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The signs were placed earlier this week but did not last long and were swiftly removedby park rangers.
The issue hit headlines earlier this year when Auckland Council acknowledged they removed “non-compliant signage” placed by Jeanine and Phillip Oxenius, a local couple who had dedicated years to keeping the beach clean and maintaining a lost and found service, as well as stick and toy libraries for beachgoers and their pets.
After years of service, the pair said their cleaning and tidying days were over after all traces of their volunteering were removed by council staff.
“I’ve done my stint, I just can’t be bothered any more,” Jeanine Oxenius told the Herald in January, claiming “you just can’t reason” with Auckland Council.
They all also feature te reo translation, which in reality contains offensive messages.
The lost and found sign states: 'If you remove this sign you are a bozo'.
One reads: “The council sucks”.
Another states: “Remove this sign if you are a bozo”. A third instructs the viewer to “shove this stick up your a**”.
The protest signs won support from many locals on social media.
“Five stars to the person who made this sign,” one person wrote.
Another said the signs were “creative gold”.
The stick library sign contains an offensive instruction to the viewer.
Park rangers disagreed, removing the signs not long after they were erected - and keeping them in case the owner wants to front up and collect them.
“Auckland Council is aware that three unapproved signs displaying the council logos have recently been installed by a member of the public at Long Bay Regional Park,” Auckland Council’s Northern Principal Ranger Jason Maguiness said in a statement.
“Our regional parks team has removed them and urges anyone who wants to put up signs in our regional or local parks to contact us first for advice.”
He said rangers can provide support to help community initiatives stay within council rules.
“This helps us to ensure signs don’t impact on others and the environment that we work hard to look after,” he added.
He confirmed the signs at Long Bay Regional Park have been placed in storage “for the owner to collect”.
‘Lost the will to live’
Many locals expressed their displeasure after the Oxenius’ original signs were removed, joining a discussion on social media to praise their efforts.
“That’s so sad. It gave our little community beach a soul that made me proud,” one person wrote at the time.
Others labelled the council’s decision as “absolutely ridiculous” and bemoaned that their rates weren’t covering rubbish collection from the beach itself.
At least one local complained on social media the couple had collected “beach rubbish” for children to take, a claim fiercely rejected by Oxenius, who insisted she and her husband removed any rubbish they found and instead only placed genuine toys back on offer to visiting children.
“I’ve lost the will to live because I’m trying to do something good and it keeps backfiring.”
The toy library at Long Bay Beach, installed by Phillip and Jeanine Oxenius. Photo / Michael Craig
Auckland Council’s northern principal ranger Jason Maguiness told the Herald that the council was “extremely grateful” for Jeanine and Phillip Oxenius’ efforts and open to discussing future community projects to keep Long Bay rubbish-free.
Maguiness said Auckland Council parks and community facilities operations staff regularly monitor Long Bay Beach to assess and remove rubbish, while Regional Park rangers focus on maintaining the park itself and protecting its native flora and fauna.
“We do unfortunately come across a large amount of non-compliant signage in our regular checks. We manage this by removing signs from our beaches and park areas that have not been approved by the council.
“In this case, we acknowledge that removing signage relating to a ‘lost and found’ collection site for items left on the beach may have been upsetting for some locals.”
Maguiness said council staff had not been able to contact Jeanine and Phillip Oxenius before the signage was removed but have “reached out” since learning of their concern and wanted to support the couple’s efforts.
“We are extremely grateful to Jeanine and Phillip Oxenius for their commitment to keep Long Bay free of rubbish over the years.
“We are certainly open to discussing any further community projects at Long Bay that may help protect this popular regional park and ensure it stays rubbish-free.”
Jeanine and Phillip Oxenius told the Herald they had received a single phone call from the council after the signs were removed and called for an apology, adding that they were happy for someone else to take on their previous role but were sick of dealing with Auckland Council.
Jeanine Oxenius said she didn’t want to fight this time.
“I don’t even want to go down to the beach anymore.
“It used to be my happy place, but they have taken it away from me.”
Chris Marriner is an Auckland-based journalist covering trending news and social media. He joined the Herald in 2003 and previously worked in the Herald’s visual team.
