Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Police hunt for donation box thief

Northern Advocate
26 Aug, 2013 08:11 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The historic St James Anglican Church in Kerikeri was broken into and their donation box stolen last week. Photo / Supplied

The historic St James Anglican Church in Kerikeri was broken into and their donation box stolen last week. Photo / Supplied

Kerikeri police are hoping results from forensic testing will lead them to the "low-life" who broke into a historic church to steal donations.

The St James Anglican Church in Kerikeri, the second oldest church in the country, was broken into by thieves on Thursday night who stole a donation box that chairman of the church trust Richard Ward said could have had several hundred dollars in. "I am pretty disgusted by it, that there is some low-life who did this."

Mr Ward was called at 4.30am on Friday morning by a security guard who noticed the door had been forced open.

He said when he arrived at the church, police were there. He noticed some blood at the scene, which is believed to belong to the thieves.

Sergeant Phil Le Comte said the case was a work-in-progress but police are keen to find the thief or thieves.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Reverend Ron Jamieson and Mr Ward said there was a great deal of relief that the damage to the church was minimal.

"I am relieved that there was no further damage, there was no vandalism or anything. I don't know how much we have lost in terms of donations, and of course I am disappointed that anyone would feel it appropriate to break in and steal these gifts," Mr Jamieson said.

Mr Ward said the church receives between $600 and $700 in the donation box annually.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He said the brass box was in a wooden desk with a thick glass panel over it.

Marks from the tools used to remove it were left in the desk.

"The damage was minimal, but I'm most bothered by the loss of that box," Mr Ward said.

"It's going to be difficult to make one similar."

He is appealing to the public to keep an eye out for the brass box, as it is likely to have been discarded by thieves once they removed the cash from it.

"St James is more than just a church. It's a historical building."

The church was broken into in April and June 2011, and the donation box was taken then but recovered in a nearby bush.

The church was built in 1829, sits near the Stone Store and overlooks the Kerikeri Basin Reserve.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

Sweet success: Northland gelato chain's national expansion

08 May 05:00 PM
Northern Advocate

On The Up: Bocky Boo Gelato's sweet success

Northern Advocate

Social media a 'lethal' tool in young people's hands, principal says

08 May 05:00 PM

One tiny baby’s fight to survive

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

Sweet success: Northland gelato chain's national expansion

Sweet success: Northland gelato chain's national expansion

08 May 05:00 PM

Bocky Boo Gelato opened in Whangārei in 2019 and quickly became a local favourite.

On The Up: Bocky Boo Gelato's sweet success

On The Up: Bocky Boo Gelato's sweet success

Social media a 'lethal' tool in young people's hands, principal says

Social media a 'lethal' tool in young people's hands, principal says

08 May 05:00 PM
German tourist stabbed by drunk man who couldn't find his car keys

German tourist stabbed by drunk man who couldn't find his car keys

08 May 08:00 AM
Connected workers are safer workers 
sponsored

Connected workers are safer workers 

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP