Soldier sculpture proposed
Poignant or confronting, a proposed sculpture of a military serviceman with a weapon in the patrol position has been supported in principle to guard Palmerston North’s bridge-tobase shared pathway.
Veterans and artists Tim Wilson and Trevor Mills will receive a letter of support from mayor Grant Smith to help with fundraising to create the $72,000 life-size bronze figure.
Toa o Manawatu¯ would be a commemoration of contemporary military servicemen and women of the three arms of the Defence Force.
Its likely site would be along the He Ara Kotahi shared pathway being built to create an offroad link from the Fitzherbert Bridge to Linton Military Base.
Smith said there were still details to sort out about the design and location of the sculpture, but it was a poignant sort of project that needed the council’s encouragement.
But several councillors had serious misgivings.
Cr Lorna Johnson said ‘‘some people might find the design quite confrontational’’, and Cr Brent Barrett said he was not comfortable with the concept of a soldier on active patrol holding a weapon in a state of readiness.
They were also concerned the artists had not yet consulted Rangita¯ne about the form and siting of the sculpture.
Wilson and Mills are veterans of the East Timor campaign, and said that their intention was to create a sculpture to commemorate all deployments from Manawatu¯ since the Vietnam War.
The concept had firm support from defence leaders, they said.