Communication Breakdown

Posted by on 6 May 2010 | 0 Comments

The floods have been the talking point of the past 10 days and as usual, Southlanders coped very well. We just got on with it and did what had to be done.

The damage to the communication fibre-optics on the Whitestone Bridge showed us all how much we rely on modern technology. With all of it - emails, faxes, cellphones, phones, eft-pos - down at the same time, it was a real wake-up call for Te Anau residents and maybe for people further afield.

Te Anau has been lucky to have an alternate route, especially through the Southern Scenic Route, to get into the town after the main highway was closed for a few days because of the damage to the Whitestone Bridge.

There has been a lot of interest in the flooded Te Anau boat harbour and boat lovers, like my husband, have spen more time there than at home, making sure their precious boats are okay. Maybe the only good has been for the ducks, which don't have to go far to find a pond or two and there is certainly a lot of water to make electricity.

I made it out to go to the opening of the Menzies College new science and technology block and congratulations must go to the school for its leadership and forward thinking in this area. I was certainly inspired by the creation for this technology block and I imagine the young people will get great benefits out of being able to learn and understand concepts in such a workshop area.

This year I took part in the Anzac Day ceremonies in Te Anau, where many people commemorated our fallen soldiers. More than 100 people marched in the rain behind the army vehicles, including historical vehicles from a private military museum at Gorge Hill and an armoured personnel carrier on loan from Waiouru. The service incorporated the presentation of medals and I was very proud to present Sarah McCorkindale with her Queens Service Medal and she also received her gold Duke of Edinburgh award from the Fiordland RSA president. These two medals represent years of hard work and Sarah deserves the accolades.

I then went on to help judge best pumpkin at the market day. Thank goodness I had the help of new Fiordland College teacher in charge of environmental studies Vaughn Filmer, as he had very creative ways of awarding prizes to these splendid pumpkins.

I have now left for our trip to Cinque Terre, our sister city in Italy and my next column will be from there. The puppets are packed - a kiwi, takahe and kea will help me tell lots of stories about our wonderful province at schools.

Ciao.