Overwhelming Peanut

Press, 22 January 1988, Page 5

Overwhelming Peanut

PA Wellington Sharnita “Peanut” Moloney, who was presented with a new tricycle yesterday, got a bit upset when it was put into the boot of a car to be taken home. She thought it was going to be taken from her. Peanut, aged two, had been playing on another trike on Wednesday morning, when a man came along and told her he was going “to take her bike.” He made Peanut get off the trike, and put it in the boot of his car. But since the story

appeared in yesterday’s “Dominion,” offers of a new trike, or donations to replace the trike, came in from as far away as Auckland. The owner of the Pennyfarthing bike shop, Mr Allen Murrell, yesterday presented Peanut with a brand new trike, with her name and date of birth engraved on it. Other offers included one from a Napier woman who had a trike of the same model and said she could send it down to Wellington with her husband next week. An Auckland man offered to buy Peanut any sort of trike she wanted, and several

other people rang to offer donations. One was from the wife of a Wellington police officer who wanted to contribute $5O. The chairman of Underwood Engineering, Mr David Underwood, also offered to replace Peanut’s trike, which he said was one his company manufactured. He said there was enough misery around as it was, and the company would be happy to relieve some of it by giving Peanut another trike. Police in Wellington had also received a large number of calls

from well-wishers offering to replace the trike. They still wanted to hear from anyone who could help them trace the thief. The stolen trike was pink, with a tray at the back and a basket with a red plastic daisy on the front. Peanut’s mother, Ms Julie Moloney, said she was very grateful to all the people who had offered to replace the trike. “I told Peanut last night we didn’t have enough money to buy another one, which upset her, so it’s amazing to have one now,” she said.