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This morning Mr [Bruce Beetham] visited the Tauranga Historic Village with Tauranga Social Credit candidate, Mr Paul Hills.

After two hours of cutting back the early 1000-plus lead of National's Simon Power,the tension in Craig Walsham's Labour camp snapped in roars and howls with the 1.05amnews of a 141-vote lead and just 5 percent to be counted. Mr Power finally came out on top by just 68 votes in a result not released untilyesterday afternoon. Overshadowed by the strong Labour performance was Mr Power'ssignificant increase of the vote for National, from 33 percent in 1996 to 39 percenton Saturday. On Saturday night, the two camps were based within a few steps of each other. MrPower's National team was in Feilding's Bowen Street Senior Citizen's Centre, andMr Walsham's Labour machine was in a Feilding Hotel function room.

FEBRUARY 12: During protests at the Raglan golf course, 17 arrests were made after 150 protesters led by Eva Rickard set up camp on the disputed land. The land had been compulsorily taken for military use in World War II. After continuing protests the golf club was ordered to pay a fair rent and the land reverted to Maori owners in 1979. FEBRUARY 15: After 48 years and 48 tests against England, New Zealand finally gained a victory. At the Basin Reserve New Zealand won by 72 runs and had now won tests against all the major cricket- playing countries. FEBRUARY 19: In a by-election for the Rangitikei seat caused by the death of the Speaker, Sir Roy Jack, the Social Credit leader Bruce Beetham was returned. Beetham held the seat again in the 1978 general election but lost it in 1984.

FEARS that nobody would want to stand for the Rangitikei seat on the Manawatu-Wanganui Regional Council, left vacant by the death of Bruce Beetham, have proved unfounded. Four candidates have already registered, three days before the July 24 deadline. He joined the former Rangitikei-Wanganui Catchment Board in 1970, and rose to operations manager. He then became operations director with the former combined Central Districts Catchment Boards, and remained in that position with the new regional council in 1989. He retired two years ago, and works part-time as a senior engineer with Payne-Sewell Consultants. He is now 55.

Alisdair Thompson, the former pupil, told of Mr [Bruce Beetham]'s constant striving for perfection in the classroom, and of the intense preparation put into each lecture. His depth of knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, his subject was inspirational, and classes taught by Mr Beetham often achieved the highest average national mark. Friend and journalist Colin Rowatt spoke of Mr Beetham's honesty and genuine concern for people. As a politician in debate, he was always testing his own beliefs, ready to reject a policy he found to be flawed. This uncompromising and honest approach was often uncomfortable to both colleagues and opponents, and set him apart. Social Credit New Zealand secretary Bob Warren said Mr Beetham was a man of exact detail. \"He had an uncanny knack of being able to see through a problem, and provide the perfect solution.\"

INDEPENDENT candidates have a strong future under MMP as voters become more sophisticated in their tactical voting, Rangitikei candidate Bruce Beetham predicted yesterday. Mr Beetham, former Social Credit leader who stood as an independent this year, was fourth in Rangitikei with 3186 votes or 10.4 percent support. He said MMP would make it easier for electorates to choose non-partisan locals as independent representatives.

RANGITIKEI candidate Bruce Beetham says the closeness of recent polls means that he, as an independent MP, could end holding the balance of power after the next election. Mr Beetham has promised to vote according to the will of the electorate if successful and would guage the majority view through polls and informal consultation.

They were backed by Jim Howard (Conservative), who said abortion had become \"another form of contraception\", and Independent Bruce Beetham, who said he would support \"the electorate's conscience\" and was sure a conservative electorate like Rangitikei would oppose them. National's Denis Marshall, the Alliance's Hamish MacIntyre and Labour's Jill White opposed euthanasia. Mr Marshall said people were concerned the abortion laws were not applied strictly enough, but he did not favour any \"dramatic change\".

As far as [Bruce Beetham]'s concerned, standing as an independant gives voters an alternative to what he considers to be poor choices locally. Unconsciously aping ACT leader Richard Prebble's mood and ACT founder Roger Douglas' book, Beetham says: \"I've been thinking . . . there's some unfinished business.\" Come election time, Beetham is picking National to win 35 per cent of the vote, Labour 25 per cent, NZ First 13 per cent and the Alliance 11 per cent. And a certain independant to win his old seat back in Rangitikei.

A friend, Alasdair Thompson, spoke of being a pupil of Mr [Bruce Beetham] at New Plymouth Boys' High School in the 1960s and described the trendy clothes he wore that led to the nickname \"Bodgie\". He said it was when Mr Beetham was lecturing at Hamilton Teachers College in the 1970s that he had become interested in Social Credit.