Tents high on sale bargain lists
Changes after brutal murder Interviewees clam up on fatal assault
WHOLESOME good times in the outdoors are in this summer.
Boxing Day saw thousands of shoppers packing into shops yesterday to cash in on the annual sales, with items such as tents and fishing rods among the items flying off the shelves.
There were reports of shoppers fainting in the chaos, overcrowded shops, and a store running out of trolleys.
Kathmandu Lyall Bay manager Nic Cocker said Boxing Day was typically the busiest retail day of the year. ‘‘People have got over Christmas, they are thinking of going away.’’
It meant, instead of the preChristmas rush on clothes for presents, people were shopping for tents and camping gear.
For Brendon Smith and Sarah Cameron, and their children Alex, 8, and Ben, 9, it was a chance to stock up on camping gear ahead of their first family camping trip, in the new year. ‘‘We may as well get a bit of gear now as it is cheap,’’ Smith said.
Next door at The Warehouse, Ritesh Kumar was getting in the Christmas shopping for his children – Rishab Kumar, 4, and Prishni Vanshika, 2.
He had planned to head out on Christmas Day to do his shopping but then learnt that the shops were shut.
As a result, the two children were up for most of Christmas night in anticipation of the presents they knew were coming – a Thomas the Tank Engine bike for him and a Dora the Explorer bike for her.
Zoe, 8, and Matthew Gerondis, 5, got about $120 each in Christmas money so headed down to The Warehouse yesterday morning.
They spent the lot and ‘‘I think mum and dad may be contributing a bit,’’ mother Sarah Gerondis said.
Fishing rods and toys including a Nerf gun – one of The Warehouse’s top 10 toys this Christmas – were among their haul.
Paymark will be releasing its Boxing Day sales figures today but if last year is anything to go by, retailers are in for a bonanza.
Boxing Day 2013, saw $11.7 million spent on eftpos in Wellington alone.
At the Lush store in Newmarket, Auckland, a girl was reported to have fainted due to the overcrowding.
‘‘We had to shut one door because it was getting to the point that people were starting to get claustrophobia,’’ Lush shop assistant Alice Kirker said.
The Warehouse at the South City Centre mall in Christchurch ran out of trolleys. THE Christchurch City Council has changed the way it handles tenants’ disputes after a brutal murder at a social housing complex.
In redacted documents released to Fairfax Media, the council acknowledged failings in the way information about the lengthy feud between social housing tenants Valmai McFie and Colin Hoani was recorded.
However, it concluded that staff acted professionally and could not have predicted the dispute would end with McFie, 67, being stabbed 17 times at a social housing complex in MacGibbon Pl, Spreydon, on July 20 last year.
Hoani, 60, later admitted the murder and was sentenced to life with a minimum non-parole period of 10 years.
The High Court at Christchurch heard he had previously told his family he wanted to kill his neighbour.
McFie had complained to the city council and police about Hoani before the attack, which he claimed was provoked by a racist remark.
Her family said they had been stonewalled by the council, which turned down their repeated requests for details about the neighbours’ feud.
They believed the murder was preventable.
McFie’s niece Louise WegnerParker said the documents she received were heavily redacted and the whole exercise was a ‘‘total waste of time’’. A MAN assaulted and left with fatal head injuries in a suburban Wellington street was farewelled in Porirua yesterday.
Bruce Coker’s tangi was held on Takapuwahia Marae amid emotional scenes.
Family and friends said he was a kind-hearted man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Coker, 49, was found unconscious beside Rossiter St, Linden, with severe head injuries last Saturday night.
He was taken to Wellington Hospital where he died early on Tuesday morning, prompting police to upgrade their assault investigation to a homicide.
Police joined whanau and friends in a packed meeting house
Lush shop assistant Alice Kirker, after a shopper fainted due to the crush to mourn Coker, father of several children, in a senseless act of violence that has left police and family looking for answers.
Wellington area investigations manager Detective Senior Sergeant John van den Heuvel said Coker was the victim of a criminal act and the person responsible was yet to come forward to stand up for what they’d done.
Police had spoken to people in Rossiter St at the time but the investigation was being hampered by some refusing to reveal everything they knew, van den Heuvel said.
‘‘Our suspects list would be shorter if all those in the know came forward and told us their full story.
‘‘Some are holding back on be- ing completely truthful with us.’’
He urged those people to focus on the thoughts and feelings of Coker’s whanau and do the right thing.
Police would continue to work through the Christmas holiday period to establish the circumstances of Coker’s death and bring answers for his whanau, van den Heuvel said.
‘‘Our heartfelt condolences go out to all those who knew and loved Bruce.’’
Up to 20 police officers and support staff have been working on the investigation.
Information can be provided to the Operation Leo investigation team on (04) 979 5267, or in person at Porirua police station, or confidentially through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Detective Senior Sergeant John van den Heuvel