Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern hugs a member of the public on Victoria Ave during her visit to Whanganui. photo / Bevan Conley
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern hugs a member of the public on Victoria Ave during her visit to Whanganui. photo / Bevan Conley
August 5
At the start of August Whanganui District Council announced they were partnering with Ngā Rauru in its push to change the name of the village of Maxwell, 22 kilometres north of Whanganui, to Pākaraka.
The name of the village near Whanganui honours a colonial militiaman, Sergeant George Maxwell,who attacked children in the infamous Handley's Woolshed affair during the New Zealand Wars.
Charlie Anderson was the only councillor to vote against supporting Ngā Rauru.
"We need to embrace our cultural history, warts and all," Anderson said.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern paid a visit to Whanganui on August 11, visiting the Sarjeant Gallery redevelopment before walking down the Veterans Steps, through Majestic Square, to visit several local businesses and greet locals on the way to then-Labour Candidate Steph Lewis's pop up. The last stop on her journey was a visit to Quality Safe International (QSi) on Pacific Place.
Speaking to the Chronicle, Ardern said she looked at projects like the Sarjeant "through more than one lens".
"Yes, the project will generate and support up to 300 jobs when it's at its peak, and those are jobs that the contractors are looking to source locally."
Ardern said the country had a chance to "build back better" in the wake of Covid-19, and address pre-existing concerns such as housing, productivity issues, and low wage jobs in the economy.
"This is a chance to accelerate everything we're doing to try and fix these problems, which is why our plan is about public housing, it's about investing in jobs for nature, and working on our waterways, advancing our waste initiatives and 100 per cent renewable electricity."
Contact tracing and hand sanitiser returned to shops and businesses as alert level 2 was re-introduced in August. Photo / Bevan Conley
August 13
Barely 24 hours after the Prime Minister left Whanganui the Government announced that Auckland would re-enter Covid-19 alert level 3 and the rest of the country would return to alert level 2.
Locals were soon rushing to local supermarkets and cues of vehicles formed at the Community Based Assessment Centre (CBAC) on the Whanganui Hospital grounds.
Whanganui District Health Board chief executive Russell Simpson and Whanganui mayor Hamish McDouall both urged the public to remain calm and vigilant, with Simpson saying the city had "been through this before", and he was confident "the Whanganui region and all of New Zealand can do it again".
Martin McAllen, principal of Whanganui High School and chairman of the Whanganui Secondary Principals' Association, said they were fully prepared for a return to distance learning if the need arose in the Whanganui region.
"Lifelong lessons" had been learned by teachers and students alike in 2020, McAllen said.
"We have all reflected on what we might do differently (and what we might do the same) if the situation arises again."
August 15
Tyson Ellis Ngatai, 26, was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Whanganui High Court on August 14 for the murder of Whanganui woman Feona McKay-Patea in 2019.
Ngatai must serve a minimum of 15 years before he can get parole.
Crown prosecutor Michele Wilkinson-Smith said domestic violence "was all too common in Whanganui", and that "every young man who punches a woman or puts his hands around her throat risks being where this young man (Ngatai) sits".
Three members of McKay-Patea's family made victim impact statements in court, including her sister Donna Matthews, who said Mackay-Pātea was a gentle and quiet person who had her own house and car, was devoted to her children and worked part-time as a kaiako at a kohanga reo.
Ngatai previously spent four years in prison for an incident where he threatened to cut the victim into pieces with a boning knife.
Whanganui District Council asked for the public's opinions as to whether they should buy the land around the Durie Hill Tower to prevent private development on it. Photo / Bevan Conley
August 27
Locals and tourists shared their thoughts with the Chronicle as to whether Whanganui District Council should buy land that was for public sale at 3 and 9 Blyth St, Durie Hill, and neighboured the Durie Hill Tower.
The council had recently opened public consultation on the issue, and senior policy analyst Justin Walters said there were three options.
"Those are the purchase of both properties, the purchase of 9 Blyth St only or the status quo – no further land purchase," Walters said.
Trudy Reeves, who owned a property directly across the road from the tower, said she would rather see council money going towards the purchase of the Blyth St land than "a lid on a cycledrome".
"I see it as land that should be kept for generations to come," Reeves said.
Another Durie Hill local, Geoff Jamieson, disagreed, saying views wouldn't be obstructed by the construction of new buildings on the sites.
"If it's private land, then sell it, but no, I don't think the council should buy it."
