Life-size replica Moa turns visitors' heads

GIANT VISITOR: Jack Marsden-Mayer helps install his moa outside the i-Site.PHOTO/BEVAN CONLEY

Visitors to Whanganui i-Site will now be greeted by one of the district's oldest inhabitants - a moa.

It is not a real one, though. The life-sized creature was made by local driftwood sculptor Jack Marsden-Mayer.

The moa has been installed in a garden outside the Moutoa Quay entrance to the i-Site.

Mr Marsden-Mayer said the driftwood was sourced from beaches between Wanganui and the Kapiti Coast.

"I get the larger pieces from Wanganui and the wood gets smaller the further south you go."

The wood is untreated other than being oiled with black bean decking stain. It took about a month to make.

The piece began with a steel frame and each piece of driftwood is held together with roofing screws.

Mr Marsden-Mayer said he had made numerous moa but this was the first one not in the traditional upright pose, and that is thanks to Mike Dickison, curator of natural history at Whanganui Regional Museum and an expert in moa.

"The pose of this moa was Mike's idea. It's more natural, like the moa is travelling forward," Mr Marsden-Mayer said.

The moa is significant to Wanganui with the Whanganui Regional Museum holding the largest permanent collection of moa bones in the world. Nine species of moa evolved in New Zealand and four species were found in Wanganui.

Mr Marsden-Mayer's moa will be outside the i-Site for a year. It is for sale for $5750. Its next home could be on your front lawn.