Waimea Weekly
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Wednesday 2 November 2022
24 hours on a bike ‘a stupid idea’ ANDREW BOARD Glen Martin admits his Gumboot Friday fundraiser is a “stupid idea” but he’s not letting that hold him back. The Richmond gym-owner and electrician is planning to ride an exercise bike for 24 hours to raise
money for Gumboot Friday, the main fundraiser for the I Am Hope Charity. I Am Hope works with young people’s mental health around New Zealand. Glen’s epic ride will start at Tasman
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Tasman grows as Nelson shrinks JENNY NICHOLSON Tasman’s population is one of the fastest growing in the country, while less people now live in Nelson compared with 2021, according to recently released data. Statistics NZ data show that Tasman and Bay of Plenty were second equal in highest population growth percentage (1.1 per cent), with Northland taking out top
growth rate (1.3 per cent) in the country in the year to June 2022. Provisional estimates showed most areas had slower population growth than the year ended June 2021, with five of the 16 regions, including Nelson, having a population decrease. Tasman is now home to 600 more residents than the previous year, growing from 58,100 to 58,700 in the year to June.
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Tasman locals say the major draws to the region are climate and the beauty of the area, as well as the lack of traffic. Melissa Muirhead and her family recently moved to Nelson from Amsterdam. Having made the decision to return to New Zealand, they asked whether they could face returning to Auckland and realised the answer was no. Having had a senior role in a large
company, Melissa looked forward to a less stressful role and designing a more balanced life. Her family were drawn to Tasman by nature. Realising it would be difficult to rent, they bought a house sight unseen. While she had been here before, her husband had never been to the region, and she says it was a ‘leap of faith’ for him. “There are beautiful beaches,
beautiful lakes and mountains all close by,” Melissa says. “It doesn’t take long to get anywhere.” She enjoys the people in Tasman, saying they seem more present, and those in schools and customer service have all been very nice. “You can get a carpark, and traffic is nothing here even if people think it is.”
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