Tales of bitterness have emerged from last month's closure of AIDS hospice Herne Bay House, which is reported to have been sold by the Auckland City Mission for around $3.4 million. Body Positive Auckland spokesman Bruce Kilmister attended the official closure proceedings, and was struck by the small amount of people in attendance. "There were 20 or 30 there at the memorial, I would have expected many times that number," he told GayNZ.com Kilmister was approached by several people in advance of the closing ceremony who said they were boycotting it, as they were so offended by both the closure of the house and the haste with which the Auckland City Mission were doing it. Others had expressed how upset they were over the perceived overtly commercial imperatives of Auckland City Mission CEO Dianne Robertson. Those who did attend the service were greeted with 'For Sale' signs declaring the house was already on the market, and up for auction. Some, including Kilmister, were also approached during the proceedings by Robertson asking if they knew who was responsible for some memorial items that had been taken from outside the house and garden since the closure. Robertson confirmed to GayNZ.com today that items had been taken, and that a report had been filed with the police. She says she was only made aware of the missing items on the day of the closing ceremony. "What was stolen was a fountain that was donated - the pump, the lights, and the rock, as well as a bench that was in memory of somebody. A whole lot of pot plants from the front and back door went missing. Everything that was outside had been taken away." Robertson says she'd been in contact with people prior to the closing who had been asking about the fate of those donated items. "People had been asking if they could have those items, and we'd been negotiating that, in terms of where they would go," she says. "I mean they've been donated to the Mission, so therefore they belong to the Mission obviously, but we were talking about things like the seats – where would be the most appropriate place for them to be. Anyway, we went to the function and they'd all been stolen." Some closing ceremony attendees thought it was inappropriate that Robertson was conducting an impromptu investigation into the missing items at a time when people were taking the time to reflect on family members and friends who had died at Herne Bay House during its fifteen years of operation. The issue of the fountain, which had been paid for from the estate of an AIDS victim, was particularly contentious, with some expressing a sentiment that the fountain had been constructed for the benefit of HIV+ people, and not for the further commercial gain of the Auckland City Mission. Robertson says she was sad to see the occasion marred by the revelation of the missing items, and that police are keen to follow up on the situation in the New Year. She would not discuss the sale price of Herne Bay House.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Friday, 16th December 2005 - 12:00pm