The statue on top of the World War I monument at Pakaitore/Moutoa Gardens is "totally unique", says the man leading the monument's restoration.
The marble statue - a portrait of local soldier Herewini Wakarua - was removed from the top of the crumbling monument on Wednesday evening by Christchurch-based stone specialists Goldfield Stone, in the first step towards restoring the 1923 memorial.
Mark Whyte, from Goldfield Stone, said he had never seen a World War I statue like it.
"The soldier is totally unique. I'm a sculptor myself and I have never seen a carved marble statue from World War I that's actually a portrait of someone. You can see the bone structure in the face."
But mystery still surrounds the sculptor who made the statue. Mr Whyte said the statue was in brilliant condition. The soldier's gun is broken - but not snapped off - there's spalling [flaking] in the corners of the statue and it has a good covering of lichen.
Mr Whyte said although the statue was subject to all kinds of weather, the fact it was so high off the ground meant it was safe from any human interference.
"I'm sure this contributed to its good condition."
Mr Whyte, along with four staff members, is tasked with carrying out the first stage of the restoration project, which involves securing the monument. The first stage will cost $50,000, with this cost to be picked up by the Pakaitore Historic Reserve Board.
The statue would be kept in storage until the board can raise enough money to complete stage two of the project, which is a full restoration of the monument.
Mr Whyte said the work also gave him the opportunity to assess the monument and take samples, to find out exactly what kind of repair work needed to be done.
Until the money can be raised for full restoration, wailing beams have been placed around the monument's column.
"These won't put any pressure on the obelisk, but it will hold it in place and keep the public safe."
The obelisk has a large crack in it, the top is crumbling, and there was a risk the statue could fall in strong winds or a moderate earthquake.
A fence was put around the monument last year.
Mr Whyte was born and raised in Wanganui and moved to Christchurch to study art at Ilam School of Fine Arts. He began his studies with contemporary art but became sidetracked into marble sculpting.
Now his passion is for historic buildings and monuments, which he described as "important but increasingly difficult to maintain".
"We need these buildings to remember our history and to move into the future."
He said retaining heritage buildings was a hard struggle in Christchurch where so many of them had been severely damaged by earthquakes.
Mr Whyte said he always enjoyed returning to Wanganui.
"It's a unique place with all its wonderful old buildings. And I just love all these statues in Moutoa Gardens - they're incredible."
He said the work on stage one wrapped up yesterday, and the scaffolding will be removed early next week.