They learned it had been removed as part of a project to replace existing seating by Tauranga City Council and Ngā Poutiriao o Mauao - the joint administration board set up under a memorandum of understanding between the council and the Mauao Trust.
Adrian Shuen died of a heart attack in 2003, aged 31. He left behind a grieving family, wife and children. Photo / Supplied
At the time the family described the incident as “distressing” and said the manner in which the seat was removed was unacceptable because it was a “special, sacred place”.
The Mauao Trust apologised and offered to refurbish the seat and give it back to the family.
On Thursday, the seat, with plaque, was delivered to Barbara’s home.
From her back deck next to the seat the next day, Barbara said the “return” of the seat was “all we wanted”.
At one point, she was not sure it would actually happen.
“We’ve got the seat now. We’ve got the plaque. We are happy.”
The seat has a prime position at the large family table on the deck at the Bay of Plenty home, which was expected to be filled with family this Christmas.
Next month will mark 20 years since Adrian’s death.
Barbara said the seat was “all we’ve got” as a memorial.
“We only had the seat and the plaque. Every anniversary, we’d be there. It was just everything to us.”
Now the seat had its new home, “that’s where it’s going to stay”.
“It meant a lot for us to have it back,” Barbara said.
Barbara said the spot where the seat used to be at Mauao would still be a special place.
“We’ve still got the memories,” she said.
Barbara said she believed the decision-makers behind the beautification project must have assumed that the seat had been there for so long, the family would not still be using it.
“But we did. We used it all of the time. And, my son was very well-known. He had a lot of friends. There would’ve been others using it too.”
Barbara and Adrian’s brother Dean have both visited the site where Adrian’s seat was replaced and say the new seating is beautiful and more practical, because it could seat more people.
The plaque on the memorial seat to Adrian Shuen. Photo / Stuart Whitaker
Dean echoed his mother’s sentiments that the family had no ill feelings about plans to beautify the area. They just did not agree with how the removal of the seats was dealt with.
“All the stuff they have been doing, it’s good. It’s going to look nice when it’s all done,” he said.
At the time of the seat’s removal, Tauranga City Council manager of spaces and places Sarah Pearce said it was done as part of a Mauao “placemaking” project in collaboration with Ngā Poutiriao ō Mauao. The project aimed to share the history and stories of Mauao “through new wayfinding signage and cultural touchpoints across the maunga”.
