Rosie Manins

A collaboration between Dunedin fashion designer Tamsin Cooper and the Royal New Zealand Ballet is taking centre stage in New York.

The uneven road surface on State Highway 88 between Dunedin and Ravensbourne is to be assessed by the New Zealand Transport Agency, which just spent $300,000 upgrading it.

Hundreds of dead red-billed gulls at Taiaroa Head on the Otago Peninsula are no cause for concern, the Department of Conservation says.

Arrests for drink-driving, disorderly behaviour and breaching liquor bans resulted from Operation Unite in Otago and the wider Southern police district at the weekend.

Carolyne Smith and Morgan Te Whata hope to save other Dunedin residents from the turmoil they face.

Thousands of dollars worth of irreplaceable Masonic medals have been stolen from the lodge's Dunedin centre in a Christmas crime which has disgusted members.

Thousands of revellers are preparing to see in the New Year in Otago at parties planned throughout the region.

Pre-Christmas spending in Otago is up $11.2 million on last year.

Slippery roads and heavy traffic volumes throughout Otago are prompting warnings from police.

A dying man's wish has been granted in Dunedin.

A 25-year-old Dunedin medical student remains in a serious condition in the intensive care unit at Dunedin Hospital, after being struck by a petrol tanker in the city last week.

Police and Department of Conservation staff are investigating a fire which continues to burn on Motuariki Island in Lake Tekapo.

Hospitals throughout Otago and Southland are almost at capacity and some patients are being shuffled around wards as staff deal with a seasonal increase in admissions.

More than $270 million was spent in Otago last month - at least $17.4 million more than in December 2012.

Dunedin should implement a model for cruise ship tour operators established in Christchurch, an Akaroa operator says.

An encounter between a great white shark and people fishing from a dinghy off Stewart Island has revived discussion about whether sharks are becoming increasingly attracted to boats and humans.

Before Deborah Lambie starts her fifth year of medical study at the University of Otago, she will represent New Zealand at the World Miss University pageant in South Korea.

Further unrest among Dunedin tour operators about new cruise ship protocols, including claims of bribery and bias, will be addressed at a season-end debriefing.

Growing vegetables or fruit in your own backyard has made a comeback. Rosie Manins learns how it's done.