Latest news with #Porirua
RNZ News
12 hours ago
- RNZ News
Police still looking for offender of daylight sexual assault near Porirua
The popular Colonial Knob walkway runs through bush and along farmland, and from the top walkers can see sweeping views of Porirua, Tawa, and up to Kāpiti Island. Photo: Supplied/ Dan Bailey Police are still looking for the offender after a daylight assault on a popular Wellington walkway earlier this month. A woman was sexually assaulted about halfway up the stairs of the Rangituhi Colonial Knob walking track in the afternoon of Wednesday 18 June. Detective Senior Sergeant Pete Middlemiss said police had received a great amount of information from the public, and they're calling for anyone else who was in the area to come forward and speak to them. They were "especially interested" in speaking to anybody who entered or exited the walkway from the Raiah Street carpark entrance between 3pm and 4.30pm that day, he added. "From the information we have already received, we have some lines of enquiry which the investigation team is continuing to follow." Police were also still appealing for any information about a man who was wearing a dark-coloured long sleeve top, dark-coloured track pants and a cap, Patterson said. "If you have any information, please contact Police via 105, either over the phone or online. Please reference file number 250618/1395." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Fishermen caught with more than 1800 pāua in Porirua facing charges
A fifth of the1863 pāua fishery officers discovered on a vessel. Photo: Supplied / Fisheries New Zealand A pair of fishers are likely to face charges after being caught with more than 1800 pāua in Porirua. The pāua was seized by fishery officers based in Wellington earlier this week. "While inspecting a vessel shortly after it landed at Titahi Bay on Tuesday afternoon, fishery officers discovered 1863 pāua, which had already been shucked," Fisheries New Zealand regional Manager Phil Tasker said. The estimated retail value of the pāua was approximately $25,000. Tasker said it was one of the biggest hauls of illegally harvested pāua in recent times. "There is a maximum daily limit of five pāua per fisher in this area, which gives some context to the scale of this offending, and the potential damage it could do to the pāua population." The case is still under investigation, but Tasker said the two men in possession of the shellfish were likely to face charges under the Fisheries Act. He said it was incredibly disappointing to see offending of this scale. "This fishery is a shared resource, and the rules are there to protect its sustainability for everyone. Our message for those who think they can steal this shared resource is that we will pursue offending and there will be consequences." Tasker said most fishers wanted to follow the rules. "The best way to stay on top of the rules for the area you're fishing or gathering shellfish in is to download the free NZ Fishing Rules mobile app," he said. The Ministry for Primary Industries encouraged people to report suspected illegal activity through the ministry's 0800 4 POACHER number (0800 47 62 24). Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
7 days ago
- RNZ News
Attack on popular walking track prompts safety measures
The popular Colonial Knob walkway runs through bush and along farmland, and from the top walkers can see sweeping views of Porirua, Tawa, and up to Kāpiti Island in the north. Photo: Supplied/ Dan Bailey People are walking in pairs, and witnesses are being urged to speak to police after an attack at Porirua's popular Rangituhi / Colonial Knob walking track. A woman was assaulted about halfway up the stairs of the walking track, at about 3.30pm on Wednesday, 18 June. Police are still looking for the offender. Porirua mayor Anita Baker said people were worried about their safety. "People go up there every day and people want to be able to feel safe going on their walks, even if they are by themselves. So there is a bit of concern," Baker said. "At the moment people are going up in pairs, they're not going up individually," she said. She encouraged anyone with any information that could help to report it and for the person responsible to hand themselves in. "We want to be able to just get back to our normal day," she said. "We want our residents to feel safe." Ria Greening has walked the track about 172 times this year. She walked the track the morning after the attack, but didn't find out until about the assault until later. She said she wouldn't stop walking the track, but was now considering extra measures she might take for her safety, like taking walking poles with her. She also encouraged people to look out for one another on the track and to take steps such as letting family know when they were out walking and when they expected to return. Mana MP Barbara Edmonds said the attack was incredibly distressing and her thoughts were with the victim. "People deserve to feel safe wherever they are," she said. "The 'Knob' is a very popular track and I've personally used that track many times. I know our Porirua community will be doing all that they can to support each other so we can reclaim what is an important space for all." She encouraged anyone with any information to contact police. Police said they were following "positive lines of enquiry", but were seeking the public's assistance to help locate the alleged offender. The man was reported to be wearing a dark-coloured long sleeve top, dark-coloured track pants and a cap. Police asked anyone who was in the area at the time or had footage of a person matching that description to contact them, via 105, either over the phone or online, referencing file number 250618/1395. Information could also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111. Police would also be conducting reassurance patrols in the area over the coming days. At the top, the Rangituhi track runs along a ridgeline above Tawa and Kenepuru. Photo: Supplied/ Dan Bailey Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
