UK High Commissioner gets stolen jewels back

Police have returned jewels worth tens of thousands of dollars stolen from the Wellington home of the British High Commissioner George Fergusson and his wife Margaret.

Mr Fergusson is the son of the late Sir Bernard Fergusson, Governor-General from 1962 to 1967, and Laura, Lady Fergusson. His grandfather, Sir Charles Fergusson, was Governor-General from 1924 to 1929.

Police said that the jewellery was taken last month.

Necklaces, earrings, bracelets, brooches and a diamond and gold tiara were returned and a pair of diamond earrings was still missing.

Some of the jewellery was handed in at Lower Hutt police station and the tiara was recovered from a service cupboard in The Quest on The Terrace hotel.

"We're just thrilled. We expected that we wouldn't see them again," Mrs Fergusson told the Dominion Post newspaper.

The tiara was worn by Mr Fergusson's grandmother, Alice, Lady Fergusson, in the 1920s.

Petone man Brendan Murray McMichael, 31, has been charged with burglary.

- NZPA