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RECORDS TUMBLE AT NORTHLAND CHAMPS

A TOTAL of 25 Northland records were broken - which must be a record in itself - especially since only 18 lifters were competing in the 2007 Northland powerlifting championships.

Staged at the ASB Gymfit in Kerikeri the number of records broken showed how well the lifters were prepared.

Organiser Brian Froggatt, of Dargaville, says the focus had a lot to do with the fact that the national powerlifting champs will be in Whangarei this year.

Northland is expecting about 100 lifters to attend the national event and with local lifters wanting to do well there was a focus on Kerikeri.

The Northland team to compete at the nationals in August will be selected from many of the lifters who competed at Kerikeri.

Before the nationals, other events to help locals prepare are the Northland benchpress champs in Dargaville early next month and the final national qualifier in Kaitaia in July.

Froggatt says that a few missd out on the Kerikeri event and they will be hoping to qualify at either events.

Northland is expected to have a team of up to 25 for the August nationals.

Meanwhile later this month trainer Brian Froggatt will accompany Dargaville's Ming Ming Edgar to Sydney for the Australian blind powerlifting champs and then the Australian Masters benchpress championships the next day.

LIGHTHOUSE RESTORATION UNDERWAY

A major facelift for the Bay of Islands' 98-year-old Cape Brett lighthouse has begun.

Nearly 50 tonnes of equipment was barged to the Cape by Fullers' Okiato on Sunday to begin the external restoration of the 11-metre high cast-iron lighthouse.

Conservation Department  Bay of Islands archaeologist Andrew Blanshard is responsible for overseeing the project.

"We're hoping for six weeks of fair weather so that the project can be completed before winter," he says.

A team of 12, and a Skywork helicopter and crew, helped transport scaffolding, compressors, generators, water, diesel and the four tonnes of granite to be used to blast off the old paint.

 A weather station was also taken, to provide the restoration crew with accurate humidity and dew readings, essential to ensure correct timing of the application and curing of the six different layers of paint.

"The guys are going to be there over the Easter break, so a few fishing rods and a television went out too."

The gear was helicoptered from the barge to the Cape Brett trampers' hut and the lighthouse, with a 30-metre strop carrying loads of up to 850kg over a period of nearly five hours.

Once the scaffolding is in place the lighthouse will be wrapped in scrim so the lead-based paint can be safely removed and disposed of. As well as repainting, the restoration will include refurbishing the copper dome by hand, replacing the triangular glass at the top of the lighthouse, two windows and two exterior doors, and fitting new painted stainless steel ladders.

The project is being undertaken by C W Rudolphs of Whangarei which previously restored the Cape Reinga lighthouse.  A team of about six will work on the lighthouse, with contractors visiting when required.

The Cape Brett lighthouse is the first in the country with a light that revolved in a bath of mercury, and was first lit on February 21, 1910.  It was manned by three keepers who lived onsite with their families, until a small automated light was introduced in 1978.

Those working on the restoration will stay in the Cape Brett Hut - the surviving cottage of the dwellings at the settlement  - which the Conservation Department now manages as a trampers' hut.

FILM FESTIVAL TO CELEBRATE HOKIANGA YOUTH

Over Queens Birthday weekend, Whirinaki will be transformed as the people of the Hokianga and their visitors gather at Moria Marae for three days of inspiration, education and celebration.

The second Hokianga Film Festival follows the highly successful 2005 inaugural festival, which attracted over 200 locals and visitors.

The first festival, supported by the Hokianga Community Education Trust, the Cathy Pelly Trust, Pub Charities, North and the South Hokianga Community Arts Councils showcased films made in the Hokianga from the early 1900s to the present day, ranging from archival footage of the return of the 28th Battalion and the arrival of Opo the dolphin to the modern day return of poet Hone Tuwhare in 2003.

This year's festival, with the theme of Camera in the Community will showcase new works by local film-makers, as well as those of visiting film-makers.

Opening night will premiere Rawene's producer Karen Browne and director Simon Marler's beautiful and thoughtful documentary Restoring the Mauri of Lake Omapere, looking at its history as a poignant case for the need to preserve and treasure our local environment. The next three days will showcase two recent films by New Zealanders that explore similar themes and have been successfully screened at national film festivals.

The Waimate Conspiracy is a drama starring Jim Moriarty that deals with a treaty claim and The Last Resort by Errol Wright and Abi King examines the loss of a New Zealand motor camp through coastal development and its impact on the local community.

