Portobello School Beach Clean Up

Scouting for trash

It was a beautiful day in Portobello on the 25th of September and this was Portobello School’s chance to do their bit for Clean Up NZ week. Although just out of the official week our local weather has meant the school have been delayed in getting started. The Year Six children from room five with teacher Sarah Luke did a great job cleaning up the beach area around Latham Bay in Portobello. They also went and fossicked out that hard to get rubbish in the bush behind the local playground. Well done Portobello School, and many thanks for your hard work in keeping our area tidy.

Good job guys

Bacon Street Bus Shelter

Daniel Mead working at Bacon StArtist Daniel mead is making steady progress on the mural for the Bacon Street bus shelter in Turnbull’s Bay. The mural will incorporate scenes of native New Zealand fish typically found in Smiths Creek which runs along Bacon Street from the Hereweka/Harbour Cone property and into the Otago Harbour. With the significant habitat restoration of the creek undertaken by local environmental group Save the Otago Peninsula it is hoped to see a thriving population of these fish in the future. The mural has been funded by Keep Dunedin Beautiful who has done excellent work painting and updating existing murals on the Peninsula. The murals add unique community vibrancy to our area and have become well photographed visitor attractions.

Relay for Life – Keep on moving

Lavender legends

The 2015 Relay for Life held in Dunedin was a great experience and one that local Peninsula people supported with generosity and energy. The Peninsula community were deeply saddened at the passing of  Lyn Campbell from cancer in 2014. The relay provided a meaningful opportunity for local people, her family and her friends to honour Lyn and share some of her beautiful spirit with others. Lyn was passionate about growing lavender and creating products from its oil and flowers, and a hard-working group harvested lavender from her garden and used many of her unique recipes to make some beautiful products. These were used to fund-raise money for the Cancer Society’s cause and the team raised around $2,500. The 24 hour relay is a heady mixture of energy, fatigue and excitement with a few tears and plenty of smiles and laughter along the way. It’s a very purposeful event where people combine their desire to make a difference with their own experiences and those of their family and friends. The Peninsula team like all of the teams participating, showed great determination that was inspiring and uplifting. So to everyone from the Peninsula and all of Lyn’s family and friends, congratulations and well done. You really did Lyn proud.

Portobello puts on a great Show!

The Portobello Community Show on Saturday 6th brought local people from far and wide together for a day of fun, food and friendship at the Portobello Domain. With the support of local businesses, clubs, musicians, and the community this was a show to remember. There was a fantastic mix of fun for everyone young and old, with many events and entertainment to keep people occupied. With the success of yesterday this show has a great platform to grow and become a real highlight on the Peninsula and regional calendar. A special thanks to all of the organisers, sponsors and all of those people who contributed to a  successful event. The Portobello Community Show is about local people doing great things for local facilities and organisations in our community, and that generosity showed yesterday. Look forward to seeing you all back next year. Here’s a few photographs from yesterday, click in the picture to view full size in a viewer.

 

Portobello Show

Community Show

 

9:00-11:00am
Portobello Pony Club, Classes & Games, Lead Rein and First Ridden only. $10 entry registration on the day.

Other activities from 11am:

  • Portobello’s Got Talent; open for Adults and Children (please register your interest via our Facebook page or contact on this page)
  • Fancy Dress Competition -Best Pet Parade
  • Egg and Spoon Race
  • Gum Boot Throwing contest

12:30pm -Action Engineering Spitfire Engine display

1:00pm -Portobello Hotel & Bistro Tough Guy Challenge (Teams of 3, sign up on the day or register your interest via Facebook/website contact)

  • Tug-O-War (girls vs boys, oldies vs youngsters etc.)
  • Portobello Treats & Sweets Baking Competition
  • The Nature’s Wonders Argo Lolly Scramble

All Day Activities:
Bouncy Castles, Candy Floss & Face Painting -Argo Rides -Petting Zoo -Wool Spinning -Food Stalls, -Army Display -The Coffee Pirate -Paradise-V8s Display; If you are interested in bringing your V8 please contact us via Facebook or the Contact link

And much, much more…..
Also come and check out our brand new Skate Park thanks to the efforts of Portobello Community Incorporated

