Stories by Ian Telfer

A memorial plaque has been installed on the Routeburn Track for a Czech tramper who died there last year.

A hearing over plans to add a glass deck to one side of the Dunedin Railway Station has been told it is a courageous move to revive the building.

A group of people who rescued a 24-year-old tourist from the bottom of an Otago rock pool deserve a medal, police and paramedics say.

The government is not properly fixing a pest problem created by its own plantations, a leading botanist says.

An inquiry into thousands of failing power poles in Otago has recommended major changes to the lines companies involved. Audio

A scuba diver rescued a woman from an Otago lake, then went back in for the teen he could not save.

Former students of the South Island's only residential horse-training course say shutting it down will stop others getting into the industry.

A New Zealand cage diving operator will take clients out illegally to view sharks because the Department of Conservation has stalled on issuing permits. Audio

Allegations of abuse at a special needs school in Dunedin are misguided, say some parents.

Kaikōura's only public pool appears to have been damaged beyond repair in last week's earthquake, but it has rekindled the dream of a new indoor complex.

The pool of water at Goose Bay is 200 to 300 metres long, 10m wide and up to 10m deep, Civil Defence says.

An army convoy carrying much-needed fuel to Kaikōura has arrived, as locals are warned their own access to the road could be weeks away. Video

Nine days after the district's crippling earthquake, a Kaikōura petrol station owner says it only has enough fuel to last until the weekend.

A group of volunteers say they are saving earthquake-displaced pāua, but the government says they are doing more harm than good. Video

The Kaikōura earthquake has robbed the town's restaurants of a long-awaited golden summer.

Lincoln University's plans to cut 17 jobs from its Telford Campus in Clutha have outraged the local mayor.

A public health academic is warning the government's RMA reforms could cause more emergencies like Havelock North's water contamination.

Queenstown has been set abuzz by Sir Russell Coutts suggesting the America's Cup could be hosted on Lake Wakatipu. Audio

A proposed expansion of the country's biggest goldmine would kill thousands of protected lizards, DOC says.

Dunedin's mayor has again denied his greatest critic on the city council any portfolio responsibilities.

Eleven pieces of evidence add up to prove a young Dunedin cleaner murdered his supervisor, the Crown has argued.

A drone has crashed into a protected albatross breeding site, sparking a warning from conservation officials.

Two brothers elected as mayor in neighbouring Otago districts say they can't wait to get to work.

Sitting mayors in the main South Island centres have been returned to office - some with larger majorities than before.

A 21-year-old Dunedin cleaner killed his supervisor because he disliked her and she had complained about him, the Crown says.