Asher the Flaxmere parrot is a well-loved part of the Flaxmere community, and it isn't just about his good looks. Video / Te Ao Māori News
Wellington had Mittens the cat, Opononi had Opo the dolphin, and now another animal has cemented its celebrity status - this time in Hawke’s Bay.
Asher the parrot has won the hearts of Flaxmere, a suburb of Hastings with a population of about 11,000 that doesn’t always get a good rap.
His popularity has been growing since he first made an appearance on the Flaxmere community Facebook page last year, and he now has a following that extends nationwide and across the ditch to Australia.
Mum Tristin Johnson says she is surprised at how the community have embraced Asher, who free-flies every day into people’s homes.
“This parrot, can you believe - I still can’t wrap my head around how he’s so famous, how he has become so loved. I love him, but I would not think that everyone would love the squawking destroyer of everything,” she laughs.
His exploits are documented daily on the community page and he has a growing fanbase.
Tristin Johnson and Asher. Photo / Te Ao with Moana
“We’ve had so much bad stuff go on lately. We’ve had Covid, we’ve had the floods here. We’ve had just lots of negativity. There’s a few bad eggs here - in every community there is, right - but I love our community, and when this happens, I’m like, yeah, that’s why. Because it brings everyone together,” Tristin says.
Community love for Asher is evident. After the floods, when Asher went missing, locals rallied around and organised search parties to bring him home.
“They had, like, groups of people in designated areas that they were going to search for him, and they were on standby waiting for instructions - ‘You let us know when and we’ll go’.
“He was found through them looking for him. There was even a lady who was going around the streets with her UE Boom [held] out the window kind of thing, playing parrot sounds to call out for him.”
Tristin brought Asher home when he was 10 weeks old, and didn’t realise that parakeets can live for 30 years.
“I had to change my lifestyle real fast, because I want him to have his best life. So I want him to have fresh fruit every day. I want him to have those veggies, and I want to let him free-fly.”
His routine is down pat, and after his daily visits, he’s home at 5.30pm. Tristin says at first, people used to keep him inside as they didn’t know he was a free-flier, but everyone is aware now to let him go by dark so he can fly home.
If he’s been caught out after dark, the community will get him home by any means necessary. He’s been in Ubers, taxis, and has even been chaperoned home on foot.
“I’m just surprised how much, um, joy and love and awesomeness he brings to people’s lives in the community. That’s a real cool buzz. So many people really love him, benefit from his presence and like seeing him around, and everyone’s got his back, fully.”
Te Ao with Moana airs on Whakaata Māori on Monday at 8pm, or watch on Māori+.
