'Grave concerns' for missing woman last seen in Christchurch
Rowena Walker Photo: Supplied / NZ PolicePolice have "grave concerns" for a woman who has not been seen for six months and are considering the possibility she may have been the victim of foul play. In an interview with RNZ, Detective Senior Sergeant Jo Carolan said the 39-year-old's last confirmed sighting was in Christchurch on 14 August last year. Carolan said the fact Walker had been missing without any trace for six months was "hugely concerning". "Rowena is a vulnerable person in the community, and we have to consider the possibility that she's been the victim of foul play. "They haven't seen mum now for six months and don't understand why that is, they very much want to have mum back.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 09, 2026 23:26 UTC
St Marys Bay $50m apartment project sells six of eight luxury units for $10m+ each
GN Construction is building the four-level development with a basement on the ground floor at 87 Shelly Beach Rd. The St Marys Bay development has apartments with three or four bedrooms each, on the steep ridge above the motorway. Michael Dallimore of Vanguard said Melbourne, Europe and Brazil inspired the scheme for St Marys Bay luxury apartments at 87 Shelly Beach Rd. Highly visible from the motorway but this is the side from 87 Shelly Beach Rd, St Marys Bay: Vanguard & Co's eight new luxury apartments. She also designed the interiors of the new St Marys Bay project.
Source:New Zealand Herald
February 09, 2026 21:47 UTC
Longstanding Dunedin painting company on market
Shareholder Richard Daniell said the business was in good heart and he was looking forward to continuing on. The business was first started in January 1896 by James Wren, who started out as a painter and decorator. The company is now owned by Richard Daniell, Brian Black and Blair Mitchell, with the head office in Carroll St. Celebrating 130 years of Wrens are (from left) shareholder Blair Mitchell, majority owner Richard Daniell and shareholder Brian Black. His co-owner, Blair Mitchell, had started his apprenticeship at the firm when he was 16 and at 52 was still there.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 09, 2026 20:41 UTC
ORC should shuffle off this mortal coil
Port and harbourside land assets are not going "away" anywhere as they had been reclaimed and developed by Dunedin’s ancestors for over a century before ownership was wrongly gifted to the ORC in 1989. It is the ORC that has been stealing the returns from Dunedin’s port and harbourside land from Dunedin for the past 35 years to fund its burgeoning bureaucracy. Because of ORC/Chalmers Properties’ continued leasehold ownership, the ORC has also prevented development of Dunedin’s harbourside while creaming $30 million annually just from harbourside land rents. ORC port inefficiency in a constrained port area has been worsened by failing to organise inland ports, which have been talked about for 20 years. The ORC port property arm also pays extraordinary management salaries, confirmed in last year’s annual report with 14 managers being paid over $250,000 annually and up to a top salary of over $840,000.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 09, 2026 20:10 UTC
Epstein accomplice Maxwell seeks Trump clemency before testimony
Maxwell’s attorney, David Markus, said she would be prepared to speak publicly if granted clemency by Trump. “Ms Maxwell is prepared to speak fully and honestly if granted clemency by President Trump.”Markus also said that Trump and former President Bill Clinton – both of whom were once friendly with Epstein – are “innocent of any wrongdoing”. “Ms Maxwell alone can explain why, and the public is entitled to that explanation,” he said. ‘Unrepentant’Democratic lawmaker Suhas Subramanyam, who attended the closed-door deposition by Maxwell, said she was “unrepentant”. Trump was once a close friend of Epstein but has not been called to testify by the House Oversight Committee, which is led by members of his Republican Party.
Source:New Zealand Herald
February 09, 2026 19:13 UTC
Prince William, Kate ‘deeply concerned’ by Andrew’s Epstein ‘revelations’
Andrew had previously been accused of having sex with a then-17-year-old Virginia Giuffre, nee Virginia Roberts, while she was being trafficked by Epstein. The Wales’ statement came as British authorities confirmed on Monday that they are assessing allegations that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor shared with Jeffrey Epstein confidential reports from his role as the UK’s trade envoy. Sign up to Herald Premium Editor’s Picks, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week’s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here.
Source:New Zealand Herald
February 09, 2026 19:13 UTC
Weather: Heat alerts likely as temperatures soar, heavy rain threatens for the weekend
Many will be seeking out shade this week as soaring temperatures prompt heat alerts. Photo / Sylvie WhinrayMany will be seeking out shade this week as soaring temperatures prompt heat alerts. Photo / Sylvie WhinrayHeat alerts can be expected this week as temperatures soar in both islands, before a change on Friday brings the threat of heavy downpours this weekend. Warmer-than-average temperatures are expected for most of the country this week, with heat alerts possible for Thursday. MetService meteorologist Silvia Martino said afternoon temperatures were set to climb into the high 20s on Thursday, with some places in Wairarapa and Canterbury potentially cracking 30C; 6 or 7C above average for this time of year.
