Leading Hawke’s Bay conservationist Pete Shaw has been recognised by the Geoscience Society of New Zealand for his work on fossils in the Maungataniwha Native Forest. He has been awarded the Harold Wellman Prize for the discovery of important fossil material in New Zealand, including the largest mosasaur tooth on record here. Pete Shaw is a […]

Leading farm nutrient supplier Ballance Agri-Nutrients has acquired a site in Whangarei to establish its new bagging and distribution centre. The premises at 223 Kioreroa Road are used currently as a round-the-clock transport hub for a logistics company but will be converted over the next two years into a fully-enclosed, fully-ventilated facility to service Northland’s […]

The Board of Northport Ltd has welcomed the publication of the final report by the Upper North Island Supply Chain Strategy Working Group. Northport Ltd Chairman Murray Jagger said: “Northport has a very clear vision of the role it can play in the economic growth of Northland, Auckland and New Zealand. “Significant growth is possible […]

The 2019/2020 kiwi egg-lifting season is approaching its mid-way mark and a leading Hawkes Bay kiwi conservation initiative is reporting good numbers of eggs despite a slow start. The Forest Lifeforce Restoration Trust, which runs the Maungataniwha Kiwi Programme, says the season is shaping up to be an unusually long one, with kiwi eggs likely […]

SailGP will return to New Zealand’s Northland region for testing and training ahead of its second season of racing next year. Six F50 catamarans were raced in the successful inaugural season this year and organisers will test the event’s seventh boat in Whangarei Harbour between now and the end of January, using Northport in Marsden Point […]

Far North Holdings has received the Resource Consent from Far North District Council that it needs to progress its proposed residential development on Kellet Street. It has also received the necessary Earthworks Consent from Northland Regional Council. Resource Consent was initially received on 20 August this year but contained some minor errors that required correction. […]

Kerikeri will be more blessed than usual on the retirement village front next week when representatives of 29 organisations from across New Zealand descend on the town for an Independent Villages Forum hosted by the Retirement Villages Association of New Zealand. The event on Wednesday 13 November will be hosted by the Kerikeri Retirement Village. […]

Far North Holdings has provided the following updates on its wharf projects in Paihia and Opua: Paihia Wharf Work on the $4.698m Paihia Wharf upgrade project, contracted to United Civil, is now expected to be complete in late January. We expect the four new pontoons on the new South-East extension to be operational by Christmas, […]

Far North Holdings has had “significant interest” in its plan for a business park near Kaikohe. The company has published for the first time a plan of the proposed Ngawha Innovation and Enterprise Park indicating progress in discussions with organisations involved in glasshouse horticulture, renewable carbon products, native timber drying, housing trades training and construction, […]

MARSDEN POINT, Northland – Marsden Maritime Holdings Ltd (NZX:MMH) has welcomed the findings in the Upper North Island Supply Chain Strategy working group’s second interim report published today (3 October), calling them “solutions-based” and “progressive”. Chairman Murray Jagger said much would hinge around the expected practical recommendations from the Upper North Island Supply Chain Strategy […]

Northport Ltd welcomes today’s announcement by the Minister of Regional Economic Development, Shane Jones, about government’s intention to invest $94.8 million through the Provincial Growth Fund for upgrading the rail line between Swanson and Whangarei. Northport Ltd is of the view that efficient transport links are vital for the entire region to realise its full […]

Minister for Regional Economic Development Shane Jones today laid the last few licks of paint on railings at Russell Wharf in the Bay of Islands, symbolically completing a $1.281m renovation and upgrade of the iconic gateway to the town once known as the Hell-hole of the Pacific. The Provincial Growth Fund contributed $1.114m to this […]

MARSDEN POINT, Northland – Marsden Maritime Holdings Ltd (NZX:MMH) has urged the North Island vehicle industry, Ports of Auckland and Auckland Council to consider using some of the hundreds of hectares of land at Marsden Point in Northland for vehicle imports, to future-proof the upper North Island industry. It wants decision-makers to explore fully the […]

Marsden Maritime Holdings Ltd (NZX:MMH) has lifted the Net Surplus for the financial year ended 30 June 2019 by 3.1% ($0.3m) to $9.7 million. The improved result was largely due to a $0.6 million uplift in the valuation of the Company’s investment property. Earnings from the joint venture interest in Northport Ltd was down slightly […]

  Project partners running a two-year study into the viability of a Northland totara timber industry have unveiled a website (www.totaraindustry.co.nz) to explain the project and its social, economic and environmental objectives. Tōtara timber from Northland farms is being harvested selectively under a ‘continuous cover forestry’ model and milled as part of a two-year project […]

Seven out of every 10 viable kiwi eggs lifted from a Hawke’s Bay forest during the 2018/2019 breeding season have resulted in juvenile birds that are being returned to the forest this year. The eggs were recovered as part of the nation-wide Operation Nest Egg (ONE) initiative, where they’re retrieved from nests, then incubated and […]

One of the most prolific and successful kiwi conservation programmes in the country has a raft of new birds to add to its work after a successful ‘prospecting’ exercise in May. Ten volunteers identified eight new breeding pairs, two breeding pairs that were already known about and five new male birds that can now be […]

Minister for Regional Economic Development Shane Jones today opened the new $4.75 million Bay of Islands Airport terminal, 356 days after he drove a digger bucket through the old one to mark the start of demolition work. The new airport terminal was the first of six “shovel ready” Far North projects, championed by Council-owned trading […]

