Calling all kiwi cruiserheads - Help find stolen BJ42

[lostmarbles]

Looks pretty good from this angle.



The sign too.

I was taking no notice of her when I took the photo yesterday Drew!

 

[lostmarbles]

Greg's Aussie accent? I thought Kiwis and Aussies had the same accent. Here in the States everybody advertises everything on the sides of busses. I know squat about NZ regulations, but wouldn't it be awesome to post your poster on the side of that big bus? Good luck with your search. Prayers are with you guys.

Downunder we can't distinguish between Canadian and USA accents Skidplate

And I hope my employer doesn't follow this thread...If they do I'll probably have some explaining to do.

There's no chance of getting a bus officially plastered with our advertising. That IS done here but it costs megabucks.

 

[amaurer]

Downunder we can't distinguish between Canadian and USA accents Skidplate

Thats because there is no accent - this is how english is supposed to sound.

Also, was looking at your picture thinking "why the hell is she wearing a jacket, its summer!!"... and then I figured it out.

 

[lostmarbles]

Well I got pushed away from my computer. Saturday is "band practice" for THE STRIKES. And they happen to use the same room where my computer sits. I tried using earmuffs at first:



But I soon gave up and they took over the lounge:



Any Wellingtonians who want to see the Strikes next "gig" .... it's at "Mighty Mighty" next Thursday.

Other gigs in the pipeline are at Keith Spry Pool (weird eh? ...a swimming pool!)

Ya. Gotta hear these fellas. They're sounding better and better all the time. And unless they split up (the usual reason being - a band member whose head swells too large) ... I reckon they'll really go places.

I wanted them to put a "Hohepa Poster" on front of the Floor Drum at Mighty Mighty but they declined!!!

 

[lostmarbles]

We were there from 7.13pm to 11.13pm. (No. There's nothing special to me about the number 13 .....That's just the way it panned out.)





It is not prudent to keep this thread informed right now with all the avenues we're pursuing. (It doesn't take an Einstein to work out that the low-lifes could well be reading it.)

But I'll say that one guy, let's call him "Mr J" zeroed in on us with no need for us to accost him. And what he had to say was most interesting. (If you knew Mr J's past like I do ...you'd realise why I'm paying attention to him!) I can't tell Bart yet because of his remote location but Mr J spotted Hohepa (prior to the theft) in Upland Rd (Kelburn shops) and the next day he spotted it again in Kelburn Parade by the university. That's an indication of just how vigilant an enthusiast is!

BTW - another nice young lady said she'd put a poster in the Varsity Library. (Hell we've got posters everywhere now!) .....Other people said they'd put posters places too of course. (Too many places to mention them all!)

But what I'm really doing this post for now .... is to say that anyone shooting off to Rallywoods today ....you're in for a major treat. The rains been falling steadily overnight and she's going to be muddy just getting to the parking.

And you will see my BJ40 there (with Bart's posters all over it). The driver's and passenger's windows will be wound down a smidgeon so feel free to drop in pieces of paper with any anonymous tipoffs. I'll likely be around the course taking photos and enjoying the action (- but with a handful of pamphlets too of course).

Keeping dry is going to be a mission though

Also please tell me who's supplying 40-series parts in Wellington. I won't be calling round with the police necessarily ... I'm thinking these sellers may be keen to help.

You could even hand a message anonymously to any Wellington bus driver. Just address your note to "Standby Tom" and ask the driver to give it to his/her "controller".

Oh. And you cruiserheads overseas may have something to gain from this. (And I'll divulge more when the thread meets its conclusion.) There's one New Zealand 40-series wrecker (supplier of used parts) who I've been dealing with for some time and who is being a big help now with this. AND .... he is happy to deal with overseas customers and accepts PAYPAL. (BTW - There is no "financial/favour-connection" between myself and this guy and there never will be. I'm not money-motivated!)

It is 8.40am here now ... and the heavy rain keeps falling and the sky's real dark. The kiwi 4x4 challenge should be a boomer!

 

[lostmarbles]

Why not let the pictures do the talking for today at Rallywoods?

But before I begin I must say how grateful I am to these friendly folk ...most of whom I've never met before today. (People like these are a key reason why I really like my city.)

All these shots are taken just 3/4 hour's drive from where I live.

Oh.... And by the way - I'm posting these pics the same day they were taken ...that is Sunday 6 June....and it's STILL raining hard now.

