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Checketts McKay Law

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Checketts McKay Law

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The law firm of Central Otago with offices in Cromwell, Wanaka, Alexandra and Ranfurly

18/10/2026

What a wonderful evening celebrating the inaugural Checketts McKay Short Story Competition awards at Duo Cafe Clyde.

A huge thank you to the amazing team at Duo Café, who went above and beyond to make the occasion so special. Their beautifully considered Katherine Mansfield-inspired menu was an absolute delight, with treats inspired by stories including The Garden Party, Bliss and A Cup of Tea. Such a creative and thoughtful touch that brought the literary theme to life!

It was a pleasure to bring together writers, judges, families and members of our community to celebrate the talent and imagination behind this year's entries.

We were also delighted to welcome Cesar Carvajal, co-founder of Zealanding, who attended to accept the first-place Open category award on behalf of Santiago Bonhomme.

Cesar has since written a wonderfully thoughtful article about the evening, reflecting on the connection between lawyers and words, and what it means when local businesses help create space for creativity in their communities.

We're very grateful for his kind words and perspective, and we'd love you to read his reflections.

When Lawyers Make Room for Stories:
https://zealanding.com/stories/when-lawyers-make-room-for-stories

Thank you to everyone who helped make our first Short Story Competition such a memorable experience. We look forward to seeing where these stories take us next!

15/10/2026

And the winners are…!

What a wonderful evening celebrating creativity, storytelling and the talented writers in our community!

Following today's awards ceremony, we're delighted to announce the winners of the Open Category in our writing competition.

First Place: Santiago Bonhomme, Queenstown - Walter McKenzie

Second Place: Gay Buckingham, Dunedin - New Gold

Third Place: Nia Isabella, Omakau - Schist Happens

A huge congratulations to our winners and a heartfelt thank you to everyone who entered. We've loved seeing the imagination, creativity and talent reflected in this year's stories.

Want to read the winning entries?

The winning stories are now available on our website: https://cmlaw.co.nz/short-story-competition-2026/

We'll be sharing photos from the awards ceremony soon, so keep an eye on our page!

14/10/2026

Tomorrow is a special milestone as we celebrate the winners of the Open Category of our inaugural Short Story Competition at a private awards ceremony.

What a fantastic first year it has been! We've been delighted by the response to the competition and the creativity, imagination and storytelling talent on display.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who took the time to put pen to paper and share their stories with us. Your contributions have made this first year a wonderful success.

We're looking forward to recognising our talented writers tomorrow and celebrating their achievements.

Stay tuned as we reveal our winners!

01/10/2026

Last Friday, Checketts McKay Law was proud to be a hole sponsor and enter a team in the Business-South Charity Golf Day at Alexandra Golf Club, raising funds in support of Abbeyfield Alexandra.

Aaron D***s, Becky Slade and Bronwyn Greenwood flew the flag for Checketts McKay Law - and managed to secure an impressive 3rd place!

It was a fantastic day connecting with other local businesses, enjoying a little friendly competition and, most importantly, supporting a great cause in our community.

Well done team!

27/09/2026

Our FREE Home Buying & Construction Seminar with Westpac’s local Home Lending Experts is happening tomorrow evening in Cromwell.

If you’re thinking about buying your first home, making your next move, or building in Central Otago or the Queenstown Lakes, come along for practical advice from Westpac’s local Home Lending Experts, alongside Cait Addison and Analise Cowie from Checketts McKay Law, who will talk through the legal side of buying and building.

Tomorrow – Tuesday 29 September
5:30pm – 7:00pm
Cromwell & Districts Presbyterian Church
10 Elspeth Street, Cromwell

There’ll also be plenty of opportunity to ask questions on the night.

No registration required and completely free to attend.

Just come along. We’d love to see you there!

23/09/2026

Checketts McKay Law is proud to be part of the Wooing Tree Estate Team, named as a finalist for the Best Team Award at the 2026 South Island Property People Awards hosted by the Property Council of New Zealand.

Wooing Tree Estate is a significant Central Otago development that has transformed the original Wooing Tree Vineyard into a master-planned Cromwell neighbourhood.

Projects of this scale demonstrate just how much successful property development depends on collaboration. From development management and planning through to infrastructure, design, construction, sales, surveying and legal work, there are many moving parts and many people working together towards a shared vision.

We’re particularly proud of Fraser Sinclair, Director at Checketts McKay Law, who has been our lead solicitor on the development and subdivision, working alongside our Property Development and Subdivisions Team throughout its delivery.

Being named a finalist is a fantastic acknowledgement of the collaboration, expertise and commitment that has gone into bringing this significant development to life.

