Tupua Horo Nuku - Resilience and Shared Path Project - Blessing and Opening
2026-04-18 | Whiorau Reserve, 301 Marine Drive, Lower Hutt, 5013, New Zealand
Major works have wrapped up in the intertidal area, and with this milestone met and works almost complete, we’re now turning our focus to celebrating the completion of this significant infrastructure project.

A blessing to mark completion of the shared path and seawall is set for Saturday 18 April.
This will be followed by a community celebration, where we will be encouraging everyone to get out and explore the whole path on foot, and by bike or scooter.

The event will recognise nearly four years of dedicated work from the teams onsite to deliver the shared path and seawall, through sometimes challenging conditions, alongside the efforts to support and enhance the local coastal environment – particularly for our native kōrora.

I would especially like to acknowledge the work of Jon Kingsbury, Rawiri Kennedy, and Paul Hewitt to deliver this work which will protect our road and community from the impacts of sea level rise and increasingly severe storms (we saw the benefits of this investment during the recent storm) and also provide a safe and accessible shared path. Thank you also to Kylie Armstrong for leading communications and engagement for this project. There will be many more staff, community members and stakeholders to acknowledge as part of the opening.

We’re also onto the final stages of work in Whiorau Bay, improving access in and around Whiorau Reserve, and the last rest area to be completed for the project (in Māhina Bay) is under construction. There is still more to do before the opening and the transport team is very busy prioritising this work. Please take this into consideration regarding any requests for this team over the next few weeks.

Jo Miller, CEO, HCC

Eastbourne Beach Cleanup
2026-04-19 09:00 - 12:00 (Pacific/Auckland) | Burdan’s Gate
It’s that time of year again, so mark your calendar! Our next Eastbourne beach clean-up is scheduled for Sunday, April 19th.
We’ll be set up at the usual place – the picnic table just before Burdan’s Gate – from 9:00 until noon.
All welcome, for any length of time. Even half an hour makes a big difference.
Bags and gloves provided.

ANZAC Day
2026-04-25 10:00 - 11:00 | Memorial Gates, Muritai School, 166 Muritai Road, Eastbourne, Lower Hutt 5013, Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand
Anzac Day is usually commemorated by the Eastbourne Community at the war memorial adjacent to Muritai School, followed by refreshments at the Eastbourne Sports and Services Club.
Assembly at Ballinger Gardens, Makaro Street from 9.30am – March to the Memorial Gates, Muritai School. ANZAC Service commences at 10am.
Anzac Day is observed on 25 April. It commemorates New Zealanders killed in war and honours returned and serving servicemen and women.
Anzac Day dates
1916 – Anzac Day gazetted as a half-day holiday
1921 – Anzac Day becomes a full public holiday
1939 – Dawn ceremony widely included in New Zealand Anzac Day commemorations for the first time
1949 – Legislation passed preventing Anzac Day from being ‘Mondayised’
1966 – Current Anzac Day Act liberalises activities allowed after 1 p.m. on Anzac Day
2013 – When 25 April falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the Monday will now be a public holiday
2020 – All Anzac Day public ceremonies in New Zealand cancelled because of COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic
The date marks the anniversary of the landing of Australian and New Zealand soldiers – the Anzacs – on the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915. The aim was to capture the Dardanelles and open a sea route to the Bosphorus and the Black Sea. At the end of the campaign, Gallipoli was still held by its Ottoman Turkish defenders.
Thousands lost their lives during the Gallipoli campaign: 87,000 Ottoman Turks, 44,000 men from France and the British Empire, including 8500 Australians. To this day, Australia also marks the events of 25 April. Among the dead were 2779 New Zealanders, about one in six of those who served on Gallipoli.
They may have ended in military defeat, but for many New Zealanders then and since, the Gallipoli landings signalled that New Zealand was becoming a distinct nation, even as it fought on the other side of the world in the name of the British Empire.
Anzac Day was first observed in 1916. The day has gone through many changes since. The ceremonies that are held at war memorials up and down New Zealand, and in places overseas where New Zealanders gather, are modelled on a military funeral and remain rich in tradition and ritual.
(https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/anzac-day/introduction)

Last day to enrol to vote in the election
2026-10-25 | Wellington
25 October – Last day to enrol to vote in the election. Check you are enrolled.
Go to https://vote.nz

Voting Day
2026-11-07 | Wellington
Election day 7 November . Voting places open from 9.00am to 7.00pm
Election night. Preliminary election results released progressively from 7.00pm on electionresults.govt.nz
