Source: Radio New Zealand
For the past four years, economist and philanthropist Gareth Morgan has been working on a giant art project north of Wellington, which he says has cost “tens of millions” of dollars.
Now, the well-known businessman and former political figure is ready to unveil his new sculpture trail, which features a 25-tonne feather, a giant seat and a rainbow bridge, among others – to the public.
Morgan says public art brings joy to people of all ages. “It’s incredible to see it. I just thought, ‘wouldn’t it be cool to generate something on a far grander scale down in Wellington.”
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“This is my retirement project,” he says. “When Covid struck there was no more motorcycling – I spent 20 years riding bikes around the world with my wife – so I followed her around the garden with a wheelbarrow for a couple of weeks, then she told me to get my own garden.
“So, two weeks later, I bought this… That was six years ago, and I’m still digging.”
The massive park bench was inspired by the normal-sized benches that dot the 9-hole golf course on the property.
RNZ / Mark Papalii
Morgan says he was never really interested in art until some sculptures he put up outside his Mount Maunganui home created a bit of happy chaos.
“All the tourists, instead of taking photos of the beach, they stand now, and they just take photos of the house with all the sculptures out, so it has become a major attraction.”
The sculptures at his Transmission Gully property are designed with Wellington’s notorious weather in mind, Morgan says.
“The site is sometimes beautiful, calm, like being in the tropics and other times it is a howling gale and each time you get a different impact on your sculptures.”
Morpheus and Cumulus both move when strong Wellington winds rip through them.
Morpheus is an orange nine-metre-tall sculpture which features three teardrops that move in the wind. It’s the work of Phil Price, who also created the lime green Protoplasm sculpture on Wellington’s Lambton Quay.
RNZ / Mark Papalii
Cumulus is a two-dimensional 18-metre-tall sculpture by Neil Dawson which conveys clouds and two ladders leading to the sky.
RNZ / Mark Papalii
Dawson, who created notable works such as The Chalice which sits in Cathedral Square in Christchurch, and the Ferns sculpture that normally hangs above Wellington’s Civic Square, also created Touchdown, which is shaped like the feather on the front gate.
Touchdown is a 25-tonne, 17-metre high sculpture that’s visible from the Transmission Gully motorway.
Dawson created it after noticing feathers being whisked around by the wind when on a site visit.
Touchdown is visible from the Transmission Gully motorway.
RNZ / Mark Papalii
The colossal sculpture was brought in on a house moving truck and then craned onto the top of the hill where it was laid down on 32 bolts perfectly.
“Isn’t that unreal when you think of the size of this? That the guys had got it right to the millimetre, 32 bolts, it is just unreal.”
The rest of the 5km trail includes a 7.3-metre-high giant seat, which Morgan himself came up with the concept for, and a 100-year-old rail bridge from Trentham in Upper Hutt painted in rainbow colours.
The rainbow bridge on at Gareth Morgan’s Transmission Gully property.
RNZ / Mark Papalii
He says the sculpture trail is a passion project.
“It just keeps me busy during my retirement otherwise I go sterile or do something even sillier and get back into politics or economics, and I don’t want to go backwards.”
The Morgans’ sculpture trail currently features 10 sculptures, with five more to arrive. It will be open to private bookings.
The Wellington Street Icons piece is a tribute to four men who men who were well known in central Wellington: Michael Wahrlich (known as Mike the Juggler), John D’Estaing Adams (known as Kenny), Robert Jones (known as Bucket Man) and Ben Hana (known as Blanket Man).
RNZ / Mark Papalii
The mechanical sculpture Star Crossed Lovers by Tamara Kevsitadze moves to tell the true story of a Muslim boy and a Christian girl struggling to sustain their love.
RNZ / Mark Papalii
There is plenty to surprise and delight among the sculpture collection.
RNZ / Mark Papalii
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand