Obscene mowing prank on Mt Hobson maunga

Auckland prank group City Slikas said it was behind an obscene image mown into the grass on Ōhinerau/Mt Hobson, one of the city’s ancestral volcanic cones, in footage posted online last weekend. The Tūpuna Maunga Authority, the co-governance body that manages Auckland’s maunga, said on Wednesday it was discussing the matter with New Zealand Police. A person connected to the social media account later apologized, saying they did not know the site was sacred land. Police told the New Zealand Herald they had not initially received a report but would investigate. ### Who claimed responsibility for the mowing prank? City Slikas was identified in the video report as the group behind the stunt. Footage posted to the group’s social media channels showed at least three young men using weed whackers and measuring tape to cut a depiction of male genitals into the grass on the slope of Ōhinerau/Mt Hobson in central Auckland. (newstalkzb.co.nz) The social media post ended with two participants in orange high-visibility tops celebrating from a moving car on the Southern Motorway, according to the report. The same report said the video had drawn more than 138,000 views on TikTok and had been shared 150,000 times on Instagram. ### What did the group say after complaints? (newstalkzb.co.nz) A person connected to the City Slikas account told the Herald they “genuinely had no idea it was sacred land, and we’re sorry to anyone we offended.” The account had written under the video that the “results made it all worth it,” according to the same report. (newstalkzb.co.nz) City Slikas has previously been linked in reports to other Auckland stunts, including footage of people jumping off the Auckland Harbour Bridge, entering a water feature at Westfield Newmarket and jumping from a moving ferry. Police described the ferry stunt as “a foolish act,” and Fullers issued a two-year trespass notice from its ferries, the report said. (newstalkzb.co.nz) ### Why is Ōhinerau/Mt Hobson treated differently from an ordinary park? Ōhinerau is one of Auckland’s Tūpuna Maunga, or ancestral mountains, and the Tūpuna Maunga Authority says the site contains visible pā terraces, storage pits and midden deposits. The authority’s site says the maunga was a large fortified settlement and estimates about 1,000 people lived there at the height of occupation. (newstalkzb.co.nz) The Tūpuna Maunga Authority was established as the statutory body governing the maunga and is made up of six representatives from Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau and six members appointed by Auckland Council, according to authority material and related conservation guidance. Ōhinerau/Mount Hobson is listed among the maunga vested under the Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau Collective Redress Act 2014. (maunga.nz) ### What have the authorities said so far? A Tūpuna Maunga Authority spokesperson said on Wednesday that the body was “now in discussion with NZ Police on this matter” and could not comment further, including on whether a formal complaint had been laid. Police told the Herald a day earlier that they had not had any reports about the incident at that point, but would be investigating. (tiakitamakimakaurau.nz) The obscene image has since been mown out, the report said. The authority has not publicly detailed any separate sanctions or restoration steps tied specifically to this incident. ### What penalties could be in play if police pursue it? New Zealand’s Summary Offences Act includes an offence of intentional or wilful damage, and guidance cited by local government and community legal sources says that offence can carry a fine of up to NZ$2,000 or up to three months in prison. (newstalkzb.co.nz) Trespass offences can also carry a fine of up to NZ$1,000 or up to three months in prison if a person ignores or returns after a warning, according to Community Law’s summary of the Trespass Act. The available reporting on the Ōhinerau incident does not say police have filed charges. The next public step is likely to come from either New Zealand Police, if an investigation proceeds, or the Tūpuna Maunga Authority, which manages the site and said it is in contact with police. (newstalkzb.co.nz) (ccc.govt.nz)