Camera Obscura transported to the Pohe Island site
She moved through the mist on Whangārei Harbour like a ghost ship, her tall sail a stark tribute to the city's ship building industry.
As she moved through the opened bascule on Te Matau a Pohe she raised a few concerns that it may hit one of the supports.
But this was a smoothly-run operation, done with engineering precision to ensure this apparition made it to her resting place.
Morning commuters and those enjoying the Loop Walkway stopped to watch as the steely spectre - the metal structure for the Camera Obscura sculpture project - was pushed up the river.
Once the barge was settled beside its site after making its way from Culham Engineering where the 15-tonne steel structure was constructed, the Camera Obscure work was lifted by crane on to its plinth, ready for the final phases of the project.
Stoppard said it was nervous, but exciting watching the sculpture's sail emerge from the morning mist like a ghost ship.
''It was just amazing. We built it like a sail as a tribute to Whangārei's ship building past and to see it emerging through the mist like that made it so fitting.''
Stoppard said she had been worried that the operation would not go as smoothly as it did - if it was windy it could have caught the "sail" and caused problems.
''But it all went so well. Culhams have just been amazing. I don't think we realise just how good they are and they are right here in our town. They did such a wonderful, precision job of getting it done. Amazing mathematics to work it all out to the minute detail so that it didn't even collapse any of the [river]bank when it was craned on to its plinth,'' she said.
Dave Cunningham, Culham Engineering operations manager, said the four-piece structure was made out of weathering steel which will assume a patina look after several weeks' outside exposure, making painting obsolete.
Camera Obscura being moved from Culham Engineering to its site on the banks of the Hatea River.
Cunningham said the build was interesting due to its cone shape with the top end of the steel sheets bending outwards.
"We are proud to work with good tradespeople. The structure is an in-house design; all the cutting, welding and fabrication are done here."
The art installation is based on an optical phenomenon called camera obscura or pinhole image which is occurring in nature - in our eyes, for instance - or human-made devices, such as cameras.
When the light of the image of an external scene travels through a pinhole into a dark space - a room or box - the external scene will be reproduced upside down.
The Camera Obscura will depict Te Matau a Pohe, the lower Hatea River bridge. While the foundation measures an area of 8m by 8m, the structure expands to 12m at its widest spot.
