St. Mary's Anglican Cathedral - why has it taken so long for work to start on the Restoration of our Cathedral?
The 'Daily News' reported on Wednesday 5 October 2023 that work was hopefully going to start soon on our (stone) Cathedral. I thought we could re-start the Neighbourly conversation of a few week's ago, re: where has all the Money Raised from the Community Fundraising gone? The paper recorded that all the building work so far (on the Vicarage and the Brown Building next to it) amounted to $20 million! And the $5m from the Provisional Growth Fund would have gone into the mix for that too! As I believe all the Money has now been spent! I am most concerned that all the Funds given so Generously by the Public, by Philanthropists, by Businesses, by those with Tangible Connections to the Cathedral (eg having been Married there) were taken under false pretences! Over the past 6-7 years many of us were asked to Give what we could afford, towards the Restoration of the Cathedral - I remember it well - 2 ladies would go around all the various Groups in Taranaki and give a Speech asking for Financial help, showing the Plans etc. of How the Repairs to the Cathedral would be staged and how it would look in the Future! These Presentations did the job, and much Funds were Raised over several years! The City/Region were kept informed and we were all excited that soon, our Cathedral would once more be Open for Business? However, since approx. 2018, we've heard Nothing! And seen Nothing! What happened? Who was in Charge? Unless you were a 'Regular at the Interim Cathedral', we heard Nothing! But since many of the Funds came from Others 'Outside of the Church', they deserved to be kept Up to Date as well as everyone else. It is only this week (in 2023) that we have learnt Anything about the Progress of our Cathedral. Why? And why has so much of the Money Raised been Used for these other Projects (Vicarage and Brown Building) without the Approval or at least the knowledge of the People who thought they were Paying for the Cathedral itself NOT for other bits and pieces.....
What do you all think?
Some Choice News!
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!
🧩😏 Riddle me this, Neighbours…
I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I?
Do you think you know the answer?
Want to stop seeing these in your newsfeed? No worries! Simply head here and click once on the Following button.
Have you got New Zealand's best shed? Show us and win!
Once again, Resene and NZ Gardener are on the hunt for New Zealand’s best shed! Send in the photos and the stories behind your man caves, she sheds, clever upcycled spaces, potty potting sheds and colourful chicken coops. The Resene Shed of the Year 2026 winner receives $1000 Resene ColorShop voucher, a $908 large Vegepod Starter Pack and a one-year subscription to NZ Gardener. To enter, tell us in writing (no more than 500 words) why your garden shed is New Zealand’s best, and send up to five high-quality photos by email to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz. Entries close February 23, 2026.
Loading…
