Rebecca Fox

Dragging a 90kg dummy along the ground is one way to find out if you have what it takes to be a firefighter.

Protesters called for the New Zealand Government to take a stand on Israel's bombing of Gaza as they remembered the victims of the conflict during a peaceful protest in Dunedin on Saturday.

Dunedin's reputation as a wet and cold city has taken a hit, with a national climate report showing the city was one of the driest in the country in 2008.

As hundreds, if not thousands, of hectares of beech trees around the South Island flower and seed profusely this summer, the potential for a population explosion in rats and stoats grows, threatening the hard work done to protect the nationally endangered mohua.

Ratepayers face a bill of more than $266,000 for the Otago Regional Council's response to a failed challenge against its Leith Lindsay Flood Protection Scheme - a response which the Environment Court describes as "excessive".

A new method of building walking tracks has helped the Dunedin City Council improve access to its golf course track at Ross Creek, Dunedin.

Playing her father's favourite music on the Dunedin Centre's Steinway piano is the best Christmas present Ailsa Howard could think of giving her father.

Christmas will never be the same again for the Williams and Savarimuthu families.

More anglers fishing without licences has led Fish and Game Otago to get tough this summer, promising offence notices, not warnings, will be issued to offenders.

The new city loop bus service, established in place of the Otago Regional Council's failed campus bus route, is showing early signs of promise.

Native cedar trees in a "regionally distinct" cloud forest remnant have been mistakenly felled by the Department of Conservation during a major upgrade of the Leith Saddle Track, forcing an apology from Otago conservator Jeff Connell.

Dunedin's population of robins are special and should be protected, a University of Otago researcher says.

A long-term vision for water management and allocation adopted by the Otago Regional Council will provide "direction and focus" as Otago tackles issues such as increased demand and the end of mining privileges.

A record 504 submissions supporting Tokomairiro Church in Milton has helped it receive category I registration with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.