Taking a look at recent, positive, uplifting, news stories and yarns, from New Zealand and all around the world, to bring a smile and a bit of cheer.
Cross from burned church returned 44 years later
In 1981 a fire destroyed 87-year-old St Patrick’s Catholic Church in Napier – sending a carved kauri cross atop the steeple crashing to the ground below. Recently the cross was returned to the rebuilt church after a significant restoration.
“On Wednesday, seven Napier and Hastings firemen who fought the blaze were among about 40 people present as the restored cross, bearing some of the charring from the flames, was blessed by Father Brian Prendeville. Also present was Alan Rhodes, who, wondering if salvageable items might fall into the wrong hands – despite being Anglican and not from the church – the next morning grabbed the 6-7 pieces of kauri from where the cross landed, and stored them in his Marewa garage.
“He told Hawke’s Bay Today he had mentioned them over the years, but ‘no one seemed interested’. That was until it reached the ears of parishioner Lynda Manglesen, who was baptised in the old church. Noting that Wednesday was the anniversary of the opening of the old church on November 19, 1894, she said it meant a lot to her and her family, and she knew she had to do something when Rhodes told her: ‘I’ve got the cross in my garage, in pieces.’
“She marvelled how parishioner John Briggs and nephew Jamie Beale, a Hastings fireman, had the 2m-tall cross back together ‘on just three days., setting in train plans to mark its return to the church.” (Source: “St Patrick’s Church fire in Napier: The return of the kauri cross that fell 40 metres as it burned,” by Doug Laing, November 22, www.nzherald.co.nz).
5 stars – a lovely tale befitting a church that has been rebuilt and also survived the Napier earthquake! Total upside!
Olympians cycle through Africa to raise money for free bikes
This is a great story about two Kiwi Olympians who joined forces to cycle over 4,500km across Africa to raise money for free bikes for people in the continent.
“Hastings-born kayaker Hamish Legarth and Central Otago-born cyclist Nicole Shields met at Waikato University and remained good friends while training for competitions in Cambridge. Shields convinced Legarth to join her on the odyssey through six countries to help raise money for World Bicycle Relief, a charity that gives bicycles to Africans who typically have to walk long distances.
“The charity has designed the Buffalo Bicycle, a two-speed bike with a two-chain drivetrain featuring a 100kg capacity rear rack designed to handle rugged terrain over a long distance with a heavy load. World Bicycle Relief gives these bikes to people for free and donations are still being accepted through the pair’s travel blog. So far, they have raised more than $37,000 – enough for nearly 140 Buffalo Bikes.
“The 4500km journey started in Uganda and led through Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, before cutting back west through Zambia, finishing at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. Now both back in New Zealand, the pair has a clear highlight from the trip. ‘For me, seeing the people was probably the highlight, especially all the kids,’ Legarth said. ‘As we’d be biking past, the kids would see us coming from a mile away and they’d all run out to the side of the road and be like, ‘Mzungu, Mzungu’ and wish us on our way going through.'” (Source: “On The Up: Olympians cycle 4500km across Africa to fund free bikes,” by Jack Riddell, November 22, www.nzherald.co.nz).
5 stars – a fantastic achievement and all for a great cause too!
Ukrainian makes mark in Japanese sumo
Danylo Yavhusishyn left Ukraine after it was invaded by Russia in 2022 and has achieved something special in Japan – recently becoming the first Ukrainian to win a top-tier sumo competition in Japan.
Wrestling under his assumed name, Aonishiki Arata, he beat a top ranked Mongolian wrestler, Aonishiki Arata and said his victory was only the beginning. “I hope that people from Ukraine will be able to see my sumo, and have some kind of encouragement from that,” he said.
“Yavhusishyn, 21, won the deciding match in the 15-day Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament in Fukuoka, southwestern Japan and he received the Prime Minister’s Cup from Takahiro Inoue, an adviser to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. He had decided to travel to Japan following the Russian invasion after striking up a friendship with a Japanese wrestler at a tournament in 2019. (Source: “Ukrainian sumo wrestler makes history in Japan,” November 23, www.news.sky.com).
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