H o w i c k & Pa k u r a n g a
HAPPY 100TH EDNA! •
O
•
P2
AWARD-WINNING VOICE OF THE COMMUNITY – NZCNA Wednesday, July 5, 2023
Est. 1972
W
NE
D & OPERA
TE
D
General 09 271 8000 Classified 09 271 8055 Delivery Enquiries 09 271 8000 Website www.times.co.nz
Vol 52, No 26
Seuss comes to life Page 5
Farm Cove Intermediate’s production Seussical Jr. featured an impressive array of colourful costumes, vibrant sets and catchy musical numbers, transporting the audience into the imaginative world of Dr Seuss. Photo Rob Oliphant
VICTIMS LEFT DEVASTATED
A
wedding ring and military medals are among the precious items stolen from an east Auckland house during a brazen daylight burglary. Police are investigating the theft at the home of Tim and Charmaine Bubb in Mirrabooka Avenue, Botany Downs, sometime before midday on June 28. It’s one of at least seven burglaries in Botany Downs reported to police in the past two months. The Bubbs, who are from South Africa, were at work at the time. They were alerted to the break-
FURNITURE
in by a neighbour, who saw a person wearing a hooded top walk out the property’s front door and get into a vehicle parked a short distance away. “They realised something was wrong,” Tim says. “They came in and looked around and our house had been looted. It’s a mess. They pinched my family’s medals going back to the Boer War. They took my medals, my grandfather’s medals and my great-grandfather’s medals.” The security stays on several windows had been broken, which may indicate how the thief entered the property.
They went through jewellery boxes in a bedroom and left anything they didn’t want to steal lying on a bed. “He took my wife’s jewellery and went through our drawers systematically,” Tim says. “He picked out my wife’s best jewellery and took that. “Her bracelets, her bangles, her wedding ring, which has got a nice diamond on it. “My spare wallet, which was a gift from my mother, was lying in the drawer. “He opened that up and had a good look in it. He knew what he was looking for.
09 576 1507
DE0516
buy. To me it’s devastating.” Tim says he’s alerted medal dealers about the theft. His family moved from South Africa to New Zealand in search of a better life, he says. “We never had the stuff stolen there that we’ve had stolen here.” Counties Manukau East Police area prevention manager, Inspector Rakana Cook, says neighbours reported suspicious activity at the address “with an unfamiliar man standing near the open front door”. “This man then ran towards a white vehicle and drove away. Continued on page 5
YEARS
CREATIVITY & EXPERIENCE • Repair • Design • Value
10% Off All FURNITURE Sale ends 30 July 2023 9 Ben Lomond Cres, Pakuranga
“He went through everything. Spread it all out and picked the jewellery up. We feel violated.” Among the most precious items stolen are military medals earned by Tim and his relatives on both sides of the family. They include his grandfather’s medals for service in Italy during World War II and Queen’s South Africa Medals awarded to his great-grandfathers. “You can see he’s gone through everything,” Tim says of the thief. “He’s gone through all my mementoes. These things are priceless to me. “What he’s taken, no money can
38
Don’t miss out
JH15994-V5
By CHRIS HARROWELL
Handling your jewellery with care since 1984
09 534 7404 | 59 Picton Street, Howick | villagejeweller.co.nz