Defence Force respond to new Stillwater ordnance discovery
- Publish Date
- Mon, 27 Jul 2026, 12:13pm
Another ordnance has been found on the Hibiscus Coast just two weeks after a 12-year-old girl found a military explosive device while exploring rocks at a nearby beach.
Police said they received a report of the ordnance discovery in Stillwater at 9am.
The ordnance was found on Ara Weiti Rd, but has since been disposed of.
Police said the New Zealand Defence Force’s (NZDF) Explosive Ordnance Disposal Squadron was also in attendance.
This comes two weeks after another piece of ordnance was found near some stairs close to a playground on Ōrewa Beach.
The item was detonated by the NZDF after locals had been warned of an impending “loud bang”.
Teresa Walker, from Whangārei, said her 12-year-old daughter Sophia made the startling discovery during a family holiday trip to the beach.
The confused family took a photo of the metal object with red Spanish writing on it in the bid to figure out what it was.
The piece of ordnance was found on the rocks nearly a fortnight ago near a playground on Ōrewa Beach.
After doing a reverse image search, they discovered the item could have been an expended flare, a marine location marker or “something potentially explosive”.
The translation of the writing on the object said: “Do not touch, contains phosphorus, notify police or military”.
Teresa’s sister, Dana Marcroft, said the translation was a “bit alarming”. Sophia said she was “kind of” scared at the time.
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