1839 days ago

Wingmen from North Shore school on matching career coordinates

Caryn Wilkinson Reporter from Community News

Three former students of a North Shore high school have been reunited on the tarmac.

The Westlake Boys High School old boys bumped into each other at their military flying training as Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) pilots.

Flying Officer Denzel Williams 24, Flying Officer Aaron Kurte 24, and Flying Officer Tyler Waters 25, all attended the school in Auckland's Forrest Hill.

Kurte and Williams were in the same year and played hockey together, while Waters studied in the year above them.

Despite following different flight paths after leaving school, the trio found themselves on the same pilot's course at the Royal New Zealand Air Force Base in Ohakea.

All three have passed with flying colours with six other new pilots.

Kurte made coffee as a barista while he saved for private flying training.

Williams did odd jobs for a few years and travelled with Kurte before joining the Air Force.

And Waters studied a Batchelor of mechanical engineering at Auckland University where he graduated with honours.

From left: Flying Officers Denzel Williams, Tyler Waters and Aaron Kurte graduate as RNZAF pilots. Photograph supplied: New Zealand Defence Force

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More messages from your neighbours
26 minutes ago

Some Choice News!

Kia pai from Sharing the Good Stuff

DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.

Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.

For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.

Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?

We hope this brings a smile!

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5 days ago

Poll: 🤖 What skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

The Reserve Bank has shared some pretty blunt advice: there’s no such thing as a “safe” job anymore 🛟😑

Robots are stepping into repetitive roles in factories, plants and warehouses. AI is taking care of the admin tasks that once filled many mid-level office jobs.

We want to know: As the world evolves, what skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?

Want to read more? The Press has you covered!

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🤖 What skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
  • 52.7% Human-centred experience and communication
    52.7% Complete
  • 14.7% Critical thinking
    14.7% Complete
  • 29.8% Resilience and adaptability
    29.8% Complete
  • 2.7% Other - I will share below!
    2.7% Complete
550 votes
15 hours ago

Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!

William Hansby Reporter from NZ Gardener & Get Growing

Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.

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