A driftwood sculpture of a large bullock was officially unveiled in Whangamomona last week.
The artwork, by Whanganui artist Jack Marsden-Mayer, was commissioned by the Whangamomona Republic committee this year to commemorate 30 years of the Republic's existence.
Once Jack had created the bullock, Whangamomona local Walter Pease added yokes, chains and logs to give the artwork a sense of time and place.
The completed piece represents the history of the area, the pioneers who broke in the land for farming, building railways, stores, hotels, homes and roads. Throughout hard times, including the great depression, the flu epidemic and two World Wars the pioneers and their animals carved their place into the land.
Back then, bullocks and horses were used for all sorts of tasks, transporting items to and from the saw mills, pulling logs from the forest and some bullocks even pulled stage coaches at times.