Books were written, documentaries made, fishy tales told and even a song recorded about the phenomena that hit the Hokianga in 1955.
Opo the Friendly Dolphin, Opo the Gay Dolphin, a bottlenosed dolphin, a Hector's dolphin, girl dolphin, boy dolphin - she was known as many things.
Opo the magic, tragic dolphin swam into the bay at Opononi one summer and stole the hearts of the nation.
Fable, fact and fiction has historically reflected friendly dolphins, but Opo's exceptional anthropomorphism elevated her and sleepy 1950s Opononi into instant stardom.
She became famous for hanging around the beach playing with people. Small children could sit on her back but Opo didn't want bigger kids riding her. Sights of grown men trying to climb on the young dolphin's back make for sobering viewing among the many images of dolphin hysteria.