The Father Christmas who has stood Auckland's main street for almost half a century is starting to show his age.
Complaints from neighbours have led to some much-needed repair work on the 24 metre Santa on Queen Street, starting with his very noisy finger.
Cameron McAuley has been hired to fix the finger fuss and other problem areas. Armed with a grease gun he hopes an oily injection will fix the constant grinding noise which is irritating locals.
"We've got one noisy gearbox," McAuley says. "That's what's making all the racket...it's reverberating inside the casing and making a disturbing noise for residents in the building."
For 47 loyal years the iconic Santa has been getting Auckland folk into the holiday spirit but behind the smile trouble is brewing.
McAuley says it's a very old engine and "looks like something out of grandma's washing machine".
Further investigation also revealed why Santa's wink has been a bit wonky with the shaft the eye rotates on nearly falling out of its bearing.
Some on the street think Santa's time is up but McAuley has fond memories and wants to see the tradition continue.
"I remember watching him as a kid and used to love seeing his winking eye and the finger going so I want to see it going again," he says.
The repair work is not expected to take long.
