You may have heard of Malfroy Rd and Malfroy School, but what about Mr Malfroy himself?
A bust of Camille Malfroy is set to be unveiled in a part of the city which he helped develop.
The 70cm high bust of Malfroy will take centre stage at the Malfroy Geyser in the Government Gardens.
Malfroy, an engineer in Rotorua in the 1880s and 1890s, was famous for developing bathing facilities for women. He also developed three artificial geysers which in those days could play to a height of 12m.
He realised Rotorua's tourism potential and supervised the development of the Government Gardens.
In 1886 he was appointed as an engineer in charge of works, becoming chairman of the Rotorua Town Board in 1891, a position he held until his death in 1891.
Rotorua sculptor George Andrews has spent several months casting the bust of Malfroy in bronze and said he jumped at the chance to be part of the project when approached by project manager Rotorua artist Jamie Pickernell.
"It was just a dream to model. There's so much character in his face. It has been a lovely thing to work on," Mr Andrews said.
Mr Andrews also created the stainless steel and aluminium sculpture of the Rotorua-born aviatrix Jean Batten but said Malfroy's face was easier to mould than Batten's. The main reason - men are not as fussed as women about how they look.
Malfroy will be placed on a wooden plinth and be part of a triangle feature fencing the geyser. At the other two corners will be wooden carvings created by Rotorua's Rakea Kingi. One of the carvings is called Oruawhata, the original name of the geyser. It will depict the geyser as an old burial ground of Ngati Whakaue and as a weather guide. The second carving is called Tawharakuruteti - the name of the battle between Ngati Whakaue and Tuwharetoa in the 1600s.
The artwork was commissioned by the Rotorua District Council which has spent $20,000 on the project, with the Rotorua Trust and Creative New Zealand funding between $30,000 and $50,000.
The project will be unveiled on August 30 during the Arts Conference 2007.
Other artworks are proposed for the city with the council planning to spend $125,000 on bronze sculptures of Rotorua's legendary romantic couple Hinemoa and Tutanekai.
The council's landscape architect Ian Wallace said the design work was still being done by Rotorua artist Lewis Gardiner before it was signed off by the council.
It is hoped the sculptures will be placed in a rest area off State Highway 5 near the Lakeview Golf Course.
Mr Pickernell is also designing artwork for a bridge which is being built as part of a new cycleway in Ngongotaha.
Mr Malfroy to make a new appearance
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