Sculptures stolen from park recovered
Memorials to a beloved community stalwart that were stolen from a Feilding park have been recovered after being spotted at a property in Palmerston North.
The two stone figures had been prized from their mounts at Timona Park at some point between March 13 and 14, leading to a community outcry and call for their return.
The twin “Centurions” were a tribute to the late Gill Absolon, a longtime community champion and founder of the Timona Park Orchard Trust. They formed a gateway to the wetland corner of the park that she had helped to restore.
A member of the public, who had seen media coverage of the theft, spotted the sculptures on Sunday at a Palmerston North property, where they were visible from the road.
She alerted the council whose parks team retrieved the sculptures from her on Monday.
The sculptures had most likely been dumped at the house, a Manawatū District Council spokesperson said. They showed some minor damage.
Whoever took the sculptures has not been identified. Anyone with information about those involved is asked to call the council on (06) 323 0000.
Timona Park Orchard Trust chairperson Barbara Robson was pleased and relieved the figures had been recovered, though it remained a pity they had been stolen in the first place, she said. She was thankful to the Manawatū Standard and other media for bringing the theft to the public’s attention.
“We were optimistic that they might be recovered and with not much damage.”
She said there would be discussions about how the figures might be made more secure ahead of their reinstallation.
The figures had previously been wrenched from their plinths and dumped on the ground in August last year.
In 2015, Absolon had been responsible for encouraging neighbours of the park to turn a messy wasteland into regenerated wetland and bush, adding a small orchard of fruit trees.
After her death in 2019, a special tribute competition was run as part of the Kimbolton Sculpture Festival.
Lower Hutt sculptor Shivaun Hogan won that competition with her “Centurions”.