Winter gardens hit by vandals
The winter gardens at Invercargill’s Queens Park are closed and police are appealing for information after a “mindless act of vandalism”.
Yesterday morning, glass was strewn on the footpath outside the cacti house, while inside, plants had been tipped over. Entrances to the main building had also been smashed and entry gained.
The Invercargill City Council had closed the surrounding tracks while it repaired the damage.
Parks and recreation manager Caroline Rain said the incident was “incredibly disappointing”. “It’s extremely sad to see that such a beautiful community space, which is enjoyed by all, has been damaged in a mindless act of vandalism.”
Staff were working hard to restore and repair the damage, Rain said, and she thanked members of the public who had also offered to help with the clean up.
She urged anyone with any information about the incident to contact police.
A police spokesperson also appealed for information, asking witnesses to call 105 and quote the file number 240418/8910.
The reported damage would have occurred between 4.30pm Wednesday and 8am yesterday, the spokesperson said.
By lunchtime yesterday, it was still unclear whether anything had been taken.
Police have asked for any available CCTV footage.
Winter gardens attendant Kay Furness said shards of glass in plants meant they would have to be repotted or thrown out, and the internal pond would need to be checked for glass. “The cacti house is absolutely trashed – there’s plants on the roof,” she said. “It’s so frustrating.”
Council recreation operations manager Chris McAulay said some broken glass was so far from the building that it appeared the offenders had dragged panes on to the pavement and smashed them there.
There was also some damage to matting in the nearby children’s playground area, and CCTV footage had shown offenders arriving from the winter gardens area.