Daffodil display destroyed
A cancer fundraiser two years in the making has been destroyed by a vandal on a golf cart.
About 3500 ceramic daffodils handmade by primary school children in Marlborough had been installed along the river to raise funds for the Cancer Society Marlborough.
The project had received highprofile support with daffodils painted by Prime Minister John Key and filmmaker Peter Jackson.
However, while out walking on Wednesday morning, mayor’s wife Thelma Sowman said she saw a man on a motorised golf cart driving through the daffodil display.
Sowman said the man ‘‘did a loop’’ around the outside of the installation at the Taylor River Reserve and ‘‘mowed’’ down the daffodils.
‘‘This chap in a golf cart did a shortcut from Nelson Street, came hooning down and went right through the daffodils,’’ she said.
‘‘It was just unbelievable. He was going very, very fast.’’
The daffodils were meant to be removed on Monday, but the Cancer Society Marlborough decided to leave the installation up for another week because of public demand.
‘‘He knew exactly what he was doing, he was aiming for them,’’ Sowman said. ‘‘You have to make a concerted effort to knock them down.
‘‘I’m just disgusted that anyone would do that.’’
Sowman said the vehicle was a white golf cart, complete with canopy roof and orange flag on the back.
‘‘Because he had a high-vis vest on, I thought he was a worker,’’ she said.
Cancer Society Marlborough fundraiser Zoe Gray said the man had ‘‘been and gone’’ before police arrived at the scene.
‘‘I’m pretty sad,’’ she said. ‘‘We had sold quite a lot of them.’’
Gray said she was sad for the children who were behind the project.
‘‘The children were really proud of what they had created with these daffodils,’’ she said.
‘‘This is taking something beautiful they had created and destroying it.’’
Gray said although she was disappointed, the act did not ruin the project entirely.
‘‘The joy from the community throughout far outweighs the negative of this,’’ she said.
The project was a joint fundraiser by the Marlborough Cancer Society and the Marlborough Community Potters and was planned for the past two years.
Blenheim police said they were looking to speak to a man in his 50s regarding the incident.
Sowman said the man should apologise and make a donation to the Cancer Society.
‘‘A large donation too, not just a few dollars,’’ she said. ‘‘I just hope he’s found.’’
Sowman said the man headed in the direction of Springlands.
Daffodils can still be purchased from the Cancer Society office at Market Place.