Dog lovers gather to see Hairy Maclary

Annabel, 1, and older brother Theo, 4, both rode a favourite book character on The Strand at the weekend.

Almost every man and his dog gathered along Tauranga's waterfront to meet Hairy Maclary and Friends despite an act of vandalism on the site Saturday night.

The words, "feed the kids" and "eat the rich" were painted on the grass section hours before the family fun day celebrations were set to begin on Saturday.

However, the attempt to spoil a day's outing failed as the weather turned it on and hundreds of people came to visit the bronze dogs and their real-life counterparts.

Hairy and friends pulled a large crowd on Tauranga's waterfront on Saturday for the Hairy Maclary family fun day.

The bronze statues of Hairy Maclary and his eight friends made for laughs as children climbed on the backs of book characters they recognised.

Morgan and Joanna Jones brought their two children Annabel, 1, and Theo, 4, down to the waterfront to pay a visit to Hairy and his friends.

Annabel sat on the back of Bottomley Potts with her brother while they posed for photos.

Hairy Maclary and Friends are now a permanent fixture on the Tauranga waterfront.

Mr Jones said it was awesome to see a large turnout of people along The Strand.

"You look out now and see so many people, so it's really good to see a great turnout," Mr Jones said.

Not far from the site, a dog area brought together different kinds of furry friends, attached to leashes or sitting in prams, and a Hairy Maclary story-telling session saw children sit with their character favourites in real life.

Tauranga City Council strategic events manager Pip Loader said the vandalism on the site "was a real shame".

"It hasn't dampened anything today, not at all.

"You look at all the people here and there's just smiles."

Ms Loader said the family fun day was about recognising the community support that the four-year project had received.

"There's been the large donations, but there's also been so many schools and kindergartens and playcentres and all different groups that have contributed and engaged with [the project]," Ms Loader said.

"It's just lovely to watch kids with the sculptures. It's just a great attraction piece for the city of Tauranga and for the waterfront."