Community News

How Well Do We Know People In Our Community?

Chris Cochrane talks about his book  “Woolsheds of the Wairarapa.” Two years ago, The Star featured an article looking at research being…

Sept 2025

Community News

Maori And Local History Will Be Made – But What’s Next?

Two candidates are contesting South Wairarapa council’s first Maori Ward election – at the same time as a special referendum vote is…

Sept 2025

Community News

Clothing Swap

We always seem to have an interesting array of clothes in varying sizes. And it is great to see how many people…

Sept 2025

Community News

Support and Connections for Seniors at Heartlands

Spring is nearly here, and here at Heartlands we love to see people use our space to warm up, learn something new…

Sept 2025

Community News

Making the end of Highway 53 a shared public place

Highway 53 terminates at the Martinborough Square and is managed by NZTA. The 100 metres of public road between Ohio Street and…

Sept 2025

Politics

Mayoral Candidate – Leah Hawkins 

Leah Hawkins What is the main reason you are standing for Council or the Community Board? I believe South Wairarapa deserves strong,…

Sept 2025

Politics

Mayoral Candidate – Fran Wilde

Fran Wilde What is the main reason you are standing for Council or the Community Board? South Wairarapa desperately needs experienced leadership.…

Sept 2025

Politics

Letter to the Editor

I read with interest the letter from Mr Rowan, expressing some valid points, and indeed I thank him for his muted support of…

Sept 2025

Politics

Council Candidate – Pip Maynard 

Pip Maynard What is the main reason you are standing for Council?  I have again been asked by members of the Martinborough…

Sept 2025

Politics

Council Candidate – Aidan Ellims

Aidan Ellims What is the main reason you are standing for Council?  I want to continue representing the residents and ratepayers of…

Sept 2025

Business

Journey of Discovery in Te Muna Valley

August may be the last month of winter but that never stops it from being relentlessly chilly, which may be why the…

Sept 2025

Business

Rediscovering New Zealand’s Winemaking Heritage

Martinborough Winery Cambridge Road restores ancient Totara barrels for new release in an industry first.  Crystal Veil 2023 marks the debut of…

Sept 2025

Business

Tough vintages and top producers

Aotearoa New Zealand might be a long way from New York but the 2023 vintage has a lot in common with the…

Aug 2025

Business

Local shop wins best bookseller award

Brenda Channer is passionate about books and is excited to share this enthusiasm with as many people as possible. She tells me…

Aug 2025

Business

Small winery launches big bold bubbly

Coney Wines launched its first-ever bubbly last month, which reminded me of a  conversation with friends at a winery in the deep…

July 2025

Arts & Culture

Elouan Quartet with Bridget Douglas

The Elouan Quartet is a newly formed string quartet comprised of NZSO players with a special love of chamber music and performing…

Sept 2025

Arts & Culture

Shadowing Lands 

Rosalie Jurczenko’s new solo exhibition at Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art and History is a show about resilience, told through New Zealand…

Sept 2025

Arts & Culture

Martinborough Music Festival

“When you move to a new country, it’s not just furniture, crockery or family treasures that come with you – it’s the…

Sept 2025

Arts & Culture

Jazz in Martinborough 

“It’s always a bit fraught putting together a festival programme and we always wish we could confirm bands and venues earlier,” says…

Sept 2025

Arts & Culture

Martinborough Museum 

Things are changing again at the Martinborough Museum as we continue our new programme of mini-exhibitions. For September we have chosen a…

Sept 2025

Environment

Kahikatea Planting Expands Wetland Restoration

The morning was cold, the wind chill, water flowed under foot in places as hardy volunteers gathered for a native tree, shrub…

Sept 2025

Environment

“Quardle oodle ardle wardle doodle The magpies said.”

Denis Glover’s famous poem helped to define New Zealand’s distinctive style of poetry.  Catherine Chidgey’s “Axeman’s Carnival” elevated the magpie to even…

Sept 2025

Environment

Latest data from Predator Free Martinborough NZ

A special thank you to all who are helping to reduce the number of pests in Martinborough.  Whether this is individual property…

Sept 2025

Environment

Community Garden News

Thank goodness for the current sun! Some warmth and rain-free hours are our prime requirement at the Community Garden at present. Fortunately,…

Sept 2025

Environment

Living The Milky WayStar-Gazing Dream 

Star-gazing business green shoots are growing inside Wairarapa’s dark sky reserve, with one operator planning to add new staff by Christmas, overturning…

Sept 2025

Sports

Golf Club News

The course has been cold, but the golf has been hot with great conditions given the frosts and wet weather. Huge thanks…

