Travelling Through Time – we want your glad rags for our fashion show

Have you kept that special dress, handbag, shoes, or even the whole outfit in the back of your wardrobe?  It could be something that your mother or your grandmother passed down to you or that mini dress that you just couldn’t part with, that ball gown that you wore, or even your wedding dress. What have you got from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s? We need outfits from every era right up to the present day. 

A highlight of the Festival of Christmas, it will be a great celebration of fashion travelling through time from the 1850s to the present day and it’s being developed by a group of Wairarapa residents lead by Chris Hume. … Continue Reading

From the Mayor

There are two themes in this month’s column: rates and getting around our community.

In late April or May, the Council will issue a consultation document describing a possible proposed rate increase for 2023/24. The proposed rate increase may be greater than anticipated in the 2021 Long Term Plan. The consultation document will explain why. It will also describe where the Council proposes spending those additional funds, and it seeks your views. As I write this, the document is not finished, so I do not know exactly what it will say. My message is that there will be many opportunities for people to have their say. Please do so. … Continue Reading

Our literary friendship

For me, losing a friend as good and loyal as Mike has left an empty space. Following my move South three years ago, our relationship became a long-distance one; carried out by a flurry of somewhat frantic emails at the end of each month, when what we both called ‘the dreaded deadline’ for copy for our Star loomed. … Continue Reading

The General Grant Still Mystifies.

Much has been written about the General Grant. With the lure of lost gold bullion waiting to be found, the intrigue has not lessened.

The General Grant set sail from Melbourne in 1866 heading for the United Kingdom. The quickest route was to round Cape Horn but in doing so they had to bypass the Southern Antarctic Islands. 

The Auckland Islands were sighted straight ahead but in light winds the General Grant was powerless to change course. In the late evening it eventually collided against the unforgiving cliffs on the western shore before drifting into a large cave.  During the night as the swell increased and the tide rose, the mast of the boat was repeatedly driven against the roof of the cave. Eventually the mast was driven down, right through the hull, causing the ship to sink. … Continue Reading