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When Santa Claus failed to come to town to attend a community parade in Auckland, a female children's librarian stepped into the big guy's boots, but some kids were confused.
Despite his lead role in Devonport's Santa Claus Parade in 2005, Fiona Startup felt that the current rumor regarding Santa's dismissal by the Queen St parade, because the agency had refused to hire him a woman, was a sad affair.
"It sounds so ridiculous … Santa is traditionally a man and I think it's pretty petty to make it a bargain."
If that had not been a spontaneous decision, the Startup said the organizers would have found a man to play the role of Santa Claus.
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On the day of the Devonport parade in 2005, Santa, who was ill, had been sleeping too long, Startup said.
Devonport Flagstaff
Fiona Startup, then Fiona Brick, quickly replaced the big guy in red at the Lions' Devonport Christmas Parade in 2005.
"It's 11 o'clock, the band starts playing and [the organisers] look at me and say, 'Fiona, you're that!' "said the former children's librarian.
Startup, who was Fiona Brick at the time, played for many years as Mrs. Claus in the Devonport Lions' Santa Claus Parade.
She wore her homemade dress, Mrs. Claus, and was happy to take the reins and play the role of "Mother Christmas" the same day, mingling and taking pictures with children after the parade.
Amy Baker
Fiona Startup had to play the role of Santa Claus in 2005 when he did not participate in the annual Santa Devonport parade.
The reactions were mostly positive, after some initial confusion. "Where is Santa Claus?" was asked by some children.
A few adults commented: "It's obviously a very PC Santa Claus parade, we have a female Santa Claus," said Startup.
Having a female Santa Claus was "another first" for Devonport, which was the first place to accept women's votes 125 years ago, she added.
provided
Fiona Startup has filled many Christmas roles, including Mrs. Claus. Photo during a Christmas tale at the Devonport Library in 2005.
the North Shore TimesOn December 8, 2005, hundreds of children attended Santa's parade and were confused by the non-presence of the merry man in red and the absence of any explanation.
As the crowd dispersed, a disappointed child shouted to his mother, "We can not march past Santa without Santa!"
The organizer, Alan Smith, of the Devonport Lions Club, told the North Shore Times, "I was not the best chappy in the world and I did not have his name [Santa’s] programmed into my phone. "
Amy Baker
281118. News. Photo: Amy Baker / Stuff
Devonport Library, Devonport, Auckland.
Despite her support for Santa Claus, Startup admitted that she had once organized an event at the Takapuna Library, where a woman was playing Santa Claus, again desperate, after being run out of # 39 options to allow someone to don the famous red suit.
"One of the girls was Santa Claus – nobody knew it."
On Saturday morning, the President of the Christmas Parade Trust for Children, Michael Barnett, said that he had chosen to use a Santa Claus from a different agency for the Christmas Parade in Auckland.
HANNAH PETERS / GETTY IMAGES
Santa greets the crowd at the annual Farmers Santa Parade Parade on November 26, 2017 in Auckland, New Zealand. Farmers Santa Parade delighted the children of Auckland, marking the beginning of the Christmas season for 84 years.
"What Santa's agency said was:" You can not have a Santa Claus with breasts "and the agency talked about a support team with little skirts and tops – it was a statement that did not resemble the values of a family parade, "Barnett said.
- The 2010 Lions Devi Santa Claus Parade will take place this Sunday at 11 am from Clarence St, featuring a Santa Claus.
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