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Read media mentions of Tairāwhiti Polytechnic from Gisborne's local newspaper, the Gisborne Herald...

Let the Aussies have their moment of glory, The Southland Times, June 2010
At the International Chardonnay Challenge in Gisborne last week the Australians waltz[ed] off with the wine of show and runner-up awards ...and collected 14 of the 18 gold medals. So what were the judges looking for? Good chardonnay...in simple terms, a wine with elegance, finesse, flavour and length – higher natural acidity, less alcohol, less overt fruit flavours more minerality and a defter touch of nougat, nuts, whatever you want to call it. New Zealand wine - Waimata Wines 2009 Cognoscenti [was awarded] a gold medal. + find out more...

The ABCs of chardonnay, NZ Herald, 18 June 2010
I've just sampled several hundred chardonnays at this year's International Chardonnay Challenge in Gisborne but instead of crying "Anything But Chardonnay" - the slogan of those bored by the variety, I'm entreating wine drinkers to Appreciate Beautiful Chardonnays! There's been something of a chardonnay revolution of late with styles brought back into synch with current tastes and winemakers both here and abroad creating arguably some of the best chardonnay we've ever witnessed. One surprise win was the ICC's Top Regional Chardonnay North Island Trophy being awarded to the impressive wine - Cognoscenti Gisborne Chardonnay 2009 - made at Gisborne's Tairawhiti Polytechnic, a rich creamy textured example with notes of toasted nuts and a fresh line of citrus. "It's pretty huge for any small winery to get such an accolade," says winemaking and viticulture tutor James Hillard. +find out more...

Chardonnay at its best ...in Gisborne, Voxy Online [26 May 2010]
It's a star-studded 10th anniversary International Chardonnay Challenge under way in Gisborne. Judges, critics, wine writers, wine makers, and of course the wines, all share centre stage for an event that is well and truly an international celebration of one of the world's most toasted wines.  Viticulture students from Tairawhiti Polytechnic have the chance to steward for the competition, which is always an exciting highlight on their scholastic calendar. + find out more...

Thumbs-up for tax cuts, GST a worry [21 May 2010]
There have also been mixed reactions to the Budget from the education sector. Although primary schools are expecting to get more operational funding, both the pre-school education sector and the polytechnic are expecting some serious cuts, resulting from the way the Government is allocating the "extra" funding for education. Tairawhiti Polytechnic also expects a further $1 million cut to its shrinking budget, already reduced by a $2 million cut announced last year and the loss of adult education funding. + find out more...

Toihoukura an example for NZ, Voxy Online [12 May 2010]
It has to be high praise when Prime Minister John Key uses Tairawhiti Polytechnic's Maori Visual Arts programme Toihoukura as an example of what the nation could aspire to. He congratulated the polytechnic leaders on having the vision to help so many young people express themselves through art.  Polytechnic chief executive Judy Campbell said Toihoukura was the pinnacle of what the organisation offered in Maori art education, but there were other courses and programmes that were "just as great", including the trades, nurses and viticulture. + find out more...

Polytech graduation ‘very Tairawhiti’ [10 May 2010]
To see hundreds of people celebrating Tairawhiti Polytechnic’s annual graduation was just as one would expect from a region like this, says chief executive Judy Campbell. Around 150 of the 460 graduating received their certificates, diplomas and degrees. + find out more... 

Polytech Graduation March Gallery + find out more...
  

    

 

   

  

    



    


    

Founder hopes to see co-op humming [15 Apr 2010]
She has devised a range of “moko stamps”, launched a range of fashion wear, completed a Masters degree and exhibited at the Florence Biennale, but practicing artist and tutor at Tairāwhiti Polytechnic’s School of Maori Art (Toihoukura) Tawera Tahuri says establishing an artists co-operative is one of her most nerve-wracking projects yet. + find out more...

Funding cuts could see merger of Polytech, EIT [3 April 2010]
With extensive Government funding cuts looming in 2011, Tairawhiti Polytechnic has announced a "collaboration" with Eastland Institute of Technology - a move that could lead to a full merger. The council explored UCOL, Wintec and Te Wananga o Aotearoa as options but settled on EIT. Employment strategist Clare Radomske said a full merger would be “excellent” for the Gisborne-East Coast region. + find out more...

Scholarship grows expertise [20 Mar 2010]
Tim Towers, Tairāwhiti Polytechnic winemaking and viticulture student, is the third recipient of the Gisborne Winegrowers' Educational Scholarship - an award instigated and initiated by Gary Jones, Tairāwhiti Polytechnic's cellar master. + find out more...

Polytech's chief agrees with performance-linked funding [10 Mar 2010]
Tairāwhiti Polytechnic chief executive Judy Campbell agrees with the Government's move to fund tertiary educators based on performance, despite its potential to hit the institution in the pocket. + find out more... 

Passing on the joys of the outdoors [9 Mar 2010]
New Tairāwhiti Polytechnic conservation corps tutor Andrew McCulloch has the perfect job. He is tasked with teaching 16 to 24-year-olds all about the joys of the nature. Included in the free Gisborne course are plenty of outdoor activities, with a broad conservation focus; [students] could be tramping, learning navigation skills, pest control, gaining first aid, kayaking, snorkelling, or fishing. + find out more...

