Chronically ill former Carterton mayor and Wairarapa MP Georgina Beyer has set her sights on returning to Wairarapa - dead or alive.

A man has died at a Carterton homekill business this morning after a suspected medical event.

A coroner's inquest into two motorcycle crash deaths that happened in the same place but two years apart began in Wellington today.

Tracy Yeats hopes Govt will take notice of a survey which shows overwhelming support for legalisation and decriminalisation of cannabis for medicinal use.

Devoted Harley-Davidson fan Gary McPhee saved the best to last -- taking his final ride yesterday as guest of honour at the head of hundreds of roaring motorcycles of all colours and all makes and models.

The sudden death of one of Wairarapa's most colourful characters and community leaders has shocked and saddened the district.

A barn on a property in Carterton has been engulfed in flames.

The parents of a young woman killed in the 2012 Carterton hot-air balloon crash say they waited six days to see her body.

Photos depicting the moment a hot air balloon carrying 11 people hit power lines, caught fire and plummeted to the ground have been released by a coroner today.

The inquest into the Carterton hot air balloon disaster left victims’ families reeling from revelations about the balloon’s pilot — and asking why authorities didn’t act.

A man killed in the Carterton balloon crash had been relishing life after receiving news he was clear of cancer only weeks before the fatal trip, an inquest has been told.

A young couple who jumped from a burning hot air balloon basket had their whole lives ahead of them and thought the pilot they were flying with was the "safest" in NZ.

A witness has described hearing a balloon pilot tell passengers to "duck down" before screams of panic were heard from the basket.

A man who worked with the pilot found to have cannabis in his system after his hot air balloon crashed in Carterton, killing 10, had no idea he smoked cannabis.

The daughter of a couple who died in the Carterton balloon tragedy has told a Coronial inquest of watching the balloon catch fire before it plummeted to the ground.

Renewed calls for mandatory random drug testing after inquiry finds Carterton balloon crash pilot had likely smoked cannabis shortly before the fatal flight.

Twenty lambs have been found dead on a farm in Carterton, thought to have been savaged by dogs.

Elisabeth Easther checks out the cheery Daffodil Capital.

More than 200 mourners have gathered this morning at St Mark's Church in Carterton to remember the 11 victims of the hot air balloon tragedy one year ago today.

One person has been taken to hospital following a crash between a car and a truck in Carterton this morning.

Carterton schoolgirl Grace Yeats successfully underwent brain surgery on Wednesday aiming to calm powerful spasms.