Southern images: April 1-15, 2011

YUMMY: Colonial Bakery owner Brian Booth with a tray of popular hot-cross buns, thousands of which sell in the lead-up to Easter.

AUTUMN COLOURS: Heading for an afternoon swim with his mum and dad, Jasper Carter, 3, rides through the autumn foliage at the Te Anau Boat Club.

DESIGNS ON AWARDS: Secondary school fabric technology pupils (clockwise from top) Ashleigh Clare, Trudi Axtens, Amy Morris, and Lorinda Palmer, from Central Southland College, are all wound up in material and ready for the Hokonui Fashion Awards. Students now have a section specifically for them. It features four of the eight open categories: streetwear, nightlife, steampunk and avant garde.

IMPACT ZONE: Police and Invercargill firefighters attend to the aftermath of a high-speed crash on State Highway 1 east of Invercargill.

GETTING STUCK INTO THE RUCK: Rugby Southland's new interim boss Alex Derbie.

TOMORROW LIVES ON: Dave Asher and granddaughter Ahi Asher in the trenches at Te Hikoi Southern Journey's newest permanent exhibition in the Anzac Gallery, For Your Tomorrows.

R-EELY GOOD PLAYGROUND: Newfield Kindergarten kids Megan Matheson (left) and Sophie May Cundall with Tamati Tuna, the water trough, in their new wetlands-themed playground.

HOSPICE ROOF SHOUT: Supporters and sponsors gathered for a roof shout at Hospice Southland to celebrate a milestone in the construction of a new $1 million extension and refurbishment. Sponsors and ITL trustees (from left) John Young and Sean Bellew, hospice trustees David Boniface and Helen McCurdy and hospice chairman Thursa Kennedy. The hospice refurbishment includes a large extension to the main buildings, improved facilities and extra beds. The building work was expected to be finished in two months.

HEART TO HEART: Heart Foundation health promotion co-ordinator Linda Harris (left) with Lees St Kindergarten kids Christian Henderson, Abby Johnstone and Devon Pirini and head teacher Wendy McLachlan. The kindy was awarded a Heart Foundation Pa-Harakeke award, the highest award available to early childhood centres under the Healthy Heart Award scheme and the first to be awarded in Southland.

CHECK IN OUT: Rowan Kiff, Jono Boon, teacher Kerri Sullivan and Craig Marshall with an issue of Interrobang. Miss Sullivan said they would definitely publish more issues of the magazine.

BRIGHT SPARK: DJ Hurrikane is glowing already ahead of the Gluepot blacklight paint party.

TOP FARMERS: The winning ways of Grant and Bernadette Weller has seen them named Supreme Winners at the Ballance Farm Enviornment Awards.

MAKE MY DAY: The new manager of Lazerland in Invercargill, Jiachen Liu, shows off the state-of-the-art weapons developed in Christchurch and trialed in Invercargill.

SILENT WORKER RECOGNISED: Southland district Mayor Frana Cardno congratulates long-time Te Anau resident Betty Dodds, who was presented with a service award from the council at a ceremony in Te Anau.

DAILY GRIND: Alan Remnant, of Wings and Water, enjoys good conditions while rowing to his ``office'' on Lake Te Anau this month. He spent the day taking tourists to explore Fiordland from the air.

SHAKEN BUT NOT STIRRED: Christchurch mum Sarah Wilkinson with sons Dylan, 3, and Callum, who was born at Southland Hospital. The family have spent two months living at Rivertion after the February 22 earthquake.

ONE STEP AT A TIME: Anthony Haines and Helen Bull with some of the gear they will need to compete in a fundraiser for the Leukaemia and Blood Foundation in Auckland.

TRASH TO TREASURE: Southland Disability Enterprises general manager Ian Beker with the ``hungry giant'' that compresses polystyrene at the organisation's new recycling plant in Invercargill.

SOUTHLAND STALWART: The family of outstanding Southlander Vivian William Boyes return to the Southland Museum and Art Gallery to gift his collection of medals and mementoes. (From left) Boyes' sons Clive and Percy, museum manager Gael Ramsay and Boyes' daughter Winifred Scown.

HOUSE SHIFT - Parts I and 11: Matthew and Alana Wilson's dream of a slice of rural paradise north of Invercargill has come a step closer to fruition after the beginnings of their home made a 50km journey in two parts from Wyndham to their 0.5ha Redmayne Rd property.

BAT MAN: George Lo and Jeanette Payne play recreational table tennis at the Southland Table Tennis Association clubrooms.

AUTUMN STROLL: Melanie Ilhan, her son Baris, 3, and Teddy enjoy a walk through the autumn colours in Queens Park in Invercargill.

