Bells Track from the start of the track

Bell’s Track winds its way up to the skyline walkway from the end of Awarua St, Ngaio. For several years a group of keen volunteers has been restoring the bush along the way.

On Sunday 5 December,  Des Smith is giving a short talk about the restoration project – the bush, weed control and wildlife.  Then he will take a guided walk up the track.  The walk and talk will take about an hour.

Meet at Bell’s Track, at the top of Awarua St, Ngaio, at 11:00 am.  All welcome.

Statistics about Ngaio and Crofton Downs are now available on Wellington City Council’s Community Profile website.

They show Ngaio’s population increased slightly between 1996 and 2006, because new dwellings were built. We have more people in the younger age groups (0-17) than Wellington overall but fewer older people (60+).

Key statistics about Ngaio

Key statistics about Crofton Downs

North and South article

The Great Railway House Bazaar

In the 1920s the Railways Department built a housing settlement in Tarikaka Street, Ngaio. It is now a heritage area.

In the late 1980s, the NZ Railways Corporation (NZRC) sold off their housing stock. Most went to an Auckland investment company.

A feature article in December’s North and South by local historian Peter Dyer tells how the tenants managed to negotiate a separate contract with NZRC. This meant most people could buy their own homes and keep their community intact.

Wellington writer Peter Dyer uncovers information on a major asset sale that has never before been revealed.

In the mid-to-late 1980s, many Railways tenants were forced to leave their houses. But one community in Ngaio managed to successfully challenge the Rogernomics juggernaut. (North and South, Dec 2010)

Read more on Scoop, Untold story of the sale of Ngaio railway houses, 13 Nov 2010

Crofton Downs Primary School is having a gala on Saturday 13 November at the school on Chartwell Drive from  11:00 am – 2:00 pm.

There will be plenty of international cuisine and lots for children to do – including the Great BIG Ginormous Jaffa Roll.

Ngaio Progressive Association will have a stall there too – so come and meet us.

Read more about the gala in this flyer (PDF)

Its our AGM time again and we keen to have new members.

Would you would like to join a community group that:

• organises the annual junk drive
• plants trees and shrubs in local reserves
• checks the streets annually for hazards
• runs public meetings for candidates in local body and national elections
• writes submissions to Council
• knows the gossip on what’s happening in Ngaio.

If so, come to our AGM in Crofton Downs Primary School hall on 19 October at 8:00 pm.  All welcome.

New Crofton Downs sign

Students from Crofton Downs Primary School thought the “Welcome to Crofton Downs” signs were rather tatty.  They came up with a new design and took their ideas to Wellington City Council.

Council liked what they saw and put the children’s ideas into action.  They have erected a row of flags along Churchill Drive and replaced the existing signs.

Trelissick Park, a reserve at the bottom of Wellington’s Ngaio Gorge, had a fish ladder to help fish swim upstream to breed.

A big rock slide dramatically changed the landscape recently. It came down where the Kaiwharawhara meets the Korimako stream.

The fish ladder is no more. However, it isn’t needed. Fish can now use the new rock slide to reach the Kaiwharawhara.

Rockfall blocks fish ladder, Trelissick Park

The area is unstable.  No doubt the large amount of rock and mud in the stream will move downstream with more rain.

Have a walk through Trelissick Park and see the slip for yourself.  A signpost marks a short track to the fish ladder.

Residents working in local parks, reserves and green places are dismayed to find plastic bags of dog poo dropped

• under bushes
• beside tracks
• at  park entrances  -  particularly Trelissick Park
• on road reserves
• under the ornamental grasses in Khandallah Road.

Dog poo bags hidden in Trelissick Park

What are dog owners thinking when they leave their pets’ litter?  Who do they think will remove it?  Council?  Other dog owners? Volunteers?

Ngaio Progressive Association believes dog owners should take poo bags home and dispose of the contents.

If dog owners believe that it is someone else’s responsibility, then they should be brave enough, forthright enough and assertive enough to discuss this in an open forum. Ring Council, write a letter to the editor or start a blog – but for heavens sake don’t expect volunteers who work hard to fundraise, plant and maintain our green open spaces to dispose of your dog poo.

Meet the candidates 2010

Ngaio Progressive Association is holding another of our popular ‘Meet the Candidates’ meetings to help you decide who to vote for in next month’s local body elections.

We are inviting Mayoral and Onslow/Western ward candidates to speak and answer questions.

Join us in the Ngaio School hall from 7:45 – 9:00 pm on Thursday, 9 September. (Please note, the meeting will NOT be in the Ngaio Town Hall this year.)

More information about the election is on the Wellington City Council website.

Ngaio Junk Drive, October 2006

Bring out your old toasters, broken bikes and cracked flowerpots!

Ngaio’s next junk drive is on 18 September 2010. Put your inorganic junk where you normally put your rubbish bag by 8:00 am and leave a $10 donation in your letterbox or at the Ngaio Pharmacy.

We can collect most junk except:

• heavy or bulky  items, such as fridges, sofas and barbecues
• television sets and computers
• hazardous waste such as paint, poisons, car batteries or oil
• garden rubbish.

Does riding around Ngaio in a rubbish truck appeal?

We need people to help us.  Can you spare a Saturday morning to help on the rubbish trucks or drive ahead to see what’s waiting for collection? Please phone Trevor Lloyd  on 479 5439.

No recycling stall this year

We will not have a Used Good Junk  stall on Khandallah Road this year because the trucks must finish collecting junk by 1 p.m. If you have good junk you can take it to the Second Treasure shop at Wellington’s Southern Landfill.

Or you could join Wellington Re-cycle, a Google Groups email list. Their website says:

“This is a recycling group for anything you wish to keep out of the tip or is too good to throw away.  Whether it’s number 8 wire, the old bed, your kitchen sink, or your old kitchen, then if it’s your trash it maybe someone else’s treasure.”

Go to Wellington Re-cycle and apply for membership