Woman pleads for return of stolen coffin

The coffin Whanganui woman Cilla Te Ua Wiri made for herself has been stolen.

The coffin Whanganui woman Cilla Te Ua Wiri made for herself has been stolen.

The casket was stolen from a friend's place, where she had stored it.

Te Ua Wiri made the coffin - sanded down and finished - at the Men's Shed in Wicksteed St in 2014, working two days a week over three weeks.

"If someone out there has seen a casket that looks like my one, I'd like them to get in touch," she told the Chronicle.

"Hopefully, I won't be needing it any time soon, but if I don't get it back I'll have to make another one."

She wasn't prepared to spend a lot of money on a coffin that didn't suit her, and estimated her home-made effort had only cost her $400, making it personalised and affordable.

Te Ua Wiri has had a difficult start to the new year.
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Cilla Te Ua Wiri ... bad start to the new year

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She was enjoying a hāngi and a quiet celebration with friends on New Year's Day when she got involved in a dispute with a neighbour.

Te Ua Wiri said the woman was drunk and became abusive when she was asked to turn her music down.

"She hit my friend hard in the chest, and my friend is recovering from breast cancer.

"Then she smashed my front window."

Te Ua Wiri, 73, said she had reported the incident to the police.

Te Ua Wiri's friend, Whanganui Justice of the Peace Huia Henere, was lending moral support.

"The situation is not good," said Henere.

"Cilla has forgiven this woman in the past, but her behaviour doesn't improve."