Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Taxidermy bat stolen from Rotorua Arts Village

Alice Guy
By Alice Guy
Reporter, Rotorua Daily Post·Rotorua Daily Post·
26 Jan, 2018 02:57 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Some of the bats that Rachel Beckett has preserved and the made glass coffins for. Photo/Supplied

Some of the bats that Rachel Beckett has preserved and the made glass coffins for. Photo/Supplied

Rotorua's Arts Village has had its first theft, with the art work Batty for You going missing from this year's 200 show.

The work, by local artist Rachel Beckett, is a small taxidermy bat inside a green glass coffin.

Beckett said she had always been fascinated by taxidermy so decided to give it a go herself three years ago.

"I am always one for giving things a go, and I was the same with this."

Another one of her hobbies is working with stained glass, which is how the coffin came about.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I already had the bat, so I just decided to make it a little glass coffin."

The bats Beckett uses for her taxidermy are shipped in from Asia.

"They come from an insect wholesaler in Indonesia.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"When they arrive in New Zealand they are checked by the Ministry for Primary Industries and sometimes by the Department of Conservation."

She said the wholesaler wasn't "murdering innocent bats" but they were killed as pest control, similar to rats or possums.

For Arts Village manager Mary-Beth Acres news of the theft was extremely disappointing.

"We're pretty sure it's the first theft in our history as an art space."

Discover more

Cafe one of many additions to Arts Village

04 Jan 05:47 PM

Arts Village projects coming together

11 Jan 03:00 PM

Roto Rocks to celebrate its first birthday

11 Jan 06:44 PM

Arts Night Out celebrates new stage

20 Jan 01:34 AM

As a non-profit organisation its staffing numbers are limited and with a show that contained more than 200 works it was difficult to keep on top of, she said.

"We think it went missing just before Christmas and it's been really sad."

In the lead-up to Christmas works of art were taken down as people bought them and Beckett excitedly thought perhaps hers had sold when it first disappeared.

"It's really gutting, because it's going to change the way we have to work moving forward," Acres said.

"We have to hustle just to keep our doors open and this is just a whole new one for us.

"We are still figuring out how we can improve our security, but we will struggle with showing smaller items."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Despite the theft Acres said Beckett had been awesome.

"It can be hard as an artist when you put yourself, your energy and resources into a piece, but she has just been great to deal with."

If you have any information on the whereabouts of the art work contact The Arts Village on (07) 348 9008.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

Pair deny charges over death of Paige Johnson in alleged hit-and-run

11 Jul 12:26 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

Home-schooled students ride 755km to Parliament for equal sports access

10 Jul 11:07 PM
Rotorua Daily Post

Heavy rain warning issued for Bay of Plenty, up to 140mm expected

10 Jul 10:57 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Pair deny charges over death of Paige Johnson in alleged hit-and-run

Pair deny charges over death of Paige Johnson in alleged hit-and-run

11 Jul 12:26 AM

One man is charged with manslaughter and the other with being an accessory after the fact.

Home-schooled students ride 755km to Parliament for equal sports access

Home-schooled students ride 755km to Parliament for equal sports access

10 Jul 11:07 PM
Heavy rain warning issued for Bay of Plenty, up to 140mm expected

Heavy rain warning issued for Bay of Plenty, up to 140mm expected

10 Jul 10:57 PM
Light truck rolls on SH36, one seriously injured

Light truck rolls on SH36, one seriously injured

10 Jul 10:45 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP