Taking a look at recent, positive, uplifting, news stories and yarns, from New Zealand and all around the world, to bring a smile and a bit of cheer.
This will be the last installment of Good News NZ for a few weeks, as we redesign the site. We’ve been really heartened by your responses and it’s great to know that a bit of uplifting, light news can be just the tonic.
Stolen scooter shows up, ten years later
It’s very rare to get stolen goods returned. Last time my house was robbed, the advice I was given by the police was to contact local pawn shops to see if my stolen items had turned up there. After a few emails and phone calls, I did what everybody does, I imagine: give up. After that it’s an exercise in keeping insurance current and making sure, as much as possible, that your house is secure.
For one gent the surprise of being informed that his scooter, stolen ten years ago in Whangarei ago had been found in Auckland was quite palpable. After all, a decade is a long time!
“Senior Sergeant Clive Wood said the registered owner had parked the scooter behind his friend’s house in Whangārei and had forgotten about it. By the time he realised it was stolen, it was too late.
“‘Our staff contacted the owner after locating the scooter, which came as a huge surprise to him given the length of time. When he picked it up from Papakura Police Station he was extremely grateful, and we were stoked to be able to return it to its rightful owner.'” (Source: “Scooter reunited with ‘extremely grateful’ owner decade after being stolen,” 30th September, www.rnz.co.nz).
5 stars – better late than never. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll get a call to be told my laptops and cameras have been found, maybe.
Official cash rate drops 50 basis points
Short and sweet. Yesterday the Reserve Bank dropped the OCR by 50 basis points – taking it to 4.75% – what it was in February last year. About time.
5 stars – the struggle for all Kiwis with high interest rates and high cost-of living over the past few years looks as if it will begin to ease. Let’s hope so.
31 year old treasure hunt comes to an end
In 1993, The Trail of the Golden Owl, written by Regis Hauser and artist Michel Becker, set readers on a hunt to solve puzzles and ultimately, locate a hidden owl token that would be exchanged for an equivalent amount of gold. That set in motion a passionate quest from many thousands of readers, from all over the globe.
“This week the hunt came to an end, according to social media accounts linked to the search. ‘Don’t go digging!’ said a message from Becker to thousands of followers, on the chat app Discord.
“‘We confirm that the Golden Owl countermark was unearthed last night,’ the message read, unleashing a wave of sad and crying emojis. ‘It is therefore useless to go digging.’ The book built up a cult-like following, with a community of more than 200,000 players, known as ‘owlers’, from France and abroad, according to the hunt’s official website.
“Becker previously said he oversaw and financed the creation of the prize, an owl made of 3kg of gold and 7kg of silver with diamond chips on its face. Becker and Hauser buried a replica of the owl, keeping the original safe. The prize is estimated to be worth around €150,000, fans of the treasure hunt have speculated.
“In order to claim the treasure, the winning player could not simply find it with a metal detector but would have to submit the replica, along with answers to all of the book’s riddles. On Discord, members of the hunt channel were quick to react to news the replica may have been unearthed. ‘It’s the end of an era,’ one wrote.”
