2006 The decade in review

BY CHERIE HOWIE

It was a year of progress as the calendar turned to 2006 in Marlborough – for some at least.

Residents could boast of work (finally) starting on a new Awatere bridge to replace the one-way wooden road/rail bridge, the Combined Clubs and Conference Centre and the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre.

However, the year also marked a time of bad decisions from some members of the community, particularly those involved in a street riot in Blenheim in October.

March also proved turbulent for some big business ventures, with spring tides and strong currents putting so much pressure on New Zealand King Salmon's 250-metre wide farm in Te Pangu Bay that it broke free of its moorings and drifted into Tory Channel.

The hazard closed the channel to boat traffic, disrupting inter-island ferries for more than three hours, as well as 100,000 fish being lost.

Mother nature also gave Aratere ferry passengers a fright a few days later when 10-metre swells saw the ferry pitch more than 50 degrees, injuring four people and damaging several vehicles, including one worth $100,000.

Havelock residents were also given a scare when a major fire broke out near the town.

The fire, smoke from which was visible 40 kilometres away in Blenheim, forced four households to evacuate as it threatened homes and destroyed 100 hectares of trees.

Back in grape-growing country, the year's vintage was proving a bumper, eventually turning out to be the largest ever harvested in the country as Marlborough produced 113,436 tonnes of the 185,000 tonnes recorded nationally.

Mountain climber Mark Inglis was also having a good year, becoming in May the first double amputee to reach the summit of Mt Everest.

Mr Inglis, a one-time Blenheim resident who lost both of his legs below the knee on Mt Cook in 1982, took 39 days to climb to the top of the world.

One group not feeling the high that month were Marlborough police officers, after they were told they must issue at least two traffic tickets every shift.

Incensed staff labelled the order a revenue-gathering exercise that diverted attention from other crime.

Police were also busy with a major under-age alcohol sales sting when they busted 13 Marlborough liquor outlets, including three supermarkets, selling booze to underage customers.

All later lost their liquor licences for several days, each at the cost of tens of thousands of dollars turnover, and police warned that more undercover operations were planned.

Also under the gun were Trustpower as six months of consent hearings into their planned hydro scheme on the Wairau River began in June. Environmentalists and recreational users were among those planning to speak at the hearings. Young doctors were also getting hot under the collar, walking off the job as part of five day national strike aimed at reducing their 74-hour working week.

Better news for Blenheim's Wairau Hospital came later in the month when the Government finalised the long-awaited $12.9 million rebuilding of the hospital.

July brought bad news for honey-lovers when the varroa bee mite was found in 24 hives near Pelorus Bridge. To the east, tragedy struck the following month when a young North Island soldier was killed and another seriously injured after their unimog crashed 100 metres down a bank in the Weld Pass.

Back in the city, two Blenheim bouncers were in October cleared of manslaughter charges when they appeared in the Wellington High Court. They had been charged following the death of bar patron Cedric Joyce outside the Copper Bock a year earlier.

A day later police came under attack when about 150 young people began rioting in the early hours, throwing bottles and damaging cars. The trouble, which began when a large number of people spilled out into the street following a party in Nelson St, ended with 22 people arrested.

The dramatic month of October continued with ferry passengers suffering a second horror crossing for the year when 800 found themselves stranded on the ferry in Cloudy Bay for 10 hours as it sheltered from 9m waves in Cook Strait.

More drama followed at the month's end with a motorist killed when his car rolled, another motorist survived despite colliding with a 1927 steam train at Spring Creek and a Nelson woman who survived several hours in the water after being swept down the Pelorus River.

Sniffing LPG also proved fatal a day later for a Picton man when a lit cigarette caused an LPG bottle to ignite in the car he was sitting in. Three others were injured.

Meanwhile, the Marlborough District Council moved to protect central Blenheim shops by turning down two business park proposals on the edge of the town.

However, the year ended on a positive note when a decade of development culminated in the opening of the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre.

As well as the World War I-era aviation displays, patrons were able to enjoy a Christmas wings airshow to celebrate the opening.

- The Marlborough Express