Kerikeri business owner appeals for safe return of stolen dinosaur and gorilla statues

Dragonfly shop owner Melanie Kinghan is keen to get her sculptures back - a three-metre dinosaur named Sophie and a life-sized gorilla called The Gorilla. Photo / Jenny Ling

First it was the life-sized skeletons that featured at a quirky secondhand shop that caused a stir in a small community in the Far North.

Now a three-metre dinosaur named Sophie and a life-sized gorilla that were stolen from Dragonfly shop in Kerikeri have sparked further bouts of mystery and intrigue.

The two large sculptures – which shop owner Melanie Kinghan brought over from Vietnam several months ago – have been a regular feature on the front lawn of the Kerikeri Rd property next to Hunting and Fishing.

CCTV footage from surrounding businesses captured two men in a ute with a trailer making off with them in the early hours of Monday morning.

“I rocked into work at 9am Monday morning and they were gone,” Kinghan said.

Sophie the triceratops was a popular feature of Dragonfly shop on Kerikeri Rd before she was taken by thieves.

Kinghan said she usually put the fibreglass sculptures securely behind a padlocked gate every night after shutting up the shop. The animals were also padlocked together as a further deterrent to would-be thieves.

“They’d cut through everything,” she said. “Obviously they had an angle grinder or something.”

Kinghan said she went through the surveillance footage and reported the thefts to police.

She doesn’t hold out much hope of getting them back and has appealed to the public for help by posting her loss on social media.

“Will everyone please look out for a three-metre triceratops dinosaur named Sophie and a life-sized gorilla. Bring my beautiful statues home.”

The gorilla was stolen from Melanie Kinghan’s shop on Kerikeri Rd early on Monday morning.

Kinghan has a particular fondness for Sophie, as did many other locals and visitors to the town.

During the Northern Advocate’s visit to the shop, two customers came in to talk about the thefts and ask what happened.

“The town loved Sophie,” Kinghan said.

“The kids used to come from kindergarten to visit her. People would pull in and have their photo taken, she’s been a community attraction.

“People are coming in asking where they are.”

The plastic skeletons were canned for fear high school students were avoiding the Kerikeri business because it was haunted.

Kinghan has run the pink-coloured shop, containing a myriad of eclectic items, vintage clothes and bric-a-brac, for over two years.

The plastic skeletons - which could be seen on the front lawn on sun loungers, drinking tea at an outdoor table, and carrying out gardening work - were canned for fear high school students were avoiding the business because it was haunted.

Earlier this year Kinghan announced the skeletons were finished and offered free marshmallows and guided tours of the shop, including in the cupboards, to show they were truly gone.

Kerikeri police have been approached for comment.