KEY POINTS:
Greymouth's sacred war memorial has been returned to the town after an agreement was reached with the landowners who tore it down in the face of public outrage.
The four memorial gate pillars, that carry the names of West Coasters who died in World War I, were taken under the cover of darkness by contractors working for the Mawhera Incorporation, much to the disgust of local leaders and Greymouth residents.
The old school site where the pillars stood for 85 years is being developed into a shopping complex by Mawhera, which until now has remained silent in the face of severe criticism over its actions.
After days of outrage expressed by people throughout New Zealand, today Greymouth mayor Tony Kokshoorn led a group who travelled from Greymouth with a crane-equipped truck to retrieve the pillars, which lay on Mawhera land about 30km south of the town in Arahura.
Mr Kokshoorn had planned to go in this morning with or without the clearance of Mawhera, but just an hour before the raid, Mawhera chairman Maika Mason agreed to allow the pillars to be picked up and returned to Greymouth.
Mr Kokshoorn said it was an excellent result, but Mr Mason still owed the people of Greymouth an apology and a lot of "healing" was required.
Mawhera claim the whole incident came about as the result of a miscommunication with groups over the future of the memorial pillars at the site.
The whole incident should serve as a warning to authorities around the country to ensure their war memorials were adequately protected, Mr Kokshoorn said.
One of the four pillars is broken into three pieces, but will be repaired. It is still to be decided where the pillars will be placed in Greymouth.
