Larry Williams Drive

It was a theft which rocked the small town of Dannevirke. A bird, and not just any bird, but a rare huia. It was unique. Part of a pair of birds shot in the late 19th century, preserved, and given as a wedding present, and passed down through the generations. In 1990, the pair were given to the Gallery of History in the Tararua District town where they could be kept in a glass-fronted case so visitors could view them. The unique piece of New Zealand’s history became a major attraction to the museum. Huia feathers are known as the “world’s most expensive feathers” where one single feather was once auctioned off for $8000. The birds, endemic to the North Island, are thought to be extinct, but there may have been sightings as late as the 1990s. The volunteers at the Gallery of History will never forget what happened that day in July 2020. The pair had already been targeted once, with someone making off with tail feathers from the male in 2012. In July 2020, two visitors came in and left a short time later. Despi