The macrocarpa seat with a brass plaque was installed at Windsurfer’s Reserve off Humphreys Rd in Bromley in memory of Kevin O’Connor and Les Batcheler, who were founding members of the Avon-Heathcote Estuary Ihutai Trust.
Shoreline Toastmasters has donated money to replace a memorial seat.
No one has come forward with any information about the whereabouts of the stolen seat. The trust received a lot of reaction to the theft with people saying it was “shocking, disappointing and gutting”.
The trust, with the former Combined Estuary Association, spent about a year arranging for the seat to be installed.
News the seat was stolen reached Shoreline Toastmasters as it prepared to disband due to the impact of Covid-19.
President Simon Mortimer said the group had reduced to “below a functional number” and will wind up after 26 years.
One of the founding members read about the theft and suggested the club use some of its remaining funds to pay for a new bench.
“The committee thought this was a great idea,” Mortimer said.
Avon-Heathcote Estuary Ihutai Trust manager Tanya Jenkins said the help was “wonderful”.
The seat would cost about $400, she said.
The seat would be built by volunteers from the Linwood Menz Shed.
“They have kindly offered to make the seat up again, which is a big job actually. We’re going to give them a koha (donation) for doing that,” Ms Jenkins said.
