After nearly one year’s absence, Katikati’s most iconic sculpture has been reinstalled on the town’s Main St – but without his beloved companion.

Barry, the Relaxed Typical Kiwi Bloke was removed from his chair outside the Arts Junction at 36 Main Rd on April 28 last year after he was damaged by a vehicle accident the night prior.

What followed was a lengthy, complicated process by Barry’s guardians – Katikati Open Air Art, which take care of the town’s murals and sculptures – to claim insurance for the damage and work with a sculptor to travel from the South Island to repair him.

Barry was hit by a vehicle on Sunday night, April 27, and sustained a broken elbow and damaged arm. Photo / Steve Graveson

Katikati Open Air Art committee member Steve Graveson previously told Katikati News that while Barry’s seat had been fixed locally, Barry had to be repaired by sculptor Donald Paterson, who now lived at the bottom of the South Island’s West Coast.

“It has been difficult for Donald to really give a true cost until he sees the total damage both inside and out,” said Graveson last November, when the town heard Barry wouldn’t be back for Christmas.

After spending the festive season “on holiday” in Graveson’s shed, Barry was towed along Main St last Friday and returned home. “Donald and I worked together to get him repaired. He was about here for about three to four days,” Graveson said.

“Barry’s right arm was all broken underneath, so we had to restrengthen and repair it. We also touched up a few other bits and pieces, and he got a new coat of paint.”

People had suggested using someone else to repair Barry but Graveson said: “Unless you know how he’s made and what he’s made up of you could destroy the integrity of Barry, so we’ve got to work with Donald”.

Sculptor Donald Paterson and Steve Graveson during their repair work on Barry. Photo / Peri St John-Ives

KOAA is the non-profit art group, founded in 1989, that commissioned and maintained the township’s murals and sculptures via its committee.

Graveson said KOAA’s insurance company had accepted the claim and paid for repairs.

“It was a bit of a process but we got there in the end.”

Hence, Graveson and Katikati Rural Engineering’s Dani Langman reinstalled Barry on Main St last Friday to surprised glances from the public.

However, many asked where’s Jack, Barry’s dog, which was also damaged in the accident and removed by police that night.

“The dog is coming but he received a lot more damage than Barry and because he’s so small he’s a lot harder to repair,” Graveson said.

Jack the dog was taken to Auckland Dolls Hospital for repairs and has not yet returned. Photo / Peri St John-Ives

Barry was installed on Katikati’s Main Rd in 1999, made with sculpture resin, copper and fibreglass by Paterson and modelled on his friend Barry Menzies, of Hamurana.

In 2006 Menzies donated the sculpture of Jack the dog and his toy ball as a tribute to the late Colin and June Carlton, the driving forces behind KOAA.

“Menzies [a specialist metal sculptor] made Jack. He has since died, so we’re going through a totally different process with Jack’s repair-work,” Graveson said.

Jack was taken to the Auckland Dolls Hospital last December for an art doctor to repair him and was still there.

Graveson said he could not say when Jack would return but he was stoked by the community feedback on Barry’s re-appearance.

“You never hear anything about the artworks until something happens. Then the phone rings hot!”