A short video filmed last month at Creative Tauranga to raise awareness of the Tauranga Waterfront Sculpture Project has been released.
The video featured New Zealand entertainer Jackie Clarke, a real-life Hercules Morse and Hairy Maclary and Dame Lynley Dodd fan Kayla Harborne.
Ms Clarke said she felt the Hairy Maclary stories were like a rite of passage for all children as part of their childhood.
"He's such a giant in children's literature. No story book character comes close and he is just so charming."