A taonga symbolising the sacrifice of Māori battalion soldiers has been stolen in broad daylight from Te Rau Aroha Museum at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, 1 News reports.
The kauri gum treasure, which was gifted to the museum as a memorial to the A Company ‘Gum Diggers’, was on public display when it was stolen. It is 30cm long and weighs 2kg.
CCTV appears to show the involvement of two adults and a child.
“This one cuts pretty deep,” museum curator Chanel Clarke told 1 News.
“I have no doubt that those people who came in here have ancestors, have tūpuna, that are in this gallery. They probably have ancestors who fought and this is not the type of behaviour that is becoming of their whānau,” she said.
