There were emotional scenes as departing Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull closed his final council this week.

As well as Cull, councillors Kate Wilson and Conrad Stedman also said their final goodbyes.

Those hoping to return to council after Saturday also paid tribute to their departing colleagues, including Mayor Cull's long time nemesis Lee Vandervis.

A weekly quiet hour is set to begin at Countdown stores across the country later this month.

This quiet hour is designed to create a friendly environment for people with autism or Aspergers to shop without distractions of noise and lights.

A group of top chefs are set to do battle as part of next month's Home and Living show at Forsyth Barr stadium.

The trio work at restaurants like Moiety, Emersons, the Prohibition group and Glenfalloch Gardens.

But this year there's set to be a wild card to keep them on their toes.

Protests were held across the country on Monday as the environmental activists Extinction Rebellion step up their call for action.

In Invercargill environmentalists took to the streets to raise awareness at the inaction from the Government and big business on climate change.

A wall in Dunedin's Bond Street is now graced by a new mural, adding to the more than 50 pieces of street art around the city.

Sunday saw Whanganui-based artist Simon Ormerod finish his painting, depicting sea creatures taken out of their natural environment.

The artwork is part of a world-wide programme of murals about man's destruction of the oceans, a message he likes to subtly include in his art.

A Wellington musician is undertaking tour of New Zealand with a bit of difference.

Primary teacher Gillian Henderwood was in Dunedin last week to play a song at the Dunedin Botanic Garden as part of her quest to perform on 50 band rotundas in a year.

Dunedin's student community is still in shock following the death of a 19-year old student.

Second year student Sophia Crestani, died during a stair-well pile up at a Dundas St party on Saturday night.

Hundreds of Southlanders rallied together for a 12-hour Netball-a-thon, at ILT Stadium Southland at the weekend.

The marathon series of games is a fundraiser for a promising young netballer, who's recovering from surgery for idiopathic scoliosis.

Eco-friendly pet products and handbags fashioned from leather off-cuts were just some of the start-up business ideas pitched in Dunedin this week.

Called "Audacious", the event challenges local university and polytech students to explain their money making ideas to a panel of judges.

A group of Dunedin school children have spent three days painting a mural in the pedestrian tunnel which links Green Island with Abbotsford.

Community worker Amanda Reid says about 20 volunteers used their paint brushes to replace an earlier mural, which had been ruined by tagging.

In recent weeks the south has been hitting above its weight in terms of producing champions.

This time it is the turn of an 85-year-old Mosgiel woman who is creating a racket in the tennis world...

A large housing development on Queenstown's former high school site will include 100 KiwiBuild apartments.

Minister of Housing Megan Woods formally announced the partnership between the Government and Ngai Tahu during a visit to the site yesterday.

An albatross now spreads its wings over the entrance to exhibits at Toitu Otago Settlers Museum.

Acting director Cam McCracken called yesterday's unveiling of master carver James York's waharoa - or gateway - an emotional and significant moment for the museum.

Six Dunedin high school pupils are now part of a prestigious national choir.

The talented half dozen were selected to join the New Zealand Secondary Students' Choir, which is set to perform to Germany next year.

Dunedin Hospital staff required medical attention after a chemical spill at the hospital on Tuesday.

The spill, in a non-clinical area of the Children's Pavilion, only caused minor problems inside the building but led to major rush hour traffic issues outside.