Possible theft of items at Chinese Garden investigated

THE Dunedin City Council is investigating the possible theft of items from the Dunedin Chinese Garden.

A former head gardener at the attraction says the value of the items was ‘‘significant’’.

Ian Melvin said the apparent lack of action by the council on the matter was frustrating.

Just before last Christmas the council was made aware items which appeared to be from the construction of the garden were being sold at a secondhand shop in Dunedin.

The surplus items had been stored offsite at another councilowned building.

Following questions from the Otago Daily Times, council community services general manager Simon Pickford said in a statement the council had sought advice from police.

As a result, the council launched an investigation, which was nearing completion.

With the cooperation of the secondhand shop owner, the material was recovered and was now being securely stored.

The council would not comment on the estimated worth of the items, how much had been recovered, or who was suspected of taking the items to the shop.

‘‘We are taking this issue very seriously and the investigation’s progress has been regularly reported through the council’s audit and risk subcommittee,’’ Mr Pickford said.

The issue was unrelated to recent staff departures, he said.

The Dunedin Chinese Garden Trust has been kept informed of the situation, he said.

Mr Melvin retired at the end of last year, but was still involved with the garden as an honorary adviser.

He said he understood the monetary value of the missing items was significant — possibly sixfigures — but the cultural value was much higher.

‘‘The loser in all this is the Chinese Garden, and it’s a major headache for the management of them, because you can’t just go and buy these items off the shelf.’’

Items stored in the offsite building included marble, roof tiles, lamps and furniture, all shipped from China during the construction of the garden.

Garden trust chairman Malcolm Wong said the situation was disappointing, but he was confident the council was following the correct procedure.

‘‘It’s not good to hear about this sort of thing . . .’’

The trust was not involved with the daytoday operations of the garden, but was happy with the council’s response to the situation, he said.