Waikato Times

Call for ‘hard punishment’

Incompetent teenage ramraiders smashed a stolen vehicle into a Hamilton dairy three times, with the driver nearly running over an accomplice at one point. But despite a big headache for the business owner and a massive clean-up, it was all for summer...

Anglers still baiting up

Callum McFarlane picks his way down the narrow track to Papanui Point knowing exactly what has happened there before. More than 20 people have died on the jagged west coast outcrop, yet on a clear, blue-sky day early in the new year, he was back —...

Basement bar to go

One of Hamilton’s most enduring live music venues, Nivara Lounge, is preparing to close after almost 30 years, marking the end of an era for the city’s grassroots music scene. The closure was announced in a message shared on the venue’s social media...

First meeting for woman and dad, 100

When Halina Tilsley gave her daughter a DNA test for Christmas, she hoped it might reveal clues about her late husband’s ancestry. Instead, it revealed the man she knew as Dad wasn’t her biological father – and sent her on a two-year search for the...

Crims’ favourite hideaway

Criminals’ favourite way to hide their ill-gotten gains comes down to location, location, location, police data on asset seizures has revealed. The top ten types of assets seized by police in 2025 - obtained by the Waikato Times via an Official...

KO kicks out unruly tenants

Thousands of Kāinga Ora tenants have been warned, relocated or had their tenancies terminated over the past three years as the state housing provider hardened its stance on rent arrears and disruptive behaviour. Tenancy terminations have risen sharply...

Critic's choice

Reviewer rates his top flicks of 2025

Making of a med school

After a huge 2025, the University of Waikato is now focused on piecing together the country’s third medical school from the ground up. The project is “all go” after receiving the Government’s green light in July and breaking ground on construction in...

Crimes of Christmas Day: 11 arrests made

Police made nearly a dozen arrests in Hamilton on Christmas Day, and 18 on Christmas Eve. Eleven people swapped turkey for porridge within the city area after they were “brought into police custody on Christmas Day”, a police spokesperson told the...

‘Take every opportunity’

When an opportunity presents itself, newly honoured Dame Coral Shaw has some advice: “Take it, take every opportunity you get – if it’s meant for you, it will work out.” Now retired (again), Dame Coral says she’s always had a positive attitude, and...

Buses crowd Blue Spring

As authorities try to crack down on poor parking on a packed state highway, locals are concerned about an emerging trend at the popular Blue Spring Walkway – tour buses and their passengers. Earlier this month, the Waikato Times reported on a...

Where the ocean meets the vines

From the moment I walked into Wai Ariki Hot Springs and Spa, the atmosphere felt calm, welcoming and designed to help you leave the world behind. My friend and I were there for the two-hour restorative journey, which included everything from hot-cold...

Woof, woof

Nestled amidst Raglan’s hills is Floofsters, a doggy daycare dedicating 100% of its profits to charity. Floofsters founder Latesha Hearth said the daycare is focused on helping animals in need across New Zealand as well as giving local pooches a...

Surcharge ban a blow

A small bookshop owner who has been using her own superannuation to keep her business afloat says the Government’s proposed surcharge ban will leave small businesses worse off. The Government announced in July it would axe surcharge fees for in-store...

Meaning of Christmas giving

‘Tis the season for Christmas gifting, and shoppers around the country are scrambling to tick off the last few presents before the big day. For retailers like Journey + Co, the festive rush is the payoff after months of planning. Co-owners Nikki...

Man’s death still a mystery

More than a year after the remains of missing Tokoroa man Shane Edwards were found near a rural South Waikato creek, the mystery surrounding his disappearance remains unresolved. While police say their investigation into Edwards’ death is still...

Residents on edge after Hamilton lake killing incident

Residents on Lake Crescent in Hamilton are on edge after a man was slain nearby and another was seriously injured. Police said they’re conducting scene examinations at a Lake Crescent property and a block of public toilets at Innes Common. Police...

All go for miners’ $1b plan

OceanaGold has received the green light to expand its Waihi operations - and pledged it will invest around $1 billion in the project. The Toronto-listed, NZ$9.2 billion mining giant received draft Fast Track approval back in November to expand its...

