Ōrongomai, a Christchurch sculpture has been taken from the John Jameson lookout on Summit Rd in the Port Hills.
Made by Ngāti Wheke carver Caine Tauwhare, the pou whenua sculpture was carved from totara for the Summit Road Society.
The sculpture weighs about 60kg and was first reported missing on Tuesday last week, after Easter weekend.
The carving is 1.5m tall and stood on a 2.5m high plinth. It was fixed with bolts, which were welded in place.
Tauwhare said the theft would have required two people to cut the sculpture off "with a grinder".
“It would have taken three or four people to get it off and carry it."
The lookout is named after Summit Road Society founder John Jameson. His daughter, Paula Jameson, is devastated by the theft.
"We put years into creating the lookout in memory of my father, and the pou whenua is integral to it.
"We've had so much positive feedback from the community about it since it was installed and to lose it now is devastating."
The sculpture symbolises the significance of Ōrongomai to Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke.
Shaped as a taringa or ear, it evokes the nearby peak, Ōrongomai, which means "the place where voices are heard".
The society commissioned Tauwhare to create a pou whenua, or post marker, when it redeveloped the lookout.
"I don't know who did this or why, but it makes me sad. I just want them to bring it back," said Tauwhare.
He added the pou whenua is an integral focus of the design of the John Jameson Lookout, representing the partnership between the Summit Road Society and Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke.
"We tautoko the Summit Road Society for their loss."
SHARE ME