Join Mayor Annette Main this Sunday for a free family bike ride, barbecue and fun family games.

The bike ride is part of the 2011 Whanganui Summer Programme and is being organised by Sustainable Whanganui Trust and Sport Wanganui.

The ride begins at the Green Bikes Depot in Heads Road (near Bedford Avenue) at 3.00pm on Sunday, January 16, and heads along the riverbank pathway, crosses the Dublin Street Bridge and finishes at Kowhai Park. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

If you have smaller children who can’t ride the whole distance, join in along the way or meet us at Kowhai Park and enjoy the other activities. These will include cycling challenges and races for children organised by Sport Wanganui, some spot prizes and a free barbecue.

There will be plenty of fun for the whole family so why not get on your bikes for a leisurely cycle beside the Whanganui River – and maybe bring a picnic to enjoy at Kowhai Park after the ride.

On Monday morning Mayor Annette Main hosted a special civic welcome in the Council Chamber for a group of 30 Korean students from Pohang and Seoul. The group of students, who range in age from 10 to 15, will be staying in Wanganui for 28 days to develop their English language skills and learn about Maori culture.

The visit has been arranged as a partnership between Wanganui YMCA and the YMCA in Pohang, Korea. In February 2010, the Chief Executive Officer of Pohang YMCA, together with four board members, visited Wanganui and members of staff from Wanganui YMCA have visited Pohang.

The students are staying with local families and in addition to their language studies will also be taking part in a range of activities and events. These include staying at Raukawa Camp and a weekend at Koriniti Marae. They will also visit the Whanganui Regional Museum, Sarjeant Gallery, Davis Library and join in with the YMCA OSCAR holiday programme.

Ms Main was delighted to welcome the students to Wanganui. She taught them the greeting "Kia Ora" and wished them a wonderful time in Wanganui. She was presented with a framed set of masks, which are used in Korean theatre and storytelling.

The visit is a new venture for Wanganui YMCA and it is hoped that this will be the first of many.

In July 2011, a group of 30 students from the Wanganui Collegiate School boys and girls 1st XI soccer teams and seven adults will be visiting the village of Satitoa, Samoa. Three of the adults work at Wanganui District Council and have been to Satitoa previously to work on building projects in the aftermath of the Samoan tsunami. They are travelling as private individuals to support the work that the students will be undertaking.

The village of Satitoa suffered devastation in the September 2009 tsunami, in which 15 villagers were killed and 90% of the buildings and homes washed away. The people of Wanganui raised $40,000 to support the relief efforts for Samoa and in December 2009 a council-led reconstruction team of 11 people spent 10 days in the village constructing a communal building to serve as a pre-school and church.
 
Since that time two more Wanganui teams have visited Satitoa. In March 2010, work took place to re-build the waterfront motel that was destroyed in the tsunami. Having the motel operational again will encourage tourists and visitors to return to the village.

In September 2010, a team returned to finish work on the school, undertake demolition work on damaged buildings and help villagers with general building work and re-establishment of plantations.

The key project for the visit in July is to build an adventure playground for the new primary school.

How can you help?

A container of materials will be sent to Satitoa, prior to the group departing on July 11. The group aims to fill the container with all the building materials needed to construct the adventure playground. The public are invited to support the project by donating H3 treated timber, suitable for building the adventure playground.

We are also seeking donations of gardening and building tools to be given to the villagers. A lot of their basic equipment was lost in the tsunami and has not been replaced. Items do not need to be new, but should be in working order.

Donations of gardening and building tools can be dropped off at the Customer Services Desk, Municipal Building, 101 Guyton Street, Wanganui during usual working hours.
 
Please contact Keith Smith, phone 349 0001 or David van Zanten, phone 347 8085, to arrange the donation of any building materials.

To support the fundraising effort a raffle is being run with the first prize of return airfares and seven nights accommodation in Vanuatu. For tickets contact David van Zanten, phone 347 8085 or Keith Smith, phone 349 0001.

On Friday, January 14, the Wanganui District Council and the NZ Historic Places Trust are hosting a trip up the Whangaehu Valley to Mangamahu. The trip will look at the history and development of the area, including the roads and bridges.

