Nireaha Pirika and Minnie Vercoe of Ngāti Uenukukopako share the impact of the burglary and damage to the iwi's 15-home development for struggling families.
The hurt cuts deep for hapū descendants as they look at the mess left by burglars around the 15 Rotorua homes they had built to help struggling families.
“Sick, down, wild, angry.”
That was how kuia Minnie Vercoe described her feelings when she got the first phone call about NgātiUenukukopako Iwi Trust’s papakāinga being targeted overnight on Monday.
The homes, on iwi land opposite Rotorua Airport, were to be finished by January and are earmarked for hapū descendants with children who are living in emergency housing or cramped and rough conditions.
Now, it will be at least another two months before the damage is fixed.
For him, the shock was even greater. He lives on the site and woke up Tuesday morning to discover their dreams had been shattered.
“I got up about 6.30am and noticed the kitchen door was open. I thought it was strange and closed it and put the jug on.”
Then he noticed two laptops were missing among other items around his house.
Nireaha Pirika with the boat that was allegedly stolen and later recovered. Photo / Andrew Warner
When he went outside, he saw his truck and the trust’s 10-seater boat were gone. Then, he walked around the property shocked to find the damage to about 13 of the nearly-finished two and three-bedroom homes.
“I thought ‘whoa, this is bigger than someone taking my computers’.”
The boat and trailer were used to do taiao mahi on Mokoia Island, a programme run by the trust and community partners to benefit hundreds of children daily at 10 Rotorua primary schools.
Among the items claimed to have been stolen were native bird monitoring gear, generators, construction equipment, tablets, bluetooth speakers, binoculars, chargers and master keys. The stolen items alone were estimated to cost up to $20,000 to replace.
The two laptops carried at least 10 years worth of iwi information that wasn’t backed up anywhere else.
Damage to an exterior wall will be expensive to fix. Photo / Andrew Warner
Pirika said gates to the property were smashed and there was extensive exterior damage to at least one of the homes.
Underground water and electrical piping was damaged as the thieves moved their vehicle or vehicles in to get to the homes.
Window and door frames of 13 of the homes were bent and damaged to gain access inside to get appliances such as Haier ovens and Fisher and Paykel dishwashers.
The burglars bent and damaged windows and doors of 13 of the 15 nearly completed homes. Photo / Andrew Warner
The appliances, along with pre-packaged showers, were left on the decks. Pirika said it looked like it was planned to take them and the burglars either got spooked or wanted to come back later.
Pirika said the builders’ container shed had been broken into on Sunday night and he wondered if whoever was responsible scoped out the property and returned the next night.
Pirika said the 1ha site - which was originally Ngāti Uenukukopako land - was bought in 2012 with the dream of building the papakāinga.
A deal was struck with the Government to run a housing scheme that could see their descendants living in the homes by January, paying rent of just 25 per cent of what they earned.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development put $4.8 million towards the project and the trust took out a loan of $3.2 million to top up the building and development costs.
Pirika said Rotorua company Lockwood was contracted to provide the homes and some local Ngāti Uenukukopako builders were employed.
It was hoped to have the homes ready for families at the start of the school year, with Rotokawa Primary School right next door. But it was now realistically delayed until at least March.
Pirika said the development was already six months delayed because of Covid, weather and building supply issues.
“This is about people. Not about money. This project was about seeing our whānau in their own homes on their own land.”
But Pirika was determined to remain positive.
“This has not disheartened me. It’s about pushing forward with this kaupapa … The system is not working for our people so we have to make change.”
He said in some ways it had made them stronger and they were still excited to see the completion of the project.
A police spokeswoman confirmed on Wednesday that a vehicle, trailer and boat were found at a rural Rotorua address and were recovered, undamaged.
A man, aged 29, was arrested at a Rotorua address on Tuesday and was to appear in the Rotorua District Court yesterday on charges relating to theft of a vehicle, trailer and boat.
