Contractor knocked by digger theft
Witnesses tell of a ‘blanket of smoke’
AWhanga¯rei contractor has had his livelihood threatened by the theft of his 5.5 tonne digger that he had been using on roadworks south of the city.
Pai Lazarus has been working on roadworks around the Loop Rd/State Highway 1/Portland Rd upgrade and on Monday night parked his bright yellow CAT digger on a property near the roadworks along with some other heavy equipment, including another digger and a road roller.
It was parked in a private residence on SH1 at the south side of Lookout Hill, before the new Loop Rd roundabout.
About midnight the property owner heard a group of people in the paddock with the heavy machinery.
But because they were making plenty of noise, and being quite open about what they were doing — even moving the road roller first — the man assumed they were taking it for night works on the roading upgrade.
Pai’s wife Cheryl Lazarus said, “They were just so brazen, making so much noise and talking aloud that he thought they must be there to do some night works. He saw that they had an old white Hino four-wheeler truck with one-piece ramps attached and didn’t give it too much thought as he thought they were picking it up to do night works. The truck was later spotted going through roadworks on SH1 at Hikurangi between 1am and 1.30am and that would fit in well with the timeframe.”
The digger, which is about two years old, cost about $100,000 new and its loss had caused major
It’s Pai’s baby and he can do almost any work with it . . . He’s being doing this for 20 years and it’s his livelihood that’s being affected by this. Cheryl Lazarus
disruptions to Pai’s business.
Cheryl said the thieves had obviously put some thought into the heist and had also tried to start another digger in the paddock before stealing Pai’s.
“We’ve got insurance, but we’ll have to wait a while before we can claim to get a replacement, and we’ve also got an excess to pay, so it’s a major inconvenience. We just want it back ASAP. It’s Pai’s baby and he can do almost any work with it and it’s such a great piece of machinery for his work. He’s being doing this for 20 years and it’s his livelihood that’s being affected by this.”
She said Pai would normally work on a job for a few days or possibly weeks, but he had been working on the Loop Rd roadworks for many months.
Cheryl said in all his time working in the industry this was the first time anything like this had happened to him — and they didn’t want it to happen again.
She also wanted anybody on SH1 between Portland and Kawakawa with CCTV cameras pointing at the highway to check for footage of the white truck with the digger on the back in the early hours of Tuesday.
“Hopefully somebody has seen them, or has footage of them, that we can use to get the digger back. It’s a real pain and we’re just desperate to get the digger back and get it back on the job.”
She said the theft had been reported to police.
Anybody with information on the theft should contact Whanga¯rei police on 105. The police file number is 210316/5514.
Alawnmower sparked a large blaze that tore through 8ha of gorse and pampas grass in Tutukaka yesterday. Four helicopters and firefighters from six brigades joined forces to bring the inferno under control after it broke out in the backyard of a Church Bay property shortly before noon.
Tutukaka resident Vic Pitman said the fire had started in the grass emptied by a neighbour from his ride-on lawnmower close to his home.
“The mower was just sitting there and then the fire just started. He is a bit nervous about it and upset.”
Pitman said within minutes the fire had become “out of control” as southwesterly winds gusting at more than 30km/h spread the fire through a family farm covered in gorse and pampas.
The fire quickly consumed an area of 100m by 50m and continued to spread across
8ha of land — climbing up the valley hills next to Tutukaka Block Rd.
But Pitman said fire brigades from Ngunguru, Kamo, Whanga¯ rei, Kawakawa, Maungakaramea, and Whananaki — as well as the choppers from Salt Air and HeliNorth Helicopters — were “just marvellous”.
A resident, who did not want to be named, feared her
home was in the fire’s path as it threatened to burn over a ridgeline and spread further into the valley. She had smelled the smoke earlier in the day when the fire ignited.
“I knew it was a grass fire because of the smell,” she said.
“I was just working away inside and didn’t take too much notice of it. Then when I went outside there was a blanket of smoke.”
She left her home and went into Church Bay before
returning to the house later that afternoon after firefighters had contained the inferno.
“It was too close for comfort. Thank God for the helicopters.”
A phone call alerted local Paul Dimery to news of a fire in the area. He immediately went to check on a friend’s house and by that time the first crew from Ngunguru had arrived.
“It was pretty much just smoke at that stage but the fire brigade were worried about it
going up the valley.”
The fears seemed wellfounded as Dimery witnessed “exceptionally high flames” billow from the valley.
“It went up to the top of the valley really quickly but that was about the same time the helicopters arrived.”
Large blankets of smoke had provided challenging conditions for pilots but once the plumes slightly cleared the helicopters had pinpoint accuracy as they released
water taken from the bay in the monsoon buckets.
On December 27 last year a ride-on lawnmower sparked a scrub fire in Waipu¯ Cove. Seven fire engines and trucks, and a helicopter, were required to put out the blaze that threatened nearby homes.
The fires, although accidental, were an important reminder about the dangers fires sparked in the current dry conditions can pose for the region, said Muri Whenua area manager Wipari Henwood.
A Fire and Emergency spokesperson advised people to regularly check their machinery for loose vegetation and to frequently blow vegetation from engines with compressed air or a portable leaf blower.
They recommended people wet down work areas or keep hoses and water on hand when carrying out tasks that can create sparks.
The culmination of years of studying has played out in Whanga¯rei with the graduation of more than 30 new teachers. The annual University of Auckland Tai Tokerau campus graduation on Wednesday saw more than 30 graduands march through the city centre to Forum North for their formal ceremony.
The majority of them graduated with a Bachelor of Education (Teaching) or Bachelor of Education (Huarahi Ma¯ori Specialisation), which are both three-year courses.
However, this year there were also a Master of Education graduand, and a Doctor of Education graduand, Dr Maia Hetaraka, lecturer and programme leader at the campus, said.
Lisa Watson received her Doctor of Education, which involved a total of 11 years study.
Also on Wednesday, Tamati Rakena received his Master of Education, which required five years study.
Hetaraka said the graduation sees many new teachers ready to go into the classroom, with most hoping to work within Northland – their home region.
The procession started at Laurie Hall Park, where the graduands then marched to Forum North for the wero and karanga.
The Tai Tokerau Campus has been providing students living in the Northland area with a wider range of high-quality educational opportunities for more than 20 years.
Many of the campus’ graduates can be found working in Northland schools and associated educationrelated industries.
Lisa Watson received her Doctor Of Education and Tamati Rakena his Master Of Education at the University of Auckland Tai Tokerau campus graduation in Whanga¯ rei on Wednesday.