The Kaikohe Gliding Club hangar was broken into last month, leaving thousands in damage and missing equipment. Photo / Kaikohe Gliding Club
The Kaikohe Gliding Club hangar was broken into last month, leaving thousands in damage and missing equipment. Photo / Kaikohe Gliding Club
A Northland man has been charged in relation to an alleged break-in at the Kaikohe Gliding Club that caused more than $250,000 worth of damage.
Kaikohe Gliding Club chief instructor Ken Tyler discovered the hangar at Kaikohe Aerodrome in a state of disrepair late last month.
He likened it atthe time to a “marina after a hurricane”.
Two Toyota RAV4s were missing along with an $80,000 Kubota M8540 tractor/mower, 100 litres of diesel and petrol, batteries from the club’s solar power system and tools.
Mid-Far North area prevention manager Senior Sergeant Clem Armstrong said the club’s gliders were damaged in the burglary, with costs totalling $60,000 per glider.
“This equipment is essential to keeping the gliding club operational,” he said.
The Kaikohe Aerodrome, built in 1942 as a United States Marine Corps bomber base, has the largest grass airstrip in the Southern Hemisphere, with the gliding club responsible for mowing and maintaining it.
“This is a volunteer group who rely entirely on goodwill,“ Armstrong said.
Armstrong said the equipment had been imported from the United States by a Northland earth mining company.
Senior Sergeant Clem Armstrong returns $40,000 worth of drilling equipment to a Northland worker. Photo / NZ Police
The investigation is ongoing, with police looking at who else might be involved.
Tyler was happy to hear an arrest had been made but wanted to know where the club’s $80,000 tractor-mower was as it had not been recovered.
The club had been well-supported after the break-in, with a member lending it a tractor and the Auckland Gliding Club providing a glider for the winter.
“We’ll be flying in a couple of weeks, I’d say,” Tyler said.
“It’s looking good.”
Armstrong said reporting incidents helped police build a picture of what was taking place in an area.
“Please report suspicious behaviour and any vehicles of concern, including number plates.”
Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.