Rough and Tumble on Skates

Nicki NoxiousGetting selected for a national team is a great achievement, being able to survive the rough and tumble of roller derby is another matter. Local Harwood woman Nic Hedley is about to accept that challenge on the international stage. The busy mother of three and Wharekai Co-ordinator for Te Runanga o Otakou has been selected as one of 20 New Zealand skaters to travel to Dallas in December. Roller Derby is a contact sport where teams score points by having a designated skater try to lap the opposing team while the remaining team members attempt to block and shield the scoring skater. Nic who skates in the local league under the name “Nicki Noxious” has been hard at work fundraising for her trip to the United States as derby is not a professional sport. Nic would like to say a special thank you to Tony Reid from the Portobello Hotel and the Peninsula community for getting behind her fundraising to date. She has also had assistance from local physiotherapy clinic owner Jim Webb from Integrated Health Otago for, making sure she is in top shape before her international tour. Good luck Nic and go hard!

A Mudtastic Pursuit

Getting ready to go

The 2014 Portobello Paddock Pursuit on Sunday 9th of November saw nearly 400 participants run, jump, climb and slither through a challenging course at the Portobello Domain. With a warm day many people brought their deck chairs and picnics and made the pursuit a great family day out. The Portobello Paddock Pursuit has grown from 220 entries in 2013 to 390 in 2014 and is steadily becoming a regular on the family friendly event circuit for Dunedin. So much of the pursuit’s success comes from the hardworking local organising committee who put in so much effort to ensure everyone has fun and the event runs well and safely. The other aspect of the event is the generosity of local businesses and sponsors such as Cycleworld, Cartridge World, Portobello Deli, Portobello Volunteer Fire Brigade, Am I Fit, Sport Otago, Remax Real Estate and so many more. This has been a fantastic fundraiser for Portobello School and a great event for the  Community, we’re looking forward to seeing everyone back next year. (Click on the pictures to see the pictures in a full size viewer).

Many thanks to the following other supporters;

Bronwyn Anderson, Nic & Brian McGrouther, Cross Family, Parkinson Whanau, Steven Clearwater Contracting, Playball, Portobello Commnity Incorporated, Dunedin Ice Hockey, Mitre 10, Leslie Rugby, Chipmunks, Megazone, Bike Barn, Starfish Cafe, Moana Pool, Rebel Sport, K Mart, Dunedin Sports Depot, United Video, Lonestar, Cadburys, Couplands, New World, Torpedo 7, Tuapeka Print and Kellogs.

Portobello Skate Park Working Bee

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The 1st day of November and Portobello Community Incorporated were on a mission at the Portobello Domain skate park. The working bee had several tasks including replacing the plywood and painting the new ramps, giving the old tennis court fence a coat of paint and installing a recently purchased half-pipe. Helped with some warm weather, plenty of hard-working volunteers and a great morning tea at the pavilion everyone really got stuck in. Special thanks to Portobello Inc. Deputy Chairman Geoff Sheridan from Toll New Zealand for providing a much-needed  truck to get the half-pipe on site.

With Portobello Community Inc purchasing the half-pipe and funding half of Fulton Hogan’s road marking costs for the park, this project has created a great asset for the community and its families.  Its was fantastic to see so many people and children turn up on Saturday and pitch in to make this project really happen. We’re looking forward to the grand opening on the 9th of November during the Portobello Paddock Pursuit.

Click on the pictures to see them in a full size viewer.

From Trash to Treasure

Portobello Domain

Sunday 19th dawned bright but fresh for the Portobello Hawk & Hurl held at Portobello Domain and once again the event was well attended. There were plenty of bargains, a fair bit of cheek and a significant amount material saved from landfill on the day. Many people have things they no longer want or can use and by bringing them to the Hawk & Hurl they can see those things transferred to a new owner for re-use. It’s a great place to pay $10 for a child’s bike, buy recycled building materials, cheap furniture, tools and every other weird thing you can imagine. The other great initiative of the event is the scrap collection. Portobello Inc. will take any scrap metal off people’s hands and use the proceeds for the community group we’re working for. This year our proceeds from the Hawk & Hurl are going to the Portobello Toy Library as they look to relocate to new premises at the Portobello Domain pavilion. The Otago Peninsula have many generous people who support their community and a special thanks goes to Dave Murphy Fencing who  supplied a truck for all the recycled metal. Thanks Dave, that man deserves a beer! To all the residents who donated goods and scrap as well the team from Portobello Community Incorporated for working on the day many thanks for your efforts and we’ll see you again in February 2015. (Click on the pictures to see full size)