Years of freezing mornings preparing the netball courts, wearing multiple hats for his beloved rugby club and giving up his afternoons to coach school sports teams has seen a tireless Masterton volunteer gain national recognition.

Featherston has a colourful history -- but who knew it was also once home to an unhappy Italian bride who hacked her husband to death in a Bacchanalic trance?

Ezra Stobbart can't believe he's alive.

I'm sure most people with access to a computer now know who Nicole Arbour is.

For Jacqui Lockyer, the ultimate job satisfaction is knowing her clients are now able to save for their children's weddings, or put money aside for Christmas.

After Wendy Roesler's special needs son was removed from school, she discovered he had made a detailed plan to take his own life.

After a weekend of nerves, a daunting stage set-up, several delays and a vocal baby in the audience, a troupe of Wairarapa performers has emerged victorious -- taking out three major awards at a national theatre competition.

The food allergies that left Carterton's Tara Apperley wheelchair bound have inspired a new business venture -- and a new direction in which to take her current job.

Does anyone else find the furore around a certain "racy" book disturbing?

What started out as a fundraiser half a century ago has become a family for a group of Masterton songbirds -- but now it's time for the curtain to fall on the Harmony Ladies.

One of Masterton's premier social events and favourite costume parties is making a comeback.

Gaye Sutton's first novel has fulfilled a promise she made at a funeral, many years ago.

A lonesome swagman, an environmentally-conscious fisherman, an Italian-speaking Maori soldier, and a housewife with a penchant for spiders are just a few of the colourful characters appearing in a newly-released musical history of Wairarapa.

I don't think there's a corner of the world little Aylan Kurdi hasn't touched.

Pony rides, waterslides, disco dances, and sleepovers with no parents in sight are all staples of a regular kiwi childhood.

Every artist needs a muse -- and for Wairarapa artists Linda Tilyard and Leanne Taylor, it's Mum.

Not once, in over six decades, can Sally Summers remember not wanting to go to work.

On Daffodil Day, the streets of Masterton were lined with joyous volunteers in high-vis vests, rattling collection buckets and, of course, offering daffodils -- but there was one collector, and his trademark toothy grin, conspicuously absent.

Images of a Martinborough vicar, a kids' fashion show, a Masterton "pilot" and a cloak of steel poppies made in Carterton have earned a Featherston couple several national photography titles.

Two Masterton women are helping bring the community together -- with the aid of yoga poses in the park, chanting at the moon, and a "bit of culture".

One of the items on Rita Ann Penhale-Cashmore's "bucket list" has won her and two fellow thespians a place in a national theatre competition.

If anyone understands the need for solid support in times of sudden loss, it's Linda Penlington,

Little Zoe Whittaker's short life has been a whirlwind of hospital stays, occupational therapy visits, surgeries and resulting infections -- but, for mum Michelle, the hardest thing about raising a child with a disability is the loneliness.

One word I often see bandied about on social media and in pop culture generally is 'beautiful'.

A cozy, country home next to a bird sanctuary in rural New Zealand sounds like the last place you'd expect to see a blue-haired, city-bred artist.

Jade Cvetkov feels as though all her Christmases have come at once.

A church community and a former university lecturer have teamed up to help get Masterton's community garden flourishing in time for spring -- starting with a brand new waste management system.

For Celia Carman, making warm, colourful blankets for impoverished families living in near-glacial conditions half a world away was not enough -- she had to see those families in person.

These days, it's hard to be a smoker in New Zealand.