Melrose, Wellington

1314 days ago

Teenager bringing high-speed internet to Upper Hutt

Reporter Community News

A company run by a 16-year-old which has brought high-speed internet access to hundreds of households in the Hutt Valley that have been “forgotten" by the big telcos is expanding its services to other parts of the country in a bid to help more residents in isolated areas get connected.
Alex … View more
A company run by a 16-year-old which has brought high-speed internet access to hundreds of households in the Hutt Valley that have been “forgotten" by the big telcos is expanding its services to other parts of the country in a bid to help more residents in isolated areas get connected.
Alex Stewart came up with the idea for his business, WombatNET, when he was 13 and staying at the remote settlement of Turakina Beach, near Whanganui. Older people would often ask the tech-savvy teenager for help with their digital devices, and he soon realised how many people in the area were grappling with the same problem – unreliable and slow internet access.
After doing some research, he discovered that while it was relatively straightforward to connect properties to the fixed wireless broadband network using radio waves transmitted by towers, large internet providers often seemed reluctant to do so because it could be more expensive than using cables. So Stewart decided to meet the need himself.
In early 2020, WombatNET put up its first tower on private land just outside Upper Hutt. Since then, the company has built another 10 around Mangaroa and Whitemans Valley.
With demand for the service growing quickly through online and social media marketing and word of mouth, and as more people began to work from home amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Stewart was struggling to juggle running a start-up with his school work.

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1312 days ago

“Things I Know to be True” at Circa Theatre.

Circa Theatre

From August: Osage County to Joyful and Triumphant, Circa Theatre has a rich history of celebrating family. With rich insight, brilliant humour and a whole lot of heart, Andrew Bovell - the writer of When the Rain Stops Falling and Lantana - paints a vivid portrait of home: the expectations that … View moreFrom August: Osage County to Joyful and Triumphant, Circa Theatre has a rich history of celebrating family. With rich insight, brilliant humour and a whole lot of heart, Andrew Bovell - the writer of When the Rain Stops Falling and Lantana - paints a vivid portrait of home: the expectations that trap us and the love that keeps us coming back.

Co-produced with The Court Theatre, Things I Know to be True has just finished a record-breaking sold-out season in Christchurch receiving standing ovations and Circa Theatre is proud to present this “intricate, inventive study of family life” as part of its 45th anniversary celebrations. Tickets selling fast!

‘A thing of beauty, exquisitely observed. An absolute gem.’★★★★★ — The Daily Telegraph
Book now

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1314 days ago

Way Back Wednesday

Reporter Community News

Hullo Neighbourly folk, what is happening here?

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J
1313 days ago

Base Ukuele

Jenny from Seatoun

Tanglewood brand and AMP BA Series 108 20W. AMP is black, on trolley for easy moving. Have had for about 5 years, not used recently.

Price: $500

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1313 days ago

Wgtn students paints bus

Reporter Community News

Wellington’s streets just got a whole lot brighter with two special buses adorned with drawings from local kids.
Before hitting the capital’s bus routes, the Metlink double-deckers sporting vibrant custom-made vinyl wraps, were unveiled to the designers Ellie Beaumont✓​, 11, of Kāpiti and … View more
Wellington’s streets just got a whole lot brighter with two special buses adorned with drawings from local kids.
Before hitting the capital’s bus routes, the Metlink double-deckers sporting vibrant custom-made vinyl wraps, were unveiled to the designers Ellie Beaumont✓​, 11, of Kāpiti and Bill Kelly✓​, 8, of Wellington on Saturday.
Bill’s bus features an underwater scene, showing ocean life and a diver, and was inspired by his love for the sea.
“I was inspired by snorkelling in the Taputeranga Marine Reserve.
“For my design I wanted to show other people in Wellington what it was like under the sea and how many creatures live in the marine reserve.”

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1315 days ago

What do you think NZ Bus using a PR firm

Reporter Community News

NZ Bus has brought in the help of a big-hitting PR and lobbying firm led by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s former chief of staff as tensions continue with its driving workforce.
All media statements by the company are being handled by Thompson Lewis, a corporate consultancy led by lobbyist … View more
NZ Bus has brought in the help of a big-hitting PR and lobbying firm led by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s former chief of staff as tensions continue with its driving workforce.
All media statements by the company are being handled by Thompson Lewis, a corporate consultancy led by lobbyist Gordon Jon “GJ” Thompson, a former high-ranking Labour Party staffer.
NZ Bus issued a lockout notice to all union drivers on Thursday after Tramways Union announced a 24-hour strike. That lockout was overturned by in the Employment Court on Saturday.

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1314 days ago

$10m project to convert Lower Hutt office building into apartments

Reporter Community News

Unused office space in Lower Hutt's lagging CBD is being used to fill a gap in the city’s desperately understocked housing market.
The three top floors of the CML building on Laings Rd will be refitted for 30 apartments in a $10 million project backed by developers John Feast​ and Ian … View more
Unused office space in Lower Hutt's lagging CBD is being used to fill a gap in the city’s desperately understocked housing market.
The three top floors of the CML building on Laings Rd will be refitted for 30 apartments in a $10 million project backed by developers John Feast​ and Ian Cassels​.
Feast said he and Cassels bought the space about a year ago and believed much of the commercial space on the upper floors had been unused for several years.
With the conversion scheduled to be ready in 2022, extensive work including earthquake strengthening needed to take place.

