Kiama's original Daisy the Decorated Cow has been given a temporary lifeline by Kiama's councillors in an attempt to retain the papier mache cow's connection with the community - and avoid spending $10,000 on a fibreglass recreation.
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Sculptor Ernesto Murgo created Daisy in October 1991.
During recent attempts to fix her it became apparent the internal wire framework had rusted away.
Daisy was now considered "beyond repair".
Councillors were asked to approve a plan to spend $10,000 to have a new fibreglass Daisy created, based on a mould of the original.
Councillor Mark Honey, a Jamberoo dairy farmer, suggested the $10,000 figure was "a little over the top" for a papier mache cow and he could buy the council a few live ones for that amount.
Fellow councillor Mark Way suggested the original Daisy may be given a fibreglass coating by a surfboard manufacturer for a fraction of the cost.
Kiama Council's community services director Clare Rogers said the idea behind having a new fibreglass mould was about replicating the existing cow as it was now so a "new" Daisy could continue to be used as a community art piece for a long time to come.
Ms Rogers said Daisy was considered a piece of art and the idea of creating a mould and replicating Daisy came through an artistic process rather than an industrial one.
"This is about engaging with the arts community to reproduce a piece of public art," Ms Rogers said.
Ms Rogers said the idea of giving Daisy a fibreglass coating hadn't been explored because Daisy's structure was not that strong.
However councillors called for a further report that would look at the idea of "spraying the existing cow" with a fibreglass skin.
"This would have the added advantage of encapsulating the history of the original Daisy," Kiama Mayor Brian Petschler said.
"It wouldn't be a model, it would still be the original in a fibreglass casing."