One of the Far North's most successful and enduring local government politicians of recent years died in Kaitaia on Sunday.

Three-term Te Tai Tokerau MP Hone Harawira took almost two weeks to formally concede defeat to Labour's Kelvin Davis.

An open letter to Krim Dotcom, Hoha Hone and Ms Harre.

Kaeo Boxing Club returned triumphant from the recent Auckland Boxing Association's Championship with two members of their squad gaining places on the national team.

In October 2013 a rejuvenated Touch Kaikohe committee organised and ran Northland's premier touch competition, which catered to nine open mixed and six social mixed teams and junior teams.

Alive and thriving

THE Earth shifted on its axis for some of us last month.

Two Far North District Council staff members, both based in Kaitaia, have received national customer service awards at the Association of Local Government Information Management (ALGIM).

The Houhora Riding Settlers' and Ratepayers' Association has been trying to protect Houhora Harbour from commercial fishing for some 50 years, but has made no real progress.

The fourth and final week of the Northland junior representative rugby season was played out at Old Boys RFC in Whangarei on Saturday, September 13, and saw Mangonui teams competing in all grades.

Kaikohe Rugby Grounds was the venue last week for the annual Year Seven and Eight Rugby Seven Tournament.

A Whangarei woman who donated a kidney to her husband has begun walking the length of New Zealand to encourage others to donate their organs.

Scrap GST This week's Sunday programme (TV1) featured the demise of rural towns. While internet purchases are affecting smaller retailers, large New Zealand-owned and overseas-owned retail chains.

Maureen Allan, who lives at Houhora and works as the clinical manager for Whakawhiti Ora Pai, has been recognised for her years of dedication to nursing with Te Akenehi Hei Memorial Award.

The Waitangi National Trust will re-introduce an entry fee ($15) for New Zealanders who visit the Waitangi Treaty Grounds as of this Saturday.

Fears that the 90 Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza staged earlier this year could be the last thanks to a loss of sponsorship have been laid to rest by the competition organisers.

If Hockey New Zealand ever needed proof their investment in the six-a-side version of the game was paying off, Kaitaia's Pamapuria School eagerly provided it.

Harsh lesson for Hone

A complaint will be lodged with the Far North District Council over the dumping of spoil at the junction of State Highway 10 and Kohumaru Road.

A 65-year-old Far North man was remanded on bail without plea when he appeared before Judge Murray Hunt in the Kaitaia District Court last week.

No one was sure whether the sou-westerly blast that stripped the iron roof off a house in Awanui on Saturday evening was a tornado.

Former Kaitaia Intermediate School principal Kelvin Davis beat Mana founder Hone Harawira to win Te Tai Tokerau in Saturday's general election.

It's already been another full-on year of football for Cameron Hansford and it's far from over yet.

The 90 Mile Beach Surfcasting Club's summer season got off to a good start after a recess over the winter period.

Jaysha was born a healthy baby, but at four weeks old she was shaken by her father, and from that moment her life changed forever.

Quilting, embroidery and jail are words not usually found in the same sentence, but Ngawha prison inmates are learning to sew and making quilts for charity.

Fanatics and exiles

A classic, out-of-print photograph taken of an anti-war protest more than 40 years ago is being sold to raise money for the victims of a much more recent conflict.

A police Facebook page is nabbing up to five Northland criminals a week, and notching up a success rate of about 95 per cent, according to a senior Far North officer.