Source:New Zealand Herald
February 09, 2026 19:12 UTC
Auckland trains back on schedule after ‘faulty’ track work fixed
Auckland trains are now running on schedule after “faulty work” by contractors in the Parnell rail tunnel was fixed overnight. Auckland Transport had warned rail replacement buses would be needed but says that is no longer the case. KiwiRail originally said trains on the Southern and Western line would be running every 20 minutes instead of every 10 minutes, and would not be running at all between Waitematā and Newmarket, with rail replacement buses running. “Following successful testing and remedial work overnight, KiwiRail has cleared the Parnell Tunnel track for use this morning and trains are running as normal,“ KiwiRail chief metro officer David Gordon said. “We made the call to close the tunnel last night as it was the safest option and to give Auckland commuters the best chance to make alternative plans.”
Source:New Zealand Herald
February 09, 2026 19:08 UTC
Mosgiel roads on NZTA radar
Consultants will be asked by the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) to build an investment case for improvements at key intersections in the short to medium term. The focus of the project was to "optimise" existing assets, the draft strategic case said. Its work sits alongside a Mosgiel transport study being carried out by the Dunedin City Council. The community board emphasised the importance of continued development of long-term measures, using the Mosgiel transport study and other investigations to back this up, she said. Source:Draft strategic case for improvements to SH1 and SH87 at Mosgiel.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 09, 2026 18:49 UTC
Quick response to burning tractor
Fire and Emergency New Zealand staff attend a tractor fire above Concord, in Dunedin, which sent large plumes of thick black smoke across the area yesterday afternoon. IPHOTOS: STEPHEN JAQUIERYnitially one fire appliance from St Kilda was sent, he said. "But en route they could see a lot of black smoke, so they then requested another appliance." A tanker from the Central Dunedin station and another appliance from Roslyn were sent to help fight the fire. He said the quick response might have stopped the fire from spreading into nearby trees and scrub.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 09, 2026 18:49 UTC
Car's cone covering 'just your usual student antics'
Thanks to the joint effort of a bunch of strangers, a car was covered by cones in Dundas St on Saturday. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSHCovering a random Dunedin car completely in road cones was a joint effort by a bunch of strangers, a woman who lives in the area says. It was "100%" a joint effort by a bunch of strangers. Ms Bowker had noticed the car had been parked in the same spot for quite a while. She had parked the car on the street as her flat had no driveway and she was off visiting family outside of the city.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 09, 2026 18:49 UTC
Rents drop despite dip in supply
ODT GRAPHICRental properties in the southern regions appear to be turning the economic principle of supply and demand on its head. But when the number of rental properties does not keep pace with demand, the property owners can charge more because renters have less choice. Despite supply dropping by more than a quarter, the average rental price also dropped by 4.1% (from $541 per week in January 2025, to $519 in January 2026). Despite the anomalies in the principles of supply and demand in the southern regions, the nationwide rental market reacted as expected under the principles. "Overall, this is a rental market offering very different experiences, depending on where renters are relocating.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 09, 2026 17:53 UTC
Time frame shortened for wind farm decision
An artist’s impression of what the turbines will look like for stage two of the Mahinerangi wind farm from Black Rock Runs Rd. PHOTO: SUPPLIEDMercury Energy has been given a boost to its planned Mahinerangi wind farm expansion by way of a shorter time frame than it asked for. The wind farm was referred to the fast-track process by Mercury Energy last year and accepted for referral in November. The applicant has asked for 63 working days — similar to that of its Southland wind farm, near Wyndham. The convener said although the two projects were broadly similar in scale, the Mahinerangi wind farm was less complex.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 09, 2026 17:48 UTC
Child sex offender denied parole
Paiea Waihirere, pictured here at his sentencing in 2017, was declined parole at his most recent hearing. PHOTO: ROB KIDDA Dunedin sex offender who photoshopped his victim’s face on to child pornography images has been declined parole again. Paiea Shane Waihirere, 59, appeared before the parole board last month. Last month, Waihirere’s lawyer Michael Starling told the parole board his client continued to make progress while behind bars and highlighted he had moved to a "working unit". He was declined parole and would be seen again in July.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 09, 2026 17:48 UTC
Sharks or humans: anger, questions over seal deaths
A New Zealand fur seal. PHOTO: RNZDepartment of Conservation staff are not ruling out human involvement in the decapitation of at least two New Zealand fur seals found dead on a Dunedin beach. It prompted many people to write posts warning about swimming or surfing in the area, because they might be mistaken by sharks as New Zealand fur seals. A great white shark. "Having worked in Australia’s largest sea lion colony and South Australia’s largest fur seal colonies for years, I can tell you one thing we never saw — a dead seal with shark wounds.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 09, 2026 17:48 UTC