A career change for Possum the Kerikeri Bunnings' rainbow lorikeet

Possum the rainbow lorikeet, a long-serving employee at Bunnings Kerikeri, has accepted a new position at Bay of Islands Holiday Park near Haruru Falls. Photo / Peter de Graaf

One of Northland's longest-serving hardware store workers is hanging up his cuttlefish and moving into a new role at a holiday park.

Possum, a rainbow lorikeet, has been greeting customers and overseeing operations at Bunnings Warehouse Kerikeri since it opened six years ago, after eight years at Mitre 10, on the same site, before that.

Wednesday, however, was his last day on the job. He spent it as productively as every other day of the previous 14 years, wolf-whistling at shoppers, imitating the beeps of the scanner and the squeaks of the key-cutting machine, investigating items of interest and generally livening up the store.

One of his closest colleagues, Carol Moffat, said Possum's cage was left open all day, allowing him free rein of the store.

Carol Moffat with colleague Possum the rainbow lorikeet.

He liked to hitch rides on trolleys and occasionally on the shoulders of favoured workmates. He took a particular interest in socks and gloves, and had been known to raid the beetroot seedlings in the garden section.

"I will miss him. He's quite a character," she said, adding that she had tried to train him to say "Hello, welcome to Bunnings," but he'd never got further than "Hello!"

Store manager Kevin Robinson said Possum was a valued team member but he was on his own all night, and the store could be cold in winter.

So when the owners of Bay of Islands Holiday Park, near Haruru Falls, offered him a new home, his Bunnings colleagues agreed.

Possum would be well looked after at the holiday park, Kevin said, but he was certainly not retiring. His new role would be welcoming campers and tourists from every corner of the globe.

Possum did not get a gold watch on his last day, but he did get a dish full of honey, his favourite treat.