Return of controversial skeletons at Far North business likely to cause a stir

Kerikeri business owner Melanie Kinghan has hatched another plan to liven things up for her customers. Photo / Jenny Ling

Northland business owner Melanie Kinghan may have lost all hope of getting her beloved dinosaur and gorilla statues back, but she hasn’t wasted any time hatching another plan to liven things up for her customers.

Kinghan’s three-metre dinosaur named Sophie and a life-sized gorilla called The Gorilla were stolen from her second-hand shop Dragonfly in Kerikeri earlier this month.

The two large sculptures – which Kinghan brought over from Vietnam several months ago – were a regular feature on the front lawn of the Kerikeri Rd property next to Hunting & Fishing.

CCTV footage from surrounding businesses captured two men in a ute with a trailer making off with them in the early hours of May 8.

Kinghan said though she’s had a huge amount of public feedback, she hasn’t heard back from police and has accepted the statues aren’t coming back.

“People are still coming in six times a day over a week later asking, ‘Where’s Sophie?’ I had no idea it would cause such a commotion.

“It’s really sad, but it’s time to move on.

“I’m moving on to the next project.”

Kerikeri shop owner Melanie Kinghan has given up hope of having Sophie the triceratops returned.

Kinghan is now looking for “Northland’s ugliest car”, which she plans to park out front, paint pink, the same colour as her shop, and generally “have some fun with”.

She’ll put mannequins named Roxanne and Stella – the mainstays of her business – in the car in various poses.

And, perhaps controversially, she’s bringing the skeletons back this Halloween, celebrated in New Zealand on October 31.

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 previously removed for fear high school students were avoiding the business because it was haunted.

Plans are under way to bring back the skeletons that once frequented the Dragonfly second-hand shop on Kerikeri Rd. Photo / David Fisher

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

“I regretted giving in to that,” she said.

“In the meantime, I’m looking for the cheapest ugliest car I can find.

“Maybe an S-Cargo, a Bambino, or a Mini... something utterly ridiculous.”

Email dragonflykerikeri@gmail.com - or pop into the shop if you can help.