Thieves target church copper

Otago Daily Times

09-07-2025

Two of Dunedin's most treasured historic churches have been hit by brazen thieves, sneaking on site in the dead of night to steal tens of thousands of dollars worth of copper piping.
In the past six to eight weeks, First Church of Otago and Knox Church have both had the majority of their copper downpipes stolen, leaving their church communities frustrated, disappointed and facing the hassle of replacing them.
First Church minister the Rev Ed Masters said 15 copper downpipes, which take the rainwater from the 152-year-old church's roof, had been stolen in "several instalments" over the past couple of months.
Downpipes were situated right around the church building, often tucked into alcoves, which meant they were somewhat hidden from sight.
"The replacement value of those pipes is in excess of $50,000 and in the meantime we are having to use stop-gap measures to stop water from damaging the church walls," Mr Masters said.
The missing downpipes had been temporarily replaced with PVC piping, while the process of dealing with insurance and arranging secure replacements was ongoing.
The theft had been reported to police and local scrap metal merchants had been notified to keep an eye out for it, but hopes were low that the pipes would turn up.
Mr Masters said the thefts had also prompted the church to install a new, upgraded security system.
"It's disappointing and frustrating that thieves would target a city treasure like this, our parishioners are quite upset about it," Mr Masters said.
"It's not just having the copper downpipes stolen, it is also the potential impact on the fabric of the church building if water gets inside."
Contacted by The Star , Knox Presbyterian Church minister the Very Rev Dr Graham Redding confirmed that the church had also suffered the loss of a "significant number" of its copper downpipes.
"The thefts have occurred not just once, but on several occasions," Dr Redding said.
"We are now having to work through the process of reviewing our security and also deciding on how to proceed with replacing the downpipes."
Describing the thefts as "a sign of the times", Dr Redding said it was difficult and frustrating that the churches had been targeted.
"These are heritage churches and the copper piping is a part of that."
Contacted by The Star, Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond, of Dunedin, who was aware of the thefts from First Church and Knox Church, said the stolen copper piping was possibly being resold in the local renovation market.
"People should be aware that it is not a good idea to buy copper piping off anyone but a reputable dealer," Snr Sgt Bond said.
"If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is."
The theft of copper happened from time to time, with thieves targeting everything from copper wiring to hot water cylinders, Snr Sgt Bond said.
He urged anyone who saw suspicious activity around churches or building sites to report it to police via Crime Stoppers or by phoning 105.
Mr Masters said the timing of the thefts was especially unfortunate, as First Church was reaching the end of an extensive $600,000 renovation project, overseen by Origin Consultants, which included rewiring the church, restoring an interior wall, upgrading the fire system and restoring stained glass, he said.
Parishioners have been worshipping in Burns Hall for several months, and are preparing to move back into the main church in early August.
"We love opening up the space for visitors, for music, for art, for community events, and obviously for worship and the life celebrations that happen there," Mr Masters said.
"This [the renovations] is about ensuring that we can keep doing that and enhancing it for those things as well."
The Star contacted the Anglican Diocese of Dunedin and the Catholic Diocese of Dunedin, but neither were aware of any reports of copper piping being stolen from their churches in the city.
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