Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Editorial: Thieves on beach hard to fathom

By by Kate Newton
Bay of Plenty Times·
9 Jan, 2012 09:51 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article


To add to that frustration the concern that his children's things may be being stolen on the beach is downright cruel.

The news that Rena had split in two was likely to have been met by a range of emotions on Sunday morning.

Disappointment that the salvors were unable to get all the containers off before the inevitable happened was probably one.

Fears for our coastline given the number of containers still on board was another likely one.

Some may have even been relieved that the thing had finally broken up properly and the nervous waiting game had finally ended. But it's hard to understand that while most of us were feeling these natural reactions there could be other people out there who were only thinking of how they could benefit when the containers inevitably came to shore.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Rena's containers did wash ashore, this time at Waihi Beach, and while many have been down for a look at the mess that's piling up there, the police have told us that looters were also poking around, looking for what they could take.

Given the beach was covered with bags of milk powder yesterday it's hard to imagine what they could have got from their efforts. Add to that the fact the response team haven't been able to locate the containers full of dangerous goods and it makes their crime even harder to fathom.

What material thing could really be worth becoming Rena's first human casualty or at the very least impeding the container recovery process?

I can only imagine how heartbreaking the news that there are mongrels out there ready to do this must have struck Tauranga's Fellows family.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Craig Fellows has woken every day since Rena hit the reef on October 5, not knowing if he would see his family's precious belongings again.

Even with some containers removed by the crane barge Smit Borneo and some recovered from the first loss overboard, the Fellows family aren't sure where their container is. It must be incredibly frustrating, and to add to that frustration the concern that his children's things may be being stolen on the beach is downright cruel.

The number plates of those thought to have been stealing from the containers have apparently been recorded.

Here's hoping the police catch up with them soon and those responsible are made to pay for their thoughtless actions. If you know who these people were, make sure you pass any information on to the police.

Rena has put the Bay through enough and Waihi Beach has enough on its hands, without these people giving the beachside town a bad name.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Rugby showdown: Local teams gear up for Baywide semis

09 Jul 06:00 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Rain train: Weather watches keep rolling in for Bay of Plenty

09 Jul 01:32 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

'I wasn't prepared to wait': Youngest Govt MP on seizing his big opportunity

09 Jul 12:26 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Rugby showdown: Local teams gear up for Baywide semis

Rugby showdown: Local teams gear up for Baywide semis

09 Jul 06:00 AM

Whakarewarewa dominated Te Puna with a 57-10 win in Rotorua.

Rain train: Weather watches keep rolling in for Bay of Plenty

Rain train: Weather watches keep rolling in for Bay of Plenty

09 Jul 01:32 AM
'I wasn't prepared to wait': Youngest Govt MP on seizing his big opportunity

'I wasn't prepared to wait': Youngest Govt MP on seizing his big opportunity

09 Jul 12:26 AM
'Ecstatic' reunion: Cat found after year-long disappearance

'Ecstatic' reunion: Cat found after year-long disappearance

09 Jul 12:00 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP