Statue unveiled at school’s centenary

A bronze statue celebrating 100 years of John McGlashan College depicts a pupil walking into the future, across 10 tiles each representing a decade of the Dunedin boys’ school’s history.

The sculpture, created by the school’s art department head, Bryn Jones, was unveiled yesterday by deputy head boy Tom Shallard and year 7 pupil Jonty Riley.

The school assembled for the occasion, and donors were also present.  Principal Neil Garry, board of proprietors and Old Collegians’ Association member Neal Wallace and the Rev Barry Kelk gave speeches.

The statue "symbolises every boy who has passed through the college to date", Mr Garry said.

Mr Jones’ other statues include one of  Sir Edmund Hilary at Mt Cook, a sea lion at St Clair beach in Dunedin and a large bronze of Pelorus Jack in the Marlborough Sounds. The tiles the pupil was walking across were like diary entries from each decade, and some of them were memorials to pupils who had died, Mr Jones said. For instance, the 1938-48 decade remembered "29 McGlashan men who will never grow old".

The MacBook Air  carried by the pupil would give people in the future an indication of when the statue was created, since in the next couple of years  that laptop would no longer be in circulation. He said he made the hands of the statue using moulds of the hands of his son, and the boots moulded belonged to Mr  Wallace’s son.

Mr Jones said he worked on the sculpture for five or six months before it was cast at Monument Foundry, in Auckland.  Due to the materials used it could last for hundreds of years, Mr Jones said.

College director of marketing and development Kirstyn Mawdsley said "thousands" of dollars were donated for the creation of the statue.

elena.mcphee@odt.co.nz