Good News: Stories that cheered us up for the week 2-8 September

A golden day for NZ at the Paralympics, a rare discovery at sea and a tribute for a prime minister gone too soon were among the week's most inspirational news stories here at RNZ.

Saving our rarest bird

Three new research projects aim to boost the chances of survival of New Zealand's rarest bird.

Tara iti, or fairy terns, were once widespread around Aotearoa but now fewer than 35 adult birds remain, confined to just four nesting sites in the North Island.

The announcement of the new research projects followed a spectacular 2023-24 breeding season, with 22 eggs laid and 13 chicks surviving to fledging. The projects will improve nest site protection and explore better predator control measures.

A pāua unlike any other

It is suspected that a small pāua (known as abalone, ormers or ear-shells overseas) found around in the waters surrounding the Three Kings Islands/Manawatāwhi, a remote island chain north of Aotearoa New Zealand, differs from all other pāua.

The scientific name of the Manawatāwhi pāua, Haliotis pirimoana, was proposed by Ngāti Kurī, who hold historical and territorial rights over the islands (mana i te whenua). Its name means "the pāua that clings to the sea".

It's an important discovery in a global biodiversity crisis, where species are going extinct faster than we can discover and name them.

Golden glory for Grimaldi

Anna Grimaldi has won New Zealand's first gold medal at the Paralympics Games in Paris - and not in her specialist event.

Grimaldi cruised to an easy victory in T47 200-metre final, having time to glimpse at the big screen and smile before crossing the line. She won in an Oceania record time of 24.72 seconds.

It was Grimaldi's second medal this year after she took the bronze in the 100 metres. It was a surreal turnaround after she missed a medal by only one centimetre in the long jump. Her gold medal takes New Zealand's tally to eight.

The pipers at their peak

Hamilton piper Brendan Eade and Auckland-based Liam Kernaghan have come first and second respectively in the coveted MacCrimmon Trophy at the annual Lorient Interceltique Festival.

It was Eade's second time in the invite-only competition and this year "he did his homework" and got the top result. It was Kernaghan's fifth MacCrimmon, and best placing so far.

The MacCrimmon is one of the biggest annual Celtic festivals in Europe, and until now no New Zealander has ever won its premier bagpiping trophy.

Remembering Norman Kirk

A Tongan tapa cloth presented to prime minister Norman Kirk has come out of storage to show off its full beauty.

Fifty years to the day after Kirk's state funeral, another ceremony was held in Palmerston North on Wednesday. A couple of dozen people turned out to remember Kirk and unveil the special piece of Pacific art in its new home, in city MP Tangi Utikere's electorate office.

It was a gift from Kirk's private secretary Margaret Hayward.

Helping across the seas

The Pasifika Medical Association has partnered with Australia to improve mental health and wellbeing in Tonga and Vanuatu.

The Ngalu Fānifo project aims to strengthen the capacity of health and community providers to provide mental health care.

Vanuatu's Ministry of Health curative and hospital services director Dr Sereana Natuman said the Ngalu Fānifo project represented "a significant step forward in our commitment to enhancing mental health services across the country".

A great day in New York

It has been 40 years since a revolutionary exhibition put te ao Māori on the global stage, displaying Māori taonga in New York City.

Saturday Morning spoke to Kura Moeahu, cultural advisor and chair of Waiwhetu Marae. He says the exhibition sparked a powerful cultural resurgence which we can now see all over today's vibrant Māori arts scene.

"Te Māori reinvigorated and reawoke all the arts that had been hiding away quietly."