FITZGERALD STATUE

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 243, 11 July 1938, Page 5

FITZGERALD STATUE

Gift Accepted After Four

Y r ears

CHRISTCHURCH MEMORIAL

Dominion Special Service.

Christchurch, July 10.

The Fitz Gerald statue first offered Christchurch by Mr. R. E. Green four and a half years ago was accepted on Friday afternoon by the Christchurch Domains Board. The board made its decision after discussion in committee, making the acceptance upon certain conditions. The conditions are that the statue and site are approved by the board, and that the board is not involved in expense for the erection of the memorial. The site will be somewhere within the board’s reserves, and will therefore most likely find a place in the Botanic Gardens or in Hagley Bark. The statue of James Edward FitzGerald, first superintendent, of the Canterbury Province, has been a subject of dispute since it was first offered to the city council in 1934. It was to have been placed in Latimer Square, but the city council decided not to continue with its plans, and several times reaffirmed this decision. Mr. Green offered the memorial to the Christchurch Beautifying Association in 1930, and It was accepted provided the association was put to no cost. The association later stated that it was not in a position financially to accept it, and the statue has remained in bond until this day. A further suggestion, to place the memorial on Evans Pass, above Sumner and Lyttelton, has not been adopted. It was reported during the negotiations that the memorial had been made at a cost of £lOOO. It stood Sft. Sin. high, and was cast in bronze. The plaster cast was made by Mr. F. A. Shurrock, of the Canterbury University College School of Art. The bronze replica was made in England.