Santa helpers provide lift

Jolly fellow getting ready to spread cheer in Levin

Ever since he was five years old, Callum Sayles watched on as his father Dave helped put a giant Santa Claus together on Levin’s main street each Christmas.

But these days he’s the man behind the controls, tasked with the job of lifting the top half of Santa Claus and lowering it onto his bottom half by crane.

Callum, 37, had recently taken over running the family business Levin Crane Hire, and with that came the job of helping erect Santa Claus, something his father had done for more than 30 years.

It was also a chance for Callum to put to work a new $350,000 35-tonne Sany crane that he imported from China two weeks ago, replacing the old P&H 330 30-tonne crane that his father had used for more than 30 years.

Dave said he had never charged to set up Santa, and looked on the job as community service that helped to spread a bit of Christmas cheer.

It didn’t take long for Santa to go up at the weekend thanks to help from members of the Tararua Rodders Club, who were on deck to climb inside Santa and ensure he was secure. Dave said he had recently taken over full guardianship of Santa Claus, and was to approach Horowhenua District Council to find somewhere to

house him during the winter months while he wasn’t on display.

More than $50,000 had been spent on Santa Claus in recent years. He had undergone a facelift, had a trailer upgrade, and was fully rebuilt on the inside to maintain structural integrity. He also had a sparkle in his eye thanks to a new paint job.

Santa originally came to town in 2001 after former Levin couple Malcolm and Mary Russell saw him in a paddock and bought him. Prior to that, Santa had graced Hay’s department store in Christchurch for almost 40 years.

In poor state, he was transported to Levin in four parts. Parts were rotten and aluminium needed replacing.

The Russells always received generous support from the Levin community, with local man Peter La Roche spending months putting Santa together again initially.

For years, Santa was erected at Levin’s Adventure Park each Christmas, before it was moved north to the New World car park a few years ago.

Callum Sayles, of Levin Crane Hire, takes a rest from the controls after expertly transporting Santa Claus to the main street of the town, signalling the start of the festive season.

Tim Williams was one of several members of the Tararua Rodders Club who helped with the annual setting up of Santa Claus.

Levin’s Santa Claus is back in town.