Auckland ‘pork’ tagger’s video of vandalism above motorway traffic

A prolific Auckland tagger has posted a frightening video of himself and an accomplice climbing above lanes of speeding motorway traffic and vandalising direction signs.

A prolific Auckland tagger has posted a frightening video of himself and an accomplice climbing above lanes of speeding motorway traffic and vandalising direction signs, eliciting disappointment from authorities.

An Instagram account called the_porksta, purported to belong to a tagger behind widespread “pork” graffiti, posted the video on Tuesday.

The video shows two people running across a lane of motorway traffic towards the metal structure holding wayfinding signs above the lanes.

It cuts between shots of the pair spraying graffiti on the back of the signs and the speeding traffic below. The pair can be seen clambering over the metal struts holding the signs up.

The NZ Transport Agency’s (NZTA) manager for Auckland system management, Paul Geck, said they were disappointed to see any vandalism on the city’s highway network.

He said the NZTA was “always monitoring our corridors for graffiti and continue to evaluate a range of deterrence and eradication methods”.

Geck said: “NZTA works closely with police to deter taggers, and while some of our cameras have managed to capture them in action, prosecution powers lie with police.”

A police spokeswoman said: “Those engaging in this illegal activity are not only putting themselves at risk but also causing a potentially dangerous distraction to other road users.”

She said police were aware of the vandalism in the video and asked anyone who witnessed similar suspicious activity to call 111 if an offender was still at the scene.

The Herald has approached the tagger for comment.

‘Pork’ tagging spree in Auckland hits church

Earlier this year, a Presbyterian minister said it was “disappointing” to have the roof of his church graffitied with “pork” but it was just some of the latest tagging in a more than year-long spree across the city.

The word was written in large white letters on the Pacific Island Presbyterian Church’s roof near Karangahape Rd about the end of January, minister Kon-Tiki Makani said.

Auckland Council spokesperson Grant Muir said there had been 989 incidents of the pork/porker tag in Auckland since the start of last year.

Muir said it appeared as though multiple taggers used it as part of their tag names across the country.

But Cameron Hunt, who filmed and directed the YouTube documentary Full Time Pork, released late last year, said all of the pork/porker tags were done by one person.

Graffiti was like a full-time job for the anonymous artist, Hunt said.

“It doesn’t stop, it’s all day every day, all night every night... his whole life is centred around doing this.”

Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.