The tickets are on sale as a flock of Ford’s, a hoard of Holden’s, a bevy of BMW’s and a pack of Porsches – plus plenty more exciting machinery - head south for the 2026 Ascot Park Hotel Classic SpeedFest over the weekend of 21/22 February. Classes

Gore’s much-loved On The Fly – Mataura River Festival is back on Sunday 22 February, celebrating fly fishing, the Mataura River, and Gore’s proud status as the Brown Trout Capital of New Zealand. The festival brings together world-class fly-fishing guides for on-river demos, presentations, and fly-tying sessions throughout the

The Collective, The Company and Band Of Bluffies provide the entertainment when Bluff Promotions popular annual Summer Sounds concert takes place from 2pm on Sunday 15 February at the Bluff Oyster Festival site on Barrow Street, Bluff. The Collective – friends in life, music and Koha will lead off the entertainment

Southern Field Days is back at Waimumu from 11–13 February 2026, bringing three days of innovation, competition, machinery, rural pride and classic crowd favourites. From the ever-popular Tractor Pull and Speed Shear to national-level fencing competitions, mud buggy demonstrations and National Lamb Day celebrations, there’s something happening across

Another dairy farmer is edging closer to national honours after claiming the Otago Southland FMG Young Farmer of the Year title. Thomas Slee, 28, from Nightcaps, was named the regional winner on Saturday night following a demanding day of competition at the Gore A&P Showgrounds. Eight finalists faced

Joy Brown has snapped up the entire remaining collection of Joy Cowley children’s books from an Auckland warehouse - and it’s been a real labour of love. Best known for the much-loved Greedy Cat series, Cowley has also created timeless favourites such as Mrs Wishy Washy, The Hungry

A former Southlander has added a $40,000 race bike to his garage, though he admits high-speed action will remain in the air rather than on the track. Auckland-based pilot Trevor Lawson was drawn as the winner of a brand new Yamaha YZF-R6 race-prepped motorcycle at the Burt Munro Challenge.

A new Invercargill Dialysis Unit, which opened at Southland Hospital today, will meet a growing demand and provide much-needed care closer to home for Southland people, Invercargill MP Penny Simmonds. Ms Simmonds opened the $440,000 facility in Invercargill today. "This is a wonderful development for our province, addressing