Apiti to roar with a giant stag

"We're 30 minutes from Feilding, 50 minutes from Palmy, and you can buy a section in Apiti for $10,000." Ken Thompson, community committee chairman

Just as Hunterville has the huntaway dog and Bulls has the bull, Apiti will soon roar with a trademark icon of its own.

A giant corrugated iron stag will soon greet visitors to the northern Manawatu village as residents attempt to brighten their town centre. Known as the gateway to the Ruahine Range, the $20,000 stag is expected to be a natural addition for a town that has welcomed generations of hunters.

Community committee chairman Ken Thompson said they had secured the $7000 deposit and earmarked a spot to place the statue, near the town’s tavern.

The 3.5 metre creation will be built by Steven Clothier, who had a hand in Tirau’s dog. He also built the kiwis and a pukeko greeting people in Otorohanga, Ted the rooster in Brisbane, a purple giraffe in Pukekohe and a fish playing the guitar in Matamata.

Clothier’s stag will sit on a 1.5m mound and is expected to be installed in May next year. Historical photographs recounting Apiti’s early years will also border the statue, such as of the several saw mills in operation in the late 1880s.

It was part of a plan to bring more visitors and residents to Apiti, Thompson said.

‘‘We want to grow Apiti,’’ he said. ‘‘We’re 30 minutes from Feilding, 50 minutes from Palmy, and you can buy a section in Apiti for $10,000.

‘‘It seems like a lot, but it’s not when you compare it to Auckland and other parts of New Zealand.’’

Apiti resident June Barratt, 68, and partner Murray, 73, took to the Makino Pool on July 31 in an epic 100-length swim-a-thon to kickstart the community fund.

The duo charged 20 cents for every length completed of the 25m indoor pool, but raised more than $750.

‘‘Everyone thought a couple of oldies couldn’t go that far,’’ June Barratt said.

‘‘Apiti is an amazing place. It’s quite a unique little community and we want to show people what it’s like around here.

‘‘Our slogan is the ‘gateway to the Ruahine Range’ and we have a lot of deer hunters come up this way, so a stag makes sense.’’