When Milton Wainwright chainsawed the penis off a Māori carving he didn't expect he'd end up with a criminal conviction.
"I thought there would be more understanding. It seems now it's official that we are in the post-Christian era when Christian morals are a thing of the past - and that upsets me," he said.
"I didn't expect to be the one in the hot seat."
On Monday in Palmerston North District Court the Woodville local was found guilty of intentionally damaging a carved wooden pou which stood at the end of Manawatū Gorge walking track.
The 78-year-old had pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Yesterday he said the trial had left him feeling physically tired.
Wainwright had worked as a volunteer for the Department of Conservation for around six years, clearing wandering jew from the track.
The first time he saw the pou, which represented Rangitāne, the ancestor of the local iwi, he was with a friend who claimed the pou was disgusting because of its exaggerated penis.
He said he lodged several official complaints to Tararua District Council and the Department of Conservation which managed the land the pou was erected on.
"It looked like nobody would do anything. I even approached the police as I felt it was a matter of public nudity.
"When I was interviewed by Constable Timothy White I said to him if it was you or I standing there naked we'd be arrested.
"When the police didn't pursue the matter I thought what do we do now, are we facing a brick wall?
"Does indecency rule?"
He said when the pou was placed on the site he said he had a conversation with a person who had been involved in its placement.
"He said to me someone will probably damage it. I thought then was the pou put there tongue in cheek.
"I thought if I did a very careful job on it and didn't mangle the rest of the pou, the damage would just be shrugged off as I had the impression it was expected."
Wainwright said he had been surprised at the response to his act.
He said he didn't regret making a protest, but he did regret that some people were offended by his actions.
At Monday's hearing Judge Lance Rowe said Wainwright was offended by the fact the pou had a prominently displayed penis, but he said represented the fertility Rangitāne had bestowed in terms of his iwi and descendants.
"Mr Wainwright knew the act he was undertaking was unlawful and he acknowledged he would be subject to a penalty if the acted to make the pou decent," Judge Rowe said.
"He acted on what he considered to be a moral imperative but that is not available to him as a defence in law. The defence is formed on a purely subjective basis and that can become a mask for anarchy, for people to take the law into their own hands through a sense of morality and on that basis can also become a mask for intolerance."
Wainwright was remanded to appear in Palmerston North District Court for sentencing on September 12.