Statue to immortalise legend McCaw
''People will come from all around to see it.''
Kurow Museum Committee treasurer Jocelyn McIlraith
The artist commissioned to create a life-sized sculpture of Richie McCaw says a small concept model was created quickly and does not reflect the intended quality of the final product.
Oamaru artist Don Paterson said he had created the marquette within a couple of days to give the Kurow Museum Committee an idea of which posture they might prefer for the finished product.
‘‘The idea was about the posture, rather than an exact likeness.
‘‘I’ve got about 25 civic statues around the country, so I’m no newbie,’’ Paterson said.
Paterson’s other sculptures include one of French painter Charles Meryon in Akaroa and another of Captain Henry Cain in Timaru.
Kurow Museum Committee chairman John Sturgeon confirmed rugby legend McCaw had yesterday agreed to have a statue erected in his hometown.
‘‘Our committee wishes to acknowledge Richie McCaw’s outstanding rugby career with a permanent statue of our local Kurow lad,’’ Sturgeon said.
Sturgeon said donations had already started flowing in from the local community and he hoped the whole country would get in behind the statue.
‘‘We hope there will be interest shown by New Zealand Rugby and indeed all rugby clubs will be encouraged to donate,’’ he said.
‘‘For me to get a commission like this, is just out of the world,’’ Paterson said.
Kurow Museum Committee treasurer Jocelyn McIlraith said the committee chose Paterson because of his ‘‘impressive’’ works around Oamaru and Waimate.
‘‘The impact will be huge. People will come from all around to see it,’’ she said.
Plans to erect the statue would bemade within 12 months, giving the committee enough time to raise funds from the community.
‘‘We need to raise $50,000 by the time it is in place,’’ she said.