Creepy, dodgy, but we love Auckland's Santa

Auckland's giant Santa may have seemed like a dirty old man with his slowly winking eye and creepy beckoning finger, but the five-tonne, 18-metre festive figure had been part of Auckland's seasonal celebrations since 1960.

The giant icon has this year fallen victim to austerity measures after the $180,000 price tag of installing and storing it were deemed too high. 

Heart of the City (HotCity) have been partly funding the famous Whitcoulls decoration for the past five years with help from sponsors. 

But in a letter to HotCity members, the board said it wasn't in a position to do so any more.

It's not the first time the cost of Santa has been a burden. In December 2008 Whitcoulls announced it could no longer shoulder the then $55,000 annual cost and gifted him to the city, essentially putting the responsibility on ratepayers.

This led HotCity's CEO Alex Swney to ask residents: "Is Santa an iconic institution or a sad old dodgy man?" 

He was kept on and given a make-over, including the removal of his winking eye which some people said they found ''creepy''. 

Three years ago it won the title of 'creepiest Christmas ornament,' appointed by popular American website cracked.com.

Not installing the Santa was a national outrage, Prime Minister John Key jokingly told More FM this morning.

"I remember that Santa there with the slightly dodgy winking eye and the finger. But apparently the winking eye has been fixed up. It's been around since 1960 for goodness sake."

Key said the government probably wouldn't fund the installation but suggested a "working bee" to cut down on costs.

SAVE SANTA

Offers of help are starting to come in to keep Santa on his perch - though HotCity has said any one-off help would only be a short-term fix.

SkyCity is offering $50,000 as a donation towards the cause this year.

"Santa has been a special part of Aucklanders' Christmas celebrations since 1960.  It's just not Christmas without the Queen Street Santa," chief executive Nigel Morrison said.

Morrison welcomed other businesses to get on board to help save Santa.

WHERE IS SANTA NOW?

Santa is currently lying in a west Auckland warehouse and Heart of the City events and sponsorship manager Jane Stewart said that was where he would stay until his fate was decided.
 
Offers of financial support had already come in but Stewart said that would always just be a short-term fix.

"We are feeling pretty saddened about it."

She said the organisation decided it wouldn't be justifiable to spend that much money on one thing despite people's emotional attachment to the statue.

The logistical operation involved cranes, scaffolding, traffic management, lorries for transport, engineers, abseiling teams, health and safety guidelines and more - it was not a simple matter of sticking a Santa up on a wall.

"He's lying in pieces with his reindeer. It's massive and that's kind of hard to explain to people who haven't seen him. Everything's in big proportions and all of that comes at a massive cost."

Stewart said deciding what to do with Santa would be the next step.

SAVE OUR SANTA

So in honour of the jolly fat man, here's our seven ways to save Santa:

1) Finally Auckland airport could have something to match Weta workshop's giant eagles and Gollum at Wellington airport. It would be easy to convert Santa into a giant Lord of the Rings dwarf... and the wagging finger could direct in-bound flights towards the duty free.

2) Two words... affordable Auckland housing. You'd fit a family of four in his left leg alone.

3) Navigation lights in the Hauraki Gulf are a little old fashioned. Why not liven up the City of Sails with a giant bearded fella just off Rangitoto pointing shipping towards our incredible expanding port.

4) Ask jeweller Michael Hill if he would like to replicate his Queenstown championship The Hills golf course in Auckland - only in a crazy golf style. The giant Santa could be a centrepiece... now all we need is a giant windmill. 

5) The Cloud is so, so 2011. Liven up Auckland's waterfront with a lookout tower at the top of Santa's head to get an even better view of the cruise ships.

6) Auckland's Sky Tower simply shouldn't miss the chance of a cut-price tourist attraction. Having Santa scaling the side of the tower - King Kong-style - would be the perfect seasonal touch to the giant hypodermic needle.

7) Complete with his team of reindeer and giant sleigh, Santa could be converted into a festive mayoral vehicle. And as Aucklanders have to put up with even more rates pain, it would be good for Len Brown's image to be seen driving a second-hand motor. 

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