Artworks have a habit of going missing from public places. In 2007, a large sculpture of a weta was taken from its pillar outside the Epsom Community Library but the time and date of the theft were unknown.
The "much-loved" bronze sculpture measured 1.5m from head to foot.
The theft took place following a number of raids on the University of Auckland's library in the same year.
Thieves stole a $100,000 Charles Goldie painting, seven Colin McCahon poems worth $7000 and an unbound copy of the Oxford Lectern Bible valued at $100,000 from the university library's special collections room in 2007.
![Napier's iconic Pania of the Reef statue is being decorated by two little girls. Photo / File](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/PAZVWKYFTPGFSMRTTFFPZVWFNE.jpg?auth=9b38fefaa1e34c1157b06adfc615662ee745f5755b2b60861ca3375f60b6d7cf&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)