Stories by Robin Martin

The only underground lift in the southern hemisphere, the hand-dug Durie Hill Elevator, is celebrating its centenary in Whanganui this week.

St John says three new ambulance stations being built across Taranaki at a cost of about $7.5 million will drag its service in the region into the modern era.

A Whanganui migrant advocate has criticised an iwi leader for saying the city should house Māori before it takes on refugees - but the mayor say he has a point about the city's housing crisis. Audio

A meeting about the resettlement of refugees in Whanganui has been called to a halt after an iwi leader told it the city had to look after Māori first. Audio

Repairs on New Plymouth's District Council building have attracted criticism after ballooning from $1 million to more than $3 million.

A North Taranaki hapu says the proposed coastal plan for the region takes an "open slather, do want you want" approach to protecting reefs traditionally used for gathering kaimoana.

The latest report into the health of Taranaki streams and rivers indicates freshwater quality is improving across the province, but not everyone is convinced by the data.

A 78-year-old New Zealand permanent resident says she feared being deported back to the UK after officials in Brisbane couldn't read her electronic visa and scoffed at a letter from Immigration New…

A Taranaki woman says she's lucky to be alive after an electric blanket burst into flames on the bed she and her baby were lying in.

Questions are being asked about Immigration New Zealand's practice of issuing electronic permanent resident visas while also insisting people carry a letter confirming they have those same visas.

Matatā residents whose homes are at risk from deadly debris flows will be offered market value for their properties if they want to leave, Whakatāne's district council has announced.

An internationally recognised photographer says her dream to redevelop an old Taranaki hotel is being ruined because of the constant noise and vibration of heavy vehicles rolling past her front door.

A family who lost three people in a horrific car crash near Waverley almost exactly a year ago say its time for the government to stop dragging its feet on roadside drug testing.

The first study of little blue penguin in North Taranaki is being credited with giving the at-risk bird a better chance of survival in the region.

Two years to the day after her eldest child died in a suspected suicide a New Plymouth woman has been jailed on charges of neglect, cruelty and violence against her children.

Final plans for the strengthening and redevelopment of Taranaki Cathedral in New Plymouth - which include an education centre focusing on its role in the Taranaki land wars - have been revealed.

Award-winning costumes from the original West End production of the hit musical Priscilla - Queen of the Desert are gracing a New Plymouth stage.

The mystery of who created a 1960s pop-culture time capsule uncovered in a New Plymouth cottage last week has been solved. Video

The cost to Waitara leaseholders of settling one of New Zealand's longest running land disputes is becoming clearer - and many are not happy about it.

If the world continues to emit greenhouse gasses it will lock in a further 3C of global warming and 10m of sea level rise, a world renowned New Zealand climate scientist warns.

A rugby player in Taranaki has been suspended for eight weeks while several other players and a club official face sanctions for their role in a brawl earlier this month.

An outgoing New Plymouth councillor has criticised the number of "spin doctors" employed at the district council.

Two Taranaki councillors have been linked to a farm breaching effluent discharge consents, but that barely received a mention at a council meeting today.

A 1960s pop-culture treasure trove has been uncovered during renovations of a turn-of-the-century villa in New Plymouth.

Taranaki has flunked its latest freshwater quality report card - recording poorer results across the board than in the previous year.