Opononi's landmark statue on the mend

Work is under way to return Northland's most iconic statue to its original glory.

Opononi's statue of Opo, the famously friendly dolphin, has suffered a series of breakages since it was carved by sculptor Russell Clark in 1960.

Hokianga residents' concerns about the statue's state came to a head in October when the boy rider's head was snapped off.

It was found nearby in two pieces and promptly glued back together again, but the incident spurred former policeman and publican Ian Leigh-Mackenzie to start a campaign for a replacement.

Mr Leigh-Mackenzie's proposal was to cast a bronze copy of the famous statue and put the original on display in a safe place indoors.

And now an Auckland stone conservator with a soft spot for the Hokianga has offered to return the statue to its original condition.

Chris Allen, the owner of Architectural Building Conservation, said he had heard about the statue's plight and knew the Opononi community didn't have the money to restore it.

He had offered to do the work in his spare time and charge only for materials. Otherwise the job could have cost up to $5000.

Mr Leigh-Mackenzie brought the statue to Auckland this month and since then Mr Allen had gently removed a layer of varnish and was about to start removing dirt.

The fin had also been snapped off in the past and replaced with cement - that had also been removed with Mr Allen planning to carve a new fin from material as close as possible to the original Hinuera stone.

He had also removed glue and cement from the boy's head, which had been repaired at least twice before.

Mr Allen said South Hokianga happened to be one of his partner's favourite places and they had been staying in nearby Omapere just the weekend before the boy rider's head was broken off.

They had driven to Opononi for fish and chips but Mr Allen had left his car lights on and ended up with a flat battery.

"Then a local turned up out of nowhere and gave us a jump start. It turned out to Ian Leigh-Mackenzie."

Mr Allen said he had since researched the statue's history and learned the sculptor had intended it as a grave marker.

Instead it was placed in front of the then newly built Opononi Hotel - to the artist's great disappointment.

Opo's grave is next to the Opononi Hall, about 100m from the hotel.

Although the current plan is to house the restored statue indoors, Mr Allen said displaying it outdoors would not be a problem as long as it was surrounded by a small fence to prevent people climbing on it.