Suzanne Williams

To be or not to be? That is the question.

I’m not surprised by the overwhelming response to the low-key announcement of a proposed sculpture intended for the carpark at the Hub. Such an important intention should have had wider publicity than it did, in my opinion, although I could be wrong in this as I am a non-social media user. Opinion appears to be roughly equally divided in the Beacon.

The Dickinson/Mossman letter of October 30 on this matter is very good as far as it goes; which is addressing, with a big sell, the “whether” and the “why”, but not the “what” or the “where”.

We can have little doubt that the creation of a beautiful, striking kiwi will be great for our town, in the manner of the kiwifruit, the carrot, the trout, the sheepdog, the big sheep and, of course, the L&P bottle.

What we cannot agree on is the form and whereabouts of this important sculpture. Do we want a huge lump of rusting iron which, to some, owes more to the backside of an elephant than to our iconic kiwi, stuck in the middle of a commercial carpark?

Or do we opt for the purchase of a small, grassy, bushy piece of land as close as possible to the town entrance; with, upon it, the big, recognisable image of our beloved kiwi in its own habitat, the bushy places of Whakatane?

A big acknowledgement and “thank you” to the developers of the Kiwi Trail of wee sculptures, as well as the Kiwi Trust of tireless workers.

I am hoping that there has been no final decision as to this by the “powers that be” – the Arts Society?

With a thing as important as this, our district councillors should have input; though imperfect, they are our representatives.

We need careful consideration of this by them, with project ideas and tenders put out for local artists to act upon, rather than, as has been the case from my perspective, being presented with a fait accompli.