Stolen motorbikes, Balloons over Waikato: the big stories of March 2023

As the year draws to a close, Waikato Herald is taking stock of 2023. What moved readers most? As part of a 12-day series, Waikato Herald reporter Danielle Zollickhofer looks at the top stories each month. Welcome to day three: March.

Nationally, March 2023 was the month that British anti-trans activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, aka Posie Parker, caused widespread protests and quit her Auckland rally after a protester poured a bottle of juice over her head.

It was also the month that former Police Minister Stuart Nash made headlines for breaching the Cabinet Manual and was later sacked as a Cabinet Minister.

The Census was taking place and Harry Styles hit the stage in front of 40,000 fans at Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium.

However, in the Waikato, a Māori Ward councillor handed in his resignation after only five months on the job, following his interim suspension as a lawyer.

Also, Beach Hop returned to its regular March date after years of disruptions due to Covid-19, which meant keen fans of the event were treated to their second Beach Hop festival in four months.

Other big stories in the region were:

Racers devastated: Classic bikes, sidecar stolen

Opportunistic thieves got away with a haul of more than $100,000 worth of classic motorcycles and gear from outside the Rangiriri Hotel.

The haul included a unique 1974 racing motorcycle and sidecar, plus distinctive gear and tools, worth more than $50,000, as well as a trailer that contained three classic racing bikes and gear, worth around $60,000.

The latter belonged to a father and son duo who went on a two-man mission to recover their bikes, following leads from people on Facebook who had seen the bikes being raced on Hamilton streets.

The 1974 850cc Norton Commando racing bike and sidecar, plus gear were stolen from outside Rangiriri Hotel. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer

Dumped cars surface in river cleanup dive

Seven divers from Waikato-based commercial dive company Deep Dive Division defied the strong current of the Waikato River to haul six dumped cars, a motocross bike and several bicycles from a section of the river near Hamilton Gardens.

The cleanup mission had been three years in the making. Deep Dive Division founder Tua Karalus says he and his team detected 18 vehicles in various parts of the Waikato River on just one of their regular missions.

“We work on the river regularly, we survey riverways and do environmental monitoring. During one of these trips, we noticed the vehicles on our scanner,” Karalus said.

The Deep Dive DIvision team also found a 1970s Landcruiser in the Waikato River near the Hamilton Gardens. Photo / Supplied

Balloons over Waikato celebrates glorious comeback

Hamiltonians awoke to colourful hot air balloons flying above the city again, as the Balloons Over Waikato festival celebrated its first post Covid-19 lift-off.

A total of 23 hot air balloons delighted Hamiltonians throughout the festival, with one of them accidentally interrupting a Croquet game.

The completely booked-out Zuru Nightglow lit up at Claudelands Oval this year, with 25,000 people in attendance - all other keen punters were advised to enjoy the show “from the comfort of their own homes” by tuning into the livestream.

A total of 23 hot air balloons visited Hamilton. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer

Danielle Zollickhofer is a multimedia journalist based in Hamilton. She joined NZME in 2021 and is writing for the Waikato Herald.

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