Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Moves to remove suffrage memorial from Khartoum Place



Readers may recall my earlier post on the suffrage memorial at Khartoum Place. Well, it seems there's a lobby group prepared to convince Auckland City Council to remove it "saying the memorial blocks a view from Lorne St through the entrance of the $113 million Auckland Art Gallery upgrade to Albert Park," according to the NZ Herald today.

Personally, I like the memorial. It gives the city a splash of unexpected colour in the midst of drabness, and is something nice (along with the fountain) to sit beside while having lunch. Along with that, it's heritage, so of course I back the memorial.

Probably, though, the art lobby will get their way, and we'll lose something else of interest in the CBD.

7 comments:

  1. All I'll say to those who want that beautiful piece of art removed is excuse me? It's a tribute to Woman's Suffrage as you said Ice. It's in the league of similar drab minded people wanting the old Farmers Santa taken down because it was looking seedy and shabby and the winking eye might upset children..My Great Grandmother who was part of Woman's Suffrage were she still alive would certainly have something to say about a memorial to what she fought for and belived in being wiped from history - literally. It's part of Iconic NZ History. Removal would be a travesty.

    I rest my case

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  2. Cheers, Liz. The Council's CBD Board meeting later on today at 1pm should be interesting. I'm hoping to go to it for a listen.

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  3. I'm with you two; such a world-renown memorial should not be touched.
    Let us know what the decision is, please, Lisa.

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  4. Still waiting to hear. I was a shade crook yesterday and left town to come home before the meeting. Good comment today from Brian Rudman in the Herald, though.

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  5. Howdy

    You may be interested in Hamish Keith's latest blogpost re the mural and area.

    Cheers
    Sandy

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  6. Thanks for the heads up, Sandy. I'm glad that Mayor Brown has taken the mural on board. I realise that Hamish Keith is staunchly behind the Art Gallery spreading its influence over the surrounding neighbourhood -- but I still like Khartoum Place (and would prefer the name stay as it is, we've had enough lost history references around the place, ta very much). Okay, he suggests a statue instead of the mural -- but aren't there enough statues around the place? There's certainly a scarcity of murals in the central city. He may poo-pooh the Suffrage Mural because it doesn't fit into the artistic standards he judges it by, but -- I like it because it's different, and I still like its colours.

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  7. Still there & steps are improved

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