New Zealand Memorial in London - press releases: UK

Includes artist profiles, background information and contacts

13 September 2006

New Zealand Memorial Plans Unveiled for Hyde Park Corner

Plans for a striking new memorial to commemorate the 'strong and enduring' relationship between the United Kingdom and New Zealand will be unveiled today (Wednesday 13 September)

Around 120 guests are due to attend a reception at the New Zealand High Commission this evening where details of the proposed memorial in Hyde Park, London, will be revealed to the media for the first time.

The memorial, which is currently being constructed at Hyde Park Corner, will be officially dedicated this Armistice Day, 11 November, and attended by dignitaries from both countries, war veterans, friends of New Zealand and the extensive New Zealand community currently living and working in Britain.

Called 'Southern Stand', the memorial was chosen from 12 designs shortlisted from a field of 68 expressions of interest. The winning design is by New Zealand architect John Hardwick-Smith and sculptor Paul Dibble. It consists of 16 cross-shaped vertical bronze 'standards' set out in formation across the north east corner of Hyde Park Corner. Each standard weighs up to 700kg and is adorned with individual text, patterns and small sculptures. With some of the standards towering 4.5 metres high the striking memorial will be seen from afar.

When announcing the selection of the design, New Zealand Prime Minister, Helen Clark, said: "This memorial will be a fitting tribute to the deep and longstanding relationship that exists between New Zealand and the United Kingdom. It commemorates the shared sacrifice of our ex-servicemen and celebrates the wider social, cultural and economic ties which represent the present and future of New Zealand and United Kingdom relations."

More than 250,000 New Zealanders served in various roles alongside the British during the wars of the 20 th Century and continue to do so today. It is hoped that UK ex-servicemen can be reunited with their comrades among the 34 New Zealand veterans who have been selected to accompany New Zealand's Defence contingent travelling from New Zealand to the ceremony this November.

The Rt Hon Jonathan Hunt ONZ, New Zealand's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, who will be presenting the plans tonight, said: "There are a number of magnificent Commonwealth, and war memorials in London however this is the first to be devoted to the special bond between New Zealand and the UK. It is a symbol of New Zealand's strong national identity and I hope it will serve as a focal point for future generations to celebrate the likes of Anzac and Waitangi Day with friends and relatives."

The project is being managed by the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage, in consultation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, New Zealand Defence Force, Veterans' Affairs New Zealand; and in London, in cooperation with English Heritage and the Westminster City Council.

Speaking on the London location of the memorial, Drew Bennellick, Head of Regional Partnerships, English Heritage said: "The New Zealand Memorial has been specifically designed for the sloping site at Hyde Park. It will add a powerful new dimension to a space which has been transformed over the last five years from a traffic-bound roundabout to an important new green space at the heart of the city."

"I am delighted that we have been able to help the establishment of such a fitting memorial", added Cr Alexander, Lord Mayor of Westminster.

From today, approximately 1500 free tickets will be available online at the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage website: www.londonmemorial.govt.nz to members of the public wishing to attend the event on 11 November.

For further information please contact Lois Boyle or Lindsay Smith at Media House on 020 7397 8460.

Note to Editors:

  • High Resolution Memorial Pictures plus this and previous press releases are available for free download at: www.londonmemorial.govt.nz.Click on Media Zone
  • General New Zealand images available for free download at: www.images.newzealand.com
  • For broadcast quality footage of New Zealand's landscape and people, please contact Heather Mollins – HeatherM@tnz.govt.nz; tel: 020 7389 0147
  • The New Zealand Government is funding the $3 million (£1 million) project.
  • For more details on the following organisations please visit their websites:
  • Public tickets for the official dedication ceremony will be distributed on a first come, first served basis.
  • Leading up to the dedication ceremony, there will be an exhibition inside the Wellington Arch explaining the background to the memorial, the design concept, and giving some insight into the images and text that adorn the sculptures

Background

'This memorial commemorates the enduring bonds between New Zealand and the United Kingdom, and our shared sacrifice during times of war. It is a symbol both of our common heritage, and of New Zealand's distinct national identity.'

Dedication text on the memorial

UK-New Zealand Relations

The United Kingdom and New Zealand share close family, historical, cultural, sporting, and economic ties.