We’re proud to have played our part and look forward to hearing the final results in October. Best of luck to all involved in the Wooing Tree Estate Team.

21/09/2026

Thinking about buying a home, making your next move, or building in Central Otago or the Queenstown Lakes?

There’s just one week to go until Checketts McKay Law teams up with Westpac’s local Home Lending Experts for our FREE Home Buying & Construction Seminar in Cromwell.

Come along for practical information on the home buying and building process, including home loans, deposits, finance options and the legal considerations you need to know.

Tuesday 29 September
5:30pm – 7:00pm
Cromwell & Districts Presbyterian Church
10 Elspeth Street, Cromwell

You’ll also have the opportunity to ask questions directly of Westpac’s Home Lending Experts and experienced solicitors from Checketts McKay Law.

It’s free and there’s no need to register - just come along on the night!

Building, buying or just starting to explore your options? We’d love to see you there.

18/09/2026

We’re excited to announce the last of the school results, with the Years 9–13 category of the Checketts McKay Short Story Competition 2026.

First Place – Jack Letts, Dunstan High School
After the Thaw
Jack received a $350 Prezzy Card, with a further $250 awarded to Dunstan High School.

Second Place – Oiva Kiuru, Dunstan High School
300 Kilos
Oiva received a $200 Prezzy Card.

Third Place – Archie McNeish, Dunstan High School
The Pie Perpetrator
Archie received a $100 Prezzy Card.

A fantastic result for all three writers – and a particularly special showing from Dunstan High School, taking out all three places!

We’d also like to congratulate our Highly Commended writers:

Nicole Gumasing – Cromwell College, for The New Girl
Arlee Sutherland – Dunstan High School, for Drowned Village
Mia Reardon – Mount Aspiring College, for The Colour of Gold
James Allan – Mount Aspiring College, for Meeting Kurt
Eli Moir – Dunstan High School, for The Unpaid Price for Gold

And congratulations to our Commended writers:

Angus Keane – Dunstan High School, for A Happy Home
Cohen Brown – Dunstan High School, for The Clock
Charlie Diver – Dunstan High School, for White Death

A big thank you to every student who entered, and to the teachers, schools and families who supported them along the way. It’s been fantastic to see young writers from across the region, sharing stories inspired by our part of the world.

Want to read these stories? We’ll pop the links in the comments below.

The winners for the open category will be announced in October - watch this space!

16/09/2026

We’re excited to announce our next winner in the Checketts McKay Short Story Competition 2026!

A huge congratulations to Rufus Irons from Arrowtown School, who has taken out first place in the Years 7–8 category with his story, The Postmaster.

The judges praised Rufus’s story as “original and inventive, and beautifully constructed.”

We’d also like to congratulate our Highly Commended young writers:

Eloise Crockford-Andrew – Arrowtown School, for Lies
Tom Gibson-Padfield – Mount Aspiring College, for Jeremy and the Snowcapped Mountains
Damsara Kangara – Mount Aspiring College, for Sticky Forest
Chloe Biemond – Clyde Primary School, for The Long Stalk
Charlie Baumgren – Mount Aspiring College, for The 82nd Passenger
Josie Settle – Cromwell College, for She Lives in Memories

A big thank you to every student who entered, and to the schools, teachers and families who encouraged our young writers to get involved.

Pictured below are Rufus and Eloise from Arrowtown School at their presentation. Congratulations to you both on a fantastic achievement!

Want to read The Postmaster and all of the Highly Commended stories? Check out the link in the comments below.

Stay tuned – there are more winners still to come!

15/09/2026

We’re delighted to announce the first winner of the Checketts McKay Short Story Competition 2026!

A huge congratulations to Emma Bartlett from Omakau School who has taken out first place in the Years 5–6 category with her story, Mystery in Omakau.

For her winning story, Emma received a $100 Prezzy Card and Omakau Primary School received $250!

We’d also like to congratulate our three Highly Commended young writers:

Tarn Yeoman – St Gerards Primary School - Alexandra, for The Obelisk
Madison Speight – Cromwell Primary School, for The Monster
Edie Harkness – Goldfields Primary School, for The Big Fruit

Well done to Emma, Tarn, Madison and Edie – and to every young writer and school who entered in this category. Our judges had a fantastic collection of stories to read. It was wonderful to see so much creativity and imagination from students across our region.

Want to read their stories? We’ll pop the link in the comments below.

Stay tuned as we announce the winners of our other school categories!

Address

21 Brandon Street
Alexandra
9340

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

+6434400125

Website

https://www.cmlaw.co.nz/

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