I was ‘born’ in 1991 and am modelled on a real cow named Meadowhaven Daisy the 47th. Meadowhaven Daisy was an Illawarra Short Horn bred and owned by Kiama farmer, Tom Walsh.
I was sculpted by local Italian born sculptor, Ernesto Murgo.
Ernesto was a fireball of creative energy, sure of eye and deft of hand. He fashioned my skeleton of wire and I can still feel the creative charisma that seemed to flow from those hands.
Ernesto made me out of wire for bones and paiper mache for flesh. However, I was later given a tougher hide made from plaster and sisal and in 2018, I was refurbished with fibreglass and kevlar.
I like watching the tourists taking photos of me and I do smile a bit when they call out, ’Say cheese’.
I am heartened by the thought that if we scoured the world, tourists from every corner of the earth could unearth a photo of me fulfilling my role.
Nowadays, all around the world, cities have different kinds of painted and colourful cows. From Zurich, Madrid and Tokyo to New York and Shepparton. However, they all seem to have surfaced after my first appearance in 1991. Who knows it may have been a visitor to Kiama who spread the idea because they saw me.
While I am now over 31 years old (the natural lifespan of a cow being 20 years) I know I’m certainly not on my last legs yet. After all I am Meadowhaven Daisy the 47th.
I look forward to meeting you soon, let’s have a photo together when you come to see my next new and colourful design.