Shirley Cameron, of Aramoana, with a small sample of her more than 320 elephants. Photo by Gerard O'Brien.
From a toothbrush holder in the bathroom, to a watering can sitting on the kitchen shelf, to crammed shelves in the lounge, elephants fill every room of Mrs Cameron's Aramoana home and she is rapidly running out of room for more.
"I'm not even sure how it started," she said.
"I might pick up the odd one now and then, and family and friends who wanted to give me something seemed to give me elephants.
"Elephants have grown on me because they are such a family animal.
They look after each other and I relate a lot to them because of that."
One of her grandsons once gave her an elephant ornament and was disappointed to discover that his sister had already given her the same elephant, she said.
