Arsonist Daniel Vale, who previously torched John Key's office, has been sentenced for setting fire to the Huntly Railway Station building. Composite photo / NZME
A recidivist arsonist who torched a historical railway station says he set it on fire to get back at police for “laughing” at him after reporting a robbery complaint.
But while the judge noted he was trying to blame other people for his actions, Daniel Vale managed to avoid a jail sentence for causing about $650,000 worth of damage to the Huntly Railway Station building in the 2023 arson.
Instead, Judge Stephen Clark sentenced Vale to serve 11 months and two weeks at the Grace Foundation so he can continue with his rehabilitative efforts.
Vale has 16 pages of criminal history, including 40 charges for burglary, about 60 for wilful damage offending and two for arson. He was jailed for one arson after throwing a Molotov cocktail into the electorate office of former Prime Minister Sir John Key in 2009.
Vale was captured on CCTV on May 31, 2023, traipsing along various Huntly streets between 9.30pm and 10.30pm before he ended up on Glasgow St. After getting through temporary fencing, Vale set the station alight, sending flames and smoke across the north Waikato town.
The Waikato District Council had moved the building on to the site in preparation for restoration, a project described as “years in the making”.
Today Vale appeared in the Hamilton District Court for sentencing where he heard directly from Denise Lamb, the chairwoman of the Huntly Museum and a staff member at Waikato District Council, about how the railway building was a “highly valued taonga”.
The restoration project would turn the building into a museum. But now, a part of the arson would remain, with the society choosing to keep a charred panel as a piece of its 86-year history.
Lamb said the building was one of few surviving train stations on the main trunk line and the arson had affected not only the town’s history but also the pockets of ratepayers.
“A number of costs have become an added burden to the ratepayers ... this arson has left an indelible mark on the community.”
She explained how she and others felt “complete disbelief, shock and horror” when watching the flames billow above the town that evening, describing the arson as a “senseless act of vandalism”.
Court documents say the cost of the damage ballooned to about $650,000, but Judge Clark confirmed that after an insurance payout, the museum was out of pocket by $386,748.70.
The work to fix the building required the replacement of the roof, gutters and downpipes, new trusses for 50% of the building, repair to joists and windows, a new alarm system and electrical board, a repair of the floor and cast iron canopy supports, painting and additional craneage.
A project spokesperson confirmed the main relocation project was now complete.
The building is being fitted out by the Huntly Museum, with an estimated opening date in mid-2025.
While the museum’s fitout is under way, temporary fencing is in place to restrict access to sections of the building.
Vale’s criminal history includes his throwing a Molotov cocktail into former Prime Minister John Key’s electorate office in September 2009. He also admitted to lighting a fire in the Helensville Rugby Club a month before.
All up, he caused around $100,000 in damage.
His counsel, Melissa James, tried to convince Judge Clark today that the rehabilitation Vale has undergone at Auckland’s Grace Foundation has been transformative. She pushed for a total of 77% discount to his four-and-a-half-year sentence indication so it would be down below the two-year home detention mark.
She said the discounts were for mental health, deprivation and Section 27 factors, rehabilitation, and time on electronically monitored bail.
Judge Clark told Vale that had he sentenced him earlier today, he would have gone to jail.
However, the judge credited the good work of Vale’s counsel and staff from the Grace Foundation who had helped him with submissions this afternoon, and the positive steps he’d made in his rehabilitation since June last year.
“Ordinarily, if someone appears before me with two previous convictions for arson, they would be going to jail.
“There will be people who eventually read this that, given the damage to publicly owned property, [will say you should have been sent to jail].
“On the other hand, it appears to me ... you are getting input into addressing your issues.
“If I sentenced you to prison today I will no doubt be seeing you again.”
It was Vale’s comments on why he burned the station down that meant he wouldn’t get any credit for remorse, confirming that he and a friend had gone to police about a robbery but “they laughed at you and you were angry and disappointed at their reaction”.
“You say you didn’t mean to start the fire ... and didn’t think it would set alight and you just wanted to piss off the police. You were angry.”
The judge said he wasn’t sure what Vale meant, but accepted he was remorseful as it was an improvement on previous statements where he denied starting the fire at all.
However, Judge Clark noted that if he sent Vale back to the Grace Foundation for continued rehabilitation there was a higher likelihood that “hopefully I won’t see you again”.
After issuing about 60% in discounts, he sentenced Vale to 11 months and two weeks of home detention to be served at the Grace Foundation.
Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 10 years and has been a journalist for 20.