Rolleston statue set to return to city

He’s a little worse for wear, but William Rolleston is finally back on his feet.

The 116-year-old statue of Canterbury’s last superintendent is standing proud again, after he famously lost his head when he toppled off his plinth outside the Canterbury Museum during the February 2011 earthquake.

Now, a team of experts are about to begin the painstaking task of putting the statue back together - a process expected to take several weeks.

Christchurch City Council Project Manager Jo Grigg said the Italian carrara marble statue had survived the earthquake “pretty well” and was in great condition, apart from the head.

“No physical work is happening on the statue yet. Because of the heritage listing, Rolleston requires a Resource Consent application to be approved before any repairs can begin. Once that process is complete the team will begin work, starting with a good clean by Conservator Emily Fryer," Ms Grigg said.

“The statue had been in storage since the earthquake and we’ve been working through a design for strengthening and reattaching the statue to the plinth. The project team have designed a plate and clamp system that will anchor the statue to its plinth and is completely reversible with no impact on the statue. By standing him we were able to see how the plate and clamps look against the statue and check that everything fits.”

Ms Grigg said the team would "core drill" the head and neck to insert pins for the reattachment of Rolleston's head.

"We will do all of the preparation work in the storage facility and then move the statue into place on his plinth (outside the Canterbury Museum), before doing the final act of attaching his head on-site."

The statue, by English sculptor Herbert Hampton, was unveiled in 1906, where it stood on a stone plinth.

Rolleston was Canterbury’s fourth and last Superintendent – serving from 1868 to 1877. He was further honoured in 1904 when the northern end of Antigua Street was renamed Rolleston Avenue.

This slice of road was chosen to acknowledge Rolleston’s role in the shaping of Canterbury’s education system through his work with Christ’s College and the Canterbury Museum. His guidelines were still being used by the Canterbury University well into the 1940’s.