Whakatāne Local Makes Surprising Discovery in Park

When walking through Warren Park yesterday, Albert Lewis found a road sign that had made a 147 kilometre journey.

At half past six, Lewis decided to go for a walk with his dog through Warren Park.

When he arrived on the eastern side of the park, something caught his eye. 

"I came across this sign which was about 30 to 40 metres off the track, just laying in the grass."

Lewis said he wanted to go for a bit of a longer walk, so decided to do a few more laps of the park before picking it up. 

Having recently read about sign theft in the area, his first thought was "I must return this because I know that it's got quite a high value to it," he said.  

He decided to hand the sign into the Whakatāne District Council, so he set off with the sign along Domain Road.

The sight drew attention from drivers by and those on the footpath. 

The sign for Otutehapari Road was found 147 kilometres away

It was only once he stopped in at 1xx that he realised how far the sign had travelled. 

"We now know that it came from Waihau Bay."

"I was thinking it was, you know, out Awatapu somewhere."

He said it was unlike anything he has experienced before. 

Although he had noticed signs missing and replaced road cones that were misplaced, he said he had never found a sign before. 

Whakatāne District Council Team Leader Transport Strategy & Assets Joe Metcalfe said street sign theft is an issue faced across the district. 

In their Council area, he said "I think most of them don't turn up again."

"I think once they're in someone's garage, they typically stay there."

However, he encourages people who find signs or are wanting to return them, to drop them at the Council offices so they can be put back into use.