1529 days ago

Dentists chip in to give Auckland's Singing Cowboy his smile back

Caroline Williams Reporter from Central Leader

Auckland’s famous Singing Cowboy has got his smile back.

Entertainer Jock Hume, 74, was swimming at Tiritiri Matangi Island, off Auckland’s Whangaparāoa Peninsula, on March 24, when two of his teeth were knocked out by kids who were skipping pebbles.

“It knocked out two of my lovely front teeth. It was such a shock to me, I was stunned,” Hume said at the time.

Hume is a familiar face on the streets of Auckland, where he has performed country and western songs with his acoustic guitar since busking was first permitted in the 1980s.

Following Stuff’s story on the matter, Dr John Wright of Hibiscus Coast Dental rallied a group of dental clinicians and technicians to fix Hume’s teeth, free of charge.

Hume said he was “most grateful and appreciative” of his new smile, which he described as “the best Christmas present ever”.

Click 'read more' for the full story.
Video by Stuff's Abigail Dougherty

More messages from your neighbours
1 day 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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6 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?
  • 52.8% Human-centred experience and communication
    52.8% Complete
  • 14.8% Critical thinking
    14.8% Complete
  • 29.7% Resilience and adaptability
    29.7% Complete
  • 2.8% Other - I will share below!
    2.8% Complete
576 votes
13 hours 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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