Our About the South columnist on a canine colony off Rakiura/Stewart Island, an intrepid Inspector of Telegraphs and a proposal of unbearable stupidity.
Trevor Mitchell said they were called to a property in Central Hawke s Bay last week, after the land owner reported cracks in the ground with smoke coming out. “He was burning large piles of logs and debris last year, and to put them out he buried them, then we get a call last Friday to say there s smoke coming out of the ground. Crews were called to Omahu, near Hastings, last week to put out a 600m long scrub fire, which saw nine power poles damaged, along with a transformer and conductor. Six properties were evacuated, with one – a house undergoing renovations – sustaining minor damage from the flames.