Meads legend cast in bronze
Sir Colin Meads will have a statue erected in his honour in his hometown of Te Kuiti.
The legendary All Black, who is battling pancreatic cancer, will have a 1.5-times larger than lifesize bronze statue of him, to stand on the town’s main street.
The statue is set to be unveiled in June next year, to coincide with the British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand.
Meads, who played 133 games for the All Blacks from 1957-1971 and was named Player of The Century in 1999, has always been one for no fuss, and was said to be typically understated when he found out about the statue.
Standing 2.9 metres-high, the sculpture, which will depict Meads at the pinnacle of his All Black career, will weigh close to a tonne. Led by the town’s development committee – Legendary Te Kuiti (LTK) – whose mission is to make the small rural north King Country town a legendary place to live, work and play – the project team is now seeking more funding for the statue.
LTK project manager Yvette Ronaldson said the statue is costing a significant amount so they are appealing to the New Zealand public to help fund it.
‘‘It’s the Kiwi way for communities to get behind these types of projects and this is certainly one of the special ones, significant for many New Zealanders,’’ Ronaldson said. ‘‘Not only is Sir Colin iconic in terms of rugby, he has given so much to the Te Kuiti community and the country for many years.
‘‘His support of a huge variety of charities alone is immeasurable.
‘‘We believe it is now time for us as a town and a country, to pay homage to him, to thank him.’’
An exhibition of memorabilia from the Meads brothers – Sir Colin and Stan – will be opened to the public at the same time.
‘‘Our goal is to turn this project into a major attraction for Te Kuiti, and our wider district alike,’’ Waitomo mayor Brian Hanna said.
‘‘The significant tourist numbers expected for the Lions tour – 20,000-plus with the vast majority to be based in the North Island – is the perfect opportunity to open the Meads exhibition to not only New Zealanders but the rugby world.
‘‘It is also great to have the sup- port of the wider Meads family, who are pleased to share the amazing collection of rugby memorabilia collected over many years with the New Zealand and international public.’’
NZ Rugby chairman Brent Impey said the project was a fantastic idea, and a great way for Te Kuiti to celebrate one of their own.
‘‘It goes without saying that Sir Colin is one of New Zealand’s special treasures – both as an All Black, but also as a great example of what it means to be a New Zealander,’’ Impey said.
‘‘What we love about Sir Colin is that despite the international recognition and praise heaped on him, he just considers himself to be a guy from Te Kuiti.
‘‘One might suspect that he’ll be none pleased about this fuss, but even he will have to admit the statue will be a great attraction for tourists coming over for the British and Irish Lions tour next year, and that’s got to be great for Te Kuiti.’’
Hanna, who has been a driving force behind getting the statue project off the ground, is very pleased the man known the world over as Pinetree will soon be immortalised.
‘‘This will be a fantastic tribute to our most famous legend,’’ Hanna said. ‘‘A statue of Sir Colin is well overdue.’’
The statue will be made by Natalie Stamilla, the Auckland artist responsible for the bronze statue of All Black great Michael Jones scoring the first try in the opening game of the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987, which is in pride of place at Eden Park.
‘‘I’m thrilled to have been asked to create a sculpture of the Player of the Century, Sir Colin,’’ she said.
‘‘The committee working on this has come up with a magnificent way to honour one of rugby’s real legends and I’m excited to be a part of it.’’
Hanna said the statue and exhibition will be of economic benefit to Te Kuiti in attracting visitors to the region, as well as honouring the country’s greatest All Black for all time. He is hopeful additional funding will be forthcoming.
‘‘We are on our way with this project, but do need more financial support to see it through.
‘‘So I am hopeful the national business and private sector will get behind us.’’