FIRST AID: Hayden Peter (left), competing in the first aid module during the practical session of the Young Farmer of the Year regional final in Winton, is marked by St John ambulance officer Juon Schoen on his response to a mock vehicle accident involving Sandra Prebble (with blanket) and Jude Edge (on hay bale).

HI-TECH: NAIT stakeholder engagement manager Dan Schofield with an electronic identification ear tag, which are being introduced for cattle and deer in November, 2011.

BOYS' TOY: Thraran Rule, of Ryal Bush, takes his son Jardon, 6, for the first trial of the new family toy. The 1800cc hovercraft turned a few heads on Lake Te Anau on a sunny afternoon.

TOWING THE LINE: Ethan Ramage leads the Green team in a Cactus programme challenge towing an army Unimog down Dee St in Invercargill. It was part of a series of challenges the two teams had to complete throughout the day. The Combined Adolescent Challenge Training Unit and Support programme, run by police, is a physical training programme aimed at developing youth leadership.

LADY LUCK: Southern Steel netballers (from left) Leana de Bruin, Erika Burgess, Natasha Chokljat and Paula Griffin enjoy themselves at Saturday night's Casino Royale-themed cocktail party at the Dunedin Casino. Members from the Highlanders rugby team and Steel and Canterbury Tactix netball franchises attended the event which was held as a fundraiser for the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal. More than $2000 was raised.

JOINT EFFORT: (From left) the Wanaka-based author and illustrator Stephanie Defragger and Hawea Flat counsellor Liz Maluschnig with their new book on parenting which they hope will be translated into at least two languages and eventually enjoy international success.

SIGN US UP: Trinity Schools principal Jill Baird (left), board of trustees deputy chairwoman Tui Pasco and Environment Southland environmental education officer Julie Clifton sign the official paperwork to include St Joseph's School, in Invercargill, in the Enviroschools programme.

PIED PIPER: John Vermeulen leads mallards across Lakefront Dr in Te Anau for their afternoon feed. Mr Vermeulen said feeding the birds had been a twice-daily ritual for more than 25 years. There was nothing for the ducks to eat in Lake Te Anau and the birds also needed weed or other aquatic plants to help them dive.

MEMORABILIA: John Buchanan checks out some of the items he has found in his search for information on the Winton A & P Association.

CAN-DO ATTITUDE: SIT student Ben Christensen with his latest project, completed as part of the first-year Bachelor of Applied Media Arts degree.

FASCINATED: Limehills School pupils (from left) Sam Clark, 8, Jesse Murphy, 12, and Mitchell Forbs, 11, during the machinery identification challenge at the AgriKids contest in Winton.

READY FOR TAKEOFF: Lipstick (from left): Toni Biddle, Shannon Cooper-Garland and Maria Tipuna are being flown to Papua New Guinea for a Christchurch earthquake fundraiser.

TOIL WITH THE SOIL: Clinton ploughman Scott McKenzie watches intently during the stubble section of the New Zealand Ploughing Championships.

ON SHAKY GROUND: Southland Hospital's grand old buildings face an uncertain future after being deemed an earthquake risk and too dangerous to house staff. Southland Hospital chief operating officer Lexie O'Shea is pictured outside the empty ``Old Nurses Home''.

OPEN DAY: Aparima College students (from left) Jacinda Higgins, Jasmine Thomson, Hayden Drake and Logan Solomon check out what the Southern Institute of Technology has to offer at an open day. While open nights had been held in the past, this was the first time an open day had been held.

FASHION: Southern Institute of Technology fashion student Mikayla Rangi (left) speaks with Aurora College student Dorne Kini and staff member Sheryn Frazer.

THAT'S DEBATABLE: Ben Winders and his son Gabriel prepare for the debating competition, hoping to win the Bishop's Shield from St Peter's College. When the 68th Bishop's Shield is contested, Gabriel Winders will be the third generation of his family to take part in the competition.

WINNING TRIO: (From left) Warren Goodall-Johnston, 12, Alex Walker, 8, and Bradley Lewis, 14, received second, first and third, respectively, in the C section at the Special Olympics equestrian ribbon day at the Southland Riding for the Disabled premises in Invercargill.

THERE IT IS: Drew Riordan can't understand how a police officer did not see this warrant of fitness sticker and gave him a $200 fine, then refused to write off the ticket.

READ BETWEEN THE LINES: Readers (from left) Katelyn Sutton, 10, Molly Haywood, 10, and Libby Haywood, 7, are surrounded by books at the library but choose to read an e-book on an Apple iPad instead.

