“I don’t see this as being provocative or intimidating. It is overlooking a small council reserve, tucked away in the heart of a small suburb where everybody knows who and where they are. Not like it’s on a fence along the expressway. Without the actual context of where it is, it’s just click-bait tactics.
“The Mongrel Mob are part of the fabric of this suburb. Most Māori people in Maraenui would have some whānau connection with them. Their children go to the schools and kohanga. They are members of the local Rugby and sports club, go to church, work, shop in the shopping centre, many have grown up here.”
Boag said community groups will continue to use the reserve and won’t be scared off by the new addition to the fence.
“I’m confident the newly-painted fence will not stop regular users from coming to the park, or intimidate anyone away from the area. It is a safe place for local children to play,” she said.
”There’s a group of Samoans who use the volleyball court there weekly, I don’t expect this will put them or any of the regular users off.”
“PS a pakeha friend whose partner works in the area on KO builds, said it’s made the fence look much better! lol”
Boag told the Herald she was not surprised by the response from locals to her post.
“I did have one phone call from an irate resident who would not give me a name or address but clearly does not live in sight of the fence, only went to see it when they saw the newspaper report. He wanted Council to build a fence in front of it,” she said.
“The (gang) Pad has been there for over a decade, it has prominent signage so everyone has know where it is, and as I said the Mob is part of the fabric of Maraenui and has been for decades.
“To my knowledge, there has never been any reported incidences of the Mob threatening, hurting or “recruiting” children who play in the playground; some locals say the opposite; that they provide security and an oversight of the playground.
“If any locals didn’t want to have their children play there, there is a much bigger children’s playground just two blocks away next to the shops, with a new splash pad and BBQ area.”
“99 per cent of the people in Napier won’t even see this fence unless they make a special trip to this part of the city, and for those who do live around it, I think they are astounded that this had made the national news.”
Napier City Council maintains the park, which also borders Percy Spiller Ave, but a spokesperson said the fence was on private property.
As such, the council would not be taking action to remove any of the signage which faces the playground, such as painting over it.
“The fence is on private land and doesn’t belong to NCC,” a council spokesperson said.
The signage is metres-long and highly visible to anyone visiting the reserve. The park includes a playground and basketball courts.
