Henry, the tuatara, and his friends will be moved out of the museum building today to a temporary home to allow work to progress on the redevelopment of the Southland Museum and Art Gallery.
The group will be moved because of geotechnical work beginning on site next month, which will cause some noise and vibrations that could affect the wellbeing of the tuatara.
Invercargill pupils Laura and William Gibson, were among the many who visited the park to farewell the cherished residents yesterday.
"We heard about it in the radio when Mum was driving us to school and I asked her if we could come to see him.
"Henry is very popular in our family — we always come here to see him," Laura said.
"I think the next time I’ll see him, I will be 10 [years old]!"
A council spokewoman said a karakia would be performed today before the relocation took place.
The karakia will not be open to the public.
Henry and his friends would be moved to a safe council location within Invercargill until the council decided where in Queens Park their new home would be, she said.
