Council services over the Christmas and New Year period

Customer Service

Closed: 12pm, Friday 22 December 2023 until 8.30am, Wednesday 3 January 2024

For emergency assistance over these dates for Water, Sewerage, Drainage, Roading or Animal Control, please call 0800 474 834 and follow the prompts.

For non-emergency assistance, use the Snap Send Solve app or send us a service request on our website.

Waste & Recycling

Roadside rubbish and recycling collection will be shifted forward to the following day for the 2 weeks of Christmas and New Year. Normal service resumes on Monday the 8th of January.

Wheelie bins need to be at the kerbside by 8am at the latest on the morning of your collection. Our contractors EnviroNZ are now running two trucks and collection times may be earlier in the day. If your bin is not out, it can’t be cleared.

Full information on kerbside collection and transfer station opening hours during the holiday period is available on our website.

Other services

Upcoming Council meetings –January / February 2024

Cover photos and text photo: Franz Josef Christmas lights display, Sabine Grift Community Development Officer

All Black Bench

Earlier this year, Hokitika was selected as one of 26 communities across NZ to be gifted a hand crafted macrocapa bench as a thank you to NZ for having their backs and supporting them…and hopefully providing a safe place where kiwis can also go to have each other’s backs.

The benches feature the exclusive All Blacks Tohu as well as a message from the team. The Tohu was designed by Tim Worral takes the form of a manu (bird), with two kākanō (seeds of potential) in the shape of eyes and the team Taniwhā positioned as the wings. The ideas is that those seated on the bench will be wrapped by the All Blacks team’s wings.

The benches offer a safe space for a moment of contemplation, celebration or a place to sit down and have a chat. To bring people together.

It has been installed at Sunset Point in Hokitika as a location that’s geographically iconic and accessible to the whole community.

Summer Holiday activities at the Library

Join us at the library in January for a whole host of fun holiday activities with something new to explore with us each week.

And then on the 10th of Februay, we will be celebrating the completion of our Beanstack Summer Reading Challenge with a special Magic Show.

Sun’s out, dogs are out!

Over summer more dog owners are out and about in busy places. Everyone has a responsibility when it comes to being safe around dogs. Dog owners have legal responsibilities and the public has the responsibility to learn appropriate ways to approach a dog. Always ask permission from the dog owner before fussing a dog.

If you or your child is given permission to pat a dog, always be gentle and pat or stroke the dog under the chin. Dogs can perceive a pat on top of the head as threatening and can get scared and react badly, even with dogs that you know it is always best to approach them in this way.

Dogs in cars

Although we don’t recommend leaving your dog inside your car during the summer, if you choose to do so make sure that your dog is tethered with a dog seatbelt. This way, if something or someone outside the car attracts the dog they can’t escape out the window. Depending on the style, it may also protect your dog in a car crash. Dog seatbelts can be found online, at large pet stores or your Vet might sell them.

To find out more about dog owner responsibilities, visit our website.

Scroll for some more dog safety tips:

Never leave a child alone with a dog, even if it is one you know

Around a third of all dog attacks in New Zealand are on children under 12 years of age. Over 70 per cent of bites are from a dog the child knows and loves. Always supervise the interaction between dogs and children.

Many dogs seem to tolerate children handling them because they try to be well-behaved. It is up to the dog owner and the parent to recognise and intervene when a dog might not want to play, even if the dog is good-natured enough to allow it.

Never approach a dog without permission

This applies to adults as well as children. A dog tied up outside a shop, or watching you over your neighbour’s fence, may not be as friendly as it looks.

Dogs feel more vulnerable when tied up. Unless you know the dog and can read the dog, it is safer not to approach it. Most dogs don’t want to bite but do so because they tried to protect themselves in other ways.

Know how to react if a dog approaches you when walking, cycling, on a scooter, or a skateboard

Even calm dogs can be reactive to the noise and movement of people on things with wheels.

