Tauranga’s popular maunga Mauao/Mount Maunganui will be closed on Tuesday while vandalism damage to the cultural compass is repaired.
The large pounamu touchstone on top of the kāpehu (cultural compass) at the summit of Mauao was found vandalised on Friday.
Celestial navigator Jack Thatcher said the damage had been done with a sharp instrument and it left deep scars in the stone.
All of the walking tracks on Mauao will be closed on Tuesday from 8.30am to allow the repairs to be done safely and efficiently, the Tauranga City Council said in a statement.
The repairs would involve smoothing and polishing the pounamu surface to restore it as closely as possible to its original condition.
Restoration work began on Friday afternoon with cleaning of the compass and temporary repairs to the damage caused by the vandalism, including the attempt to dig around the outer ring of the compass.
On Friday, Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale said he was deeply disappointed by the vandalism of the precious touchstone.
The pounamu touchstone on top of the kāpehu, cultural compass, on Mauao was vandalised on Friday. (Source: Local Democracy Reporting)
"This is a despicable and disrespectful act which should not and will not be tolerated."
Ngāi Te Rangi chief executive Paora Stanley told Local Democracy Reporting the vandalism was, in his opinion, the "usual gutless racism by illiterate and inarticulate reprobates”.
"It’s something we sadly come to expect.
"Those rocks are really sacred, and they think they can destroy it. It will never be destroyed."
The kāpehu was unveiled in June 2022 to mark Matariki, the Māori New Year, by the Ngā Poutiriao o Mauao Trust, in collaboration with Te Puna I Rangiriri Trust.
Mauao, meaning caught by the dawn, is the sacred tūpuna maunga (ancestral mountain) of the three iwi of Tauranga Moana – Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Pūkenga and Ngāti Ranginui and Te Arawa iwi, Waitaha.
This wasn’t the first time cultural items on the maunga have been vandalised.
A sign was defaced with stickers in May and te reo Māori place names on other signs were scratched out in August 2022.
The signs were installed in 2022 as part of a collaborative Mauao Placemaking project between the Tauranga City Council and Ngā Poutiriao ō Mauao (the administration board), designed to share the rich history and stories of Mauao.
Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale said the vandalism was a "despicable act". (Source: Local Democracy Reporting)
Drysdale said the vandalism was reported to the police and the council encouraged anyone with information to come forward.
A police spokesperson said inquiries were ongoing and no arrests had been made.
Anyone with information could call 105 or report online at 105.police.govt.nz. Using the file number 241213/4295.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
