No shipwreck would be complete without some stowaways. The CPlay team commissioned sculptor Don Patterson to create some nasty rat bags in the new playground. - Photo Roselyn Fauth

No shipwreck could be complete with out some stowaway pests!

Christchurch based sculpture Donald Patterson created two gnarly looking rats biting their way out of grain sacks to give kids some fun at the Caroline Bay Playground.

New Zealand has no native rats, and three kinds came here on the early sailing ships and since then have caused widespread distruction.

• The Kiore, the first documented wild rodent in New Zealand, was brought by Polynesian settlers in 1250-1300 AD. Very few kiore now survive on the mainland as more aggressive European rodents have replaced them.
• Captain James Cook logs the first sighting of the Waitoreke in 1772, a native land mammal cryptid.
• The Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus), also known as brown or water rats) and house mouse are introduced by early Pākehā settlers in the late 1700s and 1824.
• The ship rat (Rattus rattus, also known as black or roof rats), arrived in the late 1800s, but these did not become established until after the 1860s.

Every bit of bush in the North and South islands harbours house mice (Mus musculus), sometimes in plague numbers. By eating insects and fallen seeds and berries, mice deprive many native ground-feeding animals of food.

• Mice will eat almost anything! They eat invertebrates, seeds, fruits, leaves, birds’ eggs, fish eggs, chicks and insect larvae
• When mice first arrived in NZ, people had never seen them before and called them “Henriettas” after the ship "Elizabeth Henrietta" they came from Australia to New Zealand in 1824.
• All mice and rats are called kiore in Te Reo.

With the rise in population of introduced rodents and other pests like stoats, cats, deer, goats, pigs, and wasps, came the sudden decline of many native bird and bat species.

"We love the juxtposition of the cute dolphin outside the ship, with the gnarly rats inside. Brings some fun, humour and a thrill to the space." - Roselyn Fauth

Medinella Fauth and Annabelle Fauth on the dolphin at the Caroline Playground, the rats lurk inside the ship. - Photo Geoff Cloake

Detail of one of the rats.

Rat Bags by sculpture Donald Patterson (who also created Timaru's iconic Captain Cain sculpture).

Captain Cain Sculpture by Donald Patterson

Donald Patterson delivering the rat bags

Captain Cain to keep watch over city (17 Aug 1999). Aoraki Heritage Collection, accessed 05/03/2025, https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/414

• Captain Cain to keep watch over city:
  • A life-size sculpture of Captain Henry Cain will be erected in the forecourt of the Landing Services building once the inner city revitalisation is completed.
  • Captain Cain was one of the district’s early settlers, a former seafarer, and Timaru's mayor.
  • The sculpture will honour his contributions and is part of the city’s central business district revitalisation project.
  • The purchase of the sculpture was approved by the Tirnaru ward committee after viewing the model and was recommended by the Central Business District Advisory Group.
  • The sculpture will be created by former Pleasant Point artist Donald Paterson, with funding from the "street art component" of the revitalisation project.
  • The sculpture will be made of a combination of resins and bronze, though the final cost has yet to be negotiated.
  • Captain Cain arrived in Timaru in 1857, after anchoring his ship, the Royal Bride, in the roadstead off Caroline Bay.
  • He opened Timaru’s first general store and landing service at the seaward end of Strathallan Street.
  • Captain Cain served as mayor of Timaru from 1870 to 1873 and had Cains Terrace and Cain Street named after him.
  • He died under mysterious circumstances in 1886 at the age of 70 after spending 30 years in Timaru.