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Three valuable treasures worth at least $207,000 plundered from Auckland University during the holidays appear to have been taken by well-organised art thieves.
Art experts believe the items - a Charles Goldie painting, a set of seven Colin McCahon poems and an unbound copy of the Oxford Lectern Bible - have been stolen to order and may never be seen again.
University deputy vice-chancellor Professor Raewyn Dalziel said the break-in was discovered when staff returned to work on Wednesday morning. Their holiday break started on December 21.
"It was a great shock to discover the theft. The items are all of significant cultural value to the nation as well as to the university, so our focus is on getting them back."
The perimeter doors of the library had alarms, but the thieves broke in through a window that did not have any.
They then forced their way through the bolted door of the special collections area where the stolen works - all of which were insured - were on display.
The most significant item was the small Goldie oil painting, which had had just been returned to New Zealand after being in Canada for 70 years.
The 86-year-old painting - a portrait of Hori Pokai of Ngati Maru and Ngati Paoa - went on display last month after being given to the university by its owners, Diana and Gordon Green of British Columbia.
The poems, bought in 2001, were taken from secure hangings on the wall, and the Bible, in the university's possession since 2004, was removed from a glass case. It went on display only late last year.
Security in the library had already been improved in a bid to prevent further thefts, Dr Dalziel said, and the university's overall security would also be reviewed.
Detective Sergeant Richard Veacock said the stolen items were known to dealers and the thieves would find it hard to dispose of them.
Art dealers should be on the lookout for them, and anyone who saw anything suspicious near the university library during the holidays should also contact police.
Mr Veacock said the burglary was one of the more organised ones he had seen. "Some preparation" had gone on before the break-in.
Police are now viewing security camera film to try to establish the exact date of the theft and are awaiting the results of a forensic examination that found fingerprints at the scene.
Ferner Galleries managing director Helene Phillips said it sounded as if the items had been stolen to order.
"If they are stolen to order, then they have probably disappeared into a collection and we probably won't see them again. If they have not, then their resale is almost impossible."
Ms Phillips said all three items had cultural significance and she hoped that would prevent collectors buying them.
"It would be a sad day for New Zealand when we start to see our cultural heritage being stolen to order and hidden for ever."
Home a month after 70 years away - now it's gone
Maori and senior Auckland University officials welcomed the stolen Goldie painting back to New Zealand only a month ago. After decades overseas, the small picture was installed in the special collections area in the university's general library on December 4. Dr Richard Sorenson, manager of the university's foundation, was instrumental in negotiating its return.
The oil on canvas of Hori Te Ruinga Pokai of Ngati Maru and Ngati Paoa had spent the previous 70 years in Canada. Its owners, Diana and Gordon Green of British Columbia, donated the painting, Planning Revenge, to the university after inheriting it. Mrs Green's mother bought the painting while visiting Auckland during the 1930s.
The Oxford Lectern Bible was printed by American Bruce Rogers in 1935 at the Oxford University Press. It is regarded as one of the finest examples of letterpress printing.
The stolen copy was donated in 2004 by Raymond Danowski and was retained in its unbound state - the form in which it would have left the printing press.
The seven Colin McCahon poems, at the university since 2001, are about his friendship with painter Rita Angus and were written after her death in 1970.
- Anne Gibson and Elizabeth Binning
