AUCKLAND CITY COUNCIL

9 May 2006

Queen Victoria gets some much needed beauty treatment

Albert Park’s Queen Victoria statue will take a temporary vacation from Thursday to undergo some much needed repair.

The bronze statue, by artist Francis J. Williamson, was identified as requiring remedial work in a condition audit undertaken by Auckland City earlier this year of all the art works in the city’s public art collection.

The purpose of the audit was to identify renewal and remedial work required, and develop maintenance plans for each work.

An initial assessment rated the condition of each work and the level of risk associated with it, and then Auckland City identified and prioritised the artworks most in need of attention.

Detailed condition surveys on the prioritised artworks were then undertaken, which included costing the renewal/repair work required and developing and costing the ongoing maintenance plan.

The next step in the process is to undertake the renewal and repair work on the prioritised artworks.

Once removed, the bronze statue of Queen Victoria, which was unveiled in May 1899 to commemorate her 60-year reign, will be treated for bronze disease, have corrosion removed and a new surface coating applied before being reinstalled at the end of June.

Other artworks that have been identified as priorities in the audit will also undergo renewal over the coming months. These include Richard McWhannell’s Night Errant in Grey Lynn Park, Greer Twiss’ Karangahape Rocks in Pigeon Park (corner Symonds Street and Karangahape Road) and Spring, one of the four seasons statues in the Auckland Domain.

Ends

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