Avondale, Christchurch

282 days ago

Declutter and organise photos with Peter Walsh

Diana Isaac Retirement Village

Peter is helping us out with something that nearly everyone can relate to – dealing with the unsorted photos taking up space on your phone or languishing in boxes in your home.

“Without fail, when I give a talk about getting organised, I’m always asked how to deal with photos,” says … View more
Peter is helping us out with something that nearly everyone can relate to – dealing with the unsorted photos taking up space on your phone or languishing in boxes in your home.

“Without fail, when I give a talk about getting organised, I’m always asked how to deal with photos,” says Peter.

Boxes of unsorted photos can feel overwhelming to organise so they often get left for many years to clutter up our houses. In addition to this, most of us have smartphones that make it easy to take photos anywhere, so pretty soon our digital photo life becomes cluttered too.

Click read more for the full article.

Image
282 days ago

Quality wooden planter

Bruce from Edgeware

Hand made and made to order

Price: $50

282 days ago

Win this brand-new home!

Heart Foundation Lotteries

For only $15 a ticket, you could be in to win this brand-new, fully furnished Jennian home in Pegasus, Christchurch worth almost $1 million.

Featuring three bedrooms, two bathrooms and an open-plan kitchen, living and dining area, this home is waiting for its new owner.

Make this property … View more
For only $15 a ticket, you could be in to win this brand-new, fully furnished Jennian home in Pegasus, Christchurch worth almost $1 million.

Featuring three bedrooms, two bathrooms and an open-plan kitchen, living and dining area, this home is waiting for its new owner.

Make this property your permanent residence, a holiday home, rent it or even sell it!

Don’t miss out! Get your tickets today at heartlottery.org.nz.
Find out more

282 days ago

Don't forget to nominate your favourite local...

Prospa

There have been hundreds of wonderful entries in this year's Prospa Local Business Hero from across the country! If you haven't nominated a special local business yet, do it today.

- Got a great mechanic? Nominate them today.
- A barista who makes you smile? Nominate them today.
- … View more
There have been hundreds of wonderful entries in this year's Prospa Local Business Hero from across the country! If you haven't nominated a special local business yet, do it today.

- Got a great mechanic? Nominate them today.
- A barista who makes you smile? Nominate them today.
- A reassuring pharmacy team? Nominate them today.

Make a small business' day today by nominating them as your Prospa Local Business Hero - and you could make their whole year (our national winner picks up an incredible $10,000 prize package!)
Nominate now

Image
284 days ago

Have you got a family-favourite recipe for carrots?

Jo McCarroll Reporter from NZ Gardener & Get Growing

We're looking for delicious carrot recipes to feature in NZ Gardener's April issue. Send your family's favourite ways to eat this easy-to-grow vege crop to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz by February 25, 2024. Every published recipe wins a copy of the April issue of NZ Gardener.

Image
284 days ago

Quality planter

Bruce from Edgeware

450 square x280 in depth

Price: $50

284 days ago

$15,000 to welcome you home...

The Team from Ryman Healthcare

It could be our wonderful staff. Our vibrant communities. Our amazing amenities. Or just the peace of mind that our guaranteed fixed base weekly fee* brings. There are so many reasons to choose the Ryman lifestyle. We’d love to add one more reason to your list - $15,000 back for a limited time*.
View more
It could be our wonderful staff. Our vibrant communities. Our amazing amenities. Or just the peace of mind that our guaranteed fixed base weekly fee* brings. There are so many reasons to choose the Ryman lifestyle. We’d love to add one more reason to your list - $15,000 back for a limited time*.

If you sign up to one of our new home offers, you’ll get a $15,000 credit on settlement*.

There’s truly never been a better time to choose Ryman.

*Terms and conditions apply.
Explore our villages now

Image
286 days ago

LEGO 10776 Mickey & Friends Fire Truck & Station

Jane from Parklands - Marshlands

In sealed box.
Pick up is Parklands or can arrange from Kilmore Street during business hours.

Price: $75

Image
286 days ago

Indoor plant stand

Bruce from Edgeware

Stands at 520 x 430 long x130 wide

Price: $40

286 days ago

Poll: What power issues have you faced?

The Team from NZ Compare

Hey neighbours! How has your power been treating you lately? Any sparks or stumbles in the past year?
Share the woes and let's brighten each other's day!

Image
What power issues have you faced?
  • 13.1% Power Outages
    13.1% Complete
  • 73% High Bills
    73% Complete
  • 2.9% Billing Errors
    2.9% Complete
  • 4.2% Voltage Fluctuations
    4.2% Complete
  • 6.8% Poor Customer Service
    6.8% Complete
382 votes
287 days ago

DO YOU NEED FREE LEGAL HELP?

