Hamish MacLean

Construction at the entrance to Oamaru Harbour could continue for the next two months, Waitaki District Council assets group manager Neil Jorgensen says.

The 20 "informed participants" to take part in next month's Oamaru Harbour master plan workshops have been chosen by the Waitaki District Council.

The two boat ramps beside the slipway at Oamaru Harbour are property of the North Otago Yacht and Power Boat Club, the Waitaki District Council's harbour area committee has agreed.

KiwiRail has confirmed its old gasworks building in Humber St will be demolished. The two- to three-week process will begin on Monday, strategic land use general manager Stephanie Campbell says. 

The beach at Katiki Straight is a popular stop for visitors.

A small village sprang up at Willow Park, Papakaio, on Saturday.

And then there were none.

After heavy rain hit Oamaru in November little penguins abandoned their nests, but fears of a repeat of the "disastrous" 2015 season have not materialised.

The fourth addition to the Waitaki District Council's harbour area committee should have links to Oamaru Harbour as well as a commercial background, Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher says.

Redeveloping Oamaru's dog pound is set to cost nearly double last year's estimate because of upgrades proposed for the facility.

Timber from the 100-year-old Memorial Oak removed from Severn St at the start of March will be stored for a future project in the Oamaru Public Gardens.

Satellite tracking could show whether rehabilitating "the world's least-known, most enigmatic penguin species" while they are moulting has an effect on their behaviour when they return to sea.

Public access to Oamaru’s Heritage New Zealand category 1 1872 breakwater will be reinstated this month, the Waitaki District Council says.

The Terra Nova Challenge Trophy will be contested for the seventh time in North Otago today.

A "commercially focused representative" could be a fourth addition to the Waitaki District Council's harbour area committee as a draft master plan for Oamaru Harbour is drawn up this autumn.

Alps 2 Ocean Ultra race director Mike Sandri, of Oamaru, gave out 98 hugs at the finish line at Oamaru Harbour on Saturday.

Fiona Farrell's central character in Limestone, Clare Lacey, was "born in limestone country".