BECA Heritage Week 2017: Godley for Sale

BECA Heritage Week 2017: Godley for Sale

Talk

Past event

Philip Carter Family Auditorium

Free

The memorial statue of John Robert Godley, founder of Canterbury province, was unveiled 150 years ago in Christchurch Cathedral Square. The 6 August 1867 occasion was proclaimed a public holiday, and Godley’s statue remained upright until being toppled in the 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

In 2009, the Gallery learned of a smaller bronze casting of one of Woolner’s 1863 working plaster models being offered for sale. Investigations into the statuette’s history, however, led to a UK heritage scandal and police investigations. The smaller bronze is now on display at the Gallery, on short-term loan from the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. Curator Ken Hall tracks this intriguing story from Canterbury's founding to very recent developments.