Two Napier antique stores burgled on same day

Whales Tale Antiques owner Ron Pratt outside his Ahuriri store which was broken into. Photo / Gary Hamilton-Irvine

The owner of two Napier antique stores broken into on the same day says it is “very discouraging” and comes in an already tough period for business owners.

Whales Tale Antiques in Ahuriri was broken into about 1.30am on Friday and a sister store, Port Antiques in Napier CBD, was broken into later the same day, about 9.30pm.

Both businesses are owned by long-time retailer Ron Pratt.

The offenders took off with valuables as the alarms sounded and police set up a cordon on Dalton St in Napier CBD following the latter incident, which happened about 150m from Napier Police Station.

Police are still on the hunt for the offenders and would like to hear from anyone with information.

Pratt preferred not to say what was taken but said the cost to the business and the damage suffered was “a lot”.

“They don’t get in here for the money, they come in here for something they can sell,” he said, adding they did not keep cash on the premises.

There were also two attempted break-ins at Whales Tale Antiques a couple of weeks ago.

Meanwhile, Ahuriri Corner Store, across the road from Whales Tale Antiques, was ram-raided at the start of last month resulting in the store’s entrance being badly damaged.

The owner of that store told Hawke’s Bay Today it was their third break-in in 18 months.

Pratt would like to see more CCTV cameras installed around Ahuriri to help deter and catch offenders.

He said the region’s CCTV network could also be monitored in real-time by a police officer.

Port Antiques on Dalton St in Napier was targeted late on Friday. Photo / Gary Hamilton-Irvine

He said police had done a “great job” and were very supportive following the break-ins, but increased patrols at night would be welcomed by Ahuriri businesses.

Pratt said it was the worst crime he had experienced as a business owner, having operated Whales Tale Antiques since 1980.

He said it was already a tough period to operate a store without dealing with crime.

“It really makes you think ‘why am I doing this?’

“Because you are losing money a lot of days that you are open and then you get this on top of it, it is very difficult. ,” he said.

“I hope to keep going but it is hard.”

Pratt holds to the Baha’i faith and said, in general, people needed to be better educated about trustworthiness.

“If you have trustworthiness and courtesy your life will go so much better. If you don’t have those qualities you are just a disaster.”

Napier City Council has a network of CCTV cameras to support public safety.

A council spokeswoman said they have 16 council-run CCTV cameras around Ahuriri, part of their wider network of 112 CCTV cameras across Napier.

“Police take the lead on crime and will advise council if camera installation is the most appropriate tool to prevent ongoing crime issues,” a council spokeswoman said, for a given location.

However, she said the council had limited funds and “any further investment in cameras is considered against other priorities”.

Police do not own CCTV cameras but have access to council-owned cameras when needed.

“Police continue to follow lines of enquiry, including reviewing CCTV, to locate those responsible,” a police spokeswoman said, of Friday’s break-ins.

If you have information for police, call 105 and reference file number 240712/5024 (Whales Tale Antiques) or 240713/7446 (Port Antiques).

Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.