On the fourth anniversary of her discovery, the community of Onehunga came together to lay to rest a newborn girl given the name Anahera-“angel” in te reo Māori-by those who held her memory in tender regard.
On August 16, 2021, staff at Onehunga’s Visy Recycling facility made a grim discovery: the body of a newborn baby, abandoned on a conveyor belt. The newborn, soon named Baby Anahera by the local community, had no known identity, and despite extensive police efforts-including DNA profiling, CCTV analysis, and nationwide appeals-neither she nor her birth family were ever identified.
The Office of the Coroner, led by Alison Mills, conducted a full post-mortem, though it was unable to determine whether Anahera was born alive or stillborn, nor could it ascertain the cause of death.
Over time, Onehunga’s residents began to treat Baby Anahera not as a nameless tragedy, but as one of their own. St Peter’s Anglican Church, local councillor Josephine Bartley, Tipene Funerals, local artisans, and residents all offered support-from arranging a funeral to crafting a traditional kahu huruhuru feather cloak, arranging headstone donations, and organizing choir performances.
As Dayna Townsend, the vicar’s warden at St Peter’s, reflected: “No baby is unwanted in our community… we want to love and care for this baby’s remains, to give her the dignity she was denied in life.”
On August 16, 2025, Onehunga held a heartfelt community service at St Peter’s Church, followed by a burial in Māngere. Detective Inspector Scott Beard acknowledged the loss and reaffirmed police openness to any information that might lead to the baby’s family, even at this late stage.
“We have worked with the coroner so she can be laid to rest,” Beard stated. “What we have here… is a little baby who had just been discarded in the recycling, and today is about honouring this little baby.”
Throughout the ordeal, community leaders were careful to acknowledge the unknown context of Anahera’s arrival-offering empathy, not judgment-for the circumstances that led to such an outcome.
Townsend said she did not judge Anahera’s mother, only recognised the child’s need for care-and that the community was committed to providing that now.
