The Lighthouse, a sculpture by Michael Parekowhai depicting a state house, on Queens Wharf in Auckland, during construction. Photo / Greg Bowker

Donor gives $500,000 for Auckland sculpture after cost blowout

Author: Bernard Orsman, NZ Herald,
Publish Date: Sat, 1 Sep 2018, 3:10PM

An anonymous arts donor wrote a cheque for $500,000 to complete the Lighthouse sculpture on Auckland's Queens Wharf when construction costs went through the roof.

The Herald can reveal that the final cost of the controversial piece of public art - given a new bilingual name, The Lighthouse: Tu Whenua-a-Kura, by Maori artist Michael Parekowhai - is $2.5 million.

This is $500,000 more than the $2m price tag Auckland Council chief operating officer Dean Kimpton gave in June last year on the proviso some "outstanding construction-related costs" were still being negotiated with the contractor.

An increase in construction costs required to complete the project was funded by a gift from an anonymous donor, taking the final cost of the project to $2.5m, the council said in response to an Official Information Act request by the Herald.

The sculpture, that opened in February last year to critical acclaim and mixed feedback from Aucklanders, sits on the end of Queens Wharf where visitors and ferry passengers at sea can get a good view of it. It is based on a modest, two-storey state house, has a neon-lit interior and a gleaming metallic Captain James Cook.

The artwork was commissioned by real estate firm Barfoot & Thompson in 2013 to celebrate 90 years of business in Auckland with a gift of $1m.

The original plans for a Venetian glass chandelier depicting a glowing garden of native flowers, birds and insect were abandoned for financial and practical reasons, and replaced with neon light installations representing the stars of Matariki and Captain James Cook.

In a rare interview with the Herald before the opening, Parekowhai said when he got the commission he immediately thought of a house - "a simple modest house that everyone would recognise and that had a huge amount of social, political and cultural history".

As well as $1m from Barfoot & Thompson, the council paid $500,000 towards the enabling costs, project management and resource consents. Anonymous donors chipped in $500,000 and one donor met the $500,000 construction shortfall.