Caelyn Hossack, 8 and Riley, 5 giving a big thumbs down to whoever took their much-loved ladybug letterbox.
Caelyn Hossack, 8 and Riley, 5 giving a big thumbs down to whoever took their much-loved ladybug letterbox.
It was big, red and cheerful, and now someone's taken it.
The Hossack family is missing their letterbox - most of all the littlest Hossack, Riley, who is just five years old and had chosen the colour himself, overriding his mum's desire for yellow with his own preference: bright red.
Riley's mum Donna Hossack says the family's large red ladybug letterbox was in its usual spot on the roadside on the outskirts of Waipawa at 10.30am on Wednesday, October 19. It was gone by 5.30pm.
"We know it was there at 10.30am because when we put a message on Facebook about its disappearance, someone said they had admired it as they drove past at that time."
Sometime later, another person must have admired the letterbox so much that they took it for themselves.
It was a strange thing to take, Donna says, as it was designed and put together by the children, so it's unique.
"It will be very obvious if someone else uses it, or tries to sell it, as it's our design and it's one-of-a-kind."
The ladybug letterbox came about as a side-effect of Covid, when online shopping meant the family needed something big enough for parcels. They had planned to build something themselves, but time was of the essence, so they purchased a red letterbox and set about giving it some personality.
"We looked up things that were red, and chose to create a ladybug. We drew up the design and sent it to Kiri Kirk of Personalise It and she made the stickers. Then we made the antenna. We all loved the finished product," says Donna.
"It had our own stamp on it. If someone was going to drop something off to us they could tell they had the right letterbox.
"When we came home on Wednesday and there was just a gaping hole, I thought, 'Surely no-one steals a letterbox?'
"I looked up the driveway and around the house in case it had been damaged and someone had popped it up at the house for us. It wasn't there. The neighbours hadn't been home so hadn't seen anything."
Donna says the children are still upset. Checking the letterbox - even on non-delivery days - was part of their day.
Riley tells her, "I'm sad our letterbox is gone. I miss our letterbox." Big sister Caelyn, aged 8, wants whoever took it to know: "We want our letterbox back, please."
The family is hoping that whoever took the big red ladybug letterbox will "have a heart" and return it.
"They know where it came from. They could just drop it back. We hope one day we'll just drive up the road and - there it is."
