Ratepayers foot bill for sculpture protest in city
Hamilton’s iconic Tongue of the Dog sculpture will be getting a thorough scrub-out this week due to concerns that damage from an Anzac Day protest may be permanent.
The water in prominent fountains across the country, including in Christchurch, Nelson, Auckland, and Wellington, were dyed red by anti- Gaza war protesters.
Southern Victoria St’s Tongue of the Dog was also targeted and while Waikato protest leaders denied knowledge of who was responsible, one called it a “good symbolic action“.
Waikato Museum’s communication and marketing executive Annabel Morrell said the water flowing through the sculpture will be shut off while it was cleaned.
“The water supply was switched off to minimise damage to both the external and internal components of the sculpture and pools,” Morrell said.
“Following patch testing to identify the best process for removal, specialist contractors will be cleaning Tongue of The Dog and surrounding areas this week. The water will be switched back on once this is complete.”
It’s too early to know the extent of the damage, said Morrell, but patch testing done earlier this week looked promising. The costs of cleaning the sculpture will be covered by Hamilton City Council’s budget allowance for on-going and reactive maintenance of public art.
Posters seen at the Wellington protest, which left the famous bucket fountain in Cuba St dyed red, displayed anti-war messages such as “Do not normalise Anzac violence”.
Kate Hayward, the acting secretary for the Palestine Human Rights Campaign Waikato, said she had no knowledge of who might have placed the dye in the water, but that she would try to find out.
She hoped people will focus on the intentions of the protesters.
“When you think about it, it’s quite a good symbolic action. But it’s intent, I’m sure, was not to cause damage,” Hayward said.
Co-convener of Justice for Palestine Samira Zaitoun said while the organisation supports the protesters’ message, she said they had nothing to do with the organising of the protest, and wouldn’t comment on the protesters’ actions.
Tongue of the Dog is not a war memorial sculpture, nor does it have any military connotations. Artist Michael Parekowhai’s original intention for the artwork was for it to symbolise the origin story of the Waikato River, in which Tongariro sends a servant dog to his ailing sister Taupiri, clearing a path for the healing waters.
The museum is hoping to have those symbolic waters flowing once again in a week’s time.