Murihiku ki te tonga / Southland has a very long and continuing history of occupation by Māori. Kōrero tuko ihu (oral history) tell us the waka of Aoraki became Te Wai Pounamu / South Island, and its sternpost, Te Taurapa a Te Waka o Aoraki, became Motupōhue / Bluff Hill. The tipua Māui is also recorded in Murihiku, his achievements are recognised in place names such as Ōmaui near Awarua / Bluff. Awarua is the traditional Māori name for Bluff Harbour and the wider Bluff region and refers to the two bodies of water that constitute the harbour. The name Motupōhue / Bluff Hill is an ancient one, brought south by Ngāti Māmoe and Ngāi Tahu. William H. Feldon’s privately commissioned statue of prominent businessman, statesman and politician Sir Joseph Ward dating to 1930, stands at the head of the main street, in Motupōhue / Bluff, 20km from Invercargill on the southern coast of New Zealand. The statue commemorates the early life of this dynamic local figure whose life and work had a significant impact not only on the development of Bluff, but also later on the nation as a member of parliament and through his premiership. The statue has aesthetic and historic significance. Sir Joseph Ward (1856-1930) is a significant figure in Southland and New Zealand’s history. Born in Melbourne, the fifth of ten children of William and Hannah Ward, he moved with his mother and siblings to Bluff in 1863. Starting as a post office messenger boy at 13 years old, Ward branched out into business, founding prominent stock and station company J. G. Ward and Co. He was chair of the company that built the Ocean View Freezing Works near Bluff. He entered politics in 1878 and was elected to the Bluff Borough Council. He was Mayor of Bluff 1881-1888 and again in 1897-98. He was a member of Bluff Harbour Board 1881-1917 and was elected to Parliament as member for Awarua in 1887, becoming a cabinet minister in 1891. In 1894, facing financial ruin, he resigned as Colonial Treasurer. He quickly recovered with the help of his connections, and once again became a cabinet minister. Ward went on to become New Zealand’s 17th Prime Minister between 1906 and 1912, and again from 1928-1930, before resigning due to poor health. Following the death of Sir Joseph Ward in 1930, William Handyside (1848-1935) a southern businessman, commissioned Auckland sculptor W. H. Feldon (1871-1945) to create a sculpture of Ward. Feldon had emigrated to New Zealand in 1910 and was responsible for many statues during his life including the Arawa Memorial (Rotorua Government Gardens Historic Area, New Zealand Heritage List No. 7015) and the Matakana War Memorial statue of George V. The statue of Sir Joseph Ward was part of a set of three statues Handyside commissioned from Feldon that were originally grouped together outside the Invercargill Post Office. The statue of Sir Joseph Ward is carved of brilliant white Italian marble. It faces east towards the town centre and is located on a stepped granite base, with a red granite plinth. Ward leans against a book laden plinth with one hand behind his back. In his left hand he holds a scroll of paper. At a time when much of the sculptural commissions were obtained from Italy or London, Feldon was unusual in that his work was produced in New Zealand. The style of the sculpture is typical of Feldon’s work and is similar to the figures of Lords Kitchener and Jellicoe that remain on the Gala Street Reserve in Invercargill, where the statue of Ward was previously located. Ward’s statue was moved to its current site in 1971. In 2020, the statue remains an important a landmark on Bluff’s main street, and a testament to Ward, ever a champion of his hometown of Bluff.
Location
List Entry Information
Overview
Detailed List Entry
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 2
Access
Able to Visit
List Number
9263
Date Entered
7th July 2021
Date of Effect
7th July 2021
City/District Council
Invercargill City
Region
Southland Region
Extent of List Entry
Extent includes part of the land described as Legal Road, and the structure known as the Sir Joseph Ward Statue, thereon.
Legal description
Legal Road. Southland Land District.
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 2
Access
Able to Visit
List Number
9263
Date Entered
7th July 2021
Date of Effect
7th July 2021
City/District Council
Invercargill City
Region
Southland Region
Extent of List Entry
Extent includes part of the land described as Legal Road, and the structure known as the Sir Joseph Ward Statue, thereon.
