Vandalism delays opening
Thirteen houses damaged in raid on papakainga
It was cold, wet and windy — too uninviting to take close-up looks at the damage wreaked by ramraiders at Kakahoroa, opposite Rotorua Airport. So instead I made my unsteady way up a ramp into the offices of Ngati Uenukukopako Iwi Trust where I received a warm welcome from trust chair Nireaha Pirika and a whanaunga and former colleague of mine, Renee Kiriona.
Aggie Amotawa had driven me out there and was on photo duty.
I was angry that such a fantastic kaupapa, homes for the homeless, had been abused.
I was also sad that anyone could be so disrespectful as to deliberately destroy property that is to benefit the community.
Over a cup of tea I gradually calmed down, helped by our hosts’ soothing wairua.
Nireaha lives on site and believes the perpetrators were well organised. He said the ram raid and burglaries appeared to be planned and that more than one person was involved.
He slept through the first night outsiders visited the site. He only realised they had been burgled when he found the kitchen door open.
The iwi bought the 1ha site in 2012 for $355,000 plus GST. It had originally been Uenukukopako land but had been lost to colonisation.
Thirteen of the 15 two and threebedroom homes were damaged in some way.
Much of the damage was to the expensive windows which have had to be replaced.
The homes were due to be opened in January but the burglaries mean that event has to be delayed, probably by about two months.
The opening was already behind schedule because of covid and supply chain issues.
Nireaha was just glad the homes are Lockwood and did not sustain any further damage other than broken glass.
He said the police were quickly on the job and had arrested one man.
Now the iwi had a security firm operating at night.
They retrieved the trust’s fourwheel drive truck and 10-seater boat which is used in the iwi’s conservation work on Mokoia Island. High-tech bird monitoring equipment was also taken.
Two laptops containing iwi data were also among the burglars’ loot. The value of the stolen property was about $20,000.
Nireha said the police and their neighbours — Rotokawa Primary
School and Rotorua Airport — had been really helpful and supportive.
Even the builders didn’t escape as the thieves broke into their container and stole their tools including a generator.
Also stolen from the site were appliances including dishwashers and stoves. Shower boxes were taken too.
What hurts is that the homes are for needy members of the iwi.
“We want safe, warm houses for our people who are struggling. These houses are ideal and situated next to a school so families don’t have to worry about transport.
“We want to give our people a future, something to aspire to.”
As well as the usual sources of publicity the iwi turned to social media pages to get the message out about the break-ins.
It worked as everywhere I went I heard about the ram raid.
What struck me most about meeting Nireaha and Renee on their papakainga was that, despite the burglaries and other setbacks, they are still optimistic and looking to the future. When I walked outside the sun was shining even though the ground was muddy. The gods were smiling.