The first formal link was forged in 1840 when representatives of Queen Victoria signed the Treaty of Waitangi with many Māori chiefs, creating the founding document for New Zealand as it exists today. This pivotal moment is commemorated on the memorial by the text of the Third Article of the Treaty, which gave Māori the 'rights and privileges' of British subjects.

The Treaty also enabled New Zealand to become a British colony. As a result, most immigrants to New Zealand in the 19th century came from Britain, and exports to 'home' were the foundation of New Zealand's economy for nearly a century.

The first shipment to the UK of our ubiquitous frozen meat and butter in 1882 is recorded on the memorial. This sculpture celebrates the mutual trade that continues today. The UK is currently New Zealand's fifth largest export market with total exports in 2005 reaching NZD $1431.5 million. Many New Zealand companies use the UK as a base for expanding operations into Europe.

Nowadays, biotechnology, creative industries, and specialised manufactured products (such as outdoor clothing) are gaining on the staple exports of meat and dairy products. Approximately 3,400 New Zealand companies currently do business with the UK.

One of the most enduring exports from Britain to New Zealand in the early colonial years was sport, especially rugby, cricket, sailing, and rowing. Today the national sporting rivalry burns brightly, as seen during the recent Lions tour to New Zealand in 2005 and in the frequent visits to the Northern Hemisphere by the All Blacks, who will be playing England at Twickenham on 5 November later this year.

Even though New Zealand became a Dominion in 1907, it was as Britons that most New Zealanders thought of themselves through the First World War years and beyond (despite the emerging nationalism encouraged by the ANZAC troops' role at Gallipoli in 1915).

Like many Kiwis before and since making 'the long migration, under a compulsion they hardly understand', Robin Hyde went to Britain to further her literary career. Many New Zealand writers, artists, musicians, and performers – from Katherine Mansfield in 1908 to the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in 2005 – have made this cultural pilgrimage.

For young New Zealanders today, the 'big OE' (overseas experience) is still a core goal in life. Many wandering Kiwis base themselves in London using the UK's working holiday scheme. It is these expats who, among others, will be attending Anzac Day services at Hyde Park Corner in the years to come.

Nowadays the trip is becoming more of an exchange. The UK is New Zealand's second largest tourism market after Australia. Each year around 300,000 British tourists are attracted to the 'great outdoors' by New Zealand's '100% pure' image and its string of 'best country' awards. Indeed, just this month it was voted the world's second best holiday destination by the readers of Conde Nast Traveller.

The landscape and wildlife of New Zealand are celebrated on several standards in the memorial. Perhaps these images will tempt even more Britons to make the 'long migration' around the globe to the Antipodes.

Shared Wartime Experiences

A special bond was forged each time New Zealand answered the United Kingdom's request for troops to serve in various armed conflicts, especially the First and Second World Wars.

On the home front, the country's economy went on a war footing and contributing to the war effort dominated the lives of many New Zealanders.

Agricultural shipments to the United Kingdom were vital to that country's well-being during the Second World War and its recovery afterwards.

Place for Expressing National Identity

That 124,211 New Zealand men served in World War I and nearly half were either killed or wounded constituted a collective trauma for the young nation. The legend emerged that on the rocky slopes of Gallipoli in 1915 and later in the muddy trenches of France and Flanders the New Zealand people achieved a sense of nationhood. (For the first time, towards the end of the war, the troops began to call themselves 'Kiwis' after the native flightless bird.)

From that trauma emerged the annual Anzac Day commemorations, which have gained in prominence in recent years. The Dawn Service is today the most well attended of the observances, timed to coincide with the initial landings at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. The added symbolism of darkness breaking into sunrise makes for a compelling and emotional experience for participants.

In an increasingly globalised world, it is all the more important that people are able to assert their own national identity. There is an increasing demand by young New Zealanders, particularly when they are overseas, to express their national identity on occasions such as Anzac Day and Waitangi Day. This memorial will provide a place for the many thousands of New Zealanders living and visiting London to do that.

The Memorial Design

Selection

Following an overwhelming response from the New Zealand design community - 68 expressions of interest were submitted to the Ministry of Culture and Heritage - a short list of 12 design teams were invited to submit actual designs for the New Zealand Memorial

The commission was eventually awarded to a partnership of Dibble Art Co and Athfield Architects Limited.

Led by sculptor Paul Dibble and architect John Hardwick-Smith, the design team explains that 'Southern Stand' with its imposing bronze standards 'marks a field for the commemoration and celebration of New Zealand and Britain's war-time and peace-time relationship'.

