Rugby nobility turned out in Henderson yesterday to farewell a renowned hard-man of the sport, 1950s All Black Kevin Skinner, who died last weekend aged 86.

The "shell-shocked'' mother of a security guard killed on the first day on the job feels betrayed by the justice system after the man accused of murdering him was acquitted today.

A young security guard, killed on his first night on the job, was filling in for a permanent staff member who had requested the night off for his birthday, a court has heard.

A fire that forced a family of eight to flee their west Auckland home early today was deliberately lit, police say.

The man accused of killing security guard Charanpreet Dhaliwal will go to trial to defend the charge of murder.

Christchurch mayor Bob Parker doesn't pull any punches in a personal account of the earthquakes that rocked his city.

Helen van Berkel and daughter Grace, 10, experience the rough-and-tumble of Action World.

Shayne Cox is a winemaker who lives with his partner Kate Frances in Henderson Valley. Kate works at the historic Lopdell House Art Gallery in Titirangi and also helps with the business.