One of Northland's most photographed tourist icons has been decapitated - but it's not clear whether the beheading was the result of deliberate vandalism or a prank gone wrong.
An Opononi resident discovered the damage to the famous statue of Opo, the friendly dolphin, during an early-morning walk yesterday. The head of the boy catching a ride on Opo's back had been snapped off and was lying nearby in two pieces.
The famous dolphin frequented the beaches of South Hokianga in the summer of 1955-56, even allowing children to ride on its back, until its death in mysterious circumstances - possibly at the hands of an aggrieved fisherman.
While upset by the damage, Opononi residents were confident the head, which has been broken off once before, would be repaired and replaced quickly.
The first Wilma Ayrton knew of the damage was when a reporter phoned her. A resident of Opononi for the past 13 years, she grew up in nearby Omanaia and remembers watching Opo frolicking in the shallows and following her husband's boat.