Council staff will give details about Bridge 47, the 85 metre long 'network arch' bridge which opened in May 2009 and is the first of its kind in New Zealand.

Bridge 47 replaced the Ngaturi Bridge which collapsed during the July 2006 storm which hit the Wanganui district. Access to the remote Mangamahu community was originally restored in August 2006 with the construction of a temporary Bailey Bridge and Bridge 47 is a permanent construction, which offers improved performance in a flood.

Wendy Pettigrew will talk about the early history of the area, where her great-grandparents were founding settlers. The visit also includes a visit to the iconic Mangamahu Church.

The trip departs from the Whanganui Riverboat Centre on Taupo Quay at 10.30am and returns at 4.00pm, adults $20 and children $15.

The Summer Programme runs until Wednesday, February 2 and offers a wide range of trips and activities. To book for a Summer Programme event or for further information call in to the Whanganui Riverboat Centre, Taupo Quay or phone 347 1863.

Amongst the exhibitions currently on display at the Sarjeant Gallery is
LEGACY:  The Norrie Collection and other works from Government House.

The works are normally displayed in Government House, Wellington so the exhibition gives a rare opportunity to view the works.

The royal portraits in this exhibition were gifted to Government House in Wellington in 1957 by Sir Willoughby Norrie, Governor General of New Zealand from 1952-57.  Much of his collection dates from purchases in London around the time of the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.  Portraits in the exhibition include those of Queen Elizabeth I, Mary Tudor, Henrietta Maria, Queen Victoria, King Charles I and Oliver Cromwell.
 
The portraits will shortly be returned to the newly refurbished Government House in April 2011.

The exhibition runs to February 6.

More information about the holiday programme is available here (PDF, 589KB).

Consumers are advised that automatic garden sprinklers can be used any day but only between 7.00pm and 9.00pm.

Hand-held hoses can be used at any time.

Reducing your water consumption

There are a variety of things you can do every day to reduce your water consumption - not just during the summer months.

• Put mulch around plants in the garden. This helps the plants retain moisture and reduces evaporation.
• Choose plants that suit climate and soil conditions to reduce watering. New Zealand natives are best adapted to our conditions.
• A leaky tap or toilet cistern that drips every second can waste up to 10,000 litres of water a year. To save water, fix leaky taps and toilet cisterns in your home.
• Take showers not baths and try to keep your shower time to less than 5 minutes. Even a low flow shower head can use 35 litres of water during a 5 minute shower.
• Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth.

Further suggestions for reducing water usage can be found at www.sustainability.govt.nz.

Wanganui District Council has received an application from C & K Building Limited for a Resource Consent as described below. 

Description of application:

To establish and operate Hunting and Fishing Incorporated at 64 Carlton Avenue, 4 & 10 Jackson Street, Wanganui.

The applicant is proposing to construct a new building of 763 square metres in area to establish a Hunting and Fishing retail outlet, in addition to a 20 seat café. The site development includes 22 car parks which are to be contained within 1000 square metres of impermeable surface with 82 square metres of landscaping.

A full description of the proposal prepared by the applicant is included in the resource consent application.

The application includes an assessment of environmental effects.

The application may be inspected at the Wanganui District Council Offices, 101 Guyton Street, Wanganui, during usual office hours (8.00am to 5.00pm, Monday to Friday).

If you have any questions about the application contact Shaun Harvey, phone 349 0543 ext 3134.

Any person may make a submission on the application.  You may do so by sending a written submission to the Chief Executive, Wanganui District Council, PO Box 637, Wanganui.  The submission must be in Form 13.  Copies of this form are available from the Customer Services Desk, Wanganui District Council, 101 Guyton Street, phone 349 0001.

Submissions close at 4.00pm on Thursday, 10 February 2011.

You must also serve a copy of your submission on the applicant, whose address for service is C & K Building Ltd, 8 Tirimoana Place, Wanganui , as soon as practicable after serving your submission on the Wanganui District Council.

We welcome members of the public to attend our meetings.

Council Meeting – Monday, January 31 (2.00pm, Council Chamber)

• The Council will consider reports from meetings held in December 2010 along with reports direct to Council.

Agendas are available at the Customer Services Counter, Municipal Office Building, 101 Guyton Street, Wanganui and the Wanganui District Library two working days prior to the meeting.