A New Zealand jury has been shown CCTV of British backpacker Grace Millane’s movements on the night she died while on a Tinder date with a 27-year-old man. The footage shows the pair visiting numerous bars across Auckland. The man – whose identity has been suppressed by the court – is accused of strangling her in his apartment later that night. He has pleaded not guilty to murder. Millane's body was found crammed inside a suitcase buried in scrubland outside the city.
Continue reading...Category Archives: Auckland
‘Bulging at the seams’: Auckland, a super city struggling with its own success
The government dreamed of a metropolis that is a beacon to all but the pace of change has left some behind and others disillusioned
Tāmaki Makaurau, the Māori name for Auckland which can be translated as “the place desired by many”, is living up to its billing. The city’s population has swelled rapidly to 1.7 million and is estimated to be adding 40,000 people a year. By 2048 it could host nearly half of New Zealand’s current population.
In the 1980s only a couple of thousand people lived in the central city. Now some 57,000 people call it home, a figure that was not expected to be reached until 2032.
Continue reading...Auckland fire: thousands evacuated as huge blaze takes hold – video
A fire burned in the heart of New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland, starting from the roof of the SkyCity centre, which is still under construction. Thousands of people were evacuated. Workers on the site were sent away immediately, but as the fire continued to rage, other areas – including New Zealand's tallest building, Sky Tower – were cleared.
The New Zealand fire service asked residents to stay clear of the city centre and a spokesperson said it was 'a very, very difficult fire to extinguish'
Continue reading...Exposing one’s selfies: Aucklanders answer call for city snapshots – in pictures
Curators have added 1,000 selfies to Auckland Museum’s permanent photography collection after calling on the public to submit them. ‘Our collection holds more than 3m photographs, dating back to the early days of photography, and a part of my role is to ensure our collection continues to reflect trends,’ says its curator of pictorial, Shaun Higgins. ‘The selfie is a present-day photographic phenomenon that can’t be overlooked’
• Insider’s guide to Auckland: a multicultural melting pot by the sea
Continue reading...Auckland fire: thousands evacuated as huge blaze takes hold in SkyCity
The fire started just after 1pm on the roof of the SkyCity convention centre
Thousands of people were evacuated from central Auckland on Tuesday as a massive fire burned in the heart of New Zealand’s largest city.
The fire started just after 1pm on the roof of the SkyCity convention centre, which is still under construction.
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