Legal description
Legal Road. Southland Land District.
Historic Significance
Historical Significance or Value The statue is a significant tribute to one of the most significant historical figures to have come from Bluff reflecting Sir Joseph Ward’s importance and contribution to the history of the town and province. It is the only sculpture commemorating Ward.
Physical Significance
Aesthetic Significance or Value Located at the edge of a public reserve looking down Gore Street, Sir Joseph Ward’s statue is a prominent piece of public art in Bluff. In its design, style and execution it is a good example of the work of sculptor William H. Feldon, whose work made an important contribution as a New Zealand artist at a time when most public art was sourced overseas. The statue is situated looking down Gore Street towards the hotel in which Ward was raised, the Post Office where he began his working life, and where he and his wife owned property along the waterfront.
Detail Of Assessed Criteria
(b) The association of the place with events, persons, or ideas of importance in New Zealand history The statue represents (and is therefore associated with) Sir Joseph Ward, one of New Zealand’s most well-known and significant figures in the country’s history, according to historian Gavin McLean, and the important part he played in the shaping of the Bluff community through his development of business in the area. The statue emphasises, ‘Sir Joseph Ward was from Bluff, and Bluff was Sir Joseph Ward.’ (e) The community association with, or public esteem for the place The statue is valued highly by the Bluff community as illustrated by its prominence on heritage trail, websites, and interpretation plaques at the statue itself. When further relocation was proposed, there was community opposition. (h) The symbolic or commemorative value of the place The statue commemorates Sir Joseph Ward’s life and achievement. By relocating the statue to Bluff in the 1970s his association with the place is accentuated and was considered a coming home for this most significant of local figures. (k) The extent to which the place forms part of a wider historical and cultural area The statue of Sir Joseph Ward, while relocated to this site, contributes to the wider historical area as a strong reminder of the impact of Ward’s work, and that of his family, on the development of the town of Bluff. Summary of significance The statue commemorates the early life of Sir Joseph Ward, businessman, statesman and Premier of New Zealand. Ward was a dynamic local figure in Bluff and had a significant impact on the development of New Zealand’s economic and technological development. The statue has aesthetic and historic significance and is unusual for its time in that it was commissioned and privately funded by a local citizen and was produced by a New Zealand artist. While it has been moved twice and is now separated from the sculptural group of which it was part for 40 years, it now resides in a more significant location that aptly reflects the origin of the impact Sir Joseph Ward would go on to have on the nation from his hometown of Bluff.
Construction Professional
Biography
Feldon (1871-1945) Feldon was born in Oxford where he served a five-year apprenticeship in sculpting with J. H. Arnett. He then worked for Farmer and Brindley in London. He was a visiting Master to the College at Eastbourne where he taught carving and modelling, while also teaching many apprentices at Oxford. He immigrated to New Zealand with his wife and children in 1910 where he first undertook a series of panels for Government House in Wellington. He served during the First World War. Following the war he won competitions for the design of war memorials at Bombay, Pōkeno and Rotorua. By 1920 he had achieved a level of recognition as a sculptor of public art. Feldon was responsible for many statues during his life including the Arawa Memorial (Rotorua Government Gardens Historic Area, New Zealand Heritage List No. 7015) and the Matakana War Memorial statue of George V (List No.9816). Feldon was also responsible for the carving of the Auckland Town Hall, the Auckland Ferry Buildings, St Paul’s Church, a statue of Earl Jellicoe, Auckland Children’s Hospital and Helensville District memorials.
