Rolleston Statue, White marble monument outside Canterbury Museum in Christchurch, New Zealand.
The Rolleston Statue is a white marble figure of William Rolleston, fourth and last Superintendent of Canterbury Province, standing on a stone plinth outside Canterbury Museum on Rolleston Avenue. The English sculptor Herbert Hampton carved it, and it was unveiled on 26 May 1906. The plinth is inscribed "William Rolleston Superintendent of Canterbury 1866–1876."
Sculptor Herbert Hampton created the work and unveiled it in 1906 as a tribute to Rolleston's contributions to the development of the Canterbury region. The monument suffered damage during the devastating 2011 earthquake and underwent major restoration that was completed in 2016.
The statue stands with two other superintendent memorials on Rolleston Avenue: James FitzGerald's and William Sefton Moorhouse's, the latter set some distance inside the Botanic Gardens. The avenue was renamed after Rolleston; he looks across it toward the former Canterbury College site, now the Arts Centre. The plinth inscription reads "William Rolleston Superintendent of Canterbury 1866–1876."
The statue is freely accessible and can be visited throughout the year as part of a heritage walking route connecting several historical sites in the area. The best approach is from Canterbury Museum, where visitors can also explore other nearby monuments.
During the restoration work after the 2011 earthquake, engineers discovered the statue had been secured only with mortar, which contributed to its instability during the quake. This finding led to the installation of new anchoring systems to ensure the monument would withstand future seismic events.
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