15-05-2025
Keep the lights on
Sumner residents have given their verdict on the issue of the Cave Rock mast.
They say the status quo should remain: Keep the lights on every night from dusk until 11pm, except for when a request is made for them to be turned off and during Matariki.
It comes as the Waihoro Spreydon-Cashmere-Heathcote Community Board is seeking public feedback after some people in the community raised concerns over the brightness, configuration and frequency of the lights.
Some residents have also taken issue with the mast shape having religious connotations.
The solar powered lights were installed in 2021, after lobbying from the Sumner Redcliffs Historical Society and the Sumner Community Residents' Association.
The board is inviting feedback on how the lighting should be managed, including the daily operating hours and how often the mast should be lit.
Deputy chair Keir Leslie told The Press the board 'inherited' the lighting problem.
When the previous board signed a deed of accessibility with the Breakfree Foundation in November 2020, it stipulated that the foundation was solely responsible for operation, maintenance, and repair of the lights.
Leslie said a 'change of language' in the deed meant the foundation could have the lights on every night, as opposed to just on holidays like Christmas and Easter.
'This is an opportunity to have a conversation with the community that possibly didn't happen at the time of the change.'
Bay Harbour News spoke to residents to get their views.
Sebastian Koburg
'It doesn't bother me at all. I think it's a good thing that the rock is illuminated. I don't really mind if it looks like a cross, it's a free country.'
Gordon Minns
'It's 160-years-old. It's part of Sumner's history, given it was used 160-years-ago, it should get to stay. I have no problem with it whatsoever, my wife and I love looking at it from our house and, if we've been away for a while, it reminds us we're home.'
Shellie Pounsford
'I think it should stay, I'm a Christian and personally I like it. If it bothers people they need to find a different way of looking at it.'
Kate Livingston
'I don't feel very strongly about it. I suppose it is a bit imposing of Christian beliefs on to people.'
Pam Sundstrum
'I like the cross and I'd hate to see it go. Anti-Christian people don't like it and I say too bad. The locals put a lot of work into it, it's been there for a long time, it would be a shame to see it go. I think the minority get too much say.'
Lis Bennett
'The first time I came to Sumner I had to ask my partner if it was a religious cross, so if you want it to have religious meaning it has religious meaning. I've never been faulted by it, as long as it doesn't effect wildlife it's fine.'
Ivana Aisen
'It doesn't offend me. I guess I would ask why that religion, and not any other? But Christianity is the most popular so it makes sense. I don't live super close to the lights so it doesn't bother me.'
Bobbie Jones
'I don't look at as a religious symbol and the lights make it a cool beacon for when I'm driving back. It symbolises that I'm coming home, I don't understand why people are upset.'