Step up your security

‘I knew it wouldn’t be good’

When Jason Ogilvie looked up from doing the dishes on Sunday night and saw a black BMW going well over the speed limit and a police car turn to chase, he knew it wouldn’t end well. Seconds later it ploughed into a car coming the other way on Arapuni...

Mum-of-five wins car battle

A Hamilton woman who spent $11,585 on a car that broke down days after she bought it has won her case in the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal and wants her experience to inspire others to stand up for their rights. In July, Shynesia Chapman bought a...

Alleged rest home thief caught

INVESTIGATION A rest home resident launched her own hidden camera sting operation to catch a thief red-handed - only to later find the alleged carer-turned-crook back on the job elsewhere. After the alleged thief was confronted and sent packing, the...

Hamilton faces rates crunch

Hamilton’s boom-town status has been called into question as Hamilton City Council grapples with the need to bring rates within Government mandated limits. Councillor Andrew Bydder said assumptions about relentless population growth may be “out of...

Biggest Waikato team yet off to Special Olympics

Waikato has sent its largest-ever Special Olympics team to Christchurch to swim, dribble, run and jump their way through the 2025 National Summer Games. The event, which began yesterday, spans six venues and includes over 1200 athletes and coaches...

The powerlessness of grammar

Mention grammar and the effect is like tear gas. People flee. Hands clamped over eyes and ears, they head overleaf to the letters to the editor. And they are wise to do so, for reasons I shall come to. I get a lot of emails bemoaning the state of...

Exodus to Oz cited for empty rentals

Kiwis leaving for Australia as fewer migrants arrive to take their place could be behind a sudden glut of empty rental properties that’s started to push rents down. New rental listings across Waikato hit a record high in November, up 12.3% on the year...

Town houses lead the way

Waikato’s housing pipeline is quietly rebuilding momentum as the country emerges from recession, with new-home consent numbers steadily climbing nine months in a row. But construction has also turned a corner as interest rates continue to fall with...

12 months on home detention for woman who had sex with boy, 14

A Hamilton woman who committed the “full spectrum” of sexual offending against a 14-year-old boy has been sentenced to 12 months of home detention. The “community interest“would be best served if Kate Rochelle Gough, 37, did not go to jail, declared...

Measles arrives in Waikato

It can be spread just by speaking or sneezing, and the measles virus has arrived in Waikato - where vaccination rates against it are lagging. In fact, Waikato’s vaccination rates are among the lowest in the country, which is part of the reason health...

Rental reports raise concerns

Conflicting Healthy Homes inspection reports are raising concerns about the consistency of standards meant to ensure rental properties are safe and liveable. In one recent case, a Cambridge rental property underwent two inspections within a week, with...

Owner to robbers: I forgive you

Tamahere Bakery owner Rotha Kann says he would embrace the young offenders who robbed his shop if they returned to apologise. It was just after 5am yesterday when the trio walked in, brandished a screwdriver and made off with the till. While it left...

Santa’s sack a mixed bag for city hospo

This festive season looks like being a mixed bag for Hamilton’s hospitality scene - but one key player sees a $3.2 billion boost on the horizon. With Christmas, and Christmas party season, kicking off the Waikato Times spoke to two of Hamilton’s key...

The Kiwi caught in a global crypto scam

Lecturer: strong case for asbestos lawsuit

Parents considering a lawsuit against Kmart over the contaminated coloured sand have a strong case, a legal expert says. Multiple sand products have been recalled - the latest yesterday - due to concerns they could contain asbestos. The fallout has...

No Tux, just Weet-Bix

It's tough times for canines too

Radical changes announced

Regional councils are to be scrapped and replaced with boards made up of local mayors under a radical new proposal from the Government. This would change who makes decisions on public transport, the environment, emergency management, rivers, lakes,...

Bogged down in Wales

It started like a lot of good ideas do – over a beer in the back bar of the pub. The topic of conversation was tourists – specifically the lack of them. It was 1980 and the tiny Welsh former spa town of Llanwrtyd Wells was losing visitors fast....

Keppler family counts cost

The founder of an illustrious family run Hamilton car dealership is coming to terms with his company’s liquidation after failing to pay a massive tax bill. Keppler (Hamilton) — previously trading as Keppler Auto Plant and KVI (2012) Limited — was...

