Sculptors work almost done

It has been nearly five years in the making, but sculptors Marco and Brigitte Wuest's ability to help bring Hairy Maclary and his friends to life will be finally be on show next month.

Hairy and his eight friends - Scarface Claw, Slinky Malinki, Hercules Morse, Muffin McLay, Bottomley Potts, Schnitzel von Krumm, Bitzer Maloney and Zachary Quack - will soon take up permanent residence on the grass next to the children's playground on The Strand.


Hairy Maclary mould maker Marco Wuest and sculptor Brigitte Wuest with author Lynley Dodd at The Waterfront location where the sculptures will be placed. Photo: Tracy Hardy.

This comes after years of being cooped up in storage while the project's $800,000 was raised.

And no-one is more excited to it see the bronzed project in its entirety than the Kapiti Coast couple.

'In only a month's time they will be standing here,” says Brigitte, viewing the designated waterfront area with husband Marco and Dame Lynley Dodd.

'It is very exciting now that it is all finally happening.”

Right back at the beginning, Brigitte worked closely with Lynley, the author and illustrator of the beloved children's book series, chatting via Skype on a regular basis.

Brigitte's husband Marco then made fiberglass and silicon moulds of his wife's sculptures so foundryman Jonathan Campbell could cast them in bronze.

Then, out of the Normandale foundry, walked Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy and his popular friends.

Last week the first sod for the Hairy Maclary & Friends waterfront sculpture project was turned ahead of the long-awaited unveiling.

The sculptures were commissioned by Creative Tauranga.

Today the trio spent the afternoon marking out where the popular characters would each sit ahead of lighting installation and concrete slabs being poured for the unveiling.

Some two days before the event, they will return to mount the nine statues, in an area Marco believes is a perfect fit.

'It's been going on for four-and-a-half years,” says Marco. 'It's a shame having them locked up in storage for so long.

'The first time we came here this was just car parks and now it's come a long way.”

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23 comments

Ratepayers?

Posted on 10-06-2015 17:04 | By YOGI BEAR

So looks to me like another bunch of people sucking off the ratepayer for their hobby. Add to that also that this commercial business type activity is not contributing anything at all to it, just amazing ....


Totally agree Yogi

Posted on 10-06-2015 17:48 | By Kenworthlogger

Well ratepayers come council local election time lets kick out the councilors again who let this total waste of $800,000 happen. lets have another clean sweep of councillors,!!


Ratepayers?

Posted on 11-06-2015 10:04 | By Matt.Cowley

No ratepayer money went to the bronze statues. Council supported the surrounding landscaping, which is part of the waterfront plan.


Drunks, vagrants and losers

Posted on 11-06-2015 10:10 | By How about this view!

frequent this patch of town after the sun goes down, so what will the wishlist be next? Maybe more cctv cameras to watch over the statues or will we be revisiting the schemes to run the rail lines underground to "open-up our magnificent new development"? Think EMPIRE BUILDING at ratepayers expense and the only winners are the pay packets of the long term seat warmers in their council offices. Great photo opportunities though!


I agree to kenworthlogger

Posted on 11-06-2015 10:41 | By I love God

have a clean sweep


I see

Posted on 11-06-2015 10:48 | By earlybird

the whingers & moaners are back on the job. You, YOGI BEAR & Kenworthlogger, may want to live in a wasteland but I don't. I'm sure there are plenty of towns in Africa & Asia that have no public amenities and no rates, so why don't you go and live your happy lives there?


@Matt.Cowley

Posted on 11-06-2015 12:10 | By BullShtAlert

Just questioning your statement about no ratepayer money going into the bronze statues. When first agreed didn't Council insist on Cretative Tauranga raising about $150,000 for their ongoing maintenance? Did then Council cave in and agree to pay for the ongoing maintenance? If so, where is that money coming from, ratepayers perhaps? Also, how much ratepayers money do you give to Creative Tauranga every year and how many years has it taken them to finish this project that the community really really wanted? I'm actually not against the statues and think it will be nice although expensive, but I'm concerned about what I call truth in funding and I'm concerned about how this project has been managed.


chipshop

Posted on 11-06-2015 12:34 | By chipshop

I thinks its great nice to see something positive happening in town. Good on them, Shame on all you narrow minded whingers.


Good on you

Posted on 11-06-2015 13:23 | By earlybird

Matt.Cowley. Just proves that the usual whingers & moaners are completely uninformed as we have come to expect.


Do it!

Posted on 11-06-2015 13:27 | By socantor01

What a lot of prune-faced negative wowsers we seem to have in Tauranga! Culture in the form of art, be it sculptures, paintings or horror of horrors, a museum, helps define a city. There is very little here, perhaps this is a sad reflection of the inhabitants lack of a decent broad education.


Matt.Cowley

Posted on 11-06-2015 14:26 | By YOGI BEAR

Sadly not so, TC have spent a huge amount of time on this and will continue to do so. In addition the full funding needed is not there, that means in the future and bills will yet again fall back on to TCC ratepayers, I can see it coming now, yet another melon coming ratepayers way.


