Yachties rescue wallowing cow

By AINSLEY THOMSON

Artist Dick Frizzell's painted fibreglass cow Pa-Kow! is being patched up and repaired after vandals dumped her in the Viaduct Harbour.

Only the 60kg cow's horns were showing above the water.

It is thought people drinking at the Viaduct early on Sunday, March 30, tossed the painted bovine, one of 33 in the international art show CowParade, into the sea.

Worse was to come. Police aboard the launch Deodar attempted a rescue, but ran over Pa-Kow!, putting a hole in her side.

So NZL40, an America's Cup-class charter yacht, and its crew launched their own Operation Cow Rescue.

Skipper David Mead said a crew-member dived in, put a noose around the cow's neck ... and she was winched out.

"We decided we should mount a rescue attempt for the poor old cow, which is the coolest one of the lot."

CowParade, launched in Zurich in 1998 to attract tourists, aims to bring art to the streets while raising money for charity.

Liz Smith, marketing manager for Heart of the City, said Pa-Kow! was being patched up and repainted.

The cow's value is not known, but Ms Smith said it would be thousands of dollars.

"Dick Frizzell painted a deck-chair before Christmas for an art auction and I believe it sold for $11,000.

"So you can imagine a full-size cow as an art work would be worth a fortune."

Ms Smith said the people who threw the cow into the harbour had little respect for art.

It is not the first time one of the 33 cows mooching around Auckland streets has been damaged.

People peeled off the photocopied money stuck to Cash Cow, and the Moo Suede Shoes cow lost its fibreglass guitar to a thief.

In the London version of the event, the Kylie Moonogue cow - clad in frilly knickers and bra - was stolen shortly after she went on display.

The cow was found a few days later in an admirer's backyard.

The cows, which have been displayed around Auckland since January, will be auctioned on June 16.

The money raised will go to Youthtown, a central Auckland drop-in and community recreational centre for young people.