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MANGAWHAI'S NO.1 NEWSPAPER  header call 
Melody sales@mangawhaifocus.co.nz 021454814
Nadia n.lewis@xtra.co.nz 021677978
Reporting: Julia news@mangawhaifocus.co.nz 0274641673
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Road finally sealed right
Thank goodness for Wharehine Contractors!

I remember as a boy we were told that Baldrock Road was the next road in the district to be tar sealed. That was more than 30 years ago.

It was sealed two years ago and the work done by two different contractors. One contractor did from SH1 to Gibbons Road and the other from Gibbons Road to Kaiwaka Mangawhai Road. A certain amount of re-contouring was done and the road taken back to clay in some places. The thing with all Northland clay is it is like rock in the summer but soup in the winter.

The road from SH1 to Gibbons Road was finished well with only a couple of weak spots to fix. The other end from Kaiwaka Mangawhai Road was poor to say the least and those of us who drove the road would have noted the council was continually patching. The engineer who signed off on this road was obviously out of his depth dealing with Northland clay. The wet spots in the road could easily and cheaply have been rectified (with a limestone quarry just 3km down Gibbons Road).

This road was recently resurfaced by Wharehine Contractors and they have done a wonderful job. It is a pity they didn’t get the original contract.

Like most things in life, cheapest is not always best and we have ended up paying more to fix a shoddy job that could have been done correctly in the first place.

Well done Wharehine for this job and the job done on the intersection of SH1 and Wayby Valley Road.

Mark Bygrave
Wellsford


Mangawhai still unspoiled
As a resident of Mangawhai for only a few months I was most interested in your editorial The Equation of Change (Ed Said, Feb 24).

I come from Blockhouse Bay in Auckland which, 40 years ago, was similar to Mangawhai today – no bank, supermarket or library. Mangawhai does have a library and a good little one, but what I miss most are taxis. It’s so frustrating to have to rely on other people to drive me wherever I need to go.

Also it would be good to have a chemist, a bank or at least an ATM in the Village. The only ATM and chemist are at the Heads but I realise the population may not justify another chemist.

A supermarket? Well, as long as it was situated discreetly so as not to be a jarring intrusion on our beautiful surroundings.

The Warehouse and McDonalds? No!
I had never heard the quotation about Orewa being a place for ‘newlyweds or nearly deads’. Perhaps it was in those days but it was lovely and unspoiled. Now it has lost all its original character and become just another upmarket suburb of Auckland.

Blockhouse Bay too has become unendurable. What was once a village tucked away out of the mainstream has been discovered and is now choked with traffic. The interesting former shops have mostly been replaced by $2 and similar ones. A huge ‘out of character’ café which does not have parking further adds to the congestion that is exacerbated by mothers delivering their kids to and from school. All this, plus the antics of the mayor and council of the Super City, led me to sell up and move to Mangawhai.

How long before one has to move even further to find a sane lifestyle?

I’ve seen several developments here with sections and sealed roads complete which seem to forecast an influx of new residents. It seems it’s all happening.

We could do with a supermarket maybe, but spare me the Warehouse and McDonalds. Just bring on the taxis.

Mary Stroobant
Mangawhai
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