KEY POINTS:
A memorial sculpture planned to commemorate Otahuhu's most famous son could be installed by early next year.
Memorial project manager Deborah White said artist Virginia King had been commissioned to create a tribute to former Prime Minister David Lange to stand in the suburb in which he was born, raised and schooled.
Consents have already been granted for the memorial, which will stand outside the recreation centre on Mason Ave, in Otahuhu.
The sculpture, which will cost about $250,000, was a large piece that would create a "contemplative space", Ms White said.
"It's not one single free-standing piece. It takes the form of a forest of standing poles, it creates a space. Then there's a large filigreed - in stainless steel - waka shape that floats across the top of the poles."
The Otahuhu community had been "overwhelmingly positive" about the memorial, and was proud to be able to provide a site for the sculpture, which is the first memorial to Mr Lange in New Zealand, she said.
Mr Lange, who died in 2005, aged 63, was Prime Minister from 1984 to 1989. He was a lawyer before entering politics, and the Auckland District Law Society has been approached to help fund the memorial.
Mr Lange's brother, artist Peter Lange, said yesterday that he had been approached to help with any "brickwork or ceramic element" that might be included in the memorial.
He said he was pleased the memorial was being created by a recognised sculptor in Virginia King, and that the finished product would provide somewhere for people to "sit, eat and think and meditate".
"It's good, also, that it's not a statue of David. He would have hated that.
Mr Lange said his brother would have enjoyed the memorial "as a piece of sculpture", and for the opportunity it provided for those wanting somewhere to go and "look at the writing".
The memorial is likely to incorporate a written element, which Mr Lange said was likely to be "heavily laden with symbolism".
