Edmonds ‘Sure to Rise’ sign at centre of dispute

Press, 14 March 1987, Page 9

Edmonds ‘Sure to Rise’ sign at centre of dispute

By

DAVID CLARKSON

The Edmonds factory’s "Sure to Rise” sign — a Linwood landmark — is the centre of a dispute between its owners and the Historic Places Trust. Brierley Investments, Ltd, which owns the Ferry Road factory, plans to remove the sign, but there has been a protest from the trust.

The building has a B classification in the trust’s register, as a building which merits permanent preservation because of its “very great historical significance or architectural quality.” The slogan atop the building and the bold facade have become widely known through their appearance on the cover of the “Edmonds Cookery Book.”

The building dates from

1920, and according to the chairman of the trust’s Canterbury regional committee, Mrs Connie Wood, the classification is meant to cover the sign as well.

She said the trust’s national office had objected to the plan to remove the sign, and hoped the company would agree to keep it there. The property manager for Brierley Investments in Auckland, Mr Peter Gibson, said the company had told the trust and the Christchurch City Council of its plan to remove the sign.

A structural survey of the sign was required each year, he said. "Also, it is attached to the parapet of the building which in itself does not meet the earthquake requirements, and we are going to be taking the sign

down,” he said. Mr Gibson says the trust’s classification applied only to the building, but Mrs Wood said the building “is nothing without the ’Sure to Rise’ sign.”

The company wants to put the sign into storage, but according to Mr Gibson it would be “more than happy” to give it to Ferrymead Historic Park. The director of Ferrymead, Mr Robin Sutton, said the park would only be able to consider taking the sign if there was an offer of finance with it.

The park was in "pretty dire straits financially” and such a large sign would dwarf any building at the park. “It is not a simple thing to answer. There are lots of practical difficulties,” he said.