The body of ill-fated Francie skipper Bill McNatty has been returned to his family.

Fisherman tells of desperate attempts to stay in contact with those on board the charter boat Francie, which sank in heaving seas, claiming eight lives.

The search for the man still missing after the Francie capsized in the Kaipara Harbour is continuing.

Eleven men were thrown into the rough seas of the Kaipara Harbour on Saturday. Three survived, seven bodies have been recovered and one is still missing.

A fellow boatie said he had laid complaints about skipper Bill McNatty's competence.

One of the widows of Saturday's Kaipara Harbour boating tragedy has revealed she has terminal cancer.

Two Transport Accident Investigation Commission investigators are in Auckland gathering evidence into the Kaipara Harbour fishing boat tragedy.

The daughter of the last unaccounted fisherman in the Kaipara boating tragedy says she just wants her dad home.

A Cook Island father-of-three who hailed from an island renown for fishing has been named by family as one of the victims of Saturday's water tragedy.

Naked, with two lifejackets pinned under each arm, Iripa Iripa crawled up Muriwai Beach.

A survivor of the Kaipara Harbour disaster was too big for the lifejackets, and desperately clung to the flotation devices while he swam to shore badly injured.

Bill McNatty, 68, was familiar with the water, worked hard to pay off his boat and spent a good chunk of the past three years taking people out fishing.

The search for the last victim of the Kaipara charter boat tragedy is under way this morning.

Tongan cousins Alipate "Pate" Manumu'a and Sunia "Junior" Ungo'unga died in the charter boat tragedy.

Investigators will head to the Kaipara Harbour today in a bid to find out what caused yesterday's fishing charter tragedy.

A man who drove like a "complete idiot" was arrested after a five-hour manhunt during which he tried to ram a police car, and hurled a pie out his window.

More preliminary elections results are trickling in from the regions this morning - Kaipara District has a new mayor and the Chatham Islands have re-elected its current mayor.

Truckies were among members of the public who provided information on the movements of a man who allegedly broke into seven businesses

Councils around the North Island are assuring residents of the safety of their water supplies following a gastro outbreak in Hawke's Bay.

Northland is getting its first fixed speed camera. This month, a camera will be installed on State Highway 1, just south of Kaiwaka

A woman's house was burgled and a few days later she saw a teenage stranger wearing her clothes.

Suspicious behaviour at a coastal holiday home has led to the discovery of a methamphetamine lab in Northland.

Four plumes of smoke at South Head in Kaipara Harbour signalled the Royal New Zealand Air Force's six-monthly live bomb drop.

The Northland ringleader of the operation that produced the largest amount of methamphetamine ever cooked in New Zealand has pleaded guilty to a raft of charges.

When Lee Rata was severely beaten last year, Seddon Beazley took the opportunity to further his standing with the Mongrel Mob. However, his mother knew different.

From Pahi to Shelly Beach, cruising by boat was a perfect family day-trip, writes Sarah Ell.

Topping the tables for youth suicide rates is not something any community would want to claim.

In a covert exercise by police and the Northland District Health Board, minors attempted to buy booze at four bars or pubs, two of which served them.

Chase the sun north to a proud town where Elisabeth Easther finds a warm welcome and a fascinating history.