Around 800 people fairwelled Sir Archie Taiaroa today before his casket was taken down the Whanganui River to his final resting place.

A witness to the accident in which a truck driver was impaled by a canoe says it was "swinging out on to the oncoming lane like a jousting pole".

A 4.3 magnitude earthquake struck the Whanganui region this afternoon.

Police are searching for a man who smashed a car into an overbridge near Levin and took off on foot early today.

Local loyalty shines through here, writes Ashley Campbell.

Slips and surface flooding are causing havoc for motorists in the lower North Island as heavy rain and gale force winds sweep the region.

A runaway truck rolled down a hill and fatally pinned a 62-year-old against another truck in a tragedy that has shocked a small community.