The dragon, made from scrap metal, sitting on a large rock at night, at the end of Commons Ave, near Pilot Bay. Photo \/ Rosalie Liddle Crawford<\/p>\n
They said the guerrilla-style installation was an attempt to bring art to the public \u2013 but they were told on September 2 it must be removed within seven days.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe council want it removed. We didn\u2019t quite understand the reasoning \u2013 being that it didn\u2019t fit in with the cultural values of Tauranga. We thought it was a taniwha protecting the waterways,\u201d Graham said.<\/p>\n
The council granted a one-week extension to the removal deadline and have put a temporary barrier fence around the dragon for safety.<\/p>\n
The sculpture won\u2019t fit in their Mount home so Graham has contacted nearby property owners to see if the statue can be relocated.<\/p>\n
Despite some local support and an offer by the Footes to donate, maintain and care for the sculpture long-term, the council ruled the artwork in breach of its Street Use and Public Places Bylaw, Graham said.<\/p>\n
Graham and Carol Foote next to their 1.2m metal dragon sculpture which they have placed at the end of Commons Ave, Mount Maunganui. Photo \/ Rosalie Liddle Crawford<\/p>\n
A letter from the council said the dragon did not meet the criteria under its Civic Art Policy or Public Art Framework.<\/p>\n
The Weekend Sun approached the council about the statue and was referred to the letter sent to the Footes.<\/p>\n
Council bylaws officer Todd Martin said the piece, while appreciated, lacked the \u201ccultural or artistic significance specific to the Tauranga area\u201d required for permanent placement in a public space.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sculpture\u2019s current location presents potential risks to the public, particularly as it is not a council-managed asset and lacks formal assessment or protective measures,\u201d the letter said. <\/p>\n
The dragon sculpture will be removed. Photo \/ Brydie Thompson<\/p>\n
\u201cRespectfully, the dragon sculpture cannot remain at its current location.\u201d<\/p>\n
The dragon, which weighs two tonnes, was with the Footes for five years and was crafted entirely from scrap metal components like nuts, bolts, old tools, padlocks, horseshoes and car parts. <\/p>\n
It was originally a birthday gift to Carol, bought from Art of Outdoors in Pyes Pa \u2013 a business that imports unique recycled-metal sculptures from South Africa, with proceeds supporting artists\u2019 families back in their country.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had it on our orchard overlooking our lake at Pukehina, but we\u2019re selling that property now because we\u2019re heading towards 70,\u201d Graham said.<\/p>\n
Carol suggested bringing the sculpture closer to their Pilot Bay home. <\/p>\n
Graham carefully manoeuvred the sculpture into place with the help from a trailer, winch and a Landcruiser.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe disappointing part is that the council doesn\u2019t see it as having any artistic value. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe said we\u2019d gift it to the council, maintain it, everything. But they think it\u2019s a hazard and not art. It\u2019s kind of disappointing, but understandable \u2013 because we broke the law.\u201d<\/p>\n
The couple said the council has been \u201cvery easy to talk with\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Footes intended to gift the sculpture to Tauranga. Photo \/ Rosalie Liddle Crawford<\/p>\n
They\u2019re hoping it can be placed somewhere they can still see it.<\/p>\n
Graham didn\u2019t want it at Te Puna Quarry Park, known for its myriad of sculptures and art installations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll never see it. I want to drive past it. It\u2019s about making people happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The episode is the latest frustration for the Footes, who had also faced a three-year bureaucratic saga trying to gift 9ha of land at Pukehina to a local wetland society.<\/p>\n
They said mounting red tape and legal costs slowed their charitable intentions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why I didn\u2019t ask about the statue. I thought: \u2018I could be dead before they [the council] make a decision\u2019,\u201d Graham said.<\/p>\n
For now, the dragon awaits a new home \u2013 one where it can continue to delight passers-by without running afoul of city bylaws.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The dragon, made from scrap metal, sitting on a large rock at night, at the end of Commons…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17957,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[74,3378,442,498,499,500,1558,4378,19721,2199,5205,501,19718,156,19724,19720,3242,19725,17707,19722,1614,13233,9763,111,139,69,6662,19719,6848,19723,2194,1227,1361],"class_list":["post-17956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-after","tag-appeared","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-been","tag-breach","tag-bylaw","tag-city","tag-council","tag-design","tag-dragon","tag-entertainment","tag-given","tag-land","tag-large","tag-marching","tag-maunganui","tag-maunganuis","tag-metal","tag-mount","tag-mysteriously","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-off","tag-ordered","tag-orders","tag-pilot","tag-sculpture","tag-tauranga","tag-that"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}