The Mount driftwood sofa is gone, but who took it down?

Local resident Lois Hemsley, who has been fighting for the popular driftwood sofa to be left there, is not sure who took it away last week. Photo / George Novak

The popular "driftwood sofa" built on top of dunes at Mount Maunganui is gone, its spot under the pohutukawa tree now bare, but it is not exactly clear who removed it.

The city council ordered the removal of the structure in August but confirmed yesterday it was not involved in its being taken down.

Resident Lois Hemsley, who had been fighting for the seat to be left there, was also not sure who had removed it.

She said she sat on the sofa, which was on Marine Pde halfway between Sutherland and Grove Aves, on Thursday evening but by 11am on Friday it had disappeared.

"I walked down the right-of-way to go for a walk, and I looked back, and it was bare under the tree."

The 75-year-old said although she had been expecting it to happen - the deadline for its removal was September 30 - it still came as a surprise.

Mrs Hemsley's past few visits to the seat had been memorable, she said.

Last Sunday, she walked up the beach and saw a young couple with their baby sitting on it.

"I went up and talked to them. She was breastfeeding, and she said, 'Oh, it's so comfortable, and it's sheltered, and it's away from the public too.' She said it was lovely."

Then on Thursday evening, the night before it was removed, Mrs Hemsley spent some more time on the sofa with a resident of 65 years.

"I was talking to an old Mount identity who's 89. That was the last experience. So I sat there with someone very young and someone very old.

"It was there for a reason and there for a season. And it gave a lot of people pleasure."

Lois Hemsley said while she was expecting the driftwood sofa to be taken down - the deadline for its removal was September 30 - it still came as a surprise. Photo/file.

Mrs Hemsley had spoken with Brian Currie, one of the two men who built the seat, and said he did not know who had cleared it away either.

The Bay of Plenty Times did not manage to contact Mr Currie yesterday.

He built the sofa with his friend Rodney Griffen in March and did not realise it was going to be removed until he read about it in the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend.

Mr Currie met Mrs Hemsley and together they took the fight to their local councillors, Steve Morris and Leanne Brown.

Mr Morris and Ms Brown asked council staff for an extension until the end of September so Mr Currie and Mr Griffen could remove the seat together and they also agreed to consider the installation of a tidied-up version of the driftwood sofa as part of the Phoenix Park development next year.

When contacted yesterday, Ms Brown said they had an agreement with council staff that the owners of the sofa would remove it by the end of September and that was all she knew.

Mr Morris said it was a "bit of a mystery" what had happened to it.

Meanwhile, Mrs Hemsley said she had doubts whether the Phoenix Park development installation would actually happen.