The Paeroa Historical Maritime Park and Museum has started a Givealittle online fundraising page after thieves targeted two historical vessels and made off with several irreplaceable brass and copper fixtures.
The thefts occurred overnight on October 11. Portholes, steering wheels, railings, controls, dials, and other fittings were stripped from the boats Ariana and Norita, leaving the vessels severely damaged and possibly undrivable.
Funds raised from the park’s Givealittle page will go towards repairs, and also fund an upgrade to the park’s security system. As of Monday morning, the page had raised $2875.
Park manager Fleur McDermott said she and the park’s staff were devastated by the theft.
“When you’re caretakers of stuff, which is what we feel we are [because] we’re looking after the history… this hurts,” she said.
Security cameras did not catch the incident, but Fleur said it was likely the thieves had parked on the road and jumped the fence.
“We did find a couple of things in this bush that they’ve left behind,” she said.
“But they would have had to be here for several hours to do what they’ve done.”
Fleur said many of the stolen items were irreplaceable and unique to the restored boats – one of which was over 100 years old.
“One piece was off Winston Churchill’s boat. It cost [boat restorer Peter Vandersloot] over $1000 to actually restore it back in the day.”
Park chair Colin James said the vessels have been left in a bad way.
“[The Ariana] will probably have to come out of the water. They took the steering wheel. We can’t move it because I don’t know if it’s in gear or out of gear,” he said.
“They didn’t leave much behind.”
Fleur said the cost of the thefts was likely to be extensive, and insurance would not be able to cover the specialist restoration or the loss of the irreplaceable parts.
“It’s not just the brass. They’ve used crowbars to just pry it off, [so] there is actually significant damage to the boats.”
Fleur asked anyone with information about the crime to get in touch with either the park or the Police.
She had also been in touch with several scrap and antique dealers in the Waikato and Auckland in the hopes of recovering some of the items.
“We will continue to remain hopeful that somehow these items will be returned. We are willing to ask no questions and will just be grateful to have them back.”
The community has rallied around the park, with many people sharing the story widely on social media and some local businesses even offering rewards for the safe return of the stolen items.
The story was also featured on TVNZ’s Seven Sharp on October 14.
“The more we get the word out – I just hope that this stuff is hot enough that it’ll just show up somewhere,” she said.
“We’re just not going to be able to replace it, it’s never going to be the same.”
DETAILS: See givealittle.co.nz/cause/historical-maritime-park-stripped-of-brass to donate.
