Community shocked after 129-year-old church bell stolen from church

St. Joseph’s Church in Pāuatahanui.
Photo: Supplied / Ted Guise

• A church bell was stolen in Pāuatahanui.
• The bell is more than a century old.
• Local residents are outraged and hope the bell is returned to St. Joseph’s Church.

The Pāuatahanui community is devastated after a 129-year-old bell was stolen from St Joseph’s Church.

Micky Reilly, a resident and member of the Friends of St. Joseph’s, said they found yellow trucker strips on the roof of the church a few days before the bell was taken.

“A member of our group of friends arrived at the church and noticed the strips.

“It was obvious that someone had tried to climb onto the roof.”

Reilly said that after that someone came by every day to check the doorbell, but by the morning of October 8 it was gone.

“We are devastated.

“It’s worth very little in terms of metal, but it’s worth a lot to our community. It’s sad and meaningless.

“We’re hoping someone saw something, but all we have is the material left on the roof.”

The bell was donated by sisters Eliza Mulhern and Mary Abbott in 1895.
Photo: Supplied / Ted Guise

Hundreds of people interacted with posts about the missing bell on community social media pages.

St. Joseph’s Church in Porirua is part of St. Teresa’s Parish and is more than a century old.

It seats 100 people and is now mainly used for weddings and funerals, as well as carol singing in December.

According to Reilly, the church bell was donated by sisters Eliza Mulhern and Mary Abbott when the church was renovated and expanded in 1895.

“The bell has been there for 129 years.

“They paid for the bell themselves. It is an expression of women’s contribution to the church. Most of the other work to renovate the church would have been done by men.”

Reilly hoped the culprit would do the right thing and return the bell.

“It can be taken back to Santa Teresa and left with a local company. If anyone tells us where he is, we’ll come get him.

“We would really like the bell returned, please.”

Local residents say that the bell at St. Joseph’s Church was rung on the night of October 7th or the morning of October 8th.
Photo: Supplied / Ted Guise

Local Ted Guise, whose family is buried in the church cemetery, couldn’t understand why anyone would bother stealing the bell.

Guise is also part of the Friends of St. Joseph and helps restore and preserve the church for community use.

He said the bell, believed to be made of bronze, weighed about 30 kilograms.

“The bell has a lot of history behind it. It means so much to so many people.

“Some bandit stole it to sell for scrap.

“It’s stupid, it’s silly.”

Police said they received a report about the bell on October 9.

“The person who filed the complaint said the doorbell was rung between 5pm on October 7th and 9.30am on October 8th.

“Police are carrying out inquiries to see if the person(s) responsible can be identified. We would ask anyone with information that could assist our investigations to contact Police on 105 and quote file number 241009/7587.”

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