Mosgiel man Grant McLean said his grandfather was a gold miner in Earnscleugh in the early 1930s and had carved his name in the rock.
His father had painted his name some years later and that was followed by Mr McLean and his siblings painting their names in the 1960s.
Mr McLean's children had visited the site and added their names in the 1980s.
‘‘We have walked, ridden horses, motorcycled and driven to this rock numerous times over the years. It has played a significant part in our lives. We know it as the Old Man Rock. Now in a language foreign to all but a few, it is described as a special place and is to be water blasted, which is going to leave an enormous stain,'' he said.
Mr McLean questioned why the names were any different from paintings on rocks in other parts of the country, and described the action as bordering on vandalism.
However, a Ngai Tahu spokeswoman who deals with Maori rock art said that art was hundreds of years old and there was no comparison with the graffiti on the Obelisk, which was in the Kopuwai Conservation Area. She declined to be named.
Clyde resident Stuart Cameron is upset about a recent find on the leaning rock Haehaeata on the Old Woman Range.
‘‘I walked there a few months ago and was appalled at the ‘graffiti' on the top of this wonderful monolith - three communication towers and a mass of cables and ladders. Graffiti on the Obelisk seemed to pale into insignificance when compared with this disgraceful vandalism. I wonder if Doc has any plans to remove these,'' Mr Cameron said.
Ngai Tahu spokeswoman Maree Willetts said ‘‘as stated in the department's news release, Kopuwai Historic Reserve and the surrounding Kopuwai Conservation Area were created as a result of tenure review, pastoral lease and other crown land acquisitions in the 1990s.
While the conservation area is managed by Doc, Kopuwai Historic Reserve is vested with Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu as part of the 1998 Ngai Tahu Claims Settlement.
‘‘The reserve is administered by Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu in keeping with the requirements of the Reserves Act (1977) and is subject to an existing lease to Kordia (formerly BCL)".
The graffiti removal at Kopuwai was a joint project undertaken by the Department of Conservation and local Papatipu Runanga representatives, supported by Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu.
‘‘Graffiti of this nature is unsightly and detracts from the values of the area. As also stated in the department's news release, graffiti of this nature is considered an offence under the Reserves Act. It is my understanding that Haehaeata is not on conservation estate,'' Ms Willetts said.