Name
Feldon, William Henry
Type
Architect
Construction Details
Finish Year
1931
Start Year
1930
Type
Original Construction
Description
Statue installation in Post Office Square, Invercargill
Start Year
1931
Type
Other
Description
Statue relocated to Gala Street Reserve ‘Memorial Park’, Invercargill
Start Year
1941
Type
Relocation
Description
Statue relocated to Bluff
Start Year
1971
Type
Relocation
Description
Plaque added to the statue
Start Year
2001
Type
Addition
Construction Materials
Marble, granite
Early History Murihiku ki te tonga / Southland has a very long and continuing history of occupation by Māori. Kōrero tuko ihu (oral history) tell us the waka of Aoraki became Te Wai Pounamu / South Island, and its sternpost, Te Taurapa a Te Waka o Aoraki, became Motupōhue / Bluff Hill. The tipua Māui is also recorded in Te Wai Pounamu and his traditions are well recorded in Murihiku, with Māui arriving in his waka Maahunui, and throwing out the anchor Te Puka o Te Waka a Māui or Rakiura / Stewart Island. Māui’s achievements are recognised in place names in the south, particularly Ōmaui near Awarua / Bluff, Te Tapuwae o Māui / Māui’s footstep and Te Rereka o Māui /Māui’s leap in Fiordland. The early tribes of Hāwea, Rapuwai and Waitaha were present on the landscape and were eventually assimilated into Kāti Māmoe, who were in turn incorporated into Kāi Tahu in the 1800s. Shared occupation and whakapapa with these early iwi are always acknowledged. Awarua is the traditional Māori name for Bluff Harbour as well as the wider Bluff region and refers to the two bodies of water that constitute the harbour. The entire area was rich in resources and kaik, tauraka-waka, nohoaka, mahika kai and mahika toi were established close to them. Tiwai Point, a source of pakohe (argillite), is located on the northern side of the entrance of Awarua. The stone was quarried and worked there, and then traded far and wide. The name Motupōhue / Bluff Hill is an ancient one, brought south by Ngāti Māmoe and Ngāi Tahu. Motupōhue refers to the native convolvulus pōhue, Calystegia sepium found in quantity at this place. The name recalls a history unique to the Ngāi Tūhaitara and Ngāti Kurī hapū that is captured in the line, ‘Kei korā kei Motupōhue, he pāreka e kai ana, nā tō tūtae’ (It was there at Motupōhue that a shag stood, eating your excrement). Oral tradition records the Ngāti Māmoe leader, Te Rakitauneke, is buried on Motupōhue; perhaps in fulfilment of his wishes, ‘Kia pai ai tāku titiro ki Te Ara a Kiwa’ (Let me gaze upon Foveaux Strait). Some kōrero also place the burial of another Ngāti Māmoe leader, Tū Te Makohu, here. With the coming of whalers and sealers the area was a popular haven, and it soon became a multi-cultural society with immigrants from around the globe marrying tangata whenua wāhine. Ōue and Ōmāui were principal settlements at the mouth of the Ōreti in the colonially named New River Estuary in the 19th Century. The Murihiku Purchase, an area of 6,900,000 acres, was orchestrated by W. B. D. Mantell on 17 August 1853 for £2,600. ‘Native Reserves’ were made at the following places within the block: Tūtūrau, Ōmaui, Ōue, Aparima, Ōraka, Kawakaputaputa, and Ōuetoto; the total quantity set apart for the purpose being 4,588 acres. Ngāi Tahu report this equated to approximately 17 acres per person and did not provide the schools and hospitals promised. Stevens acknowledges the relationship between the establishment of Native Reserves in the vicinity of ports like Bluff where Māori men and women lived and worked. More than a century later, the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998 saw the name of Bluff Hill Scenic Reserve, changed to Motupōhue Scenic Reserve through a Statutory Acknowledgement. In the 2018 census, 46% of the population of Bluff identify as Māori which is significant compared with the rest of Murihiku which sits at 14%. Traditional practices, like the seasonal tītī (mutton bird) harvest, continue to be treasured and practiced by tangata whenua. European Settlement An important place of early cross-cultural encounter, Bluff has been a place of many names. Bluff was first charted in 1806 in O.F. Smith where he named it ‘The Mount’. Some years later it was first described by Robert Williams, a flax dresser and ropemaker, who was part of a reconnaissance party in 1813 aboard the Perseverance who were hoping to identify a location to establish a flax industry. The official representative on board was a Mr Jones who honoured the then Governor by naming the area ‘Port Macquarie’ after him. Nearly ten years later, a similar expedition was launched on the Snapper which made the first record of the place as ‘Old Man’s Bluff Point’. The name was derived from the Celtic alt maen meaning ‘high rock’. The first