Two bronze Labrador sculptures will be placed in downtown Invercargill, despite strong arguments against their new home.
A notice of motion from departing Invercargill mayor Nobby Clark was approved with a narrow 7 – 6 vote at the final council meeting of the term on Tuesday.
It means the sculptures, created with public money by Invercargill Public Art Trail Charitable Trust, will be installed at Esk St near other installations paying homage to the natural environment.
Mana whenua representative Evelyn Cook said there were other places where the statues would fit, but not next to a weka, birds’ eggs, flounder/pātiki, kina or pāua.
“The mamae that will be in my ngākau as I walk down that street will be felt for the rest of my life,” Cook said.
“Not because I dislike Labrador dogs, or don’t want Labrador statues in the city, but because the process by which this has been done is so deeply flawed and is so deeply tainted by ‘we’re not going to let Ngāi Tahu have their way, and their say’.
“This is not exclusively a Ngāi Tahu story that is told by that narrative. It is the story of the welcome of strangers.”
The topic of the statues was discussed behind closed doors at a September committee meeting where installation at Esk St was not supported.
But the matter leaked out into the media when Clark told the Southland Times earlier this month that Cook said the area was “exclusively for their story”.
Grant Dermody chaired that committee meeting and said on Tuesday he had not heard any claim of exclusivity.
Six councillors voted against the Esk St location on Tuesday — Grant Dermody, Lesley Soper, Steve Broad, Alex Crackett, Darren Ludlow and Ria Bond.
Soper said there were other areas where the statues would enhance the story of the city, while Broad said the story of the heart of the city was one of being a food basket which brought people together.
Crackett said it was “never about exclusivity, always about storytelling”.
The vote ultimately passed 7 – 6, with mana whenua representatives unable to vote at full council.
Those in support included mayor Clark, deputy mayor Tom Campbell, Trish Boyle, Barry Stewart, Allan Arnold, Ian Pottinger and Peter Kett.
Campbell said it was a “stark” streetscape, and children would be happier for seeing the dogs.
“We should not be a killjoy council by preventing that.”
A report prepared for Tuesday’s meeting showed the statues were created on the back of a $15,000 grant approved by a council subcommittee in May. At the time, the committee noted Esk St would not be a likely location because of the cultural narrative at play.
The trust envisaged the sculptures would be placed in the centre of town but were happy to discuss ideas with the council, the report said.
The report also confirmed there were links to a cultural narrative on the street.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