The Team from Citizens Advice Christchurch Area

Community Law are back at the Hornby Community Centre, 8 Goulding Ave,
- every Wednesday from 1.30pm - 4.30pm. Walk in service and wait your turn.

Advice can be on tenancy issues, family violence, criminal charges, consumer and civil disputes.

If you cannot make that time they have an … View more
Community Law are back at the Hornby Community Centre, 8 Goulding Ave,
- every Wednesday from 1.30pm - 4.30pm. Walk in service and wait your turn.

Advice can be on tenancy issues, family violence, criminal charges, consumer and civil disputes.

If you cannot make that time they have an office in Christchurch and are also out in the community at other locations, but you will need an appointment. Give them a call on 03 366 6870 to book an appointment or email admin@canlaw.org.nz.

Image
288 days ago

Port Hills fire: ‘We’re not out of the woods yet’

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

The Port Hills fire has burned across 630 hectares and spread inside the Christchurch Adventure Park’s boundaries overnight.

Eighty households were evacuated, the city’s mayor said, but Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) said no structures had been lost “thanks to the great efforts of … View more
The Port Hills fire has burned across 630 hectares and spread inside the Christchurch Adventure Park’s boundaries overnight.

Eighty households were evacuated, the city’s mayor said, but Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) said no structures had been lost “thanks to the great efforts of our crews”.

The main fire was around Summit Rd. Firefighters had successfully put a fire break in around Worsleys Spur to Dyers Pass Rd, Mosby said.

Fenz was aware northwesterly winds were forecast to build from about lunchtime, so the focus on Thursday was to “hit the fire hard with the resources we have already“.

The fire broke out about 2.15pm on Wednesday - the anniversary of the devastating 2017 fire - and a local state of emergency remains in place.

Fenz said 80 firefighters were on the ground on Thursday, while in the air were 15 helicopters with monsoon buckets and two fixed wing aircraft focused on retardant drops.

A community meeting would be held for affected residents at Te Hāpua Halswell Centre at 11am.

Also on Thursday morning, two helicopters had been diverted to a vegetation fire burning through scrub in the View Hill area of North Canterbury, to would help six crews “who are mopping up, focusing on areas of unsafe terrain”, Fenz said.

A grass fire also threatened structures near Rolleston in Selwyn just before 9am on Thursday. Four Fenz trucks and one tanker responded and it was contained within an hour.

An evacuation centre had been set up at Halswell Library and Community Centre, and a second at the Lincoln community centre for people closer to Selwyn.

A community meeting would be held for affected residents at Te Hāpua Halswell Centre at 11am.

Late Wednesday, Fenz asked for help from the public as an investigation into the cause of the fire began.

Anyone with photographs or videos of the Port Hills taken between 1.45pm and 2.45pm (30 minutes before the fire was reported to 30 minutes after) Wednesday were asked to email them to PortHills2024Photos@fireandemergency.nz with their name and contact details, when the photo or footage was taken and where the photographer was.

288 days ago

Is your furry friend protected?

Southern Cross from Neighbourly Nz

The Pet Life.

It’s the life you share with your pet, and the life they share with you. We believe the pet life’s a life worth protecting.

Which is why we are dedicated to helping pets live longer, healthier and happier lives every day.

We’re proudly born and bred in New Zealand, and … View more
The Pet Life.

It’s the life you share with your pet, and the life they share with you. We believe the pet life’s a life worth protecting.

Which is why we are dedicated to helping pets live longer, healthier and happier lives every day.

We’re proudly born and bred in New Zealand, and are equally proud to partner with the NZ Veterinary Association and Pet Refuge. Just two ways we’re there to support the Pet Life community.

Protect the Pet Life.
Learn more now

Image
289 days ago

Residents told to evacuate as large fire engulfs Chch’s Port Hills

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

People in Christchurch’s Port Hills have been evacuated from their homes following a huge fire near the Christchurch Adventure Park on the anniversary of the devastating 2017 fires that killed a pilot and destroyed multiple homes.

Dozens of firefighters and multiple helicopters are battling … View more
People in Christchurch’s Port Hills have been evacuated from their homes following a huge fire near the Christchurch Adventure Park on the anniversary of the devastating 2017 fires that killed a pilot and destroyed multiple homes.

Dozens of firefighters and multiple helicopters are battling the major blaze, which has engulfed a large part of the hills in the south of the city.

