Solway mailbox tagged with word residents won't repeat — possum named as person of interest
Three mailboxes hit overnight. Two say 'cooked'. One has paw prints.
A run of mailbox graffiti on a quiet Solway street has residents pointing fingers in two directions: a group of unidentified youths, and a possum that's been on the same fenceline for three weeks.
The tags appeared between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Black marker. Mostly the word "cooked". One ambitious attempt at something anatomical. A fourth mailbox, belonging to retired ag contractor Lex Pirini, was untouched but had what he called "definite possum business" on the lid.
"I'm not saying the possum did the writing," Pirini told The Daily Yarn. "I'm saying the possum knows who did. It's been sitting on my macrocarpa watching the street like it's on the payroll."
Next door, Glenys Aickin, 71, said she'd heard "a clatter and a giggle" around 11pm. "Thought it was the wind. Wind doesn't spell. Not like that." She has since moved her hydrangeas closer to the road, which she conceded "won't do a thing but makes me feel better."
A Masterton police spokesperson confirmed a report of mailbox vandalism. Asked about the possum, the spokesperson paused. "We don't typically interview wildlife. Not ruling it out."
The possum was last seen on Pirini's macrocarpa on Thursday, eating a feijoa.
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Reader Letters
Trev_Hornby
I reckon the possum's setting up an alibi.
MumOf4
Sounds like bloody teenagers to me. Possum's innocent!
wayne1987
mate, teenagers aren't the real pests here
Garry (Halswell)
Back in the day, we'd deal with this shit in person. No possums involved, just us and a midnight hose-down of the street. Different times, mate. Now it's just giggling and running away into the night, leaving us shaking our heads.
couchgremlin
Lol.
Sandra McKenzie
Why are we even talking about possums? Sounds more like a piss-take.
JonoFromWelly
Rule number one: never trust a possum with your secrets or your mail.
tired_in_riccarton
Mate, that's not even what they said. The article's clear it wasn't the possum writing. Just watching!
Garry (Halswell)
Not surprised the police hesitated with a possum for a suspect. What's next, interviewing seagulls about who rooted the rubbish bins?
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