Otago Daily Times

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Billionaire’s boat in Dunedin

AN Australian billionaire’s $69 million superyacht, which doubles as a marine research vessel, has cruised into Dunedin. The Pangaea Ocean Explorer arrived in Port Otago yesterday from Port Lyttelton, sailing under the Jamaican flag. The 58m yacht is...

Memorable arrival starts the year

CARLA Probst will never forget the first day of 2026 — not least because she spent part of it in labour in a helicopter. The Queenstown woman began experiencing contractions in the early hours of yesterday before the hospital helicopter picked her up...

A furry merry Christmas

Giving food for Christmas

DUNEDIN foodbanks say they are prepared for when the Christmas rush begins — but are asking for donations so they can stay stocked up for the rest of summer. Presbyterian Support Otago development and engagement manager Ruth Wilson said the past few...

Farra breaking new ground

FOR the first time in its more than 160year history, Dunedin’s Farra Engineering will have a woman leading the business. Managing director Gareth Evans, who has been recovering from a head injury for more than a year, has stepped down to focus on his...

Solutions to Saturday 13-12 puzzles

‘Lucky’ blaze did not spread

A MASSIVE blaze in an East Gore rental property has shaken neighbours and provided a less than subtle reminder for people to check their smoke alarms. Former Gore district councillor Ralph Beale said he was driving in the township just before lunch...

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Renovation tips and tricks

‘I’ve been set back 30 years’

AN East Otago man has been ‘‘set back 30 years’’ after his uninsured container home was destroyed by fire. Palmerston man Kevin Lott said the fire last Thursday started in his offthegrid container home in Goodwood and then ripped through 25ha of...

25 years of Christmas parades

WARREN Ockwell might be about to turn 90, but says building floats for the Dunedin Santa Parade keeps him young. Better known as Poppa, Mr Ockwell has been creating floats in the Dunedin Santa Parade for the past 25 years. The Dunedin local believes...

64 years as a freezing worker

EIGHTYYEAROLD Ken McLeod has carved out a place in the record books after 64 years as a freezing worker. The Otatara man, thought to be the longestserving meat worker in the country, retired this month from Southland’s Blue Sky Meats. Mr McLeod...

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Pest presents opportunity to enter growing market

AN invasive pest seaweed species has made its home in Otago Harbour, but it may not be all bad news. Southern Clams sees an opportunity in harvesting the wakame, or Undaria pinnatifida, and joining a booming overseas market and is also looking for new...

Mass dumping in student quarter ‘disappointing’

AS Dunedin’s students pack to head home for summer, they are leaving behind piles of couches and stained mattresses for us to remember them by. On Saturday, the last exam for the year was held at the University of Otago and since then many Castle St...

NZDF’s new base in city

THREE into one does go. A new chapter for the defence force in Dunedin began yesterday with the official opening of the force’s new headquarters in Cumberland St. The facility will bring together all of the NZDF’s Dunedinbased units — army reserves,...

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Fireworks behaviour ‘disturbing’

‘‘DISTURBING behaviour’’ in Dunedin’s student quarter put emergency services at serious risk and represents a disappointing uptick of poor behaviour in the area, officials say. On Wednesday night, firefighters in North Dunedin were forced to withdraw...

Striking teacher gives blood

Otago Girls’ High School Japanese teacher Bronwyn Thomson gives blood while taking part in a halfday strike yesterday — the second day of NCEA and scholarship exams. More than 20,000 secondary school teachers across the country went on strike from...

Driver jailed over fatal crash

A METHEDUP truck driver who caused a fatal fiery crash has been locked up, but a former employer says the tragedy could have been prevented. Jeremy Lee, 44, was jailed for more than three years yesterday after he admitted a charge of dangerous...

Bravery awards for Countdown attack

A CORRECTIONS officer awarded the Bravery Star for his role in thwarting a man’s frenzied knife attack said the trauma of the day would live with him forever. Jorge Fuenzalida was one of seven people who were presented with bravery awards at a special...

