A cross the combined churches of Devonport on Auckland’s North Shore have been putting up Takarunga/Mt Victoria since 1992 was this year destroyed.
They usually take the cross up the hill at 10 am on Good Friday, tie it into place, say prayers and sing hymns, and leave it there until 3 pm when some members return to remove it.
This year when they returned to take the cross down it was not there.
Tūpuna Maunga a body created under a 2014 Treaty settlement controls the mountain-top.
It chairman Paul Majurey said it appeared the cross was destroyed by “members of the public” in the early afternoon.
The authority had given consent for the ritual to take place but the church leaders had not said they would leave the cross unattended for several hours, nor that it would be attached to a structure.
Majurey said that a contractor employed by the authority had no way of knowing that the cross was supposed to be there.
“However our contractor did not take it down.”
Majurey said their contractor had noticed three young men sitting on the bench beneath the intact cross when he first pulled up.
But he could not confirm that they were responsible for the destruction of the cross.
However, when the contractor later returned he found the cross lying in pieces.
As a health and safety precaution, he removed and disposed of the nails, rope and broken pieces of wood.
Anglican vicar Charmaine Braatvedt, of Holy Trinity Church in Devonport, said the authority had told her the cross had been damaged and was taken to the tip.
The authority offered to replace the cross, but Braatvedt said that would not be necessary.
She said that in the Easter spirit of reconciliation she looked forward to better communications with the authority next year.
She acknowledged that the churches had not made it clear enough to the authority, knew the details of the procession and removal of the cross.
Source
- nzherald.co.nz
- Image: nzherald.co.nz