A group of Taieri wrestlers are ready to take on New Zealand's best at the upcoming national championships.

Twelve wrestlers from the Taieri Taniwhas Amateur Wrestling Club, are set to compete for glory in Hamilton this weekend.

People wanting to start up a food-manufacturing business normally worry about the huge amount of capital outlay in creating a commercial kitchen.

But now a Dunedin business is offering a creative haven for those aspiring to develop their own food brands.

Clues to life more than a century ago, have been unearthed next to the University of Otago's Dental School.

University archaeologists have uncovered evidence of the 19th-century people, who lived and worked on the site of the new clinical services building.

Best-selling crime author Val McDermid is visiting Dunedin for two months as part of her three-year position at the University of Otago.

Dubbed as being Scotland's "queen of crime", she is well-known for her gruesome murder mysteries which were made into the TV series entitled "Wire In The Blood".

Hundreds of mourners paid tribute to Southland man Blair Vining in Invercargill on Wednesday.

The thirty-nine year old father of two died on Friday, almost a year after being diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer.

A huge digger bucket at the Macraes Goldfield near Middlemarch, has been painted pink in support of breast cancer awareness.

The unusual paint job is part of a project hoping to raise funds for the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation.

In just over a week, an equestrian park is set to open at Shotover Country near Queenstown.

The owner says there's nothing else like it in the lower South Island, and they hope to attract both local and visiting horse lovers to the business.

Wet weather didn't deter several hundred Dunedinites from marching in the central city, to make a statement about suicide on Saturday.

The annual Hopewalk is coordinated by the Life Matters Suicide Prevention Trust, aiming to boost awareness of suicide issues.

Crowds filled a Dunedin school hall over the weekend to admire examples of rocks and minerals from all over the world.

The National Gem and Mineral Show at Kaikorai Valley College bustled with people keen to take in everything from pounamu to rhodenite.

Last Friday saw woolhandlers competing at the Waimate Spring Shears event drawing both pros and amateurs from around the region.

Judge Amber Casserly says the best of the competitors had judges struggling to find fault with their woolhandling technique.

Dunedin's four new elected Dunedin city councillors say they are looking forward to addressing their areas of interest.

Council staff were out in force in the Octagon on Saturday morning until voting closed at noon, making sure as many people as possible cast their vote.

The streets and students flats around North Dunedin are looking a lot tidier after a mass cleanup on Sunday.

An estimated two and a half thousand students and other volunteers took part in the memorial cleanup in memory of second year University of Otago student Sophia Crestani, who died at a Dunedin house party earlier this month.

Umbrellas, plastic ponchos, and hoodies were the fashion of the day as revellers braved the rain for this year's Vogel Street Party.

There's a team debrief tomorrow, but the party's committee chairman is enjoying a break in the weather.

Dunedin's new mayor is the youngest ever to take office, replacing outgoing three-term mayor Dave Cull.

Thirty-five-year-old Aaron Hawkins got a chance to celebrate his success with family and supporters as the results for the local body elections came in on Saturday.

Law professor Paul Roth's 30-year career at the University of Otago came to a close this week.

Students and fellow faculty members lept into applause as Professor Roth gave his last lecture on Thursday.