Southern dogs under control, behaving and returned

Of the 3,410 registered dogs living in the district, only 152 were listed in the South Wairarapa District Council’s Dog Control Activities complaints register for the year to July 2024 _ 13 more than the prior year but down 57 on 2021-22. The highest number of complaint offences _ 83 …

Toast to the new Taste Wairarapa

By Joelle Thomson, Wine Writer Taste Wairarapa stepped in where Toast Martinborough left off on the third weekend of November this year. The well-known Toast Martinborough food, wine and music event has run for 30 years and will return in January 2025 in a reincarnated form with Foley Wines as …

How Well Do We Know People In Our Community? – December 2024

By Lyle Griffiths Born in Whanganui, Mariana McDermott first lived with her mother in the home of her grandmother. After her mother remarried, the family moved to Martinborough, to Hikawera, where her stepfather, Tiki Mahupuku McGregor, built his own home. It was close to the old meeting house, which had …

Kitcheners ram-raid brings out community support

A front-end loader assault on a bank ATM which collapsed part of a verandah, ripped open a cafe frontage and wrecked building support beams netted the culprit nothing – but brought a swell of community support for the damaged Kitcheners Cafe business. Within nine hours of the ATM ram-raid on …

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New wine festival moves in to replace old

November 11, 2024 November 2024 Comments Off on New wine festival moves in to replace old

Taste replaces Toast. But it’s still all about the palate.

A wine festival merry-go-round in Wairarapa will see a brand new weekend festival arise where once Toast Martinborough was the only show in town for 30 years.

With Toast having moved ownership (to Foley Wines) location (to Te Kairanga) and timing (to the provincial holiday weekend in January) Taste of Wairarapa has moved into the vacated time slot – a mid-November weekend.

The new festival is planned for November 15-17 with events at multiple locations across Martinborough, Gladstone and Masterton, involving many of the wider Wairarapa wine region’s producers.

Taste organisers said that the third weekend in November has held a special place on many a wine lover’s calendar for more than 20 years and Taste is setting out to continue that spring tradition. 

One difference will be a wider array of wines, foods, activities and live music running from Friday through Sunday. Already, 24 events are listed on the festival website, along with 28 cellar doors – six from outside Martinborough. Organisers note there’s more to come.

Free and ticketed events include an Escarpment winemaker’s dinner at Nara, a family-avec-dog-friendly vineyard picnic at Gladstone Vineyard, and Ata Rangi’s Uncorked party.

Craggy Range is offering a Burgundy Long Lunch, there will be an e-bike tour to Johner and Urlar in Gladstone, and Hunting Giants II, a wine and wild food event featuring Huntress Wines and the launch of Martinborough’s newest cult wine brand.

Organisers said many of the wine and food producers participating are small, family-owned enterprises without cellar doors or public premises. This meant collaborative events and partnerships would provide rare opportunities to sample their wares, along with special menus created just for the festival weekend.

The event programme will be available online at wairarapawine.co.nz (still building).

 

Rotary’s local heroes are ‘heart and soul’

November 11, 2024 November 2024 Comments Off on Rotary’s local heroes are ‘heart and soul’

Local heroes with their South Wairarapa Rotary awards for community services.

By Julie Small

Community spirit was celebrated mid-October when the Rotary Club of South Wairarapa hosted the 2024 Community Service and Pride of Workmanship Awards at Greytown Town Hall. 

This biennial event recognises individuals and groups whose contributions have had a lasting impact on local communities, whether through work or volunteer efforts.

Among those awarded was John Argue, who has led environmental conservation efforts as coordinator of the Friends of Pāpāwai Mangarara Stream Catchment Group. 

Long-time volunteers Judy Drake and Carole Fisher were recognized for their dedication to multiple community organisations, while Chris Hume received acclaim for her leadership in preserving local heritage and supporting the arts.

Organisations which play a crucial role in their communities were highlighted, including “Kitchener’s Café” in Martinborough, known as a local hub for community connection, and Bevan Morland of “The Offering” café in Greytown who actively supports numerous local charitable initiatives. 