Farmers, residents criticise support

MANY in stormravaged South Otago and Southland say the government is ‘‘out of touch’’ after offering an ‘‘utterly pathetic’’ $150,000 in financial support in the wake of last week’s major weather event. Minister for Emergency Management Mark Mitchell...

Tree falls through house’s ceiling

‘‘S. . . happens.’’ That was Robyn Hale’s reaction to a giant eucalyptus tree smashing through her Kaitangata home during the 10 minutes of destruction caused by gale force winds on Thursday. The 68yearold ‘‘grandmum’’ was having a lazy morning...

Otago chases history

Otago rugby players (from left) Thomas UmagaJensen, Josh Timu and Jona Nareki pose for a photo with young fans (from left) Beau, 7, Indie, 8, and Declan Hills, all of Outram. A small but vocal crowd of about 30 supporters gathered at Dunedin Airport...

Thousands rally in South

THOUSANDS of public service workers gathered en masse in the South as part of the largest coordinated strike action in the country in decades. The industrial action began when workers walked off the job about 11am yesterday. Teachers, nurses, doctors...

Wild weather set to continue

Yesterday’s wind, which hampered Fire and Emergency New Zealand efforts to extinguish this large vegetation fire in Deans Valley, near Waitati, is expected to be nothing compared to today’s. Ten fire appliances and two helicopters with monsoon buckets...

Week ‘fairly volatilelooking’

FEROCIOUS winds lashed the South yesterday, felling trees, tearing at roofs and leaving emergency crews scrambling to clear debris from roads, and the region is gearing up for another burst of severe weather on Thursday. A man living on a boat in...

Barker’s win came down to the wire

DUNEDIN’S new mayor did not take the lead until the 13th of 15 rounds in the STV vote count. Sophie Barker had been trailing Andrew Simms in the mayoralty race before it came down to the final four candidates. The decisive moment came when...

City kids udderly taken with farm life

CITY kids went country for the day during a meetup between two very different Dunedin schools. Yesterday, year 3 and 4 pupils from the innercitybased Arthur Street School headed to Lee Stream School west of Outram for a handson farming...

New owners for Cardrona Hotel

THE new frontman of an ‘‘iconic’’ Otago hotel says the mystery buyers are high net worth individuals with strong ties in New Zealand’s hospitality industry. Warren Barclay is taking over as publican of the 162yearold Cardrona Hotel, but remains...

Strike ‘pretty sombre occasion’

DUNEDIN will have an hour without the sounds of fire engine sirens when firefighters from around the city walk off the job on Friday. In August, the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) started nationwide industrial action after...

Family going four from four as Class Act recipients

PALMERSTON’S Paton family do enjoy doing things together, but this might be taking it to the next level. Come Thursday, 17yearold Samuel Paton will become the fourth — and final — Class Act recipient in his immediate family. The East Otago High...

‘It’s me’: Barker takes mayoralty

SOPHIE Barker has been told she has won the Dunedin mayoralty. She sent a text message to the Otago Daily Times at 10 o’clock last night, saying simply: ‘‘Just heard. It’s me.’’ Cr Barker had been clinging to a slim lead in the mayoralty race, just...

‘So tough to find a job’

STRUGGLING Dunedin jobhunters say the market is ‘‘impossible’’ to crack as entrylevel jobs attract more than a hundred applications. One person told the Otago Daily Times they were forced to take a break from applying for jobs because their mental...

We need to talk about Steve . . .

TRAVELLING 12,832km from Dunedin to Fairbanks, Alaska, sounds like an awfully long way to go just to talk about ‘‘Steve’’. But for southernbased astronomers Dr Ian Griffin and Stephen Voss, the invitation from the Massachusetts Institute of...

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Female farmers enjoy victory over boys

SOME female farming Xfactor has led to St Hilda’s Collegiate School jointly winning an agriculture contest, herding the boys into the back paddock. Year 12 students Sophie Cameron, Isla Wilson, Ella Nichol and Emily Cleghorn finished firstequal in...

Saturday's jumbo solution

Twin trouble at half-marathon