Another exciting entry will be Quinton Hita's just completed short drama Waka Taua, which is set in pre-European times.

One of the four features screening at the festival is The Land Has Eyes by Rotuman film-maker Vili Hereniko, which has the distinction of being the first indigenous Pacific feature film production. This film employed several Maori filmmakers as actors and crew.

 With a focus on the creativity of local youth, the festival will also provide a programme of activities for young film-makers, including repeat screenings of the three short films made in Rawene last summer by 10-16 year old students under the tutorship of John McRae and a selection of documentaries, dramas and music videos from students of Northland College's media studies programme, run by Lloyd Latimer and Susy Pointon.

The festival will also showcase the exciting work being done at Ngahau and Debbie Davis' He Iwi Kotahi Tatou Trust media centre. The organisers are also inviting students from Broadwood and Opononi area schools to present their own work and share their experiences and knowledge.

And it's not too late to add your own film to the programme.

"There is a growing interest in this festival and we invite film-makers in the northern rohe to get in touch if they have work they'd like to submit for possible inclusion," says Festival director Heather Randerson.

You can email Heather at tikanga2000@xtra.co.nz and find out more about the festival, including reviews of the films, screening times and local accommodation by visiting www.hokianga.com/filmfest2007.

POOL WRANGLE STRANDS A STAR

Helen Castles

Reporter

Northland swimming champ Carla Marsh has her heart set on reaching the Olympics. But there is little hope for a swimmer without a pool for training.

Making the Olympics is a goal her coach Marty Hampton says is within reach for the 12-year-old Kerikeri girl who is ranked ninth in her age group in New Zealand in the 100-metre freestyle.

The Bay of Islands Swimming Club, of which Carla is a member, has used the Kawakawa ASB Recreation Centre since 1979.

In April last year, the pool was closed for maintenance. Carla and her peers were told it would re-open four months later but they've been without a pool since.

The centre is owned by the Education Ministry and managed by the Bay of Islands College Board of Trustees, which has struggled to meet the financial costs of running the centre.

It is the only indoor pool in the Far North and Carla is among four swimmers travelling to Whangarei to train.

Mr Hampton says a swimmer at Carla's level requires up to five training sessions a week. However, the limited lane space at the Whangarei Aquatic Centre allows her a minimum of three sessions.

It's an hour-and-a-half drive to the Whangarei pool where Carla begins training at 7pm. She doesn't finish until 8.30 and gets home at 10pm. Carla's parents Danny and Amanda say it's a huge burden on the family.

Carla eats dinner in the car and has to do her homework at lunch time. The travel is tiring for their daughter and travel costs are high.

Club president Geraldine Forman is fed up. She's had her hopes dashed four times by the board which said the pool would open, but it hasn't.

"Why are we waiting?" she asks in a letter sent to Far North Mayor Yvonne Sharp.

She said the closure of the pool has been devastating to the club and the sport regionally.

"How long must we wait? We do not want answers or excuses, we want a swimming pool. Early last year the club had 200 swimmers registered. It now has 11. Four have been able to travel to Whangarei with their coach three days a week.

"Others managed it occasionally and did most of their training in the Kerikeri outdoor pool when it opened in December.

"Most of our older teenagers have given up their swimming because the travel has not been an option for students with hours of study," Mrs Forman says.

Before the pool's closure, it hosted many coaching camps and competitions for the wider Northland community.

The Bay of Island Swimming Club winter championships in September 2005 attracted more than 200 swimmers from Auckland to Kaitaia who were accommodated locally. Last year it was run in Whangarei.

Counci communications officer Rick McCal says the council is working on the legal issues related to a proposed transfer of management responsibility for the complex to a community trust.

The council is investigating the possibility of a temporary arrangement to provide access for the club's elite swimmers.

Meanwhile, Carla's swimming future is left hanging as the questions of risk and liability remain unresolved.

HONOUR FOR DIVE INSTRUCTOR

A Kerikeri dive instructor has been nominated for an international diving award.

Dive HQ director Kelly Weeds is among three dive instructors in the Asia Pacific region's short listed for a Professional Association of Diving Instructors award for business excellence.

The nomination recognises Mr Weeds' efforts to raise the profile of the Far North in the dive industry, says Dive HQ store manager Mark Burns.

Mr Weeds is a member of the Canterbury Trust that won the right to sink the frigate Canterbury near Cape Brett as a dive attraction.

"He's worked so hard getting that boat up here, while running the business," Mr Burns says. The award winner is named later this month.

