Ceremony for a mural

Press, 28 February 1981, Page 6

Ceremony for a mural

The mural painted on the concrete wall along the Fitzgerald Avenue walkway by the Avon River was officially handed over to the city of Christchurch at an unusual and informal ceremony yesterday morning. The mural, designed by Ms Robyn Conway, depicts dogs playing with a ball. To mark the gravity of the affair a ball was tossed into the river and two dogs, after some coaxing, swam across. Unfortunately they lost the ball on the way, but another was presented to the chairman of the Christchurch City Council’s works and traffic committee, Cr D. C. Close. After which all adjourned for cream cakes and champagne outside the Avon boat sheds. The idea started when Te Whanau Trust was planting trees along the river bank in August, Ms Conway said. Seeing dogs romping around and ducks

flying overhead, the idea came to mind fairly lyThe painting was done by eight to 10 students employed under the students community service programme during the Christmas holiays, and took about a month to complete. The design, which took some time to perfect, covers 45 panels over about 100 metres. When passed quickly it seems as if the dogs are actually moving. Cr Close said that the only reservation the council had was that of maintenance. However, this would be done by the trust. He believes there might be other blank walls in Christchurch that could be spruced up in a similar fashion. It was hoped that the mural might put an end to ugly graffiti. Where murals have been painted overseas the graffiti has all but disappeared.