HI CHICKIE: New Zealand Aluminium Smelters general manager Ryan Cavanagh and Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson watch Department of Conservation kakapo ranger Jo Ledington prepare kakapo chick Flossie 2 for feeding on Codfish Island.

HERE'S LOOKING AT YOU, KID: Anna Trent shows off her soon-to-be famous 12-week-old daughter Amy, who will be one of eight babies included in a Huggies Nappies photo-montage advertisement. Amy is the only Invercargill baby in one of the 14 montages of newborns that will be run in a joint effort with Plunket.

ILLUMINATING: Even after such a long time in politics, some things are still new for Finance Minister Bill English, who received his first gift of a rose bush, presented by St John South Island Trust Board member John Mills (right) to commemorate St John's 125th jubilee year.

DISAPPOINTING: Chris Whyte, from the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation, checks the damage to the wapiti statue at the entrance to Te Anau with Sergeant Tod Hollebon.

HIGH FLYERS: Wanaka aerobatic pilots and national champions Ivan Krippner and Kylie Wakelin.

UNDER THE HAMMER: Strategic Software manager Jill Stewart (left) and business manager Debbie Tynan show off some of the items they have up for auction to raise funds for victims of the Christchurch earthquake.

HIGH HOPES: Invercargill dancer James Luck celebrates his new job as a dancer at a swanky resort in Turkey.

DOG APPEAL: Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind Red Puppy Appeal collector Carolyn Weston and her guide dog, Tane, receive a donation from Jorja Gaye, 3, in Esk St in Invercargill.

FAIRYTALE: Sally Edgerton is the winner of a RadioLive competition to be a correspondent at the royal wedding at the end of the April, 2011.

UNHAPPY: Angry rugby supporter Murray Dawson has been a Southland supporter since 1965 but will not be returning to Rugby Park in Invercargill after being denied a re-entry permit to the Highlanders v Brumbies game.

100th: Lilian Rabone celebrating her 100th birthday in Invercargill.

STOKED: Southland Sharemilker-Equity Farmers of the Year Lindsey and Clare McClintock, of Winton.

TOP MANAGERS: Southland Farm Managers of the Year Mark and Rosie Olsen-Vetland, of Winton.

YOUNG TALENT: Southland Dairy Trainee of the Year John Patterson, 21, from near Gore.

AFTERMATH: Constables Jason Leadley (left) and Sally Brown, of Invercargill, inspect a car that crashed into a power pole and landed in a ditch on the outskirts of Invercargill.

BINS ARRIVE: Southland District Mayor Frana Cardno about to be recycled in Te Anau after rubbish (red) and recycling (yellow) bins arrived for distribution.

DELIGHTED: Homestead Villa Motels manager Natalie Gilson with a diary containing a full list of bookings for the Rugby World Cup games in Invercargill in September, 2011.

PLAY TIME: Kate McAnelly and her 4-year-old son Stephen McAnelly play trains at their Invercargill home. Stephen has high functioning autism and the family is telling their story to coincide with Autism Awareness Day.

SPREAD THE WORD: Windmill holiday programme co-ordinator Coby Uitentuis (front left) and second-in-charge Stacy Hughes with Cobin Uitentuis-Burgess, 11, at the former Clifton School.

BUS STOPPER: The Connectabus feeder services in Queenstown have not attracted enough patronage, according to the Otago Regional Council.

TALENTED: Hannah Jagvik and Shaun Fraser with their NCEA art boards, on display as part of the senior students' exhibition at City Gallery.

FAITH IN TEACHING: Bishop Colin Campbell and Anne Kennedy look over some of the colourful story boards created by primary schools in the Catholic Diocese of Dunedin for the teacher professional development day, in Gore.

SAUCE OF INSPIRATION: Sacred Heart School pupils Jacob Downing, 8 (left), and brother Samuel, 10, enjoy a sausage with Highlanders prop Halani Aulika at the free barbecue the rugby team put on for Southlanders in Invercargill. The Highlanders are in Invercargill for their round seven Super rugby game against the Brumbies at Rugby Park.

WHAT'S GOING ON? Venture Southland tourism marketing co-ordinator Simon Henshaw shows off the latest What's On in Invercargill and Southland brochure. The guide lists various events throughout the region from the arts to festivals, car shows and ploughing champs.

WORKS OF ART: Ben Hoffman (from left), Holly Muirhead, Olivia Horton and Thomas Fleming have recorded descriptions of their pictures for 7 Days My Kid Could Draw That. They will find out which two were chosen when the show airs.

GUTTED: Southland fire risk management officer Paul Glanville surveys the charred interior of a house in Albion St, Mataura, that was gutted by fire. The fire is being treated as suspicious.