Brian Rogers Rogers Rabbits www.sunlive.co.nz

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First published: February 8, 2008

This week I'd like to get into the pink dress. Not literally, of course, as it's probably not my size and wouldn't match any of my boat shoes. I mean we need to get into the subject.

It's time the city rallied in support of Tauranga's finest icon – The Pink Dress.

Worn by (then mayoress) Mary Dillon during the 1983 royal visit of (then breathing) Princess Diana to Tauranga and the opening of (then adequate) Baycourt, the pink dress is one of many prized items in the collection of Tauranga's (not breathing either) museum.

Lately, it's quite distressing to read that Mary's dress has been at the centre of a lot of filthy politicking, and some people, clearly lacking any dignity or respect, have dared to question its importance in the annals of Tauranga's history.

How dare they. Tasteless individuals with no sense of heritage, pride or socially acceptable hemlines. Crass comments about the importance of The Pink Dress could only come from those lacking moral fibre, no sense of community and awful colour coordination. They probably wear brown shoes with grey suits and socks that don't match. They would be the same sort of people who place more priority on dirty, noisy, boring things like roads and sewer pipes; than vital community assets such as museums and galleries.

Heritage symbols

The Pink Dress rates right up there with the great symbols of the region's heritage. It should take pride of place alongside those iconic items of famous Bay of Plenty notables: Bob Owens' first forklift; the cat gut from Susan Devoy's world championship winning squash racquet; Humpty Dumpty's original, dangerously high and politically incorrect Memorial Park wall; the last barnacle from a Faulkner's Ferry; Hori BOP's bathroom scales; a certain Mercedes Benz driven by a certain prominent citizen which careered off a certain boat ramp into the harbour; and former Tauranga Primary School student and Rocky Horror Show creator Richard O'Brien's collection of fishnet stockings.

International status

On the international scene, The Pink Dress rivals the best the world has to offer. It has more class than the white dress of that tart, Marilyn Monroe. Plus, our pink number doesn't blow up in unpredictable wind conditions, is a safer colour on pedestrian crossings and accessorises well with pearls and a nice bag.

The Pink Dress is in a much better state of preservation than the grubby old Shroud of Turin and certainly less questionable in its authenticity. It is much easier to display than the Imelda Marcos shoe collection. Our pink dress has fewer stains than Monica Lewinsky's infamous blue dress and smells better; thankfully Mary doesn't smoke cigars. And it is certainly more tasteful than Borat's mankini and I would say, a tad warmer.

The Pink Dress could possibly even be matched by the infamous pink cardie of Mrs Lange.

My only regret is that The Pink Dress could not have been displayed in the new Tauranga Art Gallery when the see-through glass floor was still operational, so we could have viewed the marvellous garment from every perspective.

Bay day

We need a public holiday declared in the Bay of Plenty, one day each year when we celebrate the region's unique heritage, with the iconic skirt as the symbolic centrepiece. And since last weekend's Auckland Anniversary is such a waste of time for anyone south of the Bombays, I vote we break from the shackles of Jafadom and nominate that holiday be renamed as Bay of Plenty independence day: ‘Pink Dress Day' will be in honour of Mary Dillon and the many other fine civic leaders who have blazed a trail across the region, all the time adhering to a sensible and impeccably tasteful sense of fashion.

Fishnet stockings are optional.

brian@thesun.co.nz