A memorial bench swept away in severe flooding at the top of the South Island earlier this year has turned up 185km away — washing up on the Kāpiti Coast on the North Island, close to a family cemetery.
The handcrafted bench was originally placed on private farmland overlooking the Tākaka River to memorialise local man Jack Robertson, who died in 2018, aged 21.
His mother Jo-Anna McKay told 1News it was put there because Jack loved to swim there when he was younger.
"We put it there for families, because it was a popular swimming hole. We could go there and hang out."
The bench was built by Golden Bay artisans at Weka Workshop using native timber, and installed with the help of local farmers Kathy and Brent Page, who poured the concrete pad and allowed the family to place it on their land.
But despite being securely bolted to the plinth and positioned well above the usual flood line, Jack's bench was dislodged when severe flooding caused by twin weather events hit the Nelson-Tasman region in July.
The flooding was described as the worst in 150 years and caused millions of dollars worth of damage.
The family searched extensively for Jack's bench, posting in Facebook groups and walking the riverbanks. For months, there was no sign of it.
"It was a place that wouldn't normally get flooded," McKay said.
"We all just decided that Jack wanted a different view and that he was going on an adventure."
Then, this morning, a woman walking along Waikanae Beach came across the bench washed up, and after googling Jack's name engraved on it, found the family's original post.
Joanna Parkes was walking her dog as she does most mornings on Waikanae beach when she came across the bench.
"The seat was covered in barnacles and seemed really heavy," she said. “It was sitting there so beautifully looking out at Kapiti Island."
Parkes noted Jack's details and was moved by what she saw. “He was born in the same year as my son,” she said.
In another poignant twist, Jack's bench had landed close to Waikanae Cemetery where his grandparents were buried.
"We love that Jack had an adventure over the Cook Strait, it's pretty special that's where he ended up," McKay said.
"We're going up there in November to bury my sister's ashes at Waikanae Beach."
The recovery effort involved Parkes, her family, Kāpiti Coast District Council, and a local transport company. The bench was on its way home to Jack’s family by truck.
"Apparently, it's coming back on a local Sollys truck. We'll restore Jack's chair, and he'll come back to a different view."
It won't return to its original spot just yet, she added.
"He'll come for a while, until we plan what we want to do."
McKay said the whole saga gave her "huge goosebumps".
"Jack was really loved, and we love that he's travelled across the Cook Strait on this great adventure,” she said.
"It makes me feel so content and happy that’s where he ended up.”
– additional reporting by Abbey Wakefield
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