North Shore sympathy goes west

June 13, 2007

In true ANZAC spirit, North Shore City Mayor George Wood is sending Kiwi sympathies to our Australian neighbours and a wish for a quick recovery from this month's devastating floods.

Earlier today, Mr Wood wrote to the mayors of four cities in rural New South Wales: Greg Piper of Lake Macquarie; John Tate of Newcastle; Peter Blackmore of Maitland; and Fred Harvison of Singleton.

"On behalf of the residents and councillors of North Shore City, I would like to convey our deepest sympathies for the tragedies that have occurred as a result of the recent floods in your area," he wrote.

"As a neighbour who appreciates the sometimes calamitous effects wrought by the vagaries of weather, we are most empathetic to your plight and as a city, send you all the very best for a speedy recovery from this disaster," said the mayor of the city with Rangitoto at the heart of its civic crest and the largest urban coastline in "the Shaky Isles" [NZ].

George Wood has met three of the mayors - Tate, Piper and Blackmore - in recent years and Mr Harvison's deputy when Mr Wood represented New Zealand in the Trans Tasman Masters Games.

ENDS