Proud to be connected to kumara in Kaipara town

Te Puke has its giant kiwifruit, there's a mammoth carrot at Ohakune and an oversize L&P; bottle is the pride of Paeroa.
And now a huge concrete kumara could be constructed at an entrance to Dargaville to herald the town's status as the kumara-growing capital of the world.
The icon has been proposed by kumara grower Hal Harding, who would like to see a purple tuber 10m tall standing on a roadside reserve near the northern end of the town's bridge over the Northern Wairoa River.
Mr Harding presented his "Kumara Power" project to the Kaipara District Council at a meeting in Dargaville on Wednesday, when he asked for a site for the monster vegetable and explained he expected to have it built by local contractors at no cost to ratepayers. A builder supporting the project had suggested concrete could be sprayed on to a wire-netting frame constructed around a couple of culvert pipes standing on a concrete base, he said. The giant kumara would have a door and its hollow interior would house a history of the kumara in the Kaipara that visitors could read.
Mr Harding, who grows about 28ha of kumara on his farm between Dargaville and Te Kopuru, told councillors he had come up with the big kumara concept as part of a self-expression and leadership course he was taking with Landmark Education.
"I believe by siting this icon in a public place it will give our district a sense of identity and will help make people proud of our town and the people in it," he said. "It would put Dargaville firmly on the map as the kumara capital of the world and it would help develop a stronger sense of community and pride within our region as well as the kumara industry."
He stressed he had only personal concepts for the proposed icon at this stage and he would have to complete community consultation before finalising the big kumara's size and shape. He planned to involve children at Northern Wairoa schools in a contest to design the world's largest kumara, which he wanted to have "a happy face and a bit of attitude".
"It's an awesome opportunity to make us loud and proud about our region."
The massive kumara would have vandal-resistant construction and running costs were expected to be minor with night lighting one of the few expenses Mr Harding asked the council to consider taking on.
Mayor Peter King described the kumara icon as a "great concept" and several councillors indicated they also liked its flavour.
Council chief executive Jack McKerchar urged Mr Harding to put his ideas on paper about maintenance for the kumara project and to keep the council advised of progress in gaining community support for it.