Southern Stories

For some the game of Housie merely offers a night out and a chance to socialise, but for Craig Butterfield it plays an important role in both his private and professional lives. Katy Gosset meets a… Read more Audio

At a Rural Education Activities Programme in Wairau Valley in Marlborough; Sage Forest finds a fascination for artfully cleaving carcasses, and a small community making the most of a chance to come… Read more Audio

A programme run by the Canterbury District Health Board aims to teach nutrition and cooking skills to older residents on a budget. As Katy Gosset has found, the project has opened the door to a whole… Read more Audio

Is organising anarchists like herding cats? Apparently not. Sage Forest talks to an anarchists' collective with a deep faith in human nature. Beyond Resistance is a nation-wide anarchists' collective… Read more Audio

Katy Gosset paid a visit to Christchurch to meet some of the people who have been quietly toiling away, restoring services to the quake-damaged city. While these workers are not unappreciated, their… Read more Audio

Renata Sadlier trains young men and women at Mairehau Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) club in Christchurch. He also runs the Cage Warrior events and five of his fighters are taking part in CW6 at the SBS… Read more Audio

Christchurch butcher Graham Robinson wants to sell his shop which is more than 100 years old but he says it won't be going to just anyone. This is a business where customer service is paramount and… Read more Audio

To some Native Americans it's a sacred plant, one that Captain James Cook brought to this country in 1769. Tobacco companies call it 'a normal and legal product', but there's still an air of secrecy… Read more Audio

The New Brighton Community Garden in Christchurch escaped the liquefaction that affected other properties in the area and is now attracting more people eager to learn about self-sufficiency. Audio

Elderly residents in Lyttelton have been enjoying free meals while their supermarket is closed and their town is being rebuilt. After February's earthquake, locals found that many of the community's… Read more Audio

The Living in Peace Project aims to use sustainable, carbon-neutral, co-operative business to support creative endeavour. The local backpackers, Rongo ('peace', in te Reo), is the heart and creative… Read more Audio

This week we're at one of Christchurch's most popular tourist destinations, it just so happens that the destination has moved. Audio

Jenny Margaret Somerville and her husband Richard Peterson produce a tonne and a half of artisan soaps a year in the Wairau Valley in Marlborough, and export to Japan, through their business Jeymar… Read more Audio

The Christchurch suburb of Sydenham was badly affected by the first earthquake in September and February's quake has struck another blow to the local retail sector. But as Katy Gosset has found, shop… Read more Audio

Katy Gosset is in South Brighton where a group of older residents are showing resilience and community spirit. Despite the earthquake damage wrought upon their homes, some of which are still without… Read more Audio

Contrary to popular opinion, the godwits do not leave in one mass exodus, but their arrival and departure is heralded with ceremony. In Christchurch, and Sage Forest was there for this year's… Read more Audio

It took 16 years of hard labour with pick and shovel to dig the Otira Tunnel through the Southern Alps, but by 1923, it was finally finished. Sage Forest spends a night at the Otira Hotel and delves… Read more Audio

New Zealand's Penny Farthing champion Shane Price talks to Katy Gosset as he prepares to tackle his international rivals at the Australian National Championships on February 19. Audio

For more than a century flax fibre was a major industry in this country. In Southland alone there were 44 mills operating in the late 1800s. Now, there's just one. The Templeton Flax Mill Heritage… Read more Audio

Earlier this year, Spoken Features producer Sonia Yee met up with Olga Hawkes - author of 'Russian at Heart.' But there's another side to Olga's personal story and it's full of glamour from 60's… Read more Audio