Wellington City councillor Rebecca Matthews decided to stick a post-it note on the Duke of Wellington's forehead saying 'colonisation sux'. Photo / Twitter
Wellington City councillor Rebecca Matthews decided to stick a post-it note on the Duke of Wellington's forehead saying 'colonisation sux'. Photo / Twitter
A sculpture of Wellington’s namesake has been slapped with a post-it note saying “colonisation sux” after being moved out of the mayor’s office.
Councillor Rebecca Matthews came across the bust of the Duke of Wellington in the council reception area as she was making her way to morning meetings.
“I was a little bit shocked and horrified given, to me, this doesn’t represent the future of the city,” she said.
Ugh, Duke of Wellington has found his way into Council reception. I saw him travelling around the building yesterday and assumed he was being toppled. Considering adding a post it saying “Colonisation sux” pic.twitter.com/eDQAIUuQef
European settlers arrived in Wellington in 1840 and named the area after Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington and victor of the Battle of Waterloo.
Matthews said she did not think a prominent place like the council’s reception area was an appropriate location for artefacts representing the city’s colonial history.
She said she put the post-it note on the Duke’s forehead to add to the conversation in a light-hearted way.
“We’re starting to think about what those kinds of images say about our city, the people, and the future, and thinking about mixing them up- if not replacing some of them.”
Matthews said she would rather give prominence to other parts of the city’s history.
She tweeted a picture of the bust this morning and said: “Ugh, Duke of Wellington has found his way into Council reception. I saw him travelling around the building yesterday and assumed he was being toppled. Considering adding a post-it saying “Colonisation sux”.”
Matthews later posted an update showing a picture of the post-it note and said: “I did it.”
Wellington mayor Tory Whanau confirmed she had made the decision to move the bust out of her office to make way for Te Ao Maori art.
“I assumed the artworks already on display in the Office of the Mayor were to the liking of the previous mayor. I simply want to showcase art that I like from the city council’s own art collection, particularly Te Ao Maori art.”
Wellington City Council spokesman Richard MacLean said it was standard for artworks to be circulated when mayors changed.
“We’ll take our time to make a call on a new suitable location for the statue.”
