Public Art in Central Christchurch

Moorhouse Statue

Category: Monument / Sculpture Title: Moorhouse Statue Primary artist(s): George Anderson Lawson (1832-1904) Foundry / fabricator: Unveiling date: 22 December 1885 Media: Bronze Approximate dimensions: h 3.66m w 2.74m d 2.74m Location: Christchurch Botanical Gardens Setting: Entrance off Rolleston Avenue to the Gardens Owner / administrator: Parks Unit, Christchurch City Council

Throughout the history of Canterbury's settlement there were four superintendents. In Christchurch there are statues erected in honour of three of these individuals. William Sefton Moorhouse (1825-1881) was the second superintendent of Canterbury and a prominent figure in the administration of the settlement. Moorhouse's principal contribution was the instigation and construction of the Lyttelton Tunnel. This debt is acknowledged by an inscription on the plinth of the Moorhouse statue; William Sefton Moorhouse to whose energy and perseverance Canterbury owes the tunnel between the port and plains.

An idea for a commemorative statue was proposed shortly after Moorhouse's death in 1881. The appeal was officially launched by the Mayor J. Gapes. An English sculptor George Anderson Lawson produced a model based on photographs of Moorhouse. The model was cast in England and then shipped to Lyttelton, arriving 1885.

A private viewing of the statue was held before the official unveiling. At the viewing the sculpture was considered a good likeness of Moorhouse, however there were others that strongly disagreed. A public holiday was declared for the unveiling on 22 December, 1885. The statue of Canterbury's longest serving Provincial Government superintendent is located at the entrance from Rolleston Avenue to the Botanic Gardens. Placed in the Gardens, Moorhouse is depicted reclining on a chair enjoying the weather.

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