George Block

Jan 18, 2025 | nzherald.co.nz | George Block

The two-century old Russian cannon was stolen early one morning last June. It has not been seen since. This photo was attached to the police file obtained by the Herald under the Official Information Act. Eighteen months ago someone driving a specialised crane truck swooped before dawn and stole a historic cannon from Ōkahu Bay in Auckland. The cannon has not been seen since and police filed the case amid a lack of leads.

Jan 11, 2025 | nzherald.co.nz | George Block

A skull found in the sand on a Kāpiti Coast beach likely belonged to a young woman struck by a musket ball, according to an analysis by several specialists. The discovery of the skull on Paraparaumu Beach by a member of the public in 2022 has not previously been made public. It came to light after the Herald was granted access to coronial documents regarding sets of unidentified remains discovered in New Zealand in recent years. Who did the skull belong to?

Jan 2, 2025 | nzherald.co.nz | Jared Savage |George Block

This year the Herald’s award-winning newsroom produced a range of first-class journalism, including exploring the NCEA and UE results of every college around NZ, the collapse of the Du Val property empire,revealing claims a former funeral director at Tipene Funerals was swindling grieving clients and charting the 10-year police probe that brought down Wayne Doyle and the Head Hunters. This summer we’re bringing back some of the best-read Premium articles of 2024.

Jan 1, 2025 | nzherald.co.nz | George Block

Among the many points they hammered home during the fast-track Class 2 trucking course at PassRite were: ABC - always brake before clutch, so the heavy vehicle doesn’t race away when you disengage the transmission from the engine; look far down the road; and leave a far longer following distance than in a car - up to and beyond 8 seconds, due to the greater stopping distance.

Dec 27, 2024 | nzherald.co.nz | George Block

“He had the glassy eyes, and the way he was communicating... it was like he wasn’t all there,” said Intercede Corporate Services managing director Claudius Ah-Loe, whose security workers were on the door. Even though Chapel didn’t shut for about another hour, the bouncers made an excuse and said it was closing up. “They made a good judgment call on that, and then they monitored him.”His mannerisms and speech were off and he appeared drunk and under the influence of drugs, Ah-Loe said.