Black Doris plums stolen from family owned Te Puke orchard

The family's Black Doris plums were stripped bare.

An elderly Te Puke couple battling serious health conditions are heartbroken after thieves stripped a row of Black Doris trees bare in a night-time raid.

The couple, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the row of plum trees was all that remained of a once-extensive orchard they tended for three decades. The orchard once boasted 12,000 trees that also produced apples, peaches, pears, nectarines and kiwifruit.

But after the husband had a stroke two years ago and the wife’s blood condition prevented her from picking, they dug up most of the trees, leaving just the Louisa and Black Doris plums.

The husband went out to pick the plums on Monday and found the Black Doris trees stripped bare. The crop was estimated to be worth between $500 and $1000.

The family's Black Doris plums were stripped bare.

The trees were “all that kept them going”, the couple told the Bay of Plenty Times, so the theft of the year’s crop had been “heartbreaking”.

“The Black Doris’ were particularly beautiful,” the wife said. “They were one of the bigger ones everybody chased.”

The couple decided against reporting the incident to police after nobody was caught in a similar event 10 years ago in which up to $5000 worth of peaches were stolen.

The wife said the couple had been harvesting fruit for as long as she could remember and used to own an orchard in another part of the country but made a start fresh in Te Puke after their son died in a car accident.

David Stewart, who owns The Fresh Market in Gate Pa, has been selling the couple’s fruit for years.

Stewart talked to the couple after it happened and was angry people could do that to “such lovely people”.

“It’s the principle of the matter, especially when they’ve done so much for the community.”

Stewart said he was selling the plums for $11 a kilo.

Hawkes Bay’s devastating loss of many fruit orchards played a major role in the steep price, with many supermarkets not carrying the fruit at all.

Generic stock photo of a plumb. 1 February 2024 Bay of Plenty Times Photo / Alex Cairns

NZ Avocado, which has seen similar incidents of fruit theft in the past, said it was not only the financial cost that impacted growers, but also the safety issue.

“Orchards are our growers’ homes and, as New Zealanders, we have the right to feel safe and secure in our own homes.”

Stewart said shoppers in New Zealand could do their bit by understanding the signs of fruit theft.

For avocados, the public could spot a stolen one if their stalks were long or if there was a hole where the stalk should be.

Summerfruit NZ chief executive, Kate Hellstrom said the theft of fruit was a “big blow to summerfruit growers, who have worked hard and invested tens of thousands of dollars in its production”.

Theft was not common but they heard about it from time to time and recommended growers to be vigilant and report any suspicious behaviour to police, she said.

Police recommend growers to:

• Check boundaries and fence lines on a regular basis.
• Remove keys from unattended vehicles.
• Mark or engrave tools with a licence number.
• Keep in contact with neighbours and let one another know if you see anything unusual.

If you see anything suspicious, contact police immediately.

Harriet Laughton is a multi-media journalist based in the Bay of Plenty.