Suffrage memorial to stay

File photo / Dean Purcell

The suffrage centenary memorial will stay at its present site in Auckland - despite pressure to replace it with a wide staircase from Lorne St to serve the upgraded Auckland Art Gallery.

Auckland Council's culture, arts and events forum favours the option to keep the steps encased by the tile mosaic memorial while providing an additional staircase through a blank wall in Upper Khartoum Place. The forum also last week supported a move to preserve the memorial in perpetuity.

It was created in 1993 in Khartoum Place and the National Council of Women and the Zonta Club want Khartoum Place nominated for listing in the District Plan as a heritage place.

This would not prevent upgrading of upper Khartoum Place to open access and sight lines between the lane's upper and lower sections.

Margaret Wilson, of the National Council of Women, said the plan was the most practical and feasible way to go and was a reasonable compromise.

The artists who created the mural of 2000 brightly coloured tiles, Claudia Pond Eyley and Jan Morrison, also approve the mid-staircase addition.

Mayor Len Brown wanted to keep the memorial intact as a "national treasure" but wanted to improve Khartoum Place to let more sunlight in and make it more of a social hub.

The city's arts and architecture community sought the memorial's removal to allow the new gallery's $121 million upgrade to be accessed by an open staircase after the example of the Roman Spanish Steps.

Private art gallery owner Gary Langsford said councillors had let emotional elements get in the way of making a sensible and logical decision.