Gore’s well-known giant brown trout statue finally has a name, ending decades of playful debate in the Southland town. The statue, which has stood proudly since 1989, is now officially known as Trevor.
The name was revealed on Sunday afternoon during the On The Fly Festival, held on the banks of the Mataura River. The Gore District Council partnered with Hokonui FM to invite name suggestions from the public before putting five finalists to a vote. Among the options were Trixie, Scout, Trevor, Gordon and Finn. Even Trouty McTroutface made an appearance during the suggestion stage.
Council senior events coordinator Florine Potts said Trevor received more than a third of the votes, making it the clear favourite.
"People from far and wide come to Gore, come and take a photo with the trout. We see it happen every single day. Buses full of tourists stop here and they come and grab a photo and people love it and now we can all embrace Trevor the trout," she said.
The statue was originally gifted to the town by the Gore Lion's Club to mark its 25th anniversary. Significant fundraising efforts helped bring the locally designed and built project to life. Potts described past celebrations as featuring "Like a celebrity cocktail party with some big names coming to Gore, a fishing race with little fish going down the Mataura River."
The festival also celebrated fly fishing, a major drawcard for the region. Guide Shelen Boyes demonstrated techniques to visitors and was pleased to see growing interest from women and younger people.
"You're having to not only cast a rod with a really light fly on the end of it, have accuracy, deal with the wind, deal with the elements, and then also have to pretty much hook it yourself and reel it in yourself without losing it," she said.
"So yeah, it's quite a lot."
Boyes described the Mataura as a "gold medal, blue ribbon fishery".
"It's got 700 fish per kilometre. You can easily spot fish all over the river system."
Veteran angler Mike Weddell, who has been fly fishing for more than 60 years, also shared his passion at the festival.
"It's a fantastic sport. What you used to see in the village back home, all the kids that fished all the time never got into trouble, except for coming home too late at night, he said.
Trevor will be honoured again with an official naming ceremony later this year, cementing his place as one of Gore’s most photographed and cherished landmarks.