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1315 days ago

New Arrivals

NZ Red Cross from Red Cross Shop Kilbirnie

Please come and visit the shop ❤️💕❤️

Negotiable

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1315 days ago
1315 days ago

Learning English can be difficult!

NumberWorks'nWords Kilbirnie

Come visit us at NumberWorks'nWords for a free assessment of your child's English and maths to see if we are the perfect fit for you!

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1315 days ago

Donate Your Grocery Bags for Good.

St Vincent de Paul Society Wellington

Do you have excess reusable bags at home that you don't need? Consider donating them to our food bank.

The Vinnies choice-based food bank is running very low on bags to pack food parcels for families accessing our support services.

Bags can be dropped off at our Welfare and Support Hub in … View more
Do you have excess reusable bags at home that you don't need? Consider donating them to our food bank.

The Vinnies choice-based food bank is running very low on bags to pack food parcels for families accessing our support services.

Bags can be dropped off at our Welfare and Support Hub in Newtown (level 1, 207 Riddiford Street) or to any of our eight Vinnies Op Shops: www.vinnies....

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1319 days ago

Poll: Do you support council amalgamation?

Reporter Community News

Minister of Local Government Nanaia Mahuta is carrying out a widespread review of local government. One of the issues that will inevitably be looked at is amalgamation.
Do you support amalgamating council's in the region.
Should Wellington, for instance, amalgamate with Porirua.
If you do not … View more
Minister of Local Government Nanaia Mahuta is carrying out a widespread review of local government. One of the issues that will inevitably be looked at is amalgamation.
Do you support amalgamating council's in the region.
Should Wellington, for instance, amalgamate with Porirua.
If you do not want your comments used by Stuff, please put NFP.

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Do you support council amalgamation?
  • 43.4% Yes
    43.4% Complete
  • 44.5% No
    44.5% Complete
  • 12.1% Not sure
    12.1% Complete
256 votes
1320 days ago

Wellington bus drivers to strike on Friday

Reporter Community News

Do you support Wellington bus driver striking?
Wellington bus drivers will strike for 24 hours on Friday, shutting down many key services in the city.
Tramways Union secretary Kevin O’Sullivan said members had ‘just had it’.
Tramways and Public Passenger Transport Employee’s Union’s … View more
Do you support Wellington bus driver striking?
Wellington bus drivers will strike for 24 hours on Friday, shutting down many key services in the city.
Tramways Union secretary Kevin O’Sullivan said members had ‘just had it’.
Tramways and Public Passenger Transport Employee’s Union’s Wellington Branch gave notice of a total strike at 3am Thursday morning. The strike will start at 4am on Friday, and end at 4am on Saturday.
The ‘surprise’ strike was announced Thursday morning after drivers voted 204-2 in favour of taking industrial action at a meeting on April 14.

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1318 days ago

Pet of the Day: Meet Marinela and Dragos

Reporter Community News

Florica Vasiliu, from Miramar, is the proud owner of brother and sister Marinela and Dragos.

"Here is a picture of Marinela and Dragos chilling out. Behind them is a picture of their distant relative that died in 2019."
Remember if you want your pet featured on Neighbourly, email us on … View more
Florica Vasiliu, from Miramar, is the proud owner of brother and sister Marinela and Dragos.

"Here is a picture of Marinela and Dragos chilling out. Behind them is a picture of their distant relative that died in 2019."
Remember if you want your pet featured on Neighbourly, email us on yourpet@dompost.co.nz with a recent photo. Please remember to say what suburb you live in.

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1317 days ago

SPCA Pet of the Day: Meet Ruthie

Reporter Community News

This week we have a lovely adoption update on Ruthie, who was recently adopted from Wellington SPCA.

"To say that adopting Ruthie has been an adjustment would be an understatement, to say the least.
We adopted her not long after our previous cat T passed away. So we went from having a big, … View more
This week we have a lovely adoption update on Ruthie, who was recently adopted from Wellington SPCA.

"To say that adopting Ruthie has been an adjustment would be an understatement, to say the least.
We adopted her not long after our previous cat T passed away. So we went from having a big, old man cat who didn't really do much to having Ruthie, who is much younger and much livelier to contend with.
When I adopted her, I was told that she was quite shy and timid, that was true for the first week or so she was at home with us, but now she is loud and 'in your face' and takes great joy in running up and down the hallway and playing with toys.
She also loves to yell for attention in the middle of the night, but we are hoping that now she is spending more time outside, she will sleep a bit more at night and stop waking us up so early in the morning. She is very talkative, makes lovely prrp noises when she doesn't feel like meowing at us.
While she is very different from our last cat, she is very loved and has settled in well to her new home. She's come out of her shell a lot in the last few weeks and is making us all very happy to have her around. Thank you so much for helping me find her. Grace (Ruthie's forever person)."

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