Editorial: Garden crime mars goodwill

Henare O'Keefe is baffled by recent vandalism at his community garden. Photo / File

"Beware the anger of a patient man".

My schoolboy rugby coach's wisdom echoed yesterday when reading comments by a frustrated Henare O'Keefe, whose beloved Te Aranga Community Garden was pillaged at the weekend.

The man wasn't happy.

Neither should he be. Some idiots had cut a locked gate to gain entry, ripped up the irrigators, dumped rubbish and pilfered produce.

Given the details, it can hardly be couched as a crime of poverty as the food stolen is free to those who need it.

This flagship initiative has fed thousands through the altruism and hard work of many.

The garden began as a result of the Enough is Enough Hikoi in 2008 where organisers were granted the lease of 2ha of bare land in Flaxmere next to the Te Aranga Marae.

Sadly, the senseless crime underscores the suburb's dichotomy. On the one hand we have the goodwill and graft of the U-Turn Trust and its benefactors who have established the all-giving garden, while on the other we have select halfwits hell-bent on sullying a community gem.

It's where the selfish and the selfless collide.

But while the waste of food and hours of toil in the soil is lamentable, this pales in comparison with the desire for wanton destruction in the face of such fellowship.

What's really disheartening for anyone watching this play out is the stark reminder that no matter how well-intentioned this community initiative is - there's always going to be an element whose problems can't be remedied by seedlings and a spade.