20-06-2025
- RNZ News
Assault on popular Porirua walking track prompts re-assurance patrols
The man wore a dark long sleeve top, dark-coloured track pants and a cap, police said. Photo: 123RF Wellington police will carry out re-assurance patrols, after the daylight assault of a female on a Porirua walking track. Detective Sergeant Ben Evans said the assault happened about halfway up the stairs of the Rangituhi/Colonial Knob walking track at about 3.30pm on Wednesday, 18 June. "This is a deeply concerning incident and police are offering support to the victim, who is understandably shaken," he said. "Police are following positive lines of enquiry, but are seeking the public's assistance to help locate the alleged offender. "The man was wearing a dark-coloured long-sleeve top, dark-coloured track pants and a cap." The Rangituhi/Colonial Knob walking track. Photo: WellingtonNZ Police asked anyone who was in the area at the time or had footage of a person matching that description to contact them, via 105, either over the phone or online, referencing file number 250618/1395. Information could also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111. Detective Sergeant Evans said Rangithui/Colonial Knob was a popular walking area and police understood this incident might cause some concern. "Police will be conducting re-assurance patrols in the area in the coming days," he said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
18-06-2025
- Science
- RNZ News
New science lab designed to burn at high temperatures
A new research lab in Porirua has been built to be set on fire, so it can simulate the way a blaze can spread through a multi-storey building. The Building Research Association (BRANZ)'s new $40 million-dollar facility will provide some of the most advanced fire testing capabilities in the Southern Hemisphere. The 2310-square metre warehouse, with a ceiling height of 22.5m, features climate-controlled testing spaces, large-scale furnaces, and an air filtration system to prevent carbon getting into the atmosphere. Inside the new facility. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Fire testing team leader Peter Whiting said the largest furnace - measuring four by four metres - could reach temperatures up to 1200 degrees celsius. The lab's three furnaces provided for two types of tests. "One is called a fire resistance test, and that is where we are looking at a fire barrier between you and the fire," he said. The second was the "reaction-to-fire test", where materials or objects were set on fire inside the ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) room, to see how they behaved. An open burn area would allow them test on complete multi-storey structures, with a giant, movable extraction hood able to suck fumes out of the space and then send the air through the "wet scrubber system". "While the gas fuel that we use is going to be clean burning, a lot of the products that we're testing will not be," Whiting said. "And so we need to extract that, and the wet scrubber system is going to take out a lot of that particulate that we see in smoke, so what really gets up the chimney and into the environment is literally steam." The importance of this kind of facility was growing, BRANZ said. Building materials were advancing, housing developments were becoming denser, and the climate was heating up. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Recent catastrophic fires like Loafers Lodge and the Port Hills show the importance of being prepared, said chief executive Claire Falck. The lab has been in the works for more than a decade. "So the old building had been here for about 40 years, and it wasn't able to do the things at-scale that we're able to do now," Falck said. "What this facility provides is also, it's climate controlled, so for example, our facade testing we could only do outside, so Wellington and its weather conditions didn't always provide for the test." The build had cost them a total of $40 million, paid for by the Building Research Levy. That levy is set at 0.1 percent, and is applied to all building consents where the work is valued at more than $20,000. For every $1000 over this threshold, BRANZ receives $1, which it invests into research projects. On the same site are facilities which simulate earthquakes and extreme weather. A structural engineering lab opened in 2023, which meant BRANZ could assess entire building systems for structural performance, weathertightness and durability. Other tests were done on-location around the country, often in highly exposed places, testing for climatic performance in wind and UV. Falck said it was not just New Zealand which would benefit from the research done in the new fire lab. Cross-country collaboration already existed, with international brands able to use BRANZ' facilities to test products against their own fire safety standards. The fire lab was officially opened in front of a crowd on Tuesday by the Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology Shane Reti. It is expected to be fully operational by the end of the year. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
