It would take some time to replace what was lost, including a work ute, golf balls, a motorcycle and shed, in order to get back to business as usual, the owner says.
Police were called to the garden centre’s driving range in Bush Rd, at 11pm, where a fire ripped through a large golf shed and spread to nearby equipment.
Acting Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond said a 17-year-old and 12-year-old had allegedly climbed over the locked gate and attempted to start and steal a white ute.
"When they were unable to get the vehicle started they broke into a shed, found a petrol can, poured it around the place, and set the shed and [ute] on fire."
Both ran off, but were located by dog handlers shortly after, he said.
Owner Clive Wallis said the fire "completely" destroyed a garage full of stock, including pottery, water features and wind mills.
A Holden Colorado work ute was burnt, as was a golf-ball picker imported from the United States.
"We have about 15,000 golf balls and we had just collected them off the greens the day before, 22 crates of them, so all the golf balls have been destroyed."
A golf-ball washer and a 4WD motorbike were also destroyed.
The cost of the damage would be between $100,000 and $200,000, he said.
"It is going to put us back because we won’t be able to operate until we get replacements."
The cafe and the shop were not affected.
Mr Wallis was thankful the incident had been caught on CCTV footage.
A 17-year-old appeared in court yesterday morning charged with burglary and arson.
A 12-year-old was referred to Youth Aid.
A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokeswoman said five crews battled the blaze and had extinguished it by midnight.
A fire investigator was at the scene yesterday.
