Junior golf in Martinborough going strong

Sunday 14 January saw 34 adult and child teams competing in a two person ambrose. It was a hugely successful day, with not only Martinborough teams but also from Masterton and Wellington. It was also wonderful to see so many families out to support the kids, creating a great family day out.

The event was run over two competitions, 10 holes for the more experienced and 8 holes for the beginners. The 10 hole winners were Mike and Riley Lambert,  the 8 hole winners Aaron and Archie White.

Debbie Donaldson and Josh Hawkins organised the event and were extremely grateful for the very generous support from great local sponsors, with P & K providing the BBQ, sausages and bread.  Royal Wellington Golf Course provided a voucher for four to play there (which was won in a random prize draw by Josh Hawkins – so a very popular winner for that!)

There were also 24 kids who took part in a golf coaching holiday programme run by the professionals from Masterton Golf Club. These two events have shown there is high interest in Junior golf around the club and the aim is to build on this success.

The next big event at the club is the pro am which will take place on Thursday 1 st February.

This annual event is the highlight of the club year with around 40 professionals playing alongside teams of three amateurs. There are always amazing prizes provided by local sponsors and some from further afield. A full roundup of the event will be in the March edition of The Star.

2024 is shaping up to be an amazing year for the club and its members. If you’d like any  information on joining or about junior golf please get in touch with the office.

Karen Stephens

Onward march the Red Road Cones

Red Road Cones take a Christmas break.

The bane of our existence. Discovered in the most unlikely places. Infestations of them have invaded Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin and even Masterton, especially SH2.

The construction PVC witches’ hats were designed as a safety and traffic management measure.

Proline Plastics has manufactured and recycled cones since the early 1990s. RTL (Roadsigns and Traffic Control Equipment Ltd is one of the largest suppliers of road cones in NZ. 

Many were originally and still are imported from Asia. Fulton Hogan import about 20,000 per annum.

Should you look on RTL’s website it comes as no surprise that the cost of a “Wide” profile red cone is $40.50 plus GST. A “Slimline Motorway” PVC cone is listed as $41.00 plus GST.

Interestingly, you can purchase 10 cones for $350.00 on TradeMe.

Unofficial figures suggest there may be several million red cones in use throughout NZ. With a projected 200,000 new cones being used throughout the year, costs keep mounting. This is the cost of cones. It does not factor in the vehicles that are used to position the cones on the road and nor does it include the number of workers positioning, collecting, or monitoring them. Those knocked down also have to be repositioned.

Auckland mayor Wayne Brown was quoted last March saying an estimated $145 million was spent _ in Auckland alone _ on road cones and traffic management, an amount he says is unjustifiable. … Continue Reading

Toy Library relocates to Lions Den

A New Year brings a new start for the Martinborough Toy Library, as we kick off 2024 in our new premises at the Lion Dens – 1 Oxford Street. 

We’re excited to be sharing this space with The Martinborough Lions Club and thank them so kindly for offering us a fabulous new location for our library members to visit.

A huge thank you also, to the Martinborough Volunteer Fire Brigade, who have hosted us for the past 2 years. We are so grateful to the brigade members for accommodating us during that time!

We are now OPEN for the year and have a slight change in our opening times. You can now visit us on TUESDAYS 9.30 – 10.30 a.m. and SATURDAYS 10.00 – 12.00 p.m.

We will be closed on both Martinborough Fair Days as the team will be running the Parents Room in the Supper Room at the Waihinga Centre – make sure you drop in and see us.

Lastly, if you’re looking for the perfect gift over the next few months, we now have gift vouchers available for purchase. For more information, pop in and see one of our amazing volunteers or email us: martytoylibrary@gmail.com

Fire Brigade Report

By Chief Fire Officer Jake Hawkins

What a year it has been for our Brigade. I am so proud of the dedication shown by our fantastic Firefighters and Medical Responders.

In 2023 we attended a TOTAL of 325 calls. 

A massive 251 Medical Responses was included in that total, making us the busiest First Response unit in New Zealand!

I cannot say how lucky our community is to have all these people so generously give their time to train and be there any hour of the day or night to help in your hour of need. Already this year we have completed 25 Medical calls as part of 32 calls in total, and it’s just the end of the month.

We were able to celebrate this service during our Honours Night late last year, which provides a little recognition to our members and included another 25 Year Gold Star awarded in our Brigade, to Station Officer Chris Hooson.

During the year we have lost three members who have moved out of the district and we thank Station Officer Justin Hudepohl, QFF Callam Tannant, and QFF Tamara Hudepohl for all their time and service. 

I know they are being snapped up on transfer by their local Brigades.

The loss of these members to other towns means we are on the lookout for both Firefighters and Medical Responders, especially during the weekdays. 

If you want to know more please contact me or come down on a Tuesday night for a chat, we start our years training on Tuesday 13 February.

On the training front, congratulations to Dylan Ross for completing his Qualified Firefighter Course, the first course completed in 2024 by the Brigade. 

The District is in a TOTAL FIRE BAN currently and we have already attended several large vegetation fires,\. Please be vigilant operating machinery, and if you are not sure check www.checkitsalright.nz which has all the up-to-date information and advice around fires.