KEY POINTS:
The late Prime Minister David Lange, who took his formidable wit and leadership skills from the streets of Otahuhu to the world stage, will be honoured with a hometown memorial today.
The Virginia King sculpture was to be unveiled on its Mason Ave site at 5.30am, with a public celebration attended by the Governor-General, Anand Satyanand, to follow at 9.30am.
Mr Lange was born in Otahuhu in 1942. He attended Fairburn Primary School, Otara Intermediate School and Otahuhu College.
King described the sculpture as a "community of poles" supporting a "vessel formed of steel". It stands at the entrance to an area of public buildings and open spaces being developed in the heart of Otahuhu.
"The vessel is a symbol of the passage of life," King said. "Oriented east-west, it alludes to the portage route between the Waitemata and Manukau harbours, sunrise and nightfall, and the cycle of time."
The sculpture is engraved with text from Mr Lange's maiden speech to Parliament, and from his famous Oxford Union debate.
The memorial has been paid for through the David Lange Memorial Trust and is a collaboration between the trust and the Auckland City Council.
