Know your town

Andrew O’Loughlin Considine J.P. 

Andrew Considine was born in Burren County Clare Ireland in January 1849. He emigrated with his parents as a nine year old to South Australia and for the next seventeen years followed farming pursuits in the area. He came to New Zealand in February 1877 to work at Huangarua as a carter for George Waterhouse. By October he had branched out in his own carrying business at Waihinga.

The tale is told of one of his contracts, using three horses Andrew was pulling a steam traction engine to Featherston. At the toll gate an extra five shillings was demanded – the toll for all vehicles propelled by steam. He protested that it was not being so propelled, he was pulling it. To no avail. He paid, vowing to take the matter up with the County Council. 

He always took a keen interest in the advancement of the district, over time he was on numerous committees and boards including the Licencing , School, Hospital, Ambulance, Railway, Cemetery and Library’s . He was also Chairman of the  Featherston County Council.  … Continue Reading

Learn CPR. Save a life.

Join Wellington Free Ambulance for free CPR training and help keep our community safe, together. Every week, on average, four people suffer a cardiac arrest somewhere in Wellington and Wairarapa. We’ll be at Wellington Free Ambulance Ambulance Station, 8 Texas Street at 3pm-4:30pm on Sunday 29 March teaching CPR. Everyone is welcome to attend. Visit: www.wfa.org.nz/heartbeat to learn more.

Martinborough Business Assn. 

The Martinborough Business Associations purpose is “Supporting and growing local businesses”

The Wairarapa Economic Development Strategy programme manager met with the Wairarapa towns visitor and business organisations to review and add to some initial work done by the group in identifying the products and services that are in place (or need to be in place) to enable the development of small businesses and especially artisan businesses in the Wairarapa. Without getting into their strategy an outcome is to grow jobs in the Wairarapa through supporting small businesses to be sustainable and grow.

An immediate take out was that we need to collaborate a lot more than we do. There is efficiency in doing so, encourages thinking wider than just our town e.g. think Wairarapa act local and utilisation of a broad set of skills and activities across the organisations to help our businesses. … Continue Reading

READING IS BETTER THAN TV

A neuroscientific study  by Professor Richard Silberstein of  Neuro Insight  Australia using brain imaging technology showed that participants were more focused and had higher levels of absorbing articles when reading than gaining the knowledge through watching it televised. 

Participants were divided into two groups each of various ages, sexes and ethnicity. They wore caps covered in sensors which measured their cognitive functions. The same copy was used in each medium with each group either reading or watching for fifteen minutes with the groups then switching and repeating the exercise.  

Professor Silberstein explained that memory is very selective. “People don’t remember every single experience they have ever had. The brain decides what is important to you and stores it.”  

The results showed that the nature of the two mediums resulted in reading being more likely to be filed in the participant’s long term memory resulting in their better recalling it later on.