Orange cones, normally used in road works settings, have risen to a new divine level in Raglan after the mysterious placement of the cones on a local church.
The cones have been appearing on top of buildings, on top of trees and plants and in other strange places around town in the past couple of weeks.
It is apparently the work of the self-titled Raglan Road Cone Relocation Crew, who has anonymously posted some of the images of their work on their own Facebook page.
One of the most daring ‘conings’ in recent months has been on the two spires of Raglan District Union Church on the corner of Stewart Street and Wainui Road, with the steep rooves of the church seeming to cause no impediment to the “relocation crew”.
Raglan District Union Church pastor Doug Stephenson says this is the second time the church has been coned, with the first time occurring just before Christmas.
“Those came down – I don’t know how – then we were cone-free for about a month, then one of them went back up, then the other one went up about a month later,” he says.
Church leaders were reluctant to break their necks to remove them a second time. But Doug has grown used to them, and now, after driving home through road works himself, he is starting to see them in a new light.
“I realised those annoying orange cones are there to guide our way and keep us on our path.
“And I realised what we [the church] should do is get bigger cones because that’s what we’re trying to do at Raglan Union Church – keep people on the straight path.
“So I’ve embraced those cones – I quite like them now,” Doug says.
However, the safety aspect of the cone stunt frightened him – both as a pastor and in his other role as a physician at Waikato Hospital.
“I just pray they [the Raglan Relocation Cone Crew] don’t hurt themselves. We’ve all been young… but I just hope they don’t cause themselves some lasting damage.”
The Raglan Police is also concerned about this behaviour.
Senior Constable Kevin McGartland says while police have not received any complaints about the cones from the roading companies or the businesses targeted, anyone caught coning could be arrested for unlawfully being on a property and for possibly causing damage.
“They need to stop because they are risking hurting themselves and damaging property – and no one’s really finding it funny,” he says. Rachel Benn
• Raglan Police are requesting help from the public about a burglary at Orca Restaurant and Bar after 3am on Sunday morning. The burglars smashed their way in through the back of the restaurant and took bottles of alcohol. Anyone with any information about the incident is asked to contact the local police.
