Letters to the Editor
The Waipawa Duck
I VOTE we put her back on her perch.
Beauty and art are in the eyes of the beholder after all. Some people might consider her the national ugly duckling, but love her or hate her, she is our and she is unique.
Just like Quasi Moto of Notre Dame fame _ you do not need to be gorgeous to get your town noticed and remembered!
The Hunch back dud has kept Notre Dame famous for centuries.
So, Long-Live-Our –Duck!
Meryl Schofield
Waipawa
“TO HAVE the duck, or not to have the duck, that is the question?”
And so the saga of the duck goes on.
Personally, as the person who made the infamous duck, I would be very sad to see the duck disappear all together from our main street. It is a fact that lots of towns around New Zealand are trying to put themselves on the map and make themselves different or unique from other places.
Some have giant carrots or trout, or even fizzy drink bottles –our being a cute little yellow duck is just a little different, and HAS gained attention.
I think it depends upon your outlook on life, sense of humour and/or your apparent level of ‘sophistication’ as to whether you like or dislike the duck, and I can appreciate some people having differing opinions and that people can feel strongly either way.
BUT, over the last seven years many letters and articles have been written about it in both local papers and regional papers.
It has even made the New Zealand Woman’s Weekly!
Would Waipawa get the same recognition if it had nothing?
Would anyone even know they had been through Waipawa if all we had we a cloned landscaping of our sister town Waipuk? Some might even think we were just a little off shoot suburb of Waipuk and not a town with our own unique individuality.
The duck was originally made with promotional intent and it has achieved that. To take it away would be losing a great asset.
Now, people know they have been to Waipawa because they remember a little town with the big yellow duck. But if Waipawa was not to have it… people would remember what?
Jan Gosling
I think that Mrs Brasell doesn’t know what she is talking about. Everyone doesn’t hate the duck. Me and my friends love it.
We think it is bright and happy and it makes people smile. It also makes Waipawa different because no other town in New Zealand has a duck.
It should stay in the main street and not be taken away.
PLEASE keep our duck.
Shelly McDonald
Waipawa