A cyclist all at sea

Cyclist Paul Spencer has a goal on his horizon - to pedal around the world, across land and sea. And after a test launch of his pedalpowered boat in Whitianga, the journey is one step closer to reality. The idea came to Spencer when he was looking...

Age, perfected

L’Oréal Paris Age Perfect Cell Renewal Day Cream L’Oréal Paris Age Perfect Cell Renewal Revitalising Day Cream SPF 15 combines two active ingredients rich in polyphenols and vitamins specifically formulated for mature, dull skin. The luxuriously...

Trampers evacuated as big fire spreads

Fire crews are attacking a large blaze in Tongariro National Park from the air and land, as the fire expands, prompting evacuations. Fire and Emergency NZ reported just before 1.30pm that the fire had spread to 1600 hectares, growing rapidly from an...

'An immunisation disaster'

Whip it good: New mayor adopts strict approach

School is back in session and the headmaster is not happy with how his charges have been behaving. The first proper Hamilton City Council meeting of the new triennium yesterday morning was one in which the new mayor, Tim Macindoe, appeared eager to...

‘Hard to come to grips with’

Police have told the family of missing Tokoroa teacher Jayleb-Che Dean that they have ruled out foul play, while his loved ones continue to search for any sign of him. Dean, 36, a much-loved member of the South Waikato community, and a teacher at...

Council’s first item — pay

Hamilton City councillors will kick off the first official meeting of their three-year term by discussing how much they will pay themselves. However, just how they’ll be held accountable to the citizens of Hamilton is another question altogether with...

Down Cemetery Road

It’s an evening Sarah Trafford (Ruth Wilson) has been dreading. The Oxford art conservator’s financial adviser husband Mark (Tom Riley) has one of his bank’s top clients coming for dinner and hubby is decidedly on edge. “There will be loads of...

No bus to city airport ‘until after 2028’

Want to catch a bus from Hamilton to Hamilton Airport before catching a flight across the Tasman? You could be waiting at the city’s transport centre for quite some time. While the number of flights in and out of the airport to Australia and elsewhere...

In pursuit of justice

Real estate leaders query school zone effect on prices

The idea that school zones supercharge property prices looms large in New Zealand’s real estate psyche, a notion that says a good education equals a higher mortgage. But new data suggesting school zoning can boost property values by more than 80% has...

Principal ‘can’t wait’ for upgrade to busy road

After waiting almost a decade for the council to improve student safety near their school, the principal of Berkley Normal Middle School says he’s excited about proposed safety upgrades for Morrinsville Rd. However, city councillor Andrew Bydder says...

Springs over-run by tourists

Tourists have been wandering farms, putting drones up over cowsheds, and parking illegally on a state highway causing traffic to slow to a crawl - all due to the popularity of Putāruru’s Blue Spring Walkway. And with summer coming, locals living in...

A bridge too few for town

The location for a new bridge crossing the Waikato River in Cambridge should be identified by December next year and tolls will be on the table, too, according to incoming Waipā Mayor Mike Pettit. But think 2040 or beyond for it to be in place, he...

Fisher folk come out on top

Small time anglers and fisher folk may have come out on top against the big bottom trawlers - at least across Waikato’s 1150km of coastline anyway. Waikato Regional Council has announced it has approved notification for its new coastal plan, something...

Free parking pledge meets financial roadblock in Hamilton

In almost five years Hamiltonians have racked up $10.47 million in parking fines across the city, and they’ve repaid $6.78 million - leaving a shortfall of $3.68 million in overdue fines. However, freshly minted Hamilton mayor Tim Macindoe, who...

No silver lining

The mental and emotional toll of the Dame Noeline Taurua coaching saga might have finally floored the Silver Ferns. After a crushing 68-51 loss to the Australian Diamonds in Sydney on Wednesday, the Ferns find themselves in a 0-2 hole as the...

Poll shows support for strikers

Budgets for teacher aides come out of the same budget as heating and toilet paper at Knighton Normal School in Hamilton. For one of those teacher aides, Jan Monds, it means her principal faces hard choices on what students need most, every day. With...

