A 15-metre Bryde's baleen whale that washed ashore near Tauroa (Reef Point), west of Ahipara, last week has been buried by Te Rarawa.

Te Runanga o Te Rarawa chairman Haami Piripi was deeply unimpressed when protesters disrupted the meeting with Statoil representatives in Kaitaia earlier this month (Statoil warned of unrelenting campaign, August 14).

Northland lifters lifted with distinction at the National Powerlifting Championships in Christchurch from August 6-9 and the following results were recorded...

Far North surfers secured three of the top 20 places up for grabs across five divisions in the third and final leg of the 2014 Northland Scholastics Surfing Series, held in chill deep winter conditions at Ahipara on Friday, August 15.

A hero's welcome

Try 'Filthy'

Brando Yelavich's triumphant completion of his 8000-kilometre trek around the coastline of New Zealand was delayed briefly on Saturday afternoon, while he enjoyed a brief swim directly beneath the Cape Reinga lighthouse.

The Far North District Council's draft policy, allowing for an unlimited number of off-licence premises in Kaikohe, and throughout the district, had little if any community support according to the Kaikohe Church Leaders' Forum.

It was nowhere near as protracted, or as damaging, as last month's storm, but last week's one-in-50-year downpour brought more slips and road closures in the Far North, already facing a $30 million roading repair bill after July's battering.

Expect stocks of green and black face paint to be in high demand in Kaitaia shops this weeks as supporters and players from the top two teams in Mangonui senior club rugby go head to head in the Battle for the Bell Shield at Arnold Rae Park this Saturday.

As a boy, Paul Marshall Slade (Ngapuhi, Ngati Kahu) dreamed of carving pieces like those he saw at the Auckland Museum, and a move to the Far North more than 30 years ago helped make that dream a reality.

An oily question Here we are, a small group of two islands in the South Pacific, self-reliant on what we can export, from dairy products and produce. In real terms we aren't a rich country, but....

A Norwegian oil executive was surprised and confused when a protester began overturning tables at a hui in Kaitaia last week, but did not fear for his safety.

Two Far North District Council employees who have each clocked up 20 years of work for the organisation have been formally recognised for their long service.

Many motorists bypass Waipu these days, and those who don't would not expect to be accosted by a lady bearing gifts, but that's what happened to Kaikohe couple Tony and Debbie Taylor as they headed home from Auckland last week.

Two intrepid Northlanders are in sight of the finish line aboard their racing tuktuk that will take them almost the length of India.

North Force 3 Eastern Suburbs 0: In the end, the Auckland 16 Metro championship was decided without a shot being fired when Eastern Suburbs defaulted to North Force late last week.

Eight schools sent 15 teams made of students from year 5- 8 to take part in the FN Primary Schools Mini Hockey field day which was held Taipa in sunny conditions earlier this month.

A 33-year-old Massey, West Auckland man made a brief appearance before two Justices of the Peace in the Kaitaia District Court yesterday charged with the murder of Connor Morris in Auckland on August 3.

Three iwi - Te Aupouri, Ngai Takoto and Te Rarawa - are keenly interested in the jaw and bones that will be salvaged from a 10-metre sperm whale that came ashore on 90 Mile Beach last week, but getting at that material is a job for the experts.

Telling the stories he has accumulated may well take 20-year-old Auckland man Brando Yelavich almost as long as it has taken him to trek around New Zealand's coastline.

A bottlenose dolphin thought to have lost her calf after becoming stranded in the Kerikeri Inlet five years ago has adopted a baby of another species.

Northland season starts Northland rugby supporters will once again don their replica jerseys and drag their old Cambridge Blue coloured scarves out of the closet and converge upon Toll Stadium to watch the Taniwha playing their first game of the ITM Cup (

Bay competitionKotuuku Hokianga Kura beat Taheke in Bay of Islands netball in Kaikohe on Saturday to progress to the A grade final on Saturday August 23.

The Northland DHB has confirmed five further cases of measles in Northland (initially reported earlier this week as six). The victims, all children in the Hokianga and all unimmunised, had been in contact with the first case reported on July 29.

Finally the bridge has gone PROBLEM SOLVED: The footbridge at the end of Taaffe Street, Kaitaia was finally dismantled on Monday.

What was planned as a workshop to discuss future plans of Statoil marine exploration off the Far North's west coast in Kaitaia on Monday deteriorated into open hostility.

A 47-year-old unemployed Whangape man has been jailed for 19 years for his part in a major methamphetamine operation that was put out of business by police in 2012.

Local dartists returned from Rotorua where they once again boxed above their weight while representing the district.

A trio of Kaitaia gymnasts have achieved some excellent results at elite level while competing in Auckland competition over the past few weeks.