President re-elected, cockatoo comes third
Despite rumours that he’d kidnapped one of the opposition candidates the night before polling day, John Herlihy has been re-elected president of New Zealand’s only republic.
Herlihy took out the top spot on Saturday in Whangamomona, the tiny town of around 12 citizens on State Highway 43, the ‘‘Forgotten World Highway’’ east of Stratford, defeating seven other candidates, including a cockatoo, a stuffed teddy and the nowmissing sheep.
‘‘This president thing, it’s a laugh most of the time, nothing serious,’’ Herlihy said. ‘‘The main job is judging the school pets’ day.’’
The president was said to have ‘won by five votes’ at the selfproclaimed republic’s biennial Republic Day celebration, which this year focused on 30 years since it broke away from New Zealand.
The day was sweltering hot but thousands of people turned up for fun and games and the election. Herlihy didn’t have to try too hard on his campaign. The locals already knew what he’s about, but most other candidates gave it their all – including Eunice the sheep, whose presidential campaign was announced two weeks ago with plans to make Whangamomona a sheep-friendly town.
However, her long-term friend Ceri Hutchinson said Eunice vanished overnight on Friday.
‘‘John Herlihy hinted to me that she might go missing,’’ Hutchinson said.
She also said a ransom note that was ‘handed’ to the president looked suspiciously like his handwriting. Hutchinson said she believed the four-year-old sheep would be returned to her paddock after the election.
Sherman the cockatoo, who was the second runner-up, promised he could do some work to the Forgotten World Highway.
‘‘His beak can do anything,’’ his mum Savvy Oldershaw said.
Despite coming from Masterton and being very serious about the campaign, Sherman appeared to be very focused on making alliances and sitting on the other candidates’ shoulders.
One of these was Mrs Brown, known better to some as Morris West of New Plymouth.
West’s plan for the town included building a wall ‘‘so Donald Trump can’t get in’’, he said. ‘‘But there’s not a lot you have to do to Whanga’. It has the best pub in the world and the best people in the world.’’
West was the first runner-up but had made threats before the voting was closed. ‘‘I plan to eat the sheep, eat the cockatoo and throw John off the bridge.’’
Other candidates who put themselves forward for president on the day included Wellington’s Gareth ‘Griff’ Robb, whose father was born in Whangamomona, who planned to make the town a coastal spot; Hannah, a visiting Dutch vet looking for a husband, job and a better life, and a man who put his name on the board at the last minute and got up with a beer in hand. There was also a teddy named Maketoni who didn’t do much campaigning – he just silently sat next to the poll station.
A joke over a beer at a quiet pub led to a small New Zealand town breaking out on its own.
Former Stratford mayor David Walter takes credit for that beer – and the subsequent turning of farming town Whangamomona into a ‘republic’.
That same pub was overflowing with people from near and far on Saturday as the town celebrated 30 years detached from New Zealand.
Back in 1989, Whangamomona locals became ‘‘stirred’’ after being told regional boundary changes meant they were no longer part of Taranaki and would be classed as Manawatu¯ /Whanganui.
Knowing the upset around the farming town Walter spoke to a few locals over a beer at the Whangamomona Hotel.
‘‘I said ‘you’re no longer citizens of Taranaki, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to lie and take it?’’’
Walter mentioned a small town in the UK that became a republic. ‘‘I said – merely in jest – ‘well what you should do is just show your disgust by breaking away from New Zealand – form a republic’."
Since then the town with a population of around 12 has seen two – and almost three – nonhuman presidents, its first new building in half a century and endless dollars poured into it by travellers. On Saturday thousands of people showed up to the biennial Whangamomona Republic Day to see a sheep, cockatoo and teddy bear run for president, possum skinning, pint drinking and pie eating.
Pint and pie competitors included Naomi Murell, of America, and Maddy Hightower, from Canada. They had driven through three days previously and heard about Republic Day so decided to stick around.
Others had come from much closer to home. Alex and Karen Begg lived in New Plymouth but are now travelling in their campervan. They happened to be in Taumarunui and decided to come over.
Re-elected president John Herlihy has been living in the republic for 25 years but is ‘‘just’’ a local, he says. ‘‘It gets busier all the time. And the tourists are always here whether you like it or not.’’
Ian Balme, whose Forgotten World Adventures sends tourists in motorised golf carts along the decommissioned railway that passes through Whangamomona, said many were looking for things off the beaten track.
‘‘You have to be able to tell a story and the Whanga’ story is a great story to tell,’’ he said.