Labour about to bear fruit for students [5 Mar 2010]
It has been hands-on study for the Tokomaru Bay-based Tairāwhiti Polytechnic sustainable horticulture students this term. Since December, the students have been working to raise $10,000 to go on a South Island road trip that takes in the Ellerslie International Flower Show in Christchurch. + find out more...

Free courses for 30 youths [16 Feb 2010]
Fee-free education, free breakfast and plenty of support are on offer under the Government’s Youth Guarantee Scheme, and Tairāwhiti Polytechnic has 30 spaces to fill. The jump-start programme, aimed at 16 and 17-year-olds, offers places on a wide range of courses including carpentry, engineering, te reo Maori + find out more...

Great turnout for polytech’s 2010 welcome [16 Feb 2010]
Around 300 to 400 students turned up for the Tairāwhiti Polytechnic’s whakatau (welcome). Mrs Campbell said the impressive turnout was both a sign of the times and of the support the polytechnic had within the community. + find out more...

Tertiary education shake-up 'fair enough' [10 Feb 2010]
The Government's planned shake-up of the tertiary education sector is "fair enough", Tairawhiti Polytechnic chief executive Judy Campbell says. "...I think it's fair enough as far as the Crown should get what it’s investing in. I think Mr Key is talking in the right direction, in that it’s ensuring value for money for government and students." + find out more... 

Artist achieves graduation triptych [10 Dec 2010]
This month, Bernise Williams, a student at Tairawhiti Polytechnic’s School of Maori Art (Toihoukura), scored a triptych of achievements. She completed her Bachelor of Maori Visual Arts and Design degree. She was named the school Ruanuku, by which benefactor Professor Jack Richards pays $4000 for one of her artworks (to be lodged with the Tairawhiti Museum collection). And she tonight launches her graduating exhibition, Kauwae Uha. + find out more...

Waipaoa cadets well-grounded [16 Nov 2009]
The success of the Waipaoa Station Farm Cadet Training Trust was celebrated at the annual prizegiving. Tairāwhiti Polytechnic provided the trust with templates and guidance on how a professional academic programme should run." + find out more...

A course in real-life farming [14 Nov 2009]
With the aim of attracting more young people into the agriculture industry, Tairāwhiti Polytech held a careers day at the rural campus this week. Agriculture tutor Cobus Minnaar was at the event. + find out more... 

Cost-saving hits Polytech staff again [23 Oct 2009]
Eighteen people are likely to lose their jobs at Tairāwhiti Polytechnic in the next two months, with the total number of job losses to reach 30 by 2010.The proposed job cuts are part of a series of measures to pre-empt a potential $3 million in lost Tertiary Education Commission funding by 2011. + find out more...

Polytech downsizes [6 Oct 2009]
Tairāwhiti Polytechnic has merged two schools, axed two positions and is not ruling out further downsizing to cope with a potential $3 million loss by 2011. “Everything we do is a relationship between how many students we have and how much money we get,” Mrs Campbell said. + find out more...

Inspired by legend of Tane making maiden from clay [28 Sep 2009]
Tairawhiti Polytechnic Bachelor of Maori visual arts graduates Walter Shepherd and Sarah Kane interpret the myth of Hine Ahuone, the “handmade Maori maiden”, in their joint exhibition at Toihoukura. + find out more...

Gisborne tutor wins te reo story award [14 Sep 2009]
At the Pikihuia Awards - the country's biggest contest for Maori writers - Tairawhiti Polytechnic tutor Morehu Nikora was awarded the Te Pakiwaitara i te Reo Maori Award for best short story written in Maori. + find out more...

No vintner's luck - just solid study [6 Sep 2009]
Grant Allan knows he wants a career in the wine industry and being awarded the Gisborne Winegrowers Educational Scholarship is a good step forward along that path. Grant is studying Tairāwhiti Polytechnics’ winemaking and viticultural programme and loves it and is now sure he would like to become a winemaker.  + find out more...

Forestry training under a new roof [3 Sep 2009]
Te Wananga o Aotearoa has taken over the Papatoa cable-logging course from Tairāwhiti Polytechnic, which ran the successful trade training initiative for the past decade. + find out more...

Carpentry tutors top of the class [22 Aug 2009]
The polytechnic's carpentry programmes and their tutors - Matt Evans, Matthew Campbell, Joe Hogan and Phil Gaukrodger - have received an A moderation report from the BCITO. + find out more...

Governance change will shrink polytech council [21 Aug 2009]
Changes to polytechnic governance debated in Parliament recently will replace Tairāwhiti Polytechnic Council’s four community representatives with one. + find out more...

Taking her art to Florence Biennale [20 Aug 2009]
Tairāwhiti Polytechnic Toihoukura tutor and mother of six, Tawera Tahuri, received an invitation to be part of the 2009 Florence Biennale, which is held every two years in Florence, Italy. She is believed to be the first contemporary Maori artist to have this honour. + find out more...

Confident of more money for polytech [3 Aug 2009]
Tairāwhiti Polytechnic business development director Glenis Philip-Barbara is “quietly confident” the institution will receive part of an $8 million Youth Opportunities Package to bolster education and training in New Zealand next year. + find out more...
  

                      

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