@earlybird re ratepayers money

Posted on 11-06-2015 14:59 | By BullShtAlert

Before you get too congratulatory to Matt.Cowley you might like to wait for his answer to my question about his claim. It may well be that no money so far has gone into the statues. But I think you'll find the full story will reveal that ratepayers are now up for the $150,000 maintenance fund that was originally part of the deal. As said, I'm not against the project, but I do appreciate knowing the full cost, including what I believe will be a cost to ratepayers. I think that cost should come from the annual grant of ratepayers money to Creative Tauranga. I call that accountability. Hopefully Matt.Cowley will reply.


socantor01 & earlybird

Posted on 11-06-2015 21:24 | By How about this view!

We can only presume that your lives are perfect or that you live in a fantasy world where everything is sweetness and light. IN THE REAL WORLD, there are many who are not specifically against any of these non-sense projects, providing OUR lives are as perfect as yours and we have world class footpaths, street lighting, sewage, water reticulation, rubbish free streets, a safe downtown environment for visitors and residents etc. etc. etc. THE CORE OBJECTIVES OF A RESPONSIBLE COUNCIL and any money that is then left over YOU and the other minority whiners can fight over for your nice things.


Response to maintenance

Posted on 12-06-2015 13:57 | By Matt.Cowley

No ratepayer money was used to purchase the statues. All art on public land will be maintained by Council in accordance with the Public Art Policy, unless agreed otherwise. The previous Council (September 2013) voted to drop the maintenance bond. The $150,000 maintenance costs was the total over the next 50 years (approx $3k per year). The landscaping that Council funded will minimise maintenance costs (e.g. no need for weed wackers). The Public Arts Policy sets out when Council will accept public art works (factoring in maintenance costs) and when we


Thanks Matt

Posted on 12-06-2015 14:14 | By BullShtAlert

A clear explanation and at $3000 a year it doesn't seem too bad. But I believe in accountability and the money should come from the hundreds of thousands of dollars a year ratepayers pour into creative tauranga.


OK

Posted on 14-06-2015 09:36 | By Kenworthlogger

Lets call it community money then if we want to split hairs. It could be better spent in the community helping out somewhere else.


DANCE OF THE DESPERATE

Posted on 03-07-2015 19:57 | By ROCCO

Undertakings given in respect of this happy little venture were not kept and the thing took forever to get to the end game. Finance was never in place and possibly still not all there even yet. Council agreed only to waive the maintenance bond because there was never a sh** show in hell that would ever be forthcoming but TCC did not remove the obligation on the perpetrators of this liability to meet the annual cost of maintaining the beasts so lets stick with that.TCC Ratepayers were assured there would be no financial obligation on them so TCC need to honour that promise.I for one am sick am tired everytime things turn to custard of having to foot the bills for dreamers indulgences.We should be enraged about what has happened here and if Cr.Crowley is happy with the state of affairs have a whip around CouncilChambers for the dosh.


There is a name for it

Posted on 03-07-2015 20:59 | By CONDOR

Councillor Cowley its called kleptomania and when it gets bad TCC usually take something for it from Ratepayers funds.Be warned in this case you shouldn't go there as it could prove to be very nasty around 2016 Local Body elections time if you do so.Public are very very upset over this charade!!!


Matt.Cowley

Posted on 04-07-2015 16:16 | By YOGI BEAR

No money from ratepayers? Wow I think you need to read it again, more or less the money all came from ratepayer handouts (meant to be none) and from TECT, mostly TCC ratepayers ... matt, either you don't understand things that are simple or you are choosing to ignore the obvious.


Kenworthlogger

Posted on 05-07-2015 11:20 | By YOGI BEAR

"Community Funding", please don't say that, the real meaning of that phase is "Rates, rates and more rates" these wombles think that Community funding is something different when it is not, that it is someone else's money, not theirs ... its ours that they spend, get it?


Someone creamed it.

Posted on 05-07-2015 14:36 | By kellbell

Having regard to the obscene cost of this`plaything I can understand why they are all standing about grinning like Cheshire cats.


Kellbell

Posted on 06-07-2015 16:48 | By YOGI BEAR

No, you are not right there, it is not right to say that "Someone" creamed it. For the totally ridiculous idea and the cost of it there had to be many involved all "creaming it" and so that is why no one could legitimately raise the required money needed and as spelled out by TCC. Of course the real reason for TCC then dropping the ball doubled leaves more questions than answers. Why promise not to put any ratepayer funds in then thrown is several lots at it? Why set a minimum funds level needed then relent, relent and in the end of course ratepayers will be made to pay and pay ....


Pockets lined with gold?

Posted on 09-07-2015 16:27 | By YOGI BEAR

Wonder just how much and who, the cost of these waste of space objects seems to have reached a pinnacle. But having said that TCC is always able to out do anything before, it has done it before and will do it again.


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