A World War II minefield believed to have been laid off the entrance to Lyttelton Harbour on Banks Peninsula, has eluded navy searchers as port authorities plan to dredge a deeper channel.

The 10 mines, thought to weigh up to 1000kg each, were apparently laid by the German minelayer, Adjutant, in June, 1941.

They were not moored but lay on the seabed and were detonated by the acoustic or magnetic activity of ships passing overhead.

None of the mines exploded and no ships were sunk and the navy believes over the years the mines sank into the "glutinous ooze" of the seabed.

Cannon to make a comeback.

A 125-year-old gun languishing in Newmarket is to be remounted, allaying earlier concerns that it had been dumped and forgotten.

The muzzle-loaded gun, part of a defence arsenal against a perceived Russian threat in the late 19th century, was moved to the nearby Olympic Green as part of a recently-completed $2 million redevelopment of Lumsden Green.

The move surprised some in the community who believed a piece of their history, which had been a part of Lumsden Green for decades, had been dumped and forgotten.

But Hobson councillor and Auckland City Council city development committee chairman Aaron Bhatnagar said work had begun on replacing its rotting wooden carriage to restore the old gun.

7th December 2009

The  bell from a former coastal trading vessel  made $7050 in some of the most spirited and determined bidding seen at a local Wanganui auction for a while.

As well as the bell, a 1908 print of former world single scull rowing champion Billy Webb in action on the Whanganui River fetched $560, auctioneer Brian Hayward said yesterday.

The Guyton St auction house  had been "busy and happening",  Mr Hayward said.

The two unique items closely associated with Wanganui's past had created a lot of interest, he said.

Both items had fascinating historical stories attached to them, with special significance to  the city.

"And the good news is they have both stayed in Wanganui."

The following is an article that has appeared in the Northern Advocate in relation to the finding that the bells that have supposedly come from the 'Boyd' are in fact church bells and not from the 'Boyd' at all. The main point of all this is, do the research. Taking for granted that something is, because someone told me, doesn't cut it.