SUNDAY was a good day for a lot of New Zealanders, and not only those who were at Twickenham to see the All Blacks win their second Rugby World Cup on the trot in a match befitting a final.

A Far North man can expect to receive a $6000 bill in the mail after a rubbish fire got out of control and spread into about half a hectare of scrub at Motutangi, south of Houhora, last week.

If Kaitaia cafe owner Jenny Petera has a wish for the the people who burgled her business on Sunday night it is that the police find them before she does.

The Far North has once again made the SPCA's annual List of Shame.

Two of the most successful players the Kaitaia Squash Club has produced were on top of their game at the New Zealand Squash Masters Tournament in Hawke's Bay earlier this month.

The busy season is about to begin for Far North garden lovers, with the Kerikeri Garden Safari this weekend and Kaitaia's over November 7-8.

Te Tai Tokerau MP Kelvin Davis has berated Australian authorities for the plight of hundreds of New Zealand detainees in Australia prior to deportation, and Prime Minister John Key for failing to defend the rights of New Zealand citizens.

The annual NAKFA 7-a-side twilight soccer championship kicks off on the Kaitaia College top fields tomorrow evening and once again, organisers were pleased to report all 16 places were filled within two days of entries opening.

Following four successful seasons in charge, Alex Smits dropped a bombshell last week by announcing he was stepping down as general manager of Rugby League Northland.

Kaingaroa School principal Kathy Hancock is a firm believer that when a student is passionate about something there is no end to what they can achieve. And one of her pupils, nine-year-old James Broadwith, has provided proof of that.

It was a family affair at Everitt's recent spring sale on their farm on Everitt Road, Te Kao, a celebration of 50 years since their company John Everitt and Sons, was formed.

True to form, the editor of the Age has the guts to shine a spotlight upon the elephant in the room that is studiously ignored by other editors, government departments and the many agencies charged with addressing New Zealand's social problems.

A Kaitaia couple say medical marijuana has dramatically improved their daughter's once uncontrollable epilepsy, but they can't afford to keep giving her unfunded medicine that costs almost $1000 a month.

Five of the six people charged with wilful trespass after the occupation of Kaitaia airport on September 9 formally entered not guilty pleas when they appeared before Judge Greg Davis in the Kaitaia District Court last week.

Paparore School principal John Windleborn and former pupil Kendall Stevenson were at the National Digital Forum in Wellington last week to accept a UNESCO Living Heritage award, won by the pupils with their Living Heritage website 'Nga Poupou,' recognised

For Top Energy it's not so much a case of Woodman spare that tree, as Planter, take care where you put it.

Fears that Okaihau's St Catherine's Church might be sold were eased last month when a Bishop-appointed management group told a public meeting that a bequest was expected to solve a major financial problem, and now the community has taken another step towa

The residents at two addresses in Grigg Street, Kaitaia might not have expected lights and sirens but they did expect to see at least one police officer in the early hours of Tuesday morning. They had a long wait - the first one turned up more than 12 hou

Trish Muldrock successfully defended her title at the World Masters Powerlifting Champs in Colorado earlier this month.

Anyone who has ever contested the 90 Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza, or even witnessed a weigh-in, can hardly avoid being struck by the breadth of its appeal.

ONCE again a child has committed a very adult crime - the aggravated robbery of a Kaitaia dairy, armed with a thankfully unloaded rifle - and once again we hear the excuses.

There's nothing like a birthday party to bring a family together, and when it's a 100th birthday family can be expected to come from near and far.

"It's going to be tight," Pare Nathan said on Saturday as final preparations were made for Te Whare Whiri Toi's hosting of the 2015 national weavers' hui at Ahipara.