Water Cremation

December 8, 2025

This is a sponsored story explaining how water cremation or alkaline hydrolysis works, providing a clear picture of the process and the basic science behind it. New Zealand's first Water Cremation service was opened in 2025 beginning a new era in funeral practices in Aotearoa. This 10 min story gives the background.

Farid Ahmed tours Nelson to speak to schools and community groups about compassion and forgiveness.
By John Sellwood • October 8, 2026
Farid makes a whistle stop tour of Nelson to speak with schools and community groups about Compassion and forgiveness. A survivor of the massacres at two Christchurch mosques in 2019, Farid is campaigning for March the 15th to be recognised as a day of compassion. He wants those who died to remembered for their love and not the hate visited upon their community by a lone gunman. In this video Farid speaks to: 
By John Sellwood • June 7, 2026
For generations, the ancestral rock art of the Arowhenua people has been owned by others, with the land and limestone caves held in private ownership as part of a Gould family farm. Now after more than 170 years, Te Rūnanga o Arowhenua has purchased back the land and full access and ownership of their ancient taonga.