• If it’s safe, you can cross to the other side of the road, otherwise;
• STOP. Stand still and allow the dog to sniff you. Move slowly and speak softly as quick movements, wheel noises and loud voices can scare a dog.
• Avoid looking directly at the dog, which it may perceive as threatening. Never run away or keep moving, as the dog’s instinct is to chase, even if it is friendly.
• Use firm and simple commands in a calm voice such as “no”, “stay” or “down”.
• Know how to read a dog’s behaviour and body language

The best protection for you and your children is to understand when a dog might be a risk. Being able to read body language gives you a better idea of what the dog is thinking, so you can act appropriately. Often, after someone gets bitten by a dog, they say that the dog gave no warning. In most circumstances, the dog tried very hard to ask the person to leave them alone, such as:

• eye rolling,
• yawning,
• lip-licking,
• barking,
• growling, or
• simply turning away

Unfortunately, because most people are unaware of these signs, the dog feels it has no other choice but to bite.

Photo by Hannah Lim on Unsplash

Part 2: Meeting up

Preparing for a Civil Defence event

The holiday break is a great time to work on your household emergency plan. When creating your plan, think about how you will meet up and reconnect with each other. You may be at work or school and be some distance apart.

A significant event is a stressful time, especially if we are separated from our loved ones. Often, cell phones are quickly overloaded or the power is out and communication is challenged. What are some ways that as a family, or group, we can prepare for this?

Agreeing to a specific location to meet up is a good idea – perhaps at your own house, or at the house of a relative, it could even be a local landmark such as the clocktower, community hall, or service station. Different locations may be needed for different situations – Grandma’s beachfront bach isn’t the best place in a tsunami! The locations might also be different if you are spread across different towns or locations.

Agreeing to a time, or time frame to meet up is also a good idea. If you haven’t made it to the agreed meeting point within two hours of the event, then a family member will raise the alarm.

Make sure the time frame, and the location, are relevant for you. It’s no good agreeing on a location that you might not be able to get to or get there fast enough.

Many children in Westland attend school some distance from their home so it is also important that, where possible, you have a friend or family member that you trust to look after your children if you are separated for a few days or weeks. It is important that your children’s school knows this too as they are only able to release children to authorized people.

You can find a link to help you develop your household plan in multiple languages at the link here.

Lots going on for Westland Industrial Heritage Park

December at the Westland Industrial Heritage Park began with the drawing of our big raffle that has been running for some months to raise money for a new electric locomotive for the Mudfish Bush Railway. The raffle was very successful with all the tickets sold and the new locomotive has arrived.

The raffle results are:

The Mudfish Bush Railway, including the new locomotive, will be operating extended days over the holiday period. Keep an eye on local papers and Facebook for times. There could well be sausage sizzles as well!

Our new forklift has also arrived and been put to work. Training for new drivers is planned and present drivers are praising the power steering, absent from the old machine.

Several of the Park vehicles took part in a successful Christmas Parade on Friday 8 December. The weather was kind and lots of people turned up to watch.

Nick Bennet contracting has made a great start on the new ‘Tracks and Wheels’ shed adjacent to the Fire Museum. If the weather holds it will be closed in by Christmas. The new Maritime Centre is going through the consenting process.

The Hokitika Museum is planning to rationalise some of its exhibits and has been in discussion with the Park to take some over. Watch this space for details.

Work has continued steadily on the power upgrade and a reliable permanent power supply will reach the railway station before Christmas.

We are open to the public on Wednesdays and Saturdays, but look out for additional events. Come and see our displays and talk to our members and join us if you like what you see.

Text and images: Westland Industrial Heritage Park

Swimming Pool fun

Over the summer holidays, many families put up a temporary swimming pool in the backyard.

These can be a fantastic way for everyone to cool down and have fun, but please be aware that drowning can happen even in small pools. This is why you need to think carefully and plan your pool installation.

Portable pools must have a barrier

All pools that can hold water to a depth of 400mm or more and have water in them (even if the pool is only partially filled) must have a pool barrier that restricts access by young children.

Pool barriers need a building consent

If you are thinking of using a pool this summer, please remember these rules and apply for a building consent.

Spa pools and hot tubs that have a lockable cover do not need a barrier.

See pool safety guidance and our Pool Safety Checklist for more information.

Photo by Melinda Martin on Unsplash

Beautifying Hokitika Wastebins

You may have noticed the wastebins around Hokitika have been spruced up for the summer. Featuring images of Westland these have been installed by Signlink as an attractive feature.