On Wednesday night a 4.5kg piece of pounamu was chiselled out of a memorial stone which sits just outside the church. The memorial stone was made up of cuts of pounamu, most likely left over from the construction of the marae and church in the 1940s, set in concrete.
Otakou Runanga komiti co-ordinator Natalie Karaitiana said while the runanga was disappointed by the brazen theft there was concern for the safety of whoever who took the precious stone.
Many Maori believed a makutu (curse) is placed on anyone who touched stolen pounamu, she said.
The ideal outcome would be for the stone to be returned — no questions asked, Mrs Karaitiana said.
"It’s not safe for the person who has gone and taken it."
She would prefer it if the thief brought the stone back instead of trying to do anything with it.
"We’d prefer no big fuss if possible."
If the theft needed to be taken further with police it would be, but for now the safety of the pounamu and the person was the main concern, she said.
Senior Constable Lox Kellas, of Portobello, agreed the ideal outcome would be for the stone to be returned to the marae without much fuss, but police would investigate further if there were reports of it being sold.
Anyone with any information about the theft or who had seen any suspicious behaviour in the area on Wednesday night should contact the police.
