Plans for town sculpture halted
A 7.5-metre gateway sculpture celebrating Feilding’s founder is on hold as organisers search for volunteers to push the project.
Colonel Feilding’s Gateway has been earmarked to stand on a grass patch on the elbow of Fergusson St, but Feilding and District Promotion need people to source materials and drive funding.
The 7.5m-high and 13m-wide statue will sit between South and Warwick streets, with the hope of drawing traffic to the town centre from Manfeild.
It consists of a letter box sitting on a wire gate and fence, with Colonel William Feilding’s name on it.
Colonel Feilding spearheaded one of the few successful private immigration schemes in New Zealand when in 1871 he rode through what was to become Manchester Block - and ultimately the town of Feilding. He purchased the 43,000 hectares of land for £75,000.
Plans for the sculpture were drawn up by Feilding Promotion, which ran a design competition several years ago. Architect Dean Turner won and created the design.
However, since the organisation’s restructure in 2016, when it became Feilding and District Promotion, the project has stagnated, chairman Jason Smith said.
‘‘It hasn’t gone far to be honest, but it is on the table as a project that we’re still working on.’’
Smith estimated the sculpture would cost about $50,000.
Before fundraising could start, work needed to be done to ensure the structure’s longevity. That involved sourcing materials that wouldn’t wear after only a few years.
Deputy mayor Michael Ford, formerly chairman of Feilding Promotion, unveiled plans for the sculpture at the unveiling of Manfeild’s Brendon Hartley Dr in December.
The idea came about because Fergusson St has an elbow that blocks visibility further up. That means traffic coming out of Manfeild have an obscured view and cannot see the town’s retail hub.
‘‘As visitors exit [Manfeild] they will eyeball this sculpture, they will think ‘what the heck?’ they will go and have a closer look and then they will see our town centre.’’
Mayor Helen Worboys said the sculpture would help the town’s retailers attract more visitors.
While Manfeild had the biggest events, the town’s retail centre sometimes missed out on the economic benefit, she said.
‘‘If you’re a visitor and coming out of Manfeild, you don’t know there’s all that hospitality down the road.’’
Worboys managed Feilding Promotion when the competition to design a sculpture was run. She hoped the new organisation would follow it through.
It had been granted a resource consent by the Manawatu¯ District Council, Worboys said. ‘‘It would be fantastic to get it done.’’
Feilding and District Promotion project co-ordinator Raewyn Loader was also part of the original team that voted for the winning design.
She lauded the design for its rustic and natural feeling.
‘‘It would be something different in New Zealand and it would be rural... it would be Feilding.’’