“For us, it’s just gutting, so much so we’re thinking of just canning it,” said Ray White Rotorua co-owner Tim O’Sullivan.
A car, trailer and small donated items were allegedly taken from the garage sale’s storage area at Ngongotahā Railway Park on Friday night.
Tim O’Sullivan said if the monthly sales – which have raised more than $100,000 for charity – did not end they would at least need to be reduced to car boot sales instead of a shop to minimise the opportunity for property damage and loss.
The alleged burglary was discovered on Saturday morning when park manager Peter Reeglestone arrived to open the park and found the car and trailer gone.
Donated items such as small electronic goods were also discovered missing from storage containers and other items had been moved, but bulkier items were left behind.
Tim O'Sullivan looks through a box of electronic items that appeared to have been collected but left behind during the alleged burglary. Photo / Aleyna Martinez
Run by volunteers who work at Ray White, the Sunday sales offered items donated by people moving house and sold without price tags.
The initiative started as a charity drive in 2019 with administration staff at the Ray White Amohia St branch collecting donated household items that would have otherwise been discarded during the real estate sale process, to give back to their community.
The agency set up a pickup and drop-off service to make the process easier for donors and those needing goods.
“You’d be surprised what goes to the tip,” O’Sullivan said.
“Items are given to us mainly by people when they’re selling a home, you’ve got the seller and then you’ve got the buyer, when you get to the last week of the transaction – it’s panic station.
“Secondhand dealers can only take so much, and charities are full of stuff, consequently we saw a lot of things going to the landfill, so we decided to turn that into money for fundraising,” O’Sullivan said.
“It’s worked really well and we don’t charge a lot for the items – nothing has a price on it.”
Ngongotaha Rail Park trustee Murray Farquhar and manager Peter Reeglestone. Photo / Aleyna Martinez
O’Sullivan said before the move to the park the donated items were stored at his home as he and his wife Jacqueline O’Sullivan were passionate about the project and giving back to their community.
“I ended up with two marquees up our driveway, a three-car carport full of stuff, and, you know, it just grew from there.”
The couple said they found the support from the Rotorua community “overwhelming”.
The garage sale had raised more than $100,000 over the years and supported 40 charities in Rotorua including Kaharoa School, Rotorua Artistic Roller, Waiariki Womens Refuge Neighbourhood, Age Concern, Rotorua Young Mariners and more.
Canning the charity drive was not something the O’Sullivans wanted to do, but the security challenge left them without an answer.
Police return the trailer, which had items removed and the Ray White signage ripped off. Photo / Aleyna Martinez
Murray Farquhar, a Ngongotaha Railway Park trustee, said the charity initiative rented space in the park and would be a huge loss if it did not continue.
“Ray White’s got to make the call now, whether it’s worth the while carrying on security-wise.
“That would be sad for the rail park, too, because of the funding that we get to maintain this park – it’s the entranceway into Rotorua from Tauranga.
“If we’re not maintaining the lawns and things like that it will end up like the rail track over here, all overgrown and back into blackberry and scrub,” Farquhar said.
The Ray White trailer before it was damaged.
The trailer has since been found by police, but the Ray White signage had been torn off. The car was still missing.
Police said a 27-year-old man had been arrested and charged with burglary and was due to reappear in Rotorua District Court on Friday.
Aleyna Martinez is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty. She moved to the region in 2024 and has previously reported in Wairarapa and at Pacific Media Network.
