Community

Thousands of people stood together in the Taupō Anzac Day Dawn Service this morning as the district began a day of commemorations.

This is the 17th year that I have been alive for ANZAC Day.  And what ANZAC Day represents has never been more relevant to me. By Angela Schur, Tauhara College, this year’s Anzac Day Essay Competition winner.

 Taupō’s dog community is quivering with excitement ahead of the first Dog Day Out on Sunday.

The Greenlea Rescue Helicopter team is less than $25,000 away from its ambitious $616,071 fundraising goal, for a new winch.

Anzac Day commemorations in Reporoa will be particularly poignant this year with the public unveiling of a memorial wall of photographs and the release of a book.

Long-serving Taupō District councillor John Williamson is not seeking re-election in this year’s local elections. Chris Marshall talks to him about being a councillor, council achievements and challenges ahead.

People will be able to make a donation and wear one on their lapel ahead of Anzac Day on April 25.

When they talk about top brass they’re probably talking about Gary Collins. Gary has been offloading his brand of goodness up and down the Taupō District for a couple of decades and is this month’s Harcourt’s Taupō Good Sort.

Homes are being sought for 250 wild horses to avoid the need for more drastic measures. The Kaimanawa horses are a heritage herd that lives in the Moawhango Ecological Zone, most of which is in the Waiouru Military Training Area.

CARE Rescue Cattery is running an Adoptathon this coming weekend where you can meet 16 of our beautiful, affectionate kittens just like Smokey.

“Lures or bait, to be fair it doesn't really matter how they catch them so long as they catch them.”

A protected oak tree in Tūrangi has been recommended for removal after it was accidentally over-pruned last year. The large red oak in Taupahi Road was severely pruned instead of just having two overhanging branches trimmed as requested.

Running for over 20 years, the annual Seniors’ Expo at the Great Lake Centre showcases a range of organisations, services, interests and opportunities available to older adults in the Taupō area.

The One Taupō Trust, formed in 2015, helps families who need to travel to access specialist medical treatment.

A contractor who accidentally removed 16 popular poplar trees on Kinloch Rd has apologised and says they will replace them with the largest specimens they can find.

All 24 Supercars will return to the streets of Taupō for the pre-event Track to Town journey. Thousands of fans lined the streets to welcome the drivers to the inaugural event in 2024. On April 10, the full fleet of Repco Supercars Championship will be making their way from the Taupō International Motorsport Park to Taupō's CBD by the lake.

As daylight saving draws to a close and cooler autumn temperatures set in, Greening Taupō is ready to launch its planting calendar for 2025. Each year, Greening Taupō, Kids Greening Taupō and Project Tongariro plant about 30,000 native trees, inviting individuals, families, groups, and businesses to get involved.

Seven Oaks Kinloch has advertised a new subdivision proposal for Kinloch, seeking to develop 84 residential sized lots, roads and reserves in several stages.

Taupō’s Budget House is expanding its services this year to include corporate workshops to help employees manage their money better.

A large block of land in Acacia Bay suitable for residential development is on the market.

The first Cactus programme of 2025 is well underway.

It’s been a busy start to the year for the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter.

Tūrangi has a few local legends but when it comes to environmental awareness and a bit of “skulduggery” one name pops to the top of any Google search.

“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

The carvings within the He Whare Hono ō Tūwharetoa are a celebration of Tūwharetoa’s cultural identity.

Emergency Services Day returned to Taupō this weekend.

“(It’s) heartening that there are so many organisations doing amazing work across a broad spectrum… and disheartening because I wish we had more money that we could put towards supporting them.”

Ngāti Tūwharetoa entities and Taupō District Council will move into their new building on Horomatangi St on Monday.

Taupō’s Adrienne Nairn could charitably be described as a serial fundraiser.