh on April 11 last year has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Getting the local Dalmatian fraternity together for the annual fundraising pairs tournament led to rowdy night of indoor bowling for all at the Kaitaia Primary School hall last Thursday evening.

Te Hiku Hauora in Kaitaia is celebrating the recognition of two of its nurses at last month's ACE award presentations in Kaikohe.

Angela Herbert-Graves (May 17) has learnt a lot about long-dead concepts of sovereignty, even quoting a 1569 Frenchman who called it perpetual power over citizens ... to which after immortal God we owe all things."

The Far North featured prominently at Friday night's Te Hiringa Tai Tokerau Maori Business Awards in Whangarei, although the Maori Business of the Year title went to Whangarei's Waipapa Pine (formerly Kerikeri Timber Products Ltd).

A change in the Far North District Council's approach to rating land in multiple Maori ownership is encouraging owners to resolve rates debts and bring neglected land into production.

Gun thieves may be cold-calling collectors in a bid to find out whether they are at home.

The Muriwhenua reps running out victorious on home turf at Waipapakauri on Saturday to make it all square in the inaugural Iwi Origin series and set up the much anticipated deciding showdown in the third and final leg later this year.

Every morning a group of Kaitaia College students are up early, making sure their fellow pupils have a decent meal before they start the school day. And recording their efforts has won them a national award.

I recently had occasion to purchase hamburgers from one of the international franchises operating in Kaitaia.

A retired American tourist who admitted causing the deaths of two Northland women in a crash on SH10 at Puketona on April 30 was guilty of driving offences at the lower end of the scale, despite the "huge tragedy" it caused.

Paihia's Bay Bush Action Trust won the supreme 2016 Trustpower Far North District Community Award in Kerikeri on Thursday night.

Some great catches were weighed in by local anglers enjoying perfect late autumn conditions in the Doubtless Bay Rod and Line Club fishing contest earlier this month.

The word that was used by many who visited the GNS Science earth camp expo at Te Ahu on Saturday was 'enthusiasm'.

The term 'main drag' takes on a meaning of its own in Kawakawa once a year, as teams of adults, youths and children attempt to pull a 28-tonne steam engine through the town's main street in record time.

Kaitaia's Children's Complex shook to its foundations last week as members of Kaitaia's No 64 Squadron and Kaikohe's 25 Squadron of the Air Training Corps (ATC) honoured Kaitaia's unit commander with a spirited haka.

Thank you for the opportunity of publicly thanking Kaitaia Hospital and our community for the honour extended to my wife, Dinny and me on Saturday night.

Trade union leader Helen Kelly, who is suffering terminal cancer, has called for a citizens' initiated referendum on cannabis laws after Labour rejected her bid for a Parliamentary-created referendum.

A formal agreement between the Far North District Council and Te Runanga o Ngati Hine has been described by both organisations as marking a new era of co-operation and understanding between them.

Passengers on a domestic flight were given a mid-air shock when a door opened while they were flying through rough weather.

As a newbie on the Mid North bowls scene, Sarah Pattison teamed up with the veteran local pairing of Karen and Jerry Morunga to win the Le Roy Triples in Kaikohe over the weekend of May 14 and 15.