We’ve won, says campaigner

A three-year legal stoush with State Housing agency Kāinga Ora has finally drawn to a close at the Environment Court, with one heritage campaigner stating bluntly: “We’ve won”. Had they lost, Guardians of Claudelands former chair Gordon Chesterman...

Park, school top list for sites

Hamilton East’s Steele Park is top of the list of sites for a giant underground wastewater storage tank that could help get building in the city underway again. Swathes of Hamilton have been ruled off limits to development due to a lack of wastewater...

More dogs roaming the CBD

Businesses in Hamilton’s CBD are calling for tighter control of off-leash dogs. It comes amid a significant rise in dog related complaints with 122 in 2024-25, the highest in five years. Hamilton City Council received 434 dog-related complaints from...

Moroni Williams and the dogs of Zion

LEADER OF THE PACK Moroni Williams walks as many as 14 dogs at once, but he’d like to walk 20. Today’s pack walk starts like any other, with Williams picking up the dog poo. With 15 dogs, it takes a while. Sainsbury Forest near Pirongia is an ideal...

‘The ultimate connector’

To most New Zealanders he was a prime minister - but for many in the Waikato region, Jim Bolger was best known as the prime mover for a new era of racial reconciliation. Bolger, who died on Wednesday at the age of 90, was the country’s leader at the...

The unexpected hero

A boatie literally gave the shirt off his back to help save a kayaker clinging to life. Ross Christensen, owner of Hamilton boat building company Fin Chaser Boats, was handing over a new amphibious boat to owner Ian on Friday in the Hauraki Gulf. Boat...

Killing rampage ‘devastating’

A single devastating ferret attack has left a flagship Waikato conservation project reeling after it wiped out half a vital seabird colony in a bloody rampage. Only one lone grey-faced petrel (oi) chick initially survived in its burrow following the...

Say goodbye\] to dark spots with Mela B3

It’s no secret that hyper pigmentation is an all-too-common skin concern that is incredibly frustrating to tackle, and there are a plethora of reasons why dark spots can appear, often seemingly out of nowhere. Regardless of how you get it, treating and...

New city mayor eyes cuts

Jobs are likely to be lost at Hamilton City Council, a rates cap is on the horizon and for Hamilton’s new Mayor Tim Macindoe, “the training wheels are off”. The Waikato Times sat down with Macindoe yesterday morning, less than 24 hours since he got...

Town turns out for missing teacher

INVESTIGATION From handing out left over KFC to friends, acting in and directing shows, playing rugby league, and leading prayer groups - Jayleb-Che Dean seems to have touched the lives of almost everyone in his home town. It’s now 12 days since...

Developers buoyed with latest OCR cut

One Waikato property developer who went from selling zero homes in the first half of last year to 68 in the latter half after the first Official Cash Rate drop sees the latest big cut as set to fuel some much needed optimism. When the Reserve Bank...

'Everyone just wants him home'

Bird poo? What’s behind Hamilton’s boil water notice

Councils need to get water treatment “perfect” to avoid “severe outcomes”, says a water scientist. But the results were less than perfect for Hamilton City on Saturday, with one sample testing positive for the faecal contamination indicator E coli....

Boil water notice woes hit Hamilton

Bottled water was snapped up, taps disconnected and school closures announced after a northern Hamilton was saddled with a boil water notice. Hamilton City Council issued the warning on Saturday afternoon, saying a test of the Rototuna Reservoir had...

Social media success How politicians are battling for your attention

Social media success

Blue bag blitz hits Hamilton

“Giant” blue plastic bags have been delivered to people’s letterboxes and verges all over the city. Residents says it’s an “unsolicited marketing dump”, but the company behind it says they’re trying to reduce the amount of green waste going to...

Candidates showing their colours

LOCAL BODY POLITICS Driving around the streets of Hamilton, Kirikiriroa you could be forgiven for mistaking what kind of election this is. The red team, the blue team, the pink team and the green team - apparent doppelgängers of Parliamentary parties...

Polls turn on PM Luxon

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon walked into a $1500-a-head dinner last night with his leadership of the country and its economy under serious pressure. Just eight hours before Stats NZ revealed the economy had shrunk by an unexpected 0.9% in the...

Our coastal classic

Raglan's wharf chippy reveals secrets