The fire caused power to be temporarily lost to 40,000 homes in the east of the city, power company Orion said, and several traffic lights to be out.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) said at 4pm that 10 people had been evacuated with the help of police, and more evacuations were expected.

Anyone near the fire who felt unsafe may self-evacuate, but should stay with family and friends if possible, Fenz said.

Several of structures were under threat, with firefighters “completing structure protection”.

Health authorities have also issued a public health warning about the smoke.

A huge plume of white is billowing across the southern part of the city from the blaze, which broke out at about 2.15pm at the top of Worsleys Road in the Port Hills.

As of 3.50pm, 10 helicopters and 15 trucks and tankers were fighting the fire.

The Christchurch Adventure Park has been evacuated, which the company behind it said was standard procedure when a fire is nearby.

Adventure Park spokesperson Juliet Calder said the fire started outside the park.

As soon as the park was alerted to the fire at 2.15pm, it began following instructions from Fenz, including evacuating the park. “It’s not in our park itself,” she said.

An emergency notification from Fenz has been sent to residents along the Port Hills as the large fire rages near Westmorland.

Just before 4pm, residents in the neighbouring suburb of Cashmere Hills, 1.5km away, were sent an emergency alert stating “a wildfire is burning ... evacuate the area immediately”.

The warning urged residents of Worsleys Rd and Worselys Spur to evacuate now because of the vegetation fire.

An evacuation centre has been set up at Halswell Library and Community Centre.

The billowing dark smoke could be seen high in the sky above the hills, the orange glow of flames visible from the central city.

“A fire has been reported in the area of Worsley Rd on the Port Hills and we have appliances responding,” the Fenz spokesperson said.

“Please stay away from this area to allow our crews to work on containing this fire.

It is as yet unclear how the fire started. The fire risk in the area is considered “very high”, according to Niwa and Fenz.

Helicopters could be seen scooping up water using monsoon buckets and flying above the smoke.

Local Cashmere resident Joachim Murdie said he saw 10 fire trucks drive past his house towards the fire “coming from each direction”.

He joined a large group of cars lined up on Worlseys Rd of residents and curious people watching the large smoke fill the sky.

Murdie cycles regularly at the Adventure Park and said the tracks are “incredibly dry” at the moment.

“It’s just straw up there really … anything like a cigarette put could set it on fire.”

One Worsleys Rd resident, who didn’t want to be named, said the fire appeared to be burning further up the hill from her property, past the dead end at the end of the street.

“We’re packing up just in case we have to be evacuated.”

There were three or four helicopters circling the area, she said, and numerous audible sirens. For now, smoke was blowing away from her property.

The resident’s house was spared in the Port Hills fires of 2017, she said, although some neighbours weren’t so lucky.

“It’s just life,” she said. “You just do it.”

Brianna Moody watched the fire burn for close to an hour. She said “it was growing at a massive rate” and getting scarily close to residents’ houses.

Port Hills resident Tracey Menzies sat patiently at a police cordon, worrying about her house on the hill from which her family had evacuated.

Her son was home when the fire broke out, so he grabbed the dog and fled.

The blaze is a reminder of the Port Hills fire their family experienced seven years ago, but Menzies said she had faith in fire crews.

“The fire brigade are onto it, it’s got so much bigger so much quicker than the last one, but they know what they’re doing,” she said.

“When we arrived it was a quarter of the size of what it is now, it’s moving so quickly and the black and white clouds are just crazy,” she said.

Te Whatu Ora National Public Health Service has issued a public health warning.

“Those who are sensitive to smoke - such as those with heart or lung conditions, pregnant people, young children and the elderly - may experience symptoms like coughing, shortness of breath or eye, nose and throat irritation,” it said.

People affected by the smoke should close windows and doors and reduce outdoor exercise. Those concerned about their health can call Healthline on 0800 611 116.

It was 24C in Christchurch when the blaze broke out, with wind gusts of up to 33kph. Temperatures were forecast to rise to 29C later on Wednesday.

Canterbury District, which includes areas north of the Rakaia River, is under total fire ban until further notice.

No open-air fires are allowed and all fire permits are suspended since a prohibited fire season came into place.

Dry weather is expected to continue for the next two months.

It is seven years since a major fire burned through 1600 hectares of land in 2017, claiming nine homes and damaging five others.

War hero and celebrated pilot Steve Askin, 38, died while fighting the blazes. The Eurocopter AS350-BA helicopter he was flying crashed near Sugarloaf on February 14.

It took 66 days before the fire was declared fully extinguished.

The fires were the first large-scale blazes on the edge of a major urban area in New Zealand.

The two fires started February 13, 2017 and then merged, producing as much energy as four atom bombs.

Top