The wheelbarrow ended up suspended from one of the flagpoles on the Clive Square cenotaph.
Before a shred of indignation could be expressed by the Napierites, they wondered how on earth did they do it? What a mystery it was – nobody even recognised the wheelbarrow – implying the good people of Napier happened to know what everyone's wheelbarrow looked like.
Some effort was required to remove the wheelbarrow from one of the tall flagpoles on the cenotaph by Napier Borough Council reserves staff, who used a ladder.
The condemnations of this act, which damaged the flagpoles, came, rightfully, thick and fast when unnamed prominent Napier citizens were approached for comment.
World War II had just begun, and the fact that the act of vandalism had occurred said one, "At the present time the British Empire is fighting to overcome the very spirit which was manifest at the cenotaph on Friday morning – a spirit which must be put down at all costs."
"It is a shocking example of the worst type of hooliganism," declared a Napier businessman, while another prominent citizen said "… if the perpetrators put the barrow there with a sense of humour, their sense of humour can only be said to be tragically degraded".
Condemnation from the Taradale RSA followed the recent vandalism of its World War I memorial, and 87 years previously, the Napier RSA went one step further and offered a £5 ($545) reward leading to the identification of those responsible.
It wasn't the first time the Napier cenotaph had been vandalised. On New Year's Eve in 1929, a group of youths climbed up the side of the Napier cenotaph and damaged the flagpoles. "There are some places," the Daily Telegraph said, "that practical jokers should leave alone."
"Irreverent hooliganism" best described the act, said the newspaper.
Vandalism in Napier had been a problem for a while, leading some to believe the perpetrators (who were never caught) were behind some of the other acts performed. Fences in Milton Rd had been pushed over, one residence had its whole gate removed and thrown over to their neighbour, plants were also destroyed around Napier.
Napier Borough Council ‒ furious at the continuing acts of vandalism after the cenotaph incident ‒ especially to its parks and reserves, asked the Minister of Justice in 1948 to "bring back the birch" for juvenile delinquents.
Some councillors wanted proof first it was in fact juveniles doing all the damage. Mayor T W Hercock convinced them "… that the most effective method of curbing juvenile delinquency is to bring back the birch".
Boys in New Zealand under the age of 16 were whipped for a larger number of offences than adults, mostly for theft, breaking and entering and wilful damage.
Three boys were ordered in 1936 by a magistrate in Hastings to have "six strokes of the birch as a deterrent and a warning to other boys who might be imbued with the same spirit". The boys, who were part of a gang, were sentenced in a Children's Court being under 16, and had stolen jewellery and two rifles.
Two other boys, not part of the gang but who received stolen goods from the other three, were also ordered to receive a whipping.
Corporal punishment by flogging and whipping was abolished by the Labour Government with the Crimes Amendment Act 1941.
No amount of pleading from Napier Borough Council in 1948, however, would change the government's mind ‒ the birch would not be coming back.
Nearby Hastings wasn't affected by vandalism in the same way over that period Napier was experiencing it.
Hastings had three young liquid amber trees destroyed in 1957 in acts of vandalism in Windsor Park, and the superintendent of parks and reserves, J G C McKenzie, noted this was the worst vandalism seen in Hastings for 20 years.
An unusual event labelled as vandalism had occurred in Napier during 1927.
Napier Borough Council got very upset in 1927 when a group of residents in Vigor Brown St topped (pruned) flowering gum trees outside their properties.
Furious at this, the council made a police complaint against their own citizens (there were seven people who did this) for what councillor P Higgins described as "absolute vandalism".
However, the local Inspector of police informed the Napier Borough Council that they were just topping their trees to let sun into their yards and did not consider the case was one for police action.
Michael Fowler (mfhistory@gmail.com) is a contract researcher and takes commissions to write business history in Hawke's Bay. Follow him on facebook.com/michaelfowlerhistory
