Rotorua Girls High School classrooms were the last buildings to be set alight in the attacks. Photo / Alan Gibson
Rotorua Girls High School classrooms were the last buildings to be set alight in the attacks. Photo / Alan Gibson
KEY POINTS:
An 18-year-old Hamilton woman has been arrested for allegedly setting fire to Te Ngae police station, the Rotorua District Courthouse, and classrooms at Rotorua Girls' High School.
The 2005 fires baffled police and until yesterday nobody had been arrested for the attacks, which caused more than $100,000 damageand disrupted schooling, police, and court administration for several months.
The fires were lit over a 90-minute period, starting at 5.30am on February 3.
Yesterday Josephine Hatu, 18, appeared in court before a magistrate on three charges of arson.
During her two-minute appearance she was remanded without plea and released on bail until her next scheduled appearance at Rotorua District Court on July 30. She stood in the dock with her head bowed, occasionally glancing up to look around the courthouse.
It is not known what led to Hatu's arrest, but a media statement from Rotorua Detective Sergeant George Staunton said nobody else was being sought in connection with the blazes.
At the time of the arsons Rotorua fire chief Wayne Bedford said a similar method was used to light all three fires.
Windows had been broken to gain access, internal doors to secure areas had been wrenched open, and paper and other flammable materials had been gathered before being set alight.
The first fire happened at Te Ngae police station and 20 minutes later the courthouse, 5km away, was attacked.
A short time later two classrooms in the mathematics block at Rotorua Girls' High School, 4km from the courthouse, were set alight.
