Don Driver mural’s still up in the air at airport

The future of a piece of New Plymouth’s aviation history remains up in the air.

The quarterly report of airport company Papa Rererangi i Puketapu was noted by New Plymouth District Council’s Performance Committee yesterday, and councillor Gordon Brown asked CEO Wayne Wootton what was happening with the Don Driver mural.

The piece has hung in the airport’s main terminal for 50 years, but there will be no space for it inside the replacement terminal which is under construction.

One suggestion is to house it outside, a move that could cost $100,000.

‘‘While it’s an important topic for many people it’s not my main priority at this stage,’’ Wootton told the committee.

Board chair Philip CoryWright said: ‘‘We don’t want to throw a whole lot of money at it; it’s not our core business. We want to find a solution that preserves it but doesn’t cost a ridiculous amount of money. It can’t go in the new terminal; it’s not feasible.’’

Councillor Colin Johnston said he was ‘‘really worried’’ about the artwork’s fate. ‘‘I’m absolutely sure that they don’t think that it’s part of the heritage of that airport there and that concerns me because it is.’’

Committee chair and deputy mayor Richard Jordan reminded the committee that the council had approved the design of the airport with the cultural expressions of Puketapu hapu¯ .

‘‘The board has carried that out explicitly to our instructions and they should be congratulated on that.’’