A celebration of all things happening on the Taieri, which included:

Community Christmas Tree was erected and lit up nice and bright.

Christmas Lights Display Competition

Residents who decorated their homes with Christmas lights entered a competition to win $500 cash, thanks to Shoz Wheeler, Property Brokers. A map was generated for people to be able to view at their own leisure. There were some impressive decorations!

The winner was 4 Doon Street! 🎄 CONGRATULATIONS🎄

Mosgiel Retailers Shop Window

Retailers decorated their shop windows to enter to win the 'Best Shop Christmas Display' trophy and morning tea. 

The winner for 2023 is Rosie's Gifts and Homewares! 🎄 CONGRATULATIONS🎄

A Very Taieri Xmas Evening: Thurs 30 November 5pm - 9pm

Late night shopping, Santa's Grotto, entertainment and live music in ANZAC Park provided a festive street night. The local retailers contributed to two large hampers that were won by two shoppers that evening.

Christmas Light Displays Bus Tours

We stepped back in time as we travelled the streets of Mosgiel viewing the Christmas Lights in the Otago Heritage Bus. Multiple trips were enjoyed over 80 people as we sang carols, looked at the lights and got into the Festive mood.

What a fantastic evening of live music, tasty treats, and great company as we listened to (and later danced), two incredible bands: Gravel Roads & Superglue.

Mama's Donuts and Te Waahi Taraka Kai (The Spot Food Truck) satisfied our taste buds

7pm - 9pm Gravel Roads - they rocked the stage with country rock, honky tonk, and classic country tunes! 

Supper was provided by Taieri Network, then it was back to the dance floor.

9:30pm - 11:30pm Superglue certainly got us on the dance floor with well known chart-topping pop hits! 

The Allanton Hall was full of families and neighbours who got to meet each other, some for the first time, and there was plenty of chatter, fun and laughter to be had. 

Taieri Network is a-political but we encourage democracy, so together with the Mosgiel Taieri Community Board we co-hosted 'Meet the Candidate' - those running for the Mosgiel Taieri Community Board by-election and the Taieri Electorate candidates from Political Parties.

We had informational videos on Single Transferable Vote (STV) used to elect a Community Board candidate and Mixed Member Proportional (MMP), the system used for the General Election.

In the General Election you get two votes — a party vote and an electorate vote.

You can vote for a party and a candidate, or vote for only one or the other — it's your choice.

Voting for a party

Your party vote is for the political party you want to be in government. You can only vote for one party.

Voting for an electorate candidate

Your electorate vote is for the candidate you would like to be the member of Parliament for the area you live in. You can only vote for one candidate.

Taieri Network assisted with getting a group of enthusiastic gardeners in the same room together and from this the Taieri Edible Garden Network was formed. Their first order of business was a fruit tree pruning workshop mid-August 2023, followed by a 'share and swap' event in early September. This was for experienced and beginner gardeners which was open to the public. There were seed setting demonstrations, grow a potato in a bag to give away, swapping of seeds, plants, tools, tips and tricks and plenty of chatter.

Keep an eye out for future events from this motivated group.

For more information, head to the Facebook page here.

Early July 2023 (in the school holidays), 28 young people ages 12 - 18 yrs attended the hui with the aim of finding out from youth on the Taieri what they mean when they say ‘there is not enough on the Taieri to do’. 

Many organisations attended and there was plenty of fun, entertainment and yummy food.

The hui was such a success that this will become an annual event. We are currently collating findings and looking at feedback to make it even better next year.

The hui was hosted by Taieri Network and Youth East Taieri.

To read the Taieri Rangatahi/Youth Hui Report click here.

Taieri Network partnered with Workplace First Aid Training to offer the Mosgiel/Taieri Community the opportunity to gain a First Aid Certificate. Preferential pricing was offered to all community groups, sports clubs, friends, neighbours, parents, grandparents looking after grandchildren, whānau and not-for-profit organisations. 

Two courses were held, one in Mosgiel and one in Outram, with the aim to reduce barriers for individuals in the community. Local businesses also attended (at full price) so it was nice to network within our own community.

Taieri Network will continue to hold First Aid Training in the future.

Michael Hempseed has an honours degree in psychology, is a professional speaker, author and TEDx speaker. Michael is the Director of Frontiers of Hope, a mental health service offering a wide range of different treatment options.

He has experience working with families, emergency services personnel, teachers, preschoolers, teenage students and sports people, where treatments are evidence-based.

Michael spoke on PTSD, Anxiety, Insomnia, Depression, Suicide Prevention and failing. 

Click here for Michael's PowerPoint presentation.

Shoplifting impacts all retailers so it was great to hear from Constable Holt and Fiona (with her team) from Loss Prevention Specialists Otago. Over $3,000 of goods were stolen from 4 stores in Mosgiel. Business owners were shocked. 

Retailers learner about shoplifter profiles, serving trespass notices and how to inform NZ Police. One tool mentioned is Auror (a Retail Crime Intelligence & Loss Prevention Platform for reporting offenders), another how to conduct  yourself and the words to use if confronting shoplifters.

It was a very insightful night - it takes a village working together to be really effective. 

Thanks to our speakers and the Mosgiel business community for supporting this event which was co-hosted by Business South and Taieri Network.