A rare native bird has been released back into the wild a month on from a stormy rescue by a Hamilton police officer.

A man has been jailed for life for the murder of a Hamilton man who died after being stabbed twice in the torso.

The morning after your Christmas party might be your downfall under new drink drive laws. Police in Hamilton have launched a blitz on drink driving in the city, in the lead-up to the holiday season.

The death of a 7-month-old Hamilton girl who was admitted to hospital with serious and unexplained injuries has been referred to the coroner.

The death of a 7-month-old Hamilton girl is no longer being treated as suspicious, police say.

A post mortem examination will be carried out in Auckland today to determine how a 7-month-old Hamilton girl died.

A baby girl who suffered critical and unexplained injuries has died in Waikato Hospital. Enquiries continue at an address in Hamilton East.

Radiant summer weather made a brief call to the North Island at the weekend, attracting hardy bathers into the still-cool water at beaches and creating a run on icecream.

A woman has been caught on camera taking household furniture from a charity donation drop-off for the needy.

The $16.2 million Lotto Powerball jackpot stayed unclaimed last night - but there are plenty of ways to spend the money.

A lucky Lotto ticket buyer in Hamilton has cause for double celebration, winning more than $16million on the same weekend the city celebrates its 150th anniversary.

Fire Service bosses are seeking law changes making it compulsory for rental properties to have smoke alarms installed and maintained.

Mourners are today gathering to farewell two of the three young people who died in a fierce Hamilton house fire last week.

A man who allegedly tried to entice a nine-year-old girl into his ute as she walked home from school in Hamilton on Thursday is being sought by police.

The families of three house fire victims are "horrified" that gatherings intended to pay respects to their loved ones have turned violent.

Greg Johnston's life was shattered the moment he received a phone call to say his little sister was unaccounted for in a devastating house fire.

The family of Hamilton fire victim Toni Maree Johnston has described her as an infectious and fun-loving young woman at a press conference this afternoon.

A female teacher has resigned from a Catholic school amid allegations of inappropriate conduct with two students.

Victim identification and a forensic examination at the site of a fatal Hamilton house fire involving specialist cadaver dogs is continuing after three people were killed on Saturday.

A police officer rescued a storm-drenched baby morepork from the side of the road before making a bed for it at the Hamilton Police Station.

It wasn't meant to be a big party - just a gathering of a few friends of flatmates at the old Collingwood St villa to welcome a new flatmate.

Parents of a young woman who died with two others in a house fire say it's a 'bloody nightmare', as police seek cellphone footage of a party held that night.

Crowds gathered and bagpipe music played as a hearses containing the bodies were driven from the burnt remains of the house where three people died.

A search and rescue team will return to the scene of a deadly blaze today fearing more bodies will be found after three young people were killed.

At least three people have been killed following a large house fire in Hamilton early today.

Today is Child Matters advocacy organisation's fourth annual child abuse prevention "Buddy Day".

An overseas student who was grabbed around the neck and dragged towards a car managed to lash out at her attacker to escape.

Friends of a woman who lost a child and her home in a house fire have set up a fundraising page to help the family.

The mother of a 3-year-old boy killed in a Hamilton house fire yesterday is still fighting for her life.