Editorial: Backhand boost for rock art

OPINION: In a funny sort of way the cat woman of Maerewhenua may have done New Zealand a favour.

Let's be clear: The unidentified German tourist's actions in breaking into the sacred Maori rock art site near Duntroon, potentially endangering the precious wall paintings, were unforgivable.

The tourist's friend caught her actions on camera, and they have boasted about her "cat" woman exploits on the internet.

It is not the brightest crime, indeed, it is a prime candidate for a spot on The World's Dumbest Criminals.

Her breaking and entering at the precious site was there for all the world to see. They probably would still be if The Timaru Herald had not challenged her about the photos and brought them to the attention of the site's guardians, which resulted in them being taken down.

In a rambling explanation one of the tourists said she did no harm apart from bending a bit of metal, and attacked The Herald for making it an issue. She likened herself to the late Diana, Princess of Wales, presumably because she was also hounded mercilessly by the media. The reason for the break in could be succinctly summarised as "the cage was there, we wanted to see if we could get around it" but there was little sign of any repentance in the reply.

The site's protectors, Ngai Tahu, were rightly outraged on a number of counts. Firstly, the paintings are delicate and could have easily been damaged. The second concern is that the pictures could encourage others to break-in as well. Indeed, the site's guardian was concerned publication of the photos in the Herald could encourage copycats. The Maerewhenua site is one of the most popular in the country, which is why the cage was built around the precious paintings in the first place.

In the words of one outraged blogger, it was like going to the toilet in the Sistine Chapel.

This country's rock art sites are incredibly precious and Ngai Tahu has been fighting hard to get them protected. That task is difficult. There are 580 rock art sites in Ngai Tahu's care so looking after them all is a huge job.

If you believe there is no such thing as bad publicity, then the cat woman story will give Maori rock art a boost.

Yesterday the story about the break-in was the best read story on national news site Stuff, and attracted hundreds of thousands of readers from New Zealand and overseas.

It is arguably the greatest burst of publicity the sites have had in some time, and given them a national profile.

They may have shot to prominence for the wrong reason, but the more people who know about these hidden treasures, the better.

At the very least the cat woman has shown the guardians of the site the points where the cage needs strengthening.

- © Fairfax NZ News