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

Mauao vandalism: Wayfinding sign defaced with stickers

Rosalie Liddle Crawford
By Rosalie Liddle Crawford
MULTIMEDIA JOURNALIST·Bay of Plenty Times·
28 May, 2024 12:22 AM2 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

One of the vandalised signs on Mauao. Supplied / Photo

One of the vandalised signs on Mauao. Supplied / Photo

A new wayfinding sign on Mauao at Mount Maunganui has been vandalised, drawing outrage from local leaders.

Mauao trustee Buddy Mikaere has expressed deep frustration upon learning the sign has been defaced with stickers.

“It is obvious from the nature of the damage that the vandals apparently belong to the anti-vaxxers [groups] who are using stickers to broadcast their conspiracy messages,” Mikaere said.

He said stickers were challenging to remove and lamented that this form of protest had been ongoing for months, as reported by regular walkers on Mauao.

The cultural history of Mauao has been coming to life since July 2022.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

As part of Te Mahere Whakamahinga o Mauao, over the past 18 or so months, many cultural touchpoints have been added to the maunga, including the wayfinding and interpretation signage, which shares the ecological significance and cultural narrative of Mauao.

Mauao historic reserve is owned by local iwi Ngai Te Rangi, Ngati Ranginui and Ngati Pukenga in the form of the Mauao Trust.

The reserve is managed jointly by the Mauao Trust and Tauranga City Council under the direction of the Ngā Poutiriao ō Mauao (Mauao Joint Administration Board).

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Wayfinding signage on the sacred maunga Mauao was previously vandalised in August 2022, dismaying the Mauao Trust, iwi, and many in the wider community.

At the time, Ngā Poutiriao ō Mauao chairman Dean Flavell expressed the board’s dismay, saying that the signs are designed to share the rich history and stories of Mauao.

These signs are there to help locals and manuhiri [visitors] enjoy this iconic taonga, and a way for the community to connect with our sacred maunga,” Flavell said.

‘Access to Mauao is a privilege, not a right and anyone who is identified disrespecting the maunga will be trespassed and lose their access to this special place.”

Mikaere thanked the Tauranga City Council staff for their efforts in cleaning the signs and urges witnesses to report any vandalism to the ranger station at the bottom of Mauao.

“Mauao is an icon to many in our Tauranga community, and the mean-minded actions of a disgruntled minority that detract from the experience of visiting the summit and its artworks are very distressing,” Mikaere said.

Vandalism can also be reported to Tauranga City Council via the Antenno app

- SunLive

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Winter fire warning for seniors after Waihī death

19 Jun 06:00 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Meth, ammunition, homemade taser seized in dawn police raid

19 Jun 04:30 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

League player's preventable death prompts coroner's warning of 'run it straight' trend

18 Jun 11:35 PM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Winter fire warning for seniors after Waihī death

Winter fire warning for seniors after Waihī death

19 Jun 06:00 AM

People aged 60-plus accounted for 55% of all house fire deaths over the past 5 years.

Meth, ammunition, homemade taser seized in dawn police raid

Meth, ammunition, homemade taser seized in dawn police raid

19 Jun 04:30 AM
League player's preventable death prompts coroner's warning of 'run it straight' trend

League player's preventable death prompts coroner's warning of 'run it straight' trend

18 Jun 11:35 PM
The Bay of Plenty town with second highest pokie spend

The Bay of Plenty town with second highest pokie spend

18 Jun 11:15 PM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

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