European settler at Bluff was James Spencer who arrived in January 1824. He obtained permission to work the land, and established a small settlement built around a fishing station. The title to the land he purchased from Tūhawaiki was dated 12 February 1839. This settlement became Bluff and is the longest continually inhabited European settlement in the South Island. Colonial Period In 1856 J. T. Thompson, the newly incumbent Chief Surveyor, made his way to Invercargill and Bluff to plan both the town and port. ‘Bluff Town’ became the first town in Murihiku / Southland to have its survey completed. The name was soon changed to Campelltown to honour the family name of Governor Gore’s wife. Prior to the establishment of the deep-water port at Bluff, Invercargill’s New River Estuary was the major port south of Dunedin. The advantage for Bluff being a deep-water port saw it take precedence as the port of choice for large vessels. Consequently, trade between Melbourne and Bluff was firmly and regularly established in the 1860s, ‘Bluff was a key entry point for goods, people, livestock and ideas central to the lower South Island’s colonial development. In return it dispatched primary products to points throughout the British Empire.’ The flood of gold miners between 1862-64 boosted the town, boarding houses and hotels sprung up to cater for the demand. Infrastructure progressed rapidly. The railway link through to Bluff in 1867 proved to be the beginning of the end for the Port of Invercargill. The Harbour Board first met in early 1877, Southland Frozen Meat established a freezer in 1885, and the Ocean Beach Freezing works were opened in 1891 following which, the Borough of Campbelltown was incorporated in 1897. It was a further twenty years before the official name reverted to Bluff on 1 March 1917. Sir Joseph Ward was instrumental in all these developments. Sir Joseph Ward Sir Joseph George Ward Bt. K.C.M.G. (1856-1930) remains a significant figure in both Southland and New Zealand’s history. Born in Melbourne, the fifth of ten children of William and Hannah Ward who had immigrated from Ireland, he moved with his mother and siblings to Bluff in 1863. He was educated at Campbelltown School and started as a post office messenger boy at the age 13 years. A precocious entrepreneur, Ward’s lifelong engagement in business began at an early age. He founded the prominent stock and station company J. G. Ward and Co., bought wool, grain, and skins, and later sold grass seed, sheep dip, fertiliser and stock feed. Ward was a larger-than-life figure. Historian Gavin McLean writes, ‘Ward was a dandy (fine clothes, waxed moustache) and a title chaser (a knighthood in 1901, baronetcy in 1911)’. He apparently loved to be photographed and would present signed photographs and postcards of himself ‘to all and sundry.’ He was loquacious; an observer wrote, ‘Listening to his sentences I always feel like the man who watched the slow procession of the dredge buckets, dreamily waiting for the last bucket to come up... Time disappears, the world fades away.’ His personality certainly enabled his success in business and politics. Ward became deeply involved in business and governance in Bluff, and later, New Zealand – his own prosperity and that of the town and its population were inextricably intertwined. He was relentless in his expansionist ideas and was enormously productive, always endeavouring to obtain the maximum value from government spending and fascinated by the potential of new technologies to enhance and grow business and jobs. Bassett acknowledges the blurred lines and conflicts of interest inherent in Wards business dealings, the development of Bluff, and his political aspirations. Ward’s first foray into politics was at age 21 when he was elected to the Campbelltown Borough Council in 1878 and was Mayor of Bluff from 1881-88 and again from 1897-98. He was Chairman of the Bluff Harbour Board 1883-8, and again in the 1890s. In 1887 Ward was elected to Parliament, representing Awarua from 1887-1919. He became a cabinet minister in 1891, and, in the same year, Postmaster General, negotiating to stay in Southland which suited him well as he could keep an eye on his business interests. As Postmaster General he reduced the cost of toll calls, and later, reduced the cost of telegrams. As the largest user of these services in Invercargill, his political position certainly benefited his business interests, and no doubt, that of business colleagues. As a buyer of the products of farmers, Ward understood their needs and raised money in London to enable farmers to lend money cheaply to facilitate intensive settlement. Ward launched the frozen meat industry in Bluff in June 1891 in the form of the Ocean Beach Freezing Works – its implementation was facilitated by a rapidly introduced act of parliament – and the business was run through Ward’s private bank account. By the age of 40 he was the Colonial Treasurer. Ward was particularly close to Richard Seddon (1845-1906) and Jon McKenzie (1839-1901) and was Seddon’s closest confidant until his death; Bassett describes their relationship as ‘symbiotic.’ In 1905 the yet to be founded township of ‘Ward’ on the Flaxbourne estate was named after him. Eventually a railway line would link Ward and Seddon as conclusively as the men themselves were tied. Ward, like Seddon, was a proponent of a ‘White New Zealand’ philosophy and was part of a system that passed discriminatory legislation against Chinese between 1880 and 1920. As Prime Minister, Ward was prepared to ‘exclude all Asians if he thought the imperial government would tolerate this.’ Ward’s political career was building during the governments aggressive land purchasing in the 1870s which facilitated the immigration and public works schemes that were to dominate the next several decades. By the time Ward was Premier, most of the land had passed from Māori ownership, and in many cases Māori did not receive the services, such as schools, that they were promised. Ward’s own policies continued to disadvantage Māori land owners. ‘The Native Land Act of 1909 was described by Finance Minister Sir Joseph Ward in his 1909 financial statement as assisting the purchase of ‘as large an area as possible’ from Maori owners while safeguarding their interests. He hoped that the new system would avoid past difficulties by generally expediting purchasing after negotiation with assembled owners.’ In 1894 Ward resigned as Colonial Treasurer. He was facing financial ruin due to the liquidation of the Colonial Bank by the Bank of New Zealand of which his company, J.G. Ward Farmers Association, was its greatest debtor. In 1897, having become ‘hopelessly insolvent’ he resigned from Parliament and from Bluff Harbour Board. When his financial affairs recovered (with some considerable assistance from his family and friends as well as connections in business and politics) he was voted back into those same posts and in November that year was re-elected Mayor of Bluff. Later, as leader of the Liberal Party, he became New Zealand’s 17th Prime Minister between 1906 and 1912, and again 1928-1930, this time as leader of the United Party, before resigning because of poor health. His first tenure was enormously productive and included a change for New Zealand from a colony to a Dominion in 1907. Ward was instrumental in connecting the country and building the economy through the Post and Telegraph, and Railway Services – the latter enabling the settlement of people and the movement of products from source to city and port. The postal changes resulted in 13 million more letters were posted in the first year that penny postage than the previous year. By 1912 there were an additional 33,000 telephones in the country. Passenger fare on the railways were reduced resulting in a marked increase in use – aided by the opening of the North Island main trunk line in 1908. In 1929 Ward suffered a series of strokes and he died on 8 July 1930. Ward, his wife Theresa and other family members are buried at the old Bluff Cemetery. Ward’s record of public service spanning 52 years, 23 of which where he was a minister of the Crown remains unmatched. The statue of Sir Joseph Ward After Sir Joseph Ward died, William Handyside (1848-1935) commissioned Auckland sculptor William Henry Feldon (1871-1945) to create a sculpture of Ward. Handyside was a gentleman, and a prominent figure in Invercargill’s business life in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. With Sir John Roberts he started the Nightcaps Coal Company in about 1882 and acted as general manager for some 25 years and was then managing director for the next 18 years until the company ceased operation in 1925 when the coalfield closed. He was a generous benefactor to many charities as attested in his will. A clear connection between Handyside and Ward has not been established, however they may have had dealings through the business community. One event does stand out. The Troopship Orient was rumoured to be holding a passenger with smallpox in 1902. Handyside was a Lieutenant on the ship whose men were decanted onto Matiu / Somes Island, and Ward is reported as initiating an investigation into complaints about the Orient, ‘with commendable promptitude’. Bassett notes that following his financial collapse Ward was particularly self-conscious, at times paranoid, and consumed with recognition of his achievements and to retore his reputation. It is possible this statue was one of several honours for Ward that was organised on his behalf although