Jewellery king plans golf course that's a work of art

Works by some of the world's best sculptors will grace the greens of jewellery king Michael Hill's private Arrowtown golf course if his park proposal gets the nod.
Mr Hill hit the headlines in March when he revealed a 5m statue of autumn-coloured resin reeds on his golf course without resource consent.

He has now applied for retrospective resource consent for that work by Melbourne-based Kon Dimopoulos and also for an existing Chris Booth stacked slab and boulder sculpture on his 143ha property.

Mr Hill has also sought resource consent to place six more sculptures, possibly reaching as high as 8m, on his private golf course, due for completion next year.

Mr Hill could not be reached for comment yesterday, but in March said he proposed a "sculpture park of monumental significance as my sort of legacy to the district".

His son, Mark Hill, a high-profile New Zealand sculptor working on one of the six pieces, said his father's plan was inspired by the 202ha Storm King sculpture park in New York State.

Mark Hill's work is still in the concept stage but he plans a large welded stainless steel piece.

Several high-profile international sculptors may be commissioned to create the other works for the park, which could represent several million dollars of investment, Mark Hill said.

Consent has already been granted for a clubhouse and car parking on the golf course site.

- NZPA