Aug 2025

Sports

Hole-in-one, Swilcan Bridge, new golf food

Winter has definitely set in but there are still many hardy golfers out there and enjoying some calm if cold weather. Just…

July 2025

Sports

Sports, recreation body “an investment, not a cost”

A district-wide sports and recreation quango (“semi-autonomous non-government body, partly public funded”) has been granted $161,200 over two years as set-up funding…

July 2025

Sports

Wind, mud, rain, hail and cold – enduro heaven

On Saturday 7 June I was out for a walk.  I’d recently returned from the UK and jet lag was still playing…

July 2025

Sports

Martinborough Golf celebrates late Bill Jones

The month at the club started with a celebration of the life of one of the club’s life members, Bill Jones. Sadly…

Jun 2025

Event News

Mitre 10 Martinborough Ladies Night

Thursday 11th September 6pm-8pm. Grab your tickets in store at Mitre 10 or from Kitchener’s Cafe. Tickets are $10 each with proceeds going…

Sept 2025

Event News

Celebrate Artistic Brilliance at Greytown Art Town Festival 

26–28 September 2025 Discover exceptional art, get inspired, and connect with the artistic community during Greytown Art Town Festival, showcasing the extraordinary…

Sept 2025

Event News

South Wairarapa Rebus Club

How did Arthur Ransome come to write Swallows and Amazons, transforming himself from literary critic to foreign correspondent, witnessing and reporting on…

Sept 2025

Event News

Wairarapa Walking Festival 

Mark your calendars for 14–23 November as the Walking Festival returns for its fifth year. Participants are invited to discover the region’s…

Sept 2025

Event News

Rural Women in Martinborough

A Centennial High Tea Luncheon to mark 100 years of Rural Women NZ in Martinborough, will be held at Parehura on the…

Club News

Know any young heroes?   

Nominations sought for SW Rotary Youth Awards.  We know there are young people out there doing extraordinary things in our communities, but…

Sept 2025

Club News

Celebrating 32 years of friendship and service

Wow! What a wonderful evening. Members, former members and partners, plus a delegation of five women from District 294 joined together to…

Aug 2025

Club News

South Wairarapa Rebus Club

“Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed; everything else is public relations” While this quote is commonly attributed to George…

Aug 2025

Club News

Highest rating gain wins trophy for local scrabbler

Martinborough woman Glenys Hansen has shown New Zealand’s top scrabble competitors that age has a place atthe table.  At 82, Glenys won…

July 2025

Club News

Toy library moves

Martinborough Toy Library is now based at the Waihinga Centre – and we’re excitedto welcome the community into our new space!  As…

July 2025

Health & Wellbeing

A Village Near Martinborough

Just a few of kilometres out of Martinborough on a rural road, you may have noticed a cluster of buildings that look…

Sept 2025

Health & Wellbeing

Hōkai Tahi Welcomes New Service Manager

Hōkai Tahi is delighted to announce the appointment of Renee Renata as its new Service Manager. Hōkai Tahi provides free support services…

Sept 2025

Health & Wellbeing

Living Positively with Parkinson’s

We would all like to stay in our own homes as we get older, and this is especially so for those living…

Sept 2025

Health & Wellbeing

MartinboroughRugby Club reclaims community gym to benefit all

Martinborough Rugby Football Club (MRFC) is proud to announce it has officially taken back the management of the town’s community gym, revitalising…

Aug 2025

Health & Wellbeing

RAPID is a place – not just a misplaced road number 

As you travel along rural roads you will no doubt notice red numbers on white backgrounds at everyone’s drive.  In case you…

May 2025

History

Everyone is welcome all the time

Next time you wait for your order from Joe Kwong On Takeaways on Jellicoe Street you might like to think about the…

Jun 2025

History

Centenarian’s birthday marked by late pontiff

Even as Pope Francis was lying in State at St Peter’s Basilica in Rome and thousands filed past his coffin, his soft…

May 2025

History

Time Travel at Martinborough Museum

Martinborough Museum is planning a series of mini-exhibitions to tell local stories through items in its collection. The first exhibition will open…

Feb 2025

History

One Quick Question

Where in town would you find this smart new bronze plaque? Clues: It’s on a building in The Square That building was…

Dec 2024

History

Century-plus of Chinese merchant history

Former Prime Minister Helen Clark may be surprised to learn that she could be one of the originators of a splendid book…

Dec 2024

  • September 2025

    VIEW PDF
  • August 2025

    VIEW PDF
  • July 2025

    VIEW PDF
  • June 2025

    VIEW PDF
Back to top