Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Store owner disgusted after charity box stolen

John Cousins
By John Cousins
Senior reporter, Bay of Plenty Times·Bay of Plenty Times·
2 Mar, 2016 06:03 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Store owner Gary Henwood. Photo/Andrew Warner.

Store owner Gary Henwood. Photo/Andrew Warner.

A Bay man who collects money for sick children is disgusted and appalled after thieves stole a fully laden charity box from his store overnight.

It's absolutely disgusting. Who would do this?

Gary Henwood, owner

The Whakamarama General Store was broken into about 4.30am yesterday.

Thieves made off with some items and cigarettes but it was a collection box for cystic fibrosis sufferers which upset store owner Gary Henwood the most.

"It's absolutely disgusting. Who would do this?" he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Cystic fibrosis is the most common life-threatening genetic disorder affecting New Zealand children. The inherited disorder affects a number of organs in the body, especially the lungs and pancreas, by clogging them with thick, sticky mucus. There is no known cure.

Thieves smashed in to the building through a large, thick glass pane and tore through the store searching for goods to take, "making a huge mess", Mr Henwood said.

Read more: Garden party to reveal Tauranga as it used to be

The charity box inside had collected $400 to $500 and was just about to be emptied, Mr Henwood said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mr Henwood said the collection box played an important role in Whakamarama.

Store owner Gary Henwood cleans up the mess after a burglary. Photo/Andrew Warner
Store owner Gary Henwood cleans up the mess after a burglary. Photo/Andrew Warner

"We have three kids out in the local community with cystic fibrosis. It's a charity that's really close to my heart and to the locals out here.

"The lady who usually empties it for me was meant to [yesterday] but was taking her daughter to Starship last night instead."

The General Store was fully alarmed and thieves were chased off the premises by people alerted by the security system.

Senior Sergeant Karl Konlechner said no arrests had been made yet.

"After the alarm had gone off someone nearby heard some yelling, two or three people yelling."

It was thought the offenders could have been after beer.

What is cystic fibrosis?
* Cystic fibrosis, a genetic condition, that occurs when the affected gene is inherited from both the mother and the father.
* People with one cystic fibrosis gene are called carriers and generally have no symptoms of cystic fibrosis.
* Cystic fibrosis is not contagious.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

'Serious injuries': Crash closes highway

11 Jul 05:30 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Mixed verdicts delivered for Tribesmen accused of murdering one of their own

11 Jul 05:00 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

'Hardly surviving': Sales fall after dairy raid

11 Jul 03:29 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'Serious injuries': Crash closes highway

'Serious injuries': Crash closes highway

11 Jul 05:30 AM

Emergency services are responding to a two-vehicle crash which has closed SH29.

Mixed verdicts delivered for Tribesmen accused of murdering one of their own

Mixed verdicts delivered for Tribesmen accused of murdering one of their own

11 Jul 05:00 AM
'Hardly surviving': Sales fall after dairy raid

'Hardly surviving': Sales fall after dairy raid

11 Jul 03:29 AM
Substation fault cuts power to thousands in Tauranga

Substation fault cuts power to thousands in Tauranga

11 Jul 03:01 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP