The Star: October 26, 2022

The Star Thursday October 26 2023
10
NEWS
Davidson
to formally
resign on
Monday
• By Dylan Smits
LABOUR MP-ELECT Reuben
Davidson expects a by-election
will be held for his seat on the
Banks Peninsula Community
Board in February.
Davidson (left)
won the Christchurch
East electorate,
beating National’s
Matt Stock.
City council
electoral officer Jo
Daly said the by-election date
will depend on when the council
receives Davidson’s resignation.
Davidson said he will formally
resign from the board at its next
meeting on October 30. He resigned
from his position as chair
in July, but kept his Lyttelton seat
while campaigning.
The new MP has moved into a
North New Brighton home.
Reflecting on his time on the
community board, Davidson said
he is proud of its involvement in
the redevelopment of Naval Point.
He believes there are several
good potential candidates for the
Lyttelton seat.
“My hope is that some of these
people will step forward again to
serve and represent.”
• By Geoff Sloan
A COLOURFUL new eyecatching
sculpture now greets
motorists as they enter New
Brighton.
The Jester is the creation of
well-known sculptor Don Paterson
and sits on the corner of
Paterson’s property on Seaview
Rd at the entrance to the suburb.
The colourful piece has replaced
his controversial Bearman
sculpture.
“(It’s) a bit different from the
bear, which was talking about
the chaos that New Brighton
was facing, and it was time
for something a little bit more
people-friendly and jovial,” Paterson
said.
Paterson is a big rugby fan who
can often be found at Rawhiti
Domain on Saturdays watching
New Brighton. He painted The
Jester black and yellow, the colours
worn by the rugby club.
Paterson says the sculpture is
a self-portrait with bits of other
artists he knows thrown in. It is
also a commentary on the nature
of art and the creative process.
As one of New Zealand’s leading
civic sculptors, Paterson was
instrumental in the development
of large-scale steampunk projects
in Oamaru. But the sculptor
admits he has found it harder
to get his ideas accepted in New
Brighton.
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
New sculpture more in jest
• Watch the video at starnews.co.nz
“Perhaps I’m too controversial,”
Paterson said.
“That my ideas are a little bit
too far out for some people, but I
think you need that.
“You need that when you’re rebuilding
a community and how
do we draw people here?
“We don’t draw them here by
doing what we can see all over
the country.”
He and his wife love living in
New Brighton and have met a
lot of talented people in the area.
Paterson believes the suburb’s regeneration
is a great opportunity
for residents to work together
to make it a more dynamic and
attractive place to live.
The regeneration plan includes
a new $2.5 million village green
surrounded by bars, restaurants
and shops at New Brighton
mall. The community-led project,
funded by a grant from the
Canterbury Earthquake Appeal
Trust, would also turn 1000m²
of mostly vacant land off Marine
Pde into an area where the
community can gather and hold
events.
The former Westpac building
at 56 Brighton Mall was bought
by the city council as part of the
Oram Ave extension project,
which proposes to develop a
new corridor from Oram Ave to
Hawke St. The city council also
plans to replace the earthquakedamaged
Pages Rd bridge as part
ART: Don
Paterson’s The
Jester is more
jovial and less
controversial than
his Bearman
(inset). PHOTOS:
GEOFF SLOAN
of the $65 million Gateway to
New Brighton project.
“Art could really be used as a
drawcard for New Brighton and,
perhaps, if some of the people
in power could maybe embrace
me, I’m not telling anyone they
have to do my ideas, but just do
something that’s different.
“And I can help them if they
want.”
He’s working on a number
of other pieces at the moment,
some of which he would like to
see displayed around the suburb.
–Public Interest Journalism
funded through NZ On Air
• Friends’ pact to go to every
Rugby World Cup, page 16
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