2006 days ago

Future Hollywood star found in Upper Hutt boxing gym

Reporter Community News

James Matamua is a name to remember.

The Upper Hutt 22 year-old has taken an unlikely path to acting stardom after being discovered in an Upper Hutt boxing gym.

When Kiwi director Sam Kelly walked into the Heretaunga Boxing Gym, he wasn’t expecting to find New Zealand’s next big talent. But that is exactly what Kelly found when he handed out audition forms to the young men hanging around after training.

Matamua was so confident he’d get the role after auditioning, James started signing off as ’’Next Big Thing’’ in his emails to the producer, telling them not to bother auditioning anyone else. It was this confidence, humour and natural charm that endeared the casting team to him and won him the role.

Matamua scored a role in Savages, a film about the early history of gangs in New Zealand.

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More messages from your neighbours
4 days ago

Poll: If we want to reduce speeding, what do you think actually changes driver behaviour? 🛻🚨🚓

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

In the Post's article on speeding penalties, the question is asked whether speeding fines are truly about road safety, or are they just a way to boost revenue for the Crown?

What do you think? Should speeding motorists receive speeding fines or demerit points?

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If we want to reduce speeding, what do you think actually changes driver behaviour? 🛻🚨🚓
  • 38.3% The sting of a fine (Money talks!)
    38.3% Complete
  • 61.7% The threat of demerit points (Nobody wants to lose their license!)
    61.7% Complete
752 votes
1 day ago

💨 Wellington: Is the real summer finally here?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

It’s the talk of the town (and every coffee queue): the Wellington "summer" has felt more like a very long, very damp spring! 🌧️ We’ve definitely had our fair share of grey skies and raincoats lately.

In fact, The Post reports that our "pretty average" summer has been tough on the local venues and events that usually thrive under the sun. But don't pack away the sunscreen just yet!

The good news? The next couple of weeks are looking a bit more "settled" (the Wellington word for "not a gale-force downpour"). With autumn officially here, now is the time to squeeze every last drop out of the season! ☀️

Any local hidden spots or activities you’d recommend for a calm Wellington day? Drop them in the comments! 👇

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10 days 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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