Local legends Pearl and Florrie are being immortalised in Paekākāriki, this time on a commissioned mural down to the beach, running the full length of Pearl and Florrie's Way.
The walkway is named in honour of identical twins Pearl Mills and Florrie Ward and provides beach access from the corner of Beach Rd.
The story starts in 1996 just before the twins' 80th birthday when they were out on a Sunday stroll.
At dusk on their evening walk in the pony club paddock behind Florrie's house in Raumati, they encountered a 2-year-old bull that had escaped from an adjacent property.
Pearl and Florrie's Way is part of the Paekākāriki art history walk. Photo / Rosalie Willis
Thinking he was harmless, Pearl patted him on the nose and said he was a lovely boy but the bull objected.
The next thing they knew the twins were in a battle for their lives for the next 10 minutes.
Eventually surviving the attack, the story reached a wider audience in 2003 when Kāpiti animator Phill Simmonds completed his first hand-drawn animated short film Pearl, Florrie and the Bull in which Pearl and Florrie tell the story of their near-death encounter with an angry bull.
Already local legends, Pearl and Florrie received red carpet treatment and found the attention hilarious.
They shared a beachside house just a few paces from the location of the mural.
When it appeared in the 2003 NZ Film Festival line-up Bill Gosden summed up the film in three words, "beautifully-crafted Kiwiana".
The mural on Pearl and Florrie's Way created by Phill Simmonds with support from the community, the Paekākāriki Community Board, council and the Public Art Panel. Photo / Rosalie Willis
Seventeen years later, in what could be the world's first 'musical mural', Phill is retelling the story — this time in paint and song.
"Every small community has its own stories and local legends," creator Phill Simmonds said.
"This story is a real life-and-death situation that could have been a total tragedy but turned into a classic comedy."
Florrie had a broken ankle and could hardly stand when Pearl decided to leave her injured sister alone with the enraged bull in order to get help.
"It could have been a total tragedy but fortunately help was found in the form of a young boy with a broom, this turns the story into a classic comedy."
Scan a QR code at the start of the mural and you play a song Take the Bull By The Horns: The Ballad of Pearl and Florrie.
Lyrics to the song interweave the images so those who are suitably enthusiastic may sing the song and follow the twins' fate as they amble down the hill to the Paekākāriki Beach.
The project was conceived by the Paekākāriki Station Precinct Trust who created an Arts Walk around the village in an attempt to connect the Station Museum with the village and to recognise some of the local artistic talents.
"I've worked with digital illustration and animation for years but had never painted with a real brush.
"So when the project was discussed I was keen to paint by hand and see how I liked it.
"Turns out I loved the whole process and am looking forward to doing more painting."
The commissioned piece is 15 metres long and has been funded by the Kāpiti District Council Public Art Panel and the Wellington Community Trust, and is supported by the Paekākāriki Community Board, Ngati Haumia and descendants of Pearl and Florrie — the Mills and Ward families.
Public Art Panel chairman Nick Ray said, "An important aspect of Public Art is how it can help promote a sense of community and place.
"Pieces like this one create a record of a local story and connect us to the people and the community that came before and events that defined them."
To see the short film visit, www.nzonscreen.com/title/pearl-florrie-and-the-bull-2004 and look out for a children's book based on the event, called Take The Bull By The Horns! launching early next year.
