Whanganui District Council to paint over murals on Kowhai Park castle

The castle will be painted to be "as close to its original form as possible". Photo / Bevan Conley

Murals on the castle at Whanganui’s Kowhai Park are set to be painted over, with the Whanganui District Council saying the project did not get approval.

Artist Michelle Sigley made the work last year as a tribute to the Wanganui Lions Club and its Tot Town railway, which runs in a loop around the park‘s castle and pirate ship.

The railway has been operating since 1963.

Whanganui Deputy Mayor Helen Craig, a member of the council’s public art steering group, said artworks on council buildings needed to go to the group for approval.

Its members had public art knowledge and a diverse range of expertise and included “esteemed artists with experience in public art, relevant council staff, arts practitioners and iwi representatives”.

“Michelle Sigley has followed the public art steering group process successfully in the past to gain funding and approval for murals,” Craig said.

“The mural on the council-owned Kowhai Park castle, however, was started without the necessary approval in November last year.

“Council staff asked the artist to stop work on the mural at that stage and assisted her with developing a proposal to submit to the public art steering group which was put forward in April this year.”

Sigley said there had been a bit of miscommunication between herself and the Lions Club before she began the work.

“I think they thought I’d got permission and I thought they had got permission.

“I had started doing the sides [of the castle], which was going to have lots of hidden things for kids to find, but then I got the stop work notice.

“At the end of the day, I don’t want to say anything bad about the council. It is what it is. It’s their choice.”

Sigley’s previous work includes murals at the Riverboat Centre on Taupō Quay and the barbecue area at Turakina Beach.

She said she took “full responsibility for stuffing up” at Kowhai Park and had offered to pay back the donation she received from the Lions Club for the work.

Craig said Sigley’s proposal was considered at a meeting in May and the group unanimously agreed that the planned content of the mural was not suitable for the site which had “social, cultural and architectural value”.

Michelle Sigley had begun work on the sides of the castle before the council intervened. Photo / Bevan Conley

“The castle is loved by children of all ages and needs to be welcoming even for the smallest child,” she said.

“There was also concern over the use of copyrighted imagery in the mural.”

Wanganui Lions Club treasurer Terry Carmody said the fault lay with him for not following the correct procedures.

“I’m not au fait with council stuff. I’d seen all this artwork around town and it’s an international drawcard,” he said.

“[The castle] was a grey, drab-looking place so I thought ‘Let’s tart it up’.”

Carmody said the club had given Sigley money to help offset her paint costs at the castle.

“Most of what she does is voluntary and the artwork she has done around town is absolutely wonderful.

“I would chain myself to the [castle] wall but at the end of the day, there is a limit to what you can do.

“The council owns the park. The only thing the Lions own is what’s inside the two picket fences [the railway].”

Craig said when the proper process was followed, relevant community stakeholders got the opportunity to have input into the content of the artwork.

“Having a selection process in place also means a range of artists have the opportunity for their work to be represented across the city.”

Craig said the exterior castle walls would be painted one colour to allow the castle to be as close to its original form as possible.

“The castle was partly designed by prominent modernist architect Don McCallum as part of the architectural team Prince, McCallum & Harvey.”

The council strengthened the structure in 2022.

Sigley said she accepted the council’s decision and wanted to work with it, not against, it.

She said the majority of feedback on the castle mural had been positive.

“At the end of the day, the whole point of art is that not everyone likes it.

“If everyone liked it it wouldn’t be art, it would just be a picture.”

Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.