The work of Carol McNaught, who took on the challenge of revitalising the Greytown Toy Library, was similarly celebrated with an award.

Among Greytown stalwarts honoured were Ted Ward and Lois Pitt, the driving forces behind the Greytown Country Markets and the Mid-Winter Christmas Markets, in which 100% of the profits are donated to the Greytown Rail Trust, and Craig Thorburn, for his work on the beautification of Greytown and preservation of the town’s unique character.

Rotary Club President Ian Grigor commended the awardees, emphasising their contributions as the “heart and soul” of South Wairarapa. 

The event served as a memorable reminder of the vital role individual and collective efforts play in ensuring a thriving community.

29 years of community patrol service ends

November 11, 2024 November 2024 Comments Off on 29 years of community patrol service ends

Claire Fleming, coordinator of Martinborough Community Patrol, welcomes Dylan Romanos, farewells Pat Dette.

By Lyle Griffiths

Pat Dette has been a valued member of the Martinborough Community Patrol since 1995. That’s 29 years of community service.

Martinborough Community Patrol began after a public meeting was held, where residents expressed concerns over the levels of crime in Martinborough and the lack of a police constable in town.

Initially patrollers used their own cars, and patrols took place only at night. Equipment was minimal. Night vision glasses and a pager were provided for the patrollers.

Records were kept of the night’s patrol and any incidents were reported back to NZ Police. Guidelines for patrolling were provided by the Police.

In 2003 the Community Patrol formed its first committee, and the Martinborough Community Patrol is now one of 150 affiliated Community Patrol Groups throughout Aotearoa.

Pat has taken on numerous roles. From 2013 she held the position of treasurer, and in 2016 took on responsibility for health and safety requirements, and training. She has held those positions until her retirement.

When asked why she had worked voluntarily for so many years, Pat replied that she has always felt that people should be able to live in a town that is safe.

“People should be able to feel safe in their own homes and their property should be respected. They should be able to walk home at night after going to the cinema or going to a restaurant – without incident.” … Continue Reading

Festival shows a winning formula at work

November 11, 2024 November 2024 Comments Off on Festival shows a winning formula at work

Intimate audience watches String Sextet play Schoenberg masterpiece Verklärte Nacht.

“It’s a highlight of our year!” “Our first Festival and we LOVED it!” 

Audience reactions such as these after this year’s Martinborough Music Festival are giving trustees a real boost as they start planning for next year’s concerts.

After each Festival, the organisers survey concertgoers for their thoughts on how it all went. “It’s exciting to get feedback from those who attended the performances,” said Festival trustee Sharon Cuzens. 

“It’s great to hear how much enjoyment the concerts bring to so many people. However, there’s always room for improvement and we certainly get plenty of suggestions!”

This year nine musicians from New Zealand, Australia and Finland presented four concerts over three days at the end of September. 

Artistic directors Wilma Smith and Donald Armstrong (violin) were joined by Festival favourites from previous years – Harry Bennetts (violin), Gillian Ansell and Christopher Moore (viola) – and Festival first-timers David Griffiths (clarinet), Svetlana Bogosavljevic and Timo-Veikko Valve (cello), and Paavali Jumppanen (piano).

One concert-goer noted that their Festival highlight was “meeting new music from new composers played by exceptionally talented musicians in an intimate venue with great acoustics.”

“We are very grateful for the strong support the Festival receives from the local community,” Sharon Cuzens said. “Over half our audience comes from Wellington and beyond, so it brings real economic benefits to the community—as well as the pleasure of having world-class artists performing here in Martinborough.

“One response to our survey said that the quality of the musicianship and the programming was excellent, and encouraged us to keep going with this winning formula. We intend to!”

Next year’s Festival will be held on 19 – 21 September.

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Sports

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  We start at the end of the month, when the annual Baabraa Trophy between Martinborough and Eketahuna was fought out on a glorious Sunday in Martinborough. A field of 70 played a stableford round and the average stableford points for the two clubs were calculated. Eketahuna scored an average …

Lady golfers show Rosebowl winning ways

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