Burglars offend an entire community

Four boys have an entire community to answer to after they allegedly broke into a much-loved woman's home and business while her family were mourning her death just 24 hours earlier.

Te Kao identity Bonnie Conrad died in Whangarei Hospital on Saturday, aged 65. She had worked for many years at the Department of Labour in Kaitaia, where she became known for her compassion and willingness to help anyone who needed it, and more recently ran the Te Kao Local Store where she once again displayed her special blend of compassion and tough love.

Her fame spread far beyond the tiny settlement 60 kilometres north of Kaitaia in 2010, however, when the shop was named as one of the most successful purveyors of ice cream in the country, a tribute that possibly owed a good deal to her insistence on serving the biggest cone ice creams to be found anywhere, with a lolly on top.

Houhora's resident police officer, Senior Constable Tracee Knowler, said Mrs Conrad's death was a massive loss for Te Kao and the Far North. But the blow was worsened when four boys, aged 13 to 17, allegedly took the chance to break into her home while most of the Te Kao community was with her at the nearby marae on Sunday night. They also stand accused of breaking into the store and another house.

"This is shocking behaviour," Ms Knowler said.

"The only redeeming factor is that whanau of the four [alleged] offenders located the boys, got the full story from them and have put them forward to be held accountable for their actions."

She praised the actions of the boys' families, who delivered them to her doorstep at the station in Pukenui before she even knew the burglaries had taken place. She hoped the example they had set would deter others from committing burglaries in future.

She interviewed three of the alleged offenders on Monday, and was due to see the fourth on Tuesday.

"They have been forthcoming to me, however this in no way makes amends for their actions. They will have to answer to their community for that," she said.

Almost all the stolen property had been recovered, and she expected to retrieve the last few outstanding items.

Ms Knowler was planning to let the families decide how the boys should atone, with the option of laying formal charges as a last resort.

"That's something Bonnie would've wanted," she said.

Mrs Conrad had a huge personality, and calling into the store would not be same without hearing her voice somewhere in the background.

"She helped many people over the years, locals and travellers, and most went home with their stories of the legendary ice creams," she added.