Handyside requested his involvement remain anonymous. Handyside had already commissioned Feldon, who was based in Auckland, to produce statues of Lord Kitchener and Lord Jellicoe, both prominent British World War One figures. Kitchener was Field-Marshal of Britain’s first mass army and quickly became the face of the War. Jellicoe became Governor General of New Zealand in September 1920 and quickly became a popular contributor to New Zealand society through sporting pursuits, his role in charitable organisations, continued interest and involvement with ex-servicemen, and his position of Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New Zealand. Handyside intended to gift the statues of these three prominent men to the people of New Zealand, and the government agreed they could be erected in the square in front of the Invercargill Post Office and were installed in January 1931. The statue of Ward was completed in October 1931 and shipped to Invercargill. Feldon travelled south to supervise the installation. What motivated Handyside to commission the sculptures remains unknown, he was a private individual, and as his obituary states, ‘The statues of Lord Jellicoe, Lord Kitchener, and Sir Joseph Ward in the Post Office square, Invercargill were gifts of Mr Handyside, who, with characteristic modesty, would permit no public reference to these gifts during his lifetime.’ The inscription on the rear of the statue simply states it was ‘erected by a citizen’. Following Handyside’s death in 1935, and his widow offered the statues to the Invercargill City Council. There was a condition that the statues be removed from the Post Office square should the land be required for future building projects. The Council had requested that the statue of Ward be positioned in the vestibule of the new Post Office as a tribute to Ward, who had been Postmaster-General for many years, however this request was denied. Plans for a new post office on the site progressed and saw the statues relocated to the Gala Street reserve (renamed Memorial Park) by MacDonald Weston between 28 December 1935 and 11 January 1936. They were arranged in a triangular formation against a background of trees, with Ward at the apex of the triangle. In 1969 Invercargill City Council offered the statue to the Bluff Borough Council. This was accepted with ‘much pleasure’ on 23 December 1969. An article from the Southland Times reported that the Invercargill City Council offered the statue to the Bluff County Council. The sculpture was seen to be coming ‘home’, and that it was a fitting offer to the town. When the statues of Lord’s Jellicoe and Kitchener were shifted to the western end of the reserve behind the Cenotaph, Ward’s statue was removed to Bluff on 16 April 1971 and installed to, ‘stand vigil over the entrance to the island harbour’. The Bluff location is fitting given Ward’s strong association with the town, having moved there in 1863 with his mother, who ran a hotel in the town (Club Hotel, List No. 2241) and through his many and various business and governance roles in Bluff. In recent years, discussions to relocate the statue resulted in heated community debate, reflecting the importance of the statue to the town. An information plaque was installed in by the Bluff History Group and Bluff Community Board in 2001.
Current Description Setting The statue faces east situated at the end of Bluff’s main street at the end of what was a public esplanade reserve, though aerial photographs indicate that the land on which the statue sits is legal road. The public reserve is a flat grassed area with some areas of planting. Across the road is a petrol station, while many of the surrounding properties are residential. The town centre of Bluff is further to the east. The statue The statue faces east towards the town centre and stands on a stepped white granite base, with red granite plinth and white granite capping. The statue is life-sized, carved from a block of white Italian marble weighing approximately 3.5 tons took Feldon a year to complete. The statue reflects Ward’s likeness as he appeared around 1910. An article at the time reported, ‘At that time the dead statesman was in his best form – a vigorous, robust man.’ Ward is bare headed but dressed formally in ‘morning dress’ consisting of a buttoned down shirt, ties, waistcoat and pocket watch, trousers and open tail-coat as in. He leans slightly against a plinth which is topped by a stack of books, his right hand behind his back, ‘to represent Sir Joseph’s wide learning and his amazing power of assimilating knowledge…’ In his left hand he holds a scroll of paper, reminiscent of the photograph. His weight is on his right foot and his left is slightly bent and stepping forwards. His posture, open jacket and lack