Whakatane's iconic bronze statue of Wairaka has been painted white and yellow and locals are not amused.
The bronze statue stands on a rock at the mouth of the Whakatane River and depicts Wairaka, daughter of Toroa, who captained the Mataatua canoe.
It was given to
the people of Whakatane by Sir William Sullivan in 1965 to commemorate the naming of the town.
It is said Wairaka saved the canoe from drifting out to sea when, after landing it, the men left only the women on board.
Legend has it she cried out: "kia whakatane au i ahau [I will act like a man]", defying tradition and giving the town its name.
The statue has often been clothed by pranksters but the paint job has really angered the Maori community.
Wairaka marae committee chairman Charlie Bluett said he was absolutely disgusted at the vandalism.
"The name Wairaka, that's our tipuna [ancestor] and I would like to tell the person who did this, they have trodden on the mana of our tipuna.
"Anything that carries the name of our ancestors is sacred and this act can only be described as cultural insensitivity," Mr Bluett said.
He plans to talk to the Whakatane District Council to discuss cleaning the paint off the statue although a council representative said it planned to let nature do the cleaning.
Numerous members of the public spoken to by the Daily Post also expressed their disgust.
"I would have to say it would not have been a person who lives in Wairaka, they would know better," one woman said.
Environment Bay of Plenty harbourmaster Brian Spake said it was easy to get to the rock and pranksters usually came out at night.
The statue had in the past had a bikini painted on it and had even had election hoardings hung from it.
