News bits from Marlborough and the region
Skye, left, and Lucy Macdonald represent for Middlehurst Station. Photo: Cuisine Magazine.
Peril on SH1
Two crashes in two days – one claiming three lives – marred SH1 early this week.
A two-car collision on Sunday morning near Redwood Pass seriously injured five people; two died at the scene, one died in hospital, and the other two were hospitalised.
Police closed SH1 for about six hours, diverting traffic to inland roads.
The investigation continued with no victims publicly identified as of publication deadline.
On Monday morning, a single-vehicle crash near Kekerengu prompted an emergency response that partially blocked the highway.
Discussion resumes
Blenheim’s Death Café, an ongoing discussion of mortality, reconvenes for 2026 on 4 March at 10:30am in the Fairweathers function room.
The group will alternate between mornings and evenings for its monthly gatherings; April’s will start at 7pm at the same location on Scott Street.
Facilitators around the world host Death Cafés – more than 23,000 sessions in 97 countries – to, per the organisation, “increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives”.
Check deathcafe.com or call 03 579 4771 to learn more.
Cancer centre grows
Patients requiring treatments beyond offerings in Marlborough may no longer need to leave Top of the South come April, when St George’s Cancer Care opens a facility in Nelson.
The first specialist private oncology and haematology clinic north of Christchurch, according to the service, will provide chemotherapy, immunotherapy, blood disorder care, and consultations.
Dr Kate Gregory and Dr Anna Wojtacha, Nelson-based medical oncologists, will lead the clinic while also working in the public health system.
Visit www.stgeorges.org.nz for more about the health group.
Influential Marlburians
Marlborough boasts three of New Zealand’s 50 most influential and inspiring women in food and drink, with Liz Buttimore and sisters Lucy and Skye Macdonald all recognised as such in the latest edition of Cuisine Magazine.
Liz is the co-owner of Arbour restaurant near Blenheim, while Lucy and Skye are the team behind Middlehurst Station Farm Store & Butchery, located in Kaikoura and sourcing from Awatere Valley.
Visit www.cuisine.co.nz for the full list and honourees’ bios.