Kereru by Paul Dibble, 2010

Paul Dibble's Kereru was a finalist in the 2010 Sculpture Wanganui competition and received the Powerco Wanganui Trust People's Choice Award, which was voted for by the Whanganui community. The sculpture is now sited on Taupo Quay alongside the banks of the Whanganui River.

Birds have symbolic value as the predecessors of the ancient land and are representative of the surprising beauty of New Zealand’s landscape. The return of native birds to the bush and our towns after a long absence is a celebrated event. For a sculpture sited on the banks of the Whanganui, which flows into large areas of lowland forest, the use of birds as part of the motif provides an obvious point of connection.

Photos by Rookie Planet