Tom Phillips, Hamilton Pullman Hotel and Te Kūiti baby death: The big stories of June 2024

The search for Tom Phillips and his missing children, Jayda, Maverick and Ember, continued in June.

As the year draws to a close, Waikato Herald is taking stock of 2024. 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 6: June.

Nationally, June 2024 was the month the Interislander ferry Aratere ran aground near Picton after it suffered a steering failure. There were no injuries, but 47 people – eight commercial truck drivers and 39 crew – were forced to spend nearly 13 hours on board, including the night.

Lauren Dickason was sentenced to 18 years in Hillmorton Hospital with no minimum term of imprisonment for murdering her three children.

Nearly 100,000 people were without electricity in Northland after a transmission tower linking the region to the rest of the country collapsed. The tower was undergoing maintenance work when it fell.

And Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson announced her breast cancer diagnosis.

Meanwhile, in the Waikato, a homicide investigation was launched after a 10-month-old boy was brought in an unconscious state to Te Kūiti Hospital. Despite the best efforts of medical personnel, he was unable to be resuscitated.

Also, the search for Tom Phillips and his missing children, Jayda, Maverick and Ember, continued after a woman came forward claiming to have seen them at the remote Okoroire Hot Springs Hotel.

Waikato police announced an $80,000 reward for useful information that would lead to the return of the children and they deployed a team to Marokopa as the hunt for the family entered a new phase.

In Hamilton, multinational hospitality company Accor announced it would transform the city’s tallest building, the Mistry Centre, into a $100 million, 191-room premium Pullman Hotel.

A new $100 million, 191-room Pullman Hotel is coming to the Hamilton CBD.

The extensive changes will transform the building in Centre Place shopping mall into two levels of underground parking, three levels of office and retail and 13 levels of hotel. The facility is set to hold its grand opening in 2026.

Fieldays kicked off at Mystery Creek for the 56th year and the organisers announced Fieldays is now backed by the FernMark Licence Programme, which is run by New Zealand Story.

The FernMark is a government-backed accreditation designed to highlight businesses that contribute to the essence of New Zealand and help New Zealand businesses stand out in global markets.

Taupō district councillor John Williamson with the number plate his late mother, Joan, used when she was the first mayor of Taupō. Photo / Dan Hutchinson

It was also revealed Taupō District Council has gone to unusual lengths to keep the rates down this year - even resorting to selling stuff on Trade Me.

On the auction block was the number plate used by the first mayor of Taupō - the late Joan Williamson. The personalised plate TAUPØ1 was purchased for mayor Joan in 1988 and used on her mayoral vehicles, including a Nissan and a Rover.

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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