The SBRA is fundraising for a sculpture to make the entry into South Brighton more welcoming

The South Brighton Residents’ Association has recently been awarded $12,000 by the Christchurch City Council for a sculpture comprising 7 godwits/kuaka (New Zealand bird of the year 2015). Part of this amount is to cover artist’s fees. We require an additional $8,000 to make the sculpture a reality. We will endeavour to source additional funding, but if anyone in the community has any suggestions, or wishes to donate some money toward the cost of the sculpture, this is the right place.

The sculpture has been created by local artist Bon Suter. Each of the seven birds will be made of heavy gauge aluminium and finished with UV-protected vehicle paint. The birds will be fixed to the top of seven poles at varying heights and will move with the wind. We plan to erect the sculpture near the Bridge Street Bridge. This project is one of beautification and it also acknowledges the godwit/kuaka as an annual visitor to our estuary.

In spring the godwit/kuaka depart from their breeding nests in the great Siberian and Alaskan tundra and return to the rich feeding grounds in Aotearoa’s tidal flats and coastal marshes. In ancient times, the annual arrival of the kuaka was seen as a great event. For Maori the kuaka were birds of mystery. It was believed that they came from, or at least passed through, the ancestral home, Hawaiki.