Native birds to bear the brunt of multi-species mega-mast Conservationists in the central North Island warn that native bird populations are due to “take an epic hammering” this Spring when predator populations balloon. Staff of the Forest Lifeforce Restoration Trust have seen a significant increase in rat numbers on their two properties in inland Hawke’s […]

Leading farm nutrient supplier Ballance Agri-Nutrients is about four weeks ahead of schedule with the deconstruction of its landmark Port Road plant in Whangarei. Dismantling started in January and is set to be complete by late July. A second stage of demolition will take place once the company has secured its new site in Whangarei. […]

The Board of Marsden Maritime Holdings (MMH) today announced the election of Mr Murray Jagger as Chairman of the Company with effect from 1 July 2019. Mr Jagger replaces Sir John Goulter who as previously advised is retiring at the end of June. Incoming Chairman Mr Jagger has been a director of the Company since […]

Kerikeri Retirement Village has introduced a single technology system, eCase, to streamline every aspect of its operation, from registering and managing requests for its retirement accommodation through to streamlining patient record-keeping in its care wing. The eCase management system is helping the Village to reduce costs, eliminate the need for paper-based records, and de-duplicate a […]

Safety-conscious workers at Refining NZ this week enabled an $18,000 donation to Whangarei charity Food for Life, which delivers 250 hot lunches each week to three low-decile schools in a bid to boost children’s energy levels and academic performance. The donation will enable the charity to extend its programme both within Whangarei and further north […]

The Bay of Islands has the best international marina in the Asia-Pacific region according to the Marina Industries Association (MIA), the organisation representing the marina and related service industries in this part of the world. Bay of Islands Marina in Opua won the marina award last night at the association’s 2019/2020 Club Marine Awards on […]

Ten staff at Kerikeri Retirement Village learned the basics of this country’s least used official language, New Zealand Sign Language, during the official sign language week marked nationwide in early May. The courses were conducted as part of the Village’s staff wellness and education programmes. One of the benefits is that it will allow carers […]

Kerikeri Retirement Village has launched a Kerikeri bequests appeal to help raise $8.5 million needed to expand and upgrade its care facility. It wants to increase the number of care beds it can offer from 66 to 100 and place them in spacious en suite rooms which can accommodate an increasing level of care as […]

Marsden Maritime Holdings Ltd (MMH) today announced the pending retirement from the Board of its Chairman, Sir John Goulter, with effect from the end of the financial year, 30 June 2019. Sir John has been a Director of the Company since 2011 and was elected Chairman in December 2012. Commenting on his time serving on […]

Far North Holdings has acquired the Opua Industrial Estate on State Highway 11, just south of the town. Ownership transferred at the end of February. The move gives the company additional flexibility to accommodate local businesses at every stage of their growth and development. Opua Industrial estate is a logical fit for the company because […]

The Provincial Growth Fund will pay for preliminary work around the establishment of a Ngawha innovation and enterprise park on State Highway 12 east of Kaikohe. The $890,000 funding will help develop a business case study, site assessment, preparation of applications for a private plan change and resource consents, and initiating discussions with potential occupants, tenants […]

The Department of Conservation has approved a $411,000 plan by a leading Hawke’s Bay conservation trust to release up to 200 kiwi in the 11,400ha Pohokura Forest between 2019 and 2024. The move is an important third step in an ambitious kiwi conservation plan to control predators and establish self-sustaining populations of North Island Brown […]

Marsden Maritime Holdings Ltd (NZX:MMH) announces that it has recorded a Net Surplus of $4.444 million (2017 – $5.297 million) for the interim six-month reporting period to 31 December 2018, a reduction on last year, primarily as a result of lower bulk cargo through Northport. Overall cargo throughput at Northport Ltd was down 11.0% to […]

Representatives from the Retirement Villages Association (RVA) and four Mid North retirement living and aged-care providers have expressed concern to the Far North District Council (FNDC) that the Far North District Plan currently under consideration does not adequately take into account the needs and impact of the growing number of elderly here. The five organisations […]

Northport Ltd is delighted that the geotechnical tests for the Marsden Point spur line have taken place and we look forward to the results. Efficient transport links are vital for the entire region to realise its full economic potential and we will support wholeheartedly any development that seeks to achieve this. We continue to work […]

Kerikeri Retirement Village, Mitre 10 Kerikeri and ChargeNet have joined forces to open a new electric vehicle (EV) charge facility in the car-park outside Mitre 10 in the Waipapa shopping centre.  Funding for the EV charging station came through the EECA Low Emission Vehicles Fund.  Through the fund the Village now operates a fleet of […]

Family politics, a 120-year-old love story and modern-day research to see if native wood can be harvested sustainably for commercial use have converged in an historic church in Northland’s Matauri Bay. The iconic Samuel Marsden Māori Anglican Church building is dedicated to the memory of Reverend Samuel Marsden, whose early missionary success can in part […]

Leading farm nutrient supplier Ballance Agri-Nutrients will be investing in its Northland presence over the next four years to improve services to Northland farmers and growers. The four-stage upgrade includes the demolition of its Port Road plant in Whangarei, along with the sale of another property and the opening of two new centres, one in […]

Maintenance dredging will take place at Northport next week for the first time in 17 years. Work to remove sediment build-up in the ship turning basin near Snake Bank, along Northport’s linear berth and at Refining NZ’s Jetty 1 berth pocket will start on 7 January and continue for most of the month. Northport stressed […]