Quake mum's grave tributes stolen

Amanda Hooper was killed when the Pyne Gould Corporation Building collapsed. Photo / NZ Herald

The husband of a former Black Stick who died in the February 22 Christchurch earthquake said it was a "kick in the guts" to find tributes from her little girls missing from her grave.

Richard Hooper and his daughters, Aimee, 4, and Keily, 2, have been visiting the grave of their beloved wife and mother, Amanda Hooper, every week to water two big pot plants at the Shands Rd cemetery.

But last Friday, they were devastated to find the precious items were missing.

"We go to her grave once a week, as the girls like to sit with their mum, but this time we pulled up and the pots were gone. My youngest daughter didn't really know what was happening but my older daughter was wondering where they were.

"They had potted them, one each, especially for their mum, so they were very sentimental to us. I was just so p***** off that someone would do that. How desperate and cruel do you have to be to steal from a grave?"

Mrs Hooper was killed when the Pyne Gould Corporation building collapsed. The 30-year-old Rolleston woman worked on the second floor as an account manager for finance company Marac.

She had represented New Zealand at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, 2002 women's world cup and numerous tournaments around the world during her hockey career. She was also nominated for world junior player of the year in 2003.

Mr Hooper could not understand why someone would have taken the pots.

"They were pretty big and heavy; they would have been 30kg-40kg each. I had a look around but I couldn't see the pot plants anywhere. I doubt the people that did this have the intelligence to read this but, if they do, I just want them to know exactly what they've done to me and the girls."

The year since Mrs Hooper's death had been very tough for the family, he said.

"It has been hard, obviously. We're getting there, but this was the last thing we needed to happen. It was a real kick in the guts."

The family planned to replace the pot plants.

Under a Selwyn District Council bylaw, which came into effect on May 1 last year, planting and adornments in front of concrete beams is not permitted.

Family members and people tending plots had been asked to remove items growing or positioned on the grass areas before February 19. After that, the council would move "non-complying" items.

However, council cemeteries supervisor Mike Kwant said nothing had been removed from Mrs Hooper's plot.

"I'm as sure as I can be that the council hasn't moved it. In any case, we are not completely removing items, but just shifting them off the grass, so if we had it would still be near her grave- on the concrete beam. Also, we only move things in the last instance; we try for voluntary compliance first."