FAR NORTH RATES UP ALMOST SIX PERCENT

Ratepayers face a 5.7 percent median residential rate rise.

The Far North District Council is proposing the rise in this year's draft annual plan.

General manager finance and business services Ian Sivyer says the rates rise is based on the "steady as she goes" approach set out in the council's 10-year Far North future plan.

"During the public consultation process for the future plan, the majority of respondents told us they accepted that small rate rises were needed to fund certain major projects," Mr Sivyer says.

"The council believes it should keep rate rises to a minimum, but it needs to develop the infrastructure demanded by the growth in population and the economy we are experiencing."

The coming financial year's major projects include new road sealing extensions and improvements in waste management, wastewater treatment and drinking water supplies.

Community facilities such as libraries, i-sites  visitor information offices, public toilets and sports facilities will also benefit.

Mr Sivyer says the council has held its debt over the past few years and is in a strong financial position, which enables council to take on more projects that will benefit the district.

A review of its operations has enabled the council to reduce spending in some areas, while retaining or improving the level of service it provides to ratepayers.

About half the council's income of $113.5m comes from rates.

Grants and subsidies from government contribute a further third, while 10 percent or so comes from development contributions.

The rest comes from fees and charges and other sources of income.

In the long term, the council hopes to reduce the financial burden on ratepayers by finding other ways to fund some of its operations.

It is actively participating in the Government review of local government funding expected to report its findings later this year.

The council's draft annual plan is open for public submissions and summaries of the plan, including details on making a submission, were mailed to homes across the district.

They are also available from council service centres and offices. Submissions close at 5pm on April 23.

COUNCILS WARNED OF FLOOD RISK

RICHARD EDMONDSON

chief reporter

Flooding that threatened two of New Zealand's oldest buildings last month could have been prevented, say flood experts.

Kerikeri hydrologist Fred Terry warned authorities in 2004 that boulders and debris in the Kerikeri River increased the chances of the Stone Store and Kemp House flooding in a storm.

Mr Terry - who led flood relief efforts on the East Coast after Cyclone Bola - told the district and regional councils that the historic buildings were at risk of flooding even in a smaller storm than that of 1981, which caused more than a million dollars of damage to the buildings.

The Government should have used $500,000 it spent on a sustainable development plan for the basin to commission a hydraulic survey of the river and catchment management plan, he says.

Measures that may have prevented last month's flood included widening the river where it meets the basin and building a stop bank between the river and Kemp House.

Removing boulders from the river and vegetation from the flood plain would also have reduced the severity of flooding.

"You can't fight water, but you can manage it, spread it out and delay its action," Mr Terry says.

Pulling out the Stone Store Bridge when the Heritage Bypass is completed will not, on its own, prevent flooding in the basin.

A flood in 1829 damaged Kemp House before the bridge was built, he says.

Kerikeri agricultural consultant John Greenfield, who has designed catchment schemes for the World Bank, says a dozen strategically placed earth dams in the 9000ha catchment would reduce the likelihood of flooding in the basin.

Spillways could divert water from the Kerikeri River to the Waipapa River during peak flows, reducing the volume of water entering the basin, he says.

"If you want to prevent flooding, you must control runoff - spread it out, slow it down or contain it."

The Northland Regional Council's 2006-16 community plan requires the council to have an operational management plan for the river by July 2009.

Land operations manager Bob Cathcart says the council plans to invite public comment on a draft plan within the next year.

Measures to reduce basin flooding could include the removal of a willow-infested boulder bank in the river above Kemp House and construction of a stop bank between the river and the house.

"Nothing is ruled out. It's just that all the options need to be analysed on a cost-benefit ratio basis."

The council won't rule out the use of dams to control the flow of water through the catchment, Mr Cathcart says.

However, it is unlikely that a plan would depend entirely on dams to reduce the flood risk.

"Gone are the days when you built lots of dams and stop banks to prevent flooding."

A lobby group fighting to preserve public access to the Kerikeri Basin wants an inquiry into the councils' failure to tackle the basin's flood problems.

"The Kerikeri community, as well as central government, should be investigating this serious omission of public duty," says Guardians of the Basin chairwoman Leslie Solmes.

The Guardians are also concerned that the Far North District Council is developing an infrastructure plan to guide growth in Kerikeri and Waipapa without a catchment plan for the area.

"Proceeding with a structure plan without a Kerikeri River Management Plan is putting the cart before the horse," she says.

The council was invited to comment, but did not respond by edition time.