Concept

Paul Dibble's wife and assistant Fran Dibble explains that the individual 'standards' are 'made to stand in semi-grid formation calling to mind soldiers in procession, ... Pouwhenua markers around Māori ancestral sites, or Celtic remains' like standing stones.

The forward-leaning angle of the standards gives them a defiant pose 'reminiscent of warriors during haka, the defensive bat in cricket, and the barrel of a shouldered gun'. Thus the military, Aotearoa/New Zealand, and British links of the memorial are immediately established in the placing and attitude of the sculptures.

There are in fact two overlapping formations. Ten of the bronzes form an angled grid (diamond shaped) with a 'leader' standing in front of the lower point. This leader standard contains the dedication text and is the site for the laying of official wreaths.

The other six standards are positioned beyond the main group and are arranged to form the shape of the Southern Cross constellation. At night, their tops are illuminated so that the crosses appear like the southern stars, indicating the compass direction south ... and pointing the way home for wandering Kiwis.

Each standard is formed from two intersecting plates of bronze, which are cut at a diagonal plane at the top. 'From afar, they appear like a series of crosses hanging in the air, with some of the atmosphere of the soldiers' mass cemeteries,' says Fran Dibble.

Detailing

Close up, the surface of the standards is textured with patterns, words, raised images, cut-out shapes, and three-dimensional models in bronze. These details evoke the themes of the memorial – New Zealand national identity, the long relationship with Britain, and our shared wars.

The design team explain that, while the structure of Southern Stand organises a strong and respectful space for formal or sombre occasions, the patina of the bronze surface and detailing invites personal engagement by visitors – to read, touch, and contemplate. Crowds may congregate within the formation, shoulder to shoulder with the standards, as they overlook a procession or a commemorative service such as Anzac Day.

Artists Profiles

Dibble Art Company, Paul Dibble

Leading New Zealand sculptor Paul Dibble has specialised in bronze-casting since the early 1990s. Works from that period explored folklore icons of New Zealand – images of sheep, beer bottles, trophies, farmers and farm dogs. Many recall Dibble 's rural upbringing. Other works study the country as an untouched paradise or investigate topical issues, like the cost of conservation and trading in live sheep to Iran. His focus on Kiwi icons and the role of New Zealand in the world made Dibble an ideal choice to represent Kiwi identity on an overseas memorial.

The Dibble Art Co studio employs a team of people with the diverse skills required to make bronze sculptures. The team includes Fran Dibble (Paul Dibble's wife) who has expertise in welding and ceramic shelling, and foreman Sonny Hawkins who is responsible for bronze construction and sand moulding. Local woodworker Martin Carryer helped develop the wooden patterns for the memorial standards. Research to find appropriate text was carried out by Therese Crocker.

Athfield Architects Ltd, John Hardwick-Smith

Leading the architectural side of the team is John Hardwick-Smith, an architect and a Director of Athfield Architects Ltd. John has 12 years experience in the design and implementation of a broad range of urban scale architectural projects, many of which involved collaborations with artists and sculptors. A recent project was Wellington's new Waitangi Park and the adjacent Taranaki Wharf redevelopment.

Others in the design team from Athfield Architects Ltd include architect Zac Athfield, and architectural designers Jaime Lawrence and Chris Winwood.

Jon Rennie, representative in London

Architect Jon Rennie studied at Victoria University, where he focused on the possibilities of theatre in public spaces. From 1999 to 2001, Jon worked in Athfield Architects' Wellington office on a range urban design work. In 2001 he moved to London. Jon retains an association with Athfield Architects Ltd, collaborating on projects both in London and New Zealand.

Team support

  • The Heavy Metal Company Limited – metal casting assistance
  • Clendon Burns & Park Ltd – structural engineers
  • Promanco Kenman – project managers

New Zealand House Press Contacts

All press inquiries relating to the New Zealand Memorial should be made to :

Media House
www.mediahouse.co.uk

For General Information about the Dedication Ceremony and public ticketing :

London Memorial Project Office

Additional Press Contacts at New Zealand House include :

New Zealand High Commission
www.nzembassy.com/uk

Tourism New Zealand
www.newzealand.com

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise
www.nzte.govt.nz

Page last updated: November 3, 2006

page top