Barry, the relaxed "typical Kiwi bloke" sculpture, has returned to brave the elements for another five years.
Barry, the relaxed "typical Kiwi bloke" sculpture, has returned to brave the elements for another five years.
Where were you, Barry?
Where the town icon sculpture was for three weeks was a well-kept secret, but every child at Katikati Primary School knew.
Forever remembering Barry Menizes’ chilled-out stance reading the newspaper, Barry has returned to his Main Rd spot after getting a bit of a cut and polish. He’s now ready for the next four or five years sitting out in the Katikati sun reading the local rag.
No one knew where Barry had been except for Katikati Open Air Art (Koaa) and all the kids at the primary school.
He has been hanging out in the comfort of Steve Graveson’s shed at the school all this time, receiving a spruce-up from his original sculptor Donald Paterson.
Donald was surprised all the primary school children recognised Barry by name during his time stashed away.
Barry with his original sculptor Donald Paterson, who came from the South Island to give his creation a spruce-up.
Koaa had a fun competition to see what the public thought had happened to Barry. People were encouraged to send in zany poems, photos, graphics or drawings of various scenarios, which were then put out to public vote.
Every four or five years, Barry is sent away for re-painting.
The Barry sculpture was first commissioned by Koaa in 1999 and created by Donald with the help of his good friend Barry.
“Not only was Barry the model, he also donated his clothes and shoes, which Donald coated in a resin product,” Steve says. “Barry, who was a metallurgist, also had the job of crafting Barry’s head and hands.”
To keep the town’s biggest icon looking sharp, the real Barry would take his namesake home to Rotorua for a holiday every now and then, but Barry passed away a few years ago so Steve took up that role.
For this spruce-up, they commissioned Donald to come up from Christchurch to get him looking sharp in time for his 25th birthday next year.
Since creating Barry in 1999, Donald has gone on to produce a number of similar figures all over New Zealand, including the two children playing in a drain in Waihī and the surfer at the Mount.
However, Donald says our Barry is “the most loved and looked after of all of them”.
