Weta Workshops created the bronze sculpture. Photo / Mark Mitchell
World War II Bomber Command veterans are preparing to dedicate their dramatic memorial statue to comrades on March 1 after fears it would not be displayed in Auckland War Memorial Museum.
Veterans raised $100,000 for the bronze memorial, which is 1.2m wide and 1.8m high and a
product of Weta Workshops, which was behind the Lord of The Rings trilogy.
But many aged in their late 80s and 90s thought they would not see the unveiling of the memorial to their 2000 New Zealand comrades who died serving in the Royal Air Force.
In October, the NZ Bomber Command Association was told that the museum board had decided against displaying a statue of that size and would instead pay for a plaque in the Hall of Memories.
After a torrent of outrage was expressed in letters to the editor of the Herald, the museum board on November 10 reconsidered.
It agreed to an unveiling ceremony and display of the memorial. It would then look for a "transitional location" in the museum until a permanent home could be found.
Yesterday, the museum board said it was collaborating with the association on arranging a dedication ceremony on Sunday, March 1, at 11am - in the museum. The unveiling would take place in the Hall of Memories with a full colour guard.
"The good news is that veterans will have a chance to parade," said association administrator Peter Wheeler.
Invitations would be sent to more than 200 veterans, though he expected only half would be able to make the trip.
"It will be a military service, they will wear their medals and they will have reserved seating."
The sculpture would be moved to the Spitfire Gallery on the museum's third floor for a public display of a Bomber Command collection.
The museum is working with the association on a long-term plan for a permanent site, which could be in a war memorial park or field in the Auckland Domain.
