A "Dalmatian" pou was unveiled outside Whangarei's central library on Saturday at a ceremony alive with multicultural colour and rich in Croatian and Maori heritage.
An appreciative murmur from about 200 people on hand rose from the crowd as the pou's cover was unfurled by children in traditional costume who unravelled
the ties.
In a moving speech sculptor David Sarich, the grandson of a Croatian who settled near Dargaville in 1906, explained the pou's symbolism and the artistic and personal "journey" the work had taken him on.
The pou represents two people, a gumdigger and a woman.
The woman is upside-down, referring to early Dalmatian immigration to the southern hemisphere.
Her dress is decorated with figs, grapes, fish and olives representing nourishment, and a tamburica representing Croatian music.
Her feet are topped with a mountain on which is perched a Croatian village.
The bottom of the pou represents Northland, where the gumdigger's feet are planted.
Elsewhere on the shaft are kauri cones, grape leaves, a rainbow that symbolises dreams and a chalice symbolising the sacred.
The gumdigger holds a gum spear, which also represents a stake in the ground. He has a divining rod representing seeking life's essentials, and the future.
Mr Sarich has filled a hollow in the pou with resin in which is embedded a fetal shape symbolising birth and new beginnings.
The pou - the tenth and final cultural marker post for the site - has been sponsored by the Whangarei Dalmatian Society.
Dargaville's strong Dalmatian Social Club's tamburica band and kolo dancers entertained the crowd at Saturday's ceremony.
