By Jeff Hampton
The inland Canterbury township of Springfield is back on the map with a big round flourish.
Its reserve boasts the country's biggest donut, a six-tonne special, replacing one that was torched in an arson attack.
It's back, bigger, better and with more sprinkles than ever – Springfield's distinctive donut has resprung, putting the township back on the map.
But this one's a tougher version, made of steel and concrete, unlike the last fibreglass one damaged by an arsonist.
“It's not in Aunt Daisy's cookbook, I can tell you,” says donut maker Battling Bill Woods. “So I went on to Google and couldn’t find it, went to Yahoo, Bing, couldn’t find anywhere how to build a concrete donut. So the closest I could get was a concrete boat.”
The makers of The Simpsons donated the original version as a promotional piece for The Simpsons Movie.
It attracted hordes of visitors, but someone took a dislike to it. The damaged one was temporarily replaced by an old tyre.
Townsfolk hit back. An engineering firm built the new one, Battling Bill Woods did the paint and sprinkles.
It has been two years in the making.
“When I first started to build, my next door neighbour came over and said it should be exhibited in the A&P show because it could be more edible than some of the other exhibits,” says Mr Woods.
The impressive 4m structure made an immediate impact.
“[It’s] awesome,” says Springfield resident Kylee Simpson. “He has done a great job. [It’s] good for the community. It's going to bring a lot more people.”
“[It] brought tears to my eyes,” says donut lover Larry Hamilton. “For the district I think it's marvellous.”
The donut may look appetising, but it is donut is built to last. Springfield residents are hoping its expiry date will be many years away.
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