 

[lostmarbles]

 

[lostmarbles]

 

[lostmarbles]

 

[lostmarbles]

 

[lostmarbles]

 

[lostmarbles]

 

[lostmarbles]

 

[lostmarbles]

And the last 2:

 

[lostmarbles]

I just copied this from Bart's Facebook page on Hohepa:



So these are the main resellable items he's lost (I think) ....apart from Hohepa itself:

• Apple Mac Laptop
• Canon Powershot G11 camera
• 150W inverter
• Dark grey duffle coat

So if you've recently been offered one of these cheap - particularly in the Wellington area of New Zealand ..... you know what you can do to help us.

Thanks

 

[83bj41]

I'm driving from Auckland to Central Otago and back in my 40 this week so i'll keep both eyes out... Bastards.

 

[FJforty]

Hey Lostmarbles, I hope this isn't one of those stories where you get all this media attention and a million dollar movie deal and then we find your cruiser in the garage. Someone go check his garage....
Just kiddin man. Good luck.

 

[lostmarbles]

I'm driving from Auckland to Central Otago and back in my 40 this week so i'll keep both eyes out... Bastards.

Thanks 83bj41.

This theft was the driving force towards me joining Facebook. (In fact I wouldn't have joined otherwise.) What do you think of this for an Avatar there?



Talking about facebook, "Find Hohepa" now has 934 members - and all of them (including me) are on the lookout for Hohepa (just as you are).

Say ..talking to Bart now ....Why are there so many pretty ladies in this Facebook group Bart?

And to everyone else reading this ... Here's the link to "Find Hohepa" on Facebook:

Find Hohepa | Facebook

Talking of Bart...He told me (before he went in) that he's likely to exit from "the bush" and rejoin the outside world on Tuesday. That's tomorrow for us in kiwiland (and less than 16 hours away now).

For heavens sake ...it's time we kiwis used this event to turn the tide on crime in our fine country.

People should have already gathered that I'm keen on photography. Here's a picture I took of Wellington's picturesque suburb of Lyall Bay in 2006 but with the ugly facts now scrawled over it:



Maybe I should start a "hall of shame" post with pictures of other Wellington suburbs?

Yep. That's the site of Wellington's most recent viscous robbery-motivated attacks on bus drivers! And my workmate David is STILL off work right now recovering as the bones in his broken arm mend. (There have been 3 viscous attacks right there during my 15 years as a bus driver! Oh. Did I forget to mention one of those attacks earlier? The victim then was my mate Kevin who has actually put up a couple of Hohepa posters in his business premises in Vivian St ... Kevin no longer drives buses (and who can blame him for that) but he still has a strong connection with them - being the president of the main kiwi bus-drivers trade union.)

It is most unfortunate that we have a significant group of people in NZ society now who consider it's okay to commit crimes against what they see as "the haves" because they and their mates are the "have nots".

But people that have achieved assets in this country have generally done so through a lot of sacrifice and hard work. And how can someone like myself .... a lowly busdriver ... be considered one of the "haves" in society. Hell I earn only $15 an hour!!!!!

Come-on New Zealand.... If you know anything about these bastards that stole Hohepa and are hocking off its contents ..... Dob them in now!



PS...Apparently Elim Church .... right next to where Hohepa was stolen in Tennyson St held a function that same night using their own wardens to assist with parking... This looks like something to follow up on eh?

Edit - I've named "David" and "Kevin" as "Lyall Bay bus-driver-victims-of-crime". So I might as well give the first name of the third one too ....."Alex" (And Alex never returned to work at all after his experience!) Why does Wellington "brush all this stuff under the carpet"? (The beauty of the Internet is that private individuals like us can expose what others want to hide!)

 

[lostmarbles]

Hey Lostmarbles, I hope this isn't one of those stories where you get all this media attention and a million dollar movie deal and then we find your cruiser in the garage. Someone go check his garage....
Just kiddin man. Good luck.

Thanks mate

 

[lostmarbles]

This is the type of thing we need to happen here!

I've just uplifted this from the diesel section of ih8mud (which is my normal "home").

I hope our cops are this skilled on dealing with our criminal element.

Got my emblems in the mail from whitey. Again, can't thank him enough.

Along the same lines, but not cruiser related, about two weeks after my emblems were stolen my older brother had several things stolen from his house. He is a local police officer and later that week he stopped a guy trying to steal a car. The guy claimed he just bought the car and had the title at his house only a few blocks away. My brother escorted him home to verify that he had the title and bill of sale and while standing on the front porch my brother noticed that his stolen stuff was sitting there on the porch next to him! After arresting the guy and executing a search warrant, he turned out to be quite the klepto and had a house full of stolen stuff with everything that you could imagine. Just to give you an idea, he stole the lid to my brothers BBQ/smoker. Just the lid.

I don't know if karma exists, but what are the odds? Pretty good I guess.

The Chronicle: News - Centralia Police Find Cache of Stolen Goods, Believed Linked To String of Burglaries