All panned out in the end

He is tall, dark and rather handsome in a rugged sort of way.

Naseby’s newest, as yet unnamed, resident has set up camp near the playground on the town’s recreation ground and is set to stay for many years.

The goldminer sculpture is the result of a collaboration between Naseby Vision, who saw the opportunity and raised the money, and Blenheim sculptor Jakob Stadler who created an intricately detailed miner panning for gold.

Naseby Vision committee member Marilyn Swinbourn said they were delighted with the completed work, which was already attracting visitors.

The sculpture was designed with spaces for people to sit on for photos, she said.

Their fundraising target had been met and Naseby Vision was very grateful to the many people who had supported the project.

Donations had come from all around the South not just Naseby.

"The response from the wider community has been outstanding," she said.

When Mr Stadler first cut into the Italian cypress stump he found it was fairly rotten meaning he had to alter his design slightly and do some patching on in places to make the correct shape.

Finishing details include a pipe and pickaxe.

The colouring was achieved with a combination of burning the finished work with a blow torch and applying stain.