QLDC deputy harbourmaster Dave Black holds a beacon similar to the one stolen from Lake Wakatipu this month. Photo supplied.
The beacon had been marking a high-speed access lane in the narrows between the Kelvin Heights Golf Course and the Queenstown Gardens.
Valued at $1000, it is the fifth to be replaced by the Queenstown Lakes District Council in two years.
Each beacon is solar powered and glows green at night.
Deputy Harbourmaster Dave Black said the theft was dangerous and a "serious offence under New Zealand Maritime Law".
"The only way you could access it is by boat and then it must have taken them a fair bit of time to get it off because they are well screwed in with brackets."
