A bronze statue of Opo the dolphin is just days away from arriving in Opononi, almost two years after the stone original was beheaded in an unexplained late-night incident.
The damage to the iconic sculpture, carved by Russell Clark to commemorate the antics of a friendly dolphin named Opo, sent shockwaves around the country and sparked a campaign for a more durable replacement.
A local out for a walk early on October 27, 2011, discovered the boy rider's head been snapped off the statue and was lying on the ground in two pieces.
The sculpture has since been restored but former policeman and publican Ian Leigh-Mackenzie, who played with Opo as a youngster in the summer of 1955-56, launched a fundraising drive for a bronze statue cast from the original.
The new statue is set to arrive on Saturday.