Ed Said - What a year!

---

Fire Brigade fundraiser Music In The Vines was a big success and lots of kids joined in The Big Dig held by the Surf Club.

Mangawhai’s own Walking Weekend continued to attract participants from far and wide. This year’s event was the swansong for ‘inventor’ Jean Goldschmidt.

February saw the Mangawhai Ratepay-ers & Residents Association (MRRA) versus Kaipara District Council (KDC) make their first court appearance in the ‘illegal rates’ saga again under the watchful eye of the television cameras. The judge deferred his decision until later in the year leaving parties to surmise what may or may not be the outcome according to their interpretation of evidence and the readings of body language.

Winter brought rainfall records on occasions and the July storm denuded the dunes, turning much of the foreshore into a moonscape. Ironically thanks to winds and tides, over time much of this is again being replaced.

In August the MRRA got the news they didn’t want to hear as Justice Paul Heath, while acknowledging irregularities and awarding them some costs, ruled that rates must be paid. While Commissioners are gradually getting the Kaipara back on track a hard core of dissenters continue to stand fast meaning that this saga is not quite over yet.

August also saw the first removal of mangroves as the Mangawhai Harbour Restoration Society sought to reclaim some of our beautiful shoreline.

Though Spring was slow to arrive, it came with the sounds of hammers, diggers, concrete pumps and skilsaws and something of a building boom in Mangawhai terms, hard on the heels of strong population growth according to the latest census.

While some smaller businesses closed their doors, the latter part of the year has seen new ventures appear with now few empty spaces in commercial areas – a good sign for all.

While some were starting to ask ‘When?’ a resolute team drew a line in the sand which culminated in the opening of the Mangawhai Museum a couple of weeks ago. Further development is happening at the skate park and playground adjacent to which grows our new St John Ambulance centre. There is hope the fire brigade will find a home in this area too expanding the facilities of the town and making things more accessible when needed.

Some unfortunate and disturbing police cases intruded upon our quiet little town and while no excuses can be made for the perpetrators, a growing community must attract all kinds to some degree.

We had the inevitable births and inevita-ble deaths with some bringing much jubi-lation and others sadness and mixed emotions. The good and not-so-good, or just simply bad for some which, we hope, will heal with time.

Life is like that, the unexpected, the good , the bad and the rugby – mustn’t forget the rugby!

At The Focus we have had another busy year but aided immensely by our advertisers, those who contribute regularly and of course, our readers in an ever-increasing area and so we will try to keep up the good work next year and wish you all good reading and a safe and pleasant holiday season wherever you may be.

So that was the year that was. All the best from Rob, Del, Rich, Mel and Jaimee et al.