Six fire crews and a helicopter are battling a large forestry fire in North Canterbury.

Dunedin's 113-year-old courthouse will be saved, strengthened, restored and have all its court service returned to it. The decision was made during yesterday's final Cabinet meeting of 2015 and was announced shortly afterwards. It means more than $15 million will be spent over a two-year strengthening project. Source: ODT

Mid-Summer Lights event organiser Paul Smith sorts lanterns in the Loan and Mercantile Agency Company Ltd building in Dunedin. Source: ODT

Six people, including two children, have been flown to hospital after a serious two-vehicle crash on the Te Anau-Milford Highway.

An 89-year-old New Zealand man accused of historical sex charges dating back 52 years has been arrested after allegedly fleeing to Australia.

Supporters of convicted murderer, Scott Watson, who maintains his innocence for the deaths of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope, have set up a fundraising page to help him appeal his conviction.

A Christchurch Alzheimer's patient seen "behaving strangely" a day before his body was found floating in a river mouth had drowned accidentally, a coroner has concluded.

A road rage incident which ended in a Christchurch pensioner falling from a car's bonnet, knocking his head, and later dying in hospital has not resulted in criminal charges.

A 17-year-old Invercargill girl remained in intensive care at Dunedin Hospital this morning after a single-vehicle crash in Queenstown early yesterday.

A man who died after the truck he was in went over the edge of a wharf was a well-known and loved person in his local community.

Police have released an identikit image of a man they are seeking in relation to the sexual assault of a woman in Dunedin's Ross Creek this week.

A Dunedin man has been taken to hospital with serious injuries after being trapped under a piano.

Police have released an identikit image of a man they are seeking in relation to the sexual assault of a woman in Dunedin's Ross Creek this week.

Roofer Troy Taylor was the boyfriend of the 15-month-old boy's mother.

Police have charged a 29-year-old man with driving dangerously causing death after a fatal vehicle crash near Herbert on Sunday.

The report gave the programme a red rating, and said it was highly likely to need more money.

Singer had one last trick up her sleeve before she left New Zealand.

One person was taken to hospital and treated for smoke inhalation after a house fire in Central Otago last night.

A fruit distillery provides an alternative to Marlborough's usual wine tours.

Geoff Cumming emerges from a tramp in the Marlborough Sounds to find a superb reward.

Life as a short-term resident of a beautiful Central Otago town suits Roger Hall fine.

There's no shortage of options for keen skiers in the South Island, writes Jane Jeffries.

Fergus Blakiston finds time between lattes for snowboarding on a trip to Queenstown.

This southern town's alpine landscape keeps Elisabeth Easther busy and enthralled.

Eveline Harvey and her family check into a well-appointed apartment in Central Otago.

Fergus Blakiston embarks on a 10-day odyssey of the South's skiing high points.

Travelling the length of the country by train is a unique way to enjoy New Zealand.

Leah McLennan looks at what's big and what's new on the Otago skifields.

Links with the past are strong in this town built on gold, writes Elisabeth Easther.