How are we doing?

Hundreds of people descended on Taha Awa Riverside Gardens on Tuesday 6 February to mark Waitangi Day with music, cultural performances, activities, kai, and community vibes at Waitangi ki Kaipara.

Bring your friends and whānau to enjoy live entertainment, cultural performances, interactive craft and toi Māori stalls, some delicious kai, a healing space and so much more!

Are you a local food vendor, business owner, artist or creative? Come and be part of a community event to celebrate the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi – The Treaty of Waitangi!

Twenty-one Kaipara residents were welcomed as new citizens at a ceremony in Dargaville. 

More than 900 voices from the east and west of Kaipara celebrated te reo Māori with waiata as the clock struck 12pm on Rāpare 14 o Hepetema (Thursday 14 September). 

Sunny weather and an incoming tide provided the perfect backdrop to open the Mangawhai boardwalk to a large gathering last week.

The boardwalk is the second phase of the Mangawhai shared path project, connecting the village to the heads, and making it safer and easier to travel by foot, bike, or scooter along busy Molesworth Drive.

Fourteen Kaipara residents from eleven nationalities were celebrated and recognised as new citizens at a ceremony in Dargaville on Monday.

Commemorative ceremonies took place around Kaipara District on Tuesday in observance of ANZAC day.

Two special artworks that adorn the Dargaville library were blessed at a joint community and Council celebration.

A first-ever Arts, Culture and Heritage Strategy will provide a much-needed boost to the arts sector in Kaipara.

Dargaville Library will undergo a colourful makeover during the school holidays, thanks to local artist Micaela van den Berg. 

A new vision for Pou Tu o Te Rangi and Harding Park was confirmed this week, with the updated Reserve Management Plan adopted by Kaipara District Council.

A new Reserve Management Plan has been drafted for Pou Tu o Te Rangi, Harding Park and Old Mount Wesley Cemetery, which overlook Dargaville and the Northern Wairoa River.

The Ruawai-Raupō community adaptation planning project is underway and the project team from Kaipara District Council is organising the first community event in Ruawai.

‘A breath of fresh air’ is how one industry professional describes the Kaipara District Resource Consents team since the Council made substantial improvements to their resource consent service.

Creative Northland on behalf of Kaipara District Council will be the lead on public consultation to gather, analyse and prepare documentation of key findings that will inform a 10 year Arts, Culture and Heritage strategy for the Kaipara.

Council and the Pou Tu o Te Rangi Joint Management Committee are preparing new reserve management plans (RMPs) for the Pou Tu o Te Rangi historic reserve and Harding Park (including the adjoining Old Mount Wesley Cemetery).  

While our libraries are closed during Level 4 and Level 3, online services are available and brimming with choice. eBooks, magazines and newspapers, audiobooks and more are on offer, and all free! 

A progress update on the Kaihu Valley Trail.

Kaipara District Council has been awarded a grant from the Creative NZ Local Government Arts Fund to develop an Arts, Culture and Heritage Strategy.

The new-format Dargaville Library had its first evening test-run when author Drew Bryenton (aka Andy Bryenton) presented his book ‘Gads Army’ to an appreciative audience on Thursday 1 July.

A fresh, new, tikanga-based approach to organisational change, a new strategy designed to overcome the digital divide, and two examples of outstanding personal leadership have helped Northland councils scoop four awards available to local government managers.

The Kaihu Valley Trail is a 40km walking and biking track being constructed from Dargaville to Donnelly’s Crossing and will form part of the Ancient Kauri Trail that extends from Omapere to Maungaturoto. 

Dargaville Library is encouraging customers to stock up with books and DVD during May before the library is closed temporarily for a freshen-up from 5pm Friday 28 May, reopening Tuesday 15 June. 

Some of Kaipara’s arts projects got a boost recently with $14,894.80 awarded in the latest Creative Communities Scheme funding round. 

Author Tere Davies will be talking about her book and answering questions on April 20 in Dargaville. 

A labour of love now blessed.