Signage draws flak over gang link
Gore District Council chief executive Steve Parry said he’s ‘‘floored’’ that a proposal to place large red and black metal M signs at the entrance to Mataura has connotations to the Mongrel Mob.
Comments on a Stuff story about the proposed signage have referred to the town’s gang, but Parry said the council never saw the connection between the two.
‘‘I never saw that connection at all. I don’t think we ever saw that connection.’’
He said the signage was meant to be maroon, because that was the colour that was usually associated with Mataura.
One commenter on the story said ‘‘big red M for Mongrel mob’’ while several others referred to the signage as being ‘‘the sieg’’, while another suggested the sign would be continually stolen.
Another suggested some ‘‘bulldogs’’ should be incorporated into the design, while another said the signage ‘‘Just needs a big pole on top of it with a chevy onit’’ in reference to the gang’s headquarters in Mataura, where a car can be seen up a pole beyond the high red fence.
However, Parry said the ‘M’ sign was now off the agenda and the council was looking at new proposals.
‘‘Design is always a quirky affair – what some people like others think it sucks but that’s cool.
‘‘It was only a concept and now we’re going back to the drawing board.’’
The Mongrel Mob have had a stronghold in the southern town for many years.
Last year, the council voted to spend $9200 to join ‘Safe in the South’, Southland’s Safe Communities programme, after a report about an increase in the number of gang members living in the area, and an increase in methamphetamine use, concerned mayor Tracy Hicks and other leaders.
The M signage came from a council proposal to place a large metal letter at the entrance to Gore, Mataura, Mandeville, Pukerau and Waikaka in the Gore district, welcoming motorists to the respective towns.