Chain mail for Mayor

Press, 20 December 1985, Page 4

Chain mail for Mayor

PA Auckland The Mayor of Waitemata City, Mr Tim Shadbolt, temporarily relieved of his official chains by a burglar, was last evening counting his blessings. His gold chains were stolen from the mayoral car on Tuesday night, but Mr Shadbolt said he did not realise they were missing until yesterday afternoon. However, the chains, a jersey, a T-shirt and three cassette tapes, which had been in the car, turned up on Wednesday in the letter-

box of a Ponsonby resident, who handed them to the police. “I’m really thrilled,” said Mr Shadbolt last evening, wearing the chains round his neck.

Mr Shadbolt lost the chains while performing at the rock music venue, the Gluepot, in Ponsonby. He had parked the mayoral car nearby. When he returned at midnight the front passenger window of the car had been smashed. He said someone had thrown half a concrete block through it.

Ms Robyn Todd said she discovered the chain in her letterbox. “I found this gold chain in my letterbox, wrapped in a yellow T-shirt and a blue sweater.

“It was big flat links with the names of previous mayors, the last one with Covic and a starting date and no finish date. In between the links it had WCC and a big coat of arms.

“I took it to the Ponsonby police and we had a bit of a laugh about it, checking to see if there were any signs of concrete.”