Gore is the meeting place of four main roads leading to Invercargill, Dunedin, Wanaka, and Te Anau or Queenstown. The enterprising people of the town have determined that it will be known as more than a gateway.

From October to April those roads bring fishermen to Gore which calls itself the Brown Trout Capital of the World. Visitors are greeted by a striking roadside icon - a huge model of a trout 6.5 metres long.

Each year a giant golden guitar is hung in Gore's main street at Queen's birthday weekend. For nearly thirty years the town has hosted a festival of country music attracting country musicians from near and far.

This brings visitors to the town in the winter. The locals give great support to the event. A prize is offered for the business which most successfully takes the theme to staff dress and instore music. This year the winner was Resthaven Village. A Golden Guitars Queen Carnival was well supported.

For the Golden Guitars Awards this year there were fifty entries from both the North and South Islands. The heats were held in local stores. Buskers entering their section of the competitions performed in the streets although the weather was very wintry. Prize winners included performers from Feilding and Auckland as well as local musicians.

Because of its enthusiasm for country music Gore has established a sister relationship with New South Wales town Tamworth which holds a large Country Music Festival in January.

The people who give of their time promoting their town and giving young people the chance to perform deserve congratulations.

The tender accepted from Christchurch firm Connexionz was easily the cheapest of five. Managing director Robert Burke said his company aimed to install similar systems in all major New Zealand cities.

Transmitters on buses will report their position to a central office, relayed by a mast on the Port Hills. Their position would then be shown on illuminated route maps at the bus exchange and 350 bus shelters around the city.

This is a wonderful idea for encouraging people to use public transport, and will allow passengers to see when their bus would arrive or to check if they had missed it.