Parnell Pensioner Decries Whale Mural as 'A Bit Much'

A four-storey humpback whale painted on the wall of an Auckland CBD carpark has prompted a formal letter of complaint from a Parnell ratepayer. She says she did not consent to 'marine life on a Wednesday'.

Margaret Pemberton, 71, told The Daily Yarn she had been walking from her physio to the Farmers when the mural 'leapt out at her' from behind a silver Ford. 'I nearly went over,' she said. 'In my day, a carpark was a carpark. You parked. You left. There were no whales involved.'

Mrs Pemberton's letter, addressed to the editor and copied to three councillors, describes the mural as 'unnecessarily large', 'damp-looking', and 'frankly, a bit much before lunch'. She has requested, in writing, the artist's qualifications and 'an explanation as to why the whale is doing that with its tail'.

Auckland Council said the mural had been commissioned to 'activate underutilised urban spaces'. Mrs Pemberton, read this quote over the phone, said: 'Activate. The council should be ashamed. My rates are activating something, and it isn't a bloody whale.'

A second Parnell resident, contacted because she was cc'd on the letter, said Margaret had also written in about the new bins and 'the man who plays the saxophone near Smith and Caughey's'. 'She's got a system,' the friend said. 'You don't want to be on the list.'

The whale remains in the carpark. Mrs Pemberton's letter remains unanswered. A reply, she noted, was expected by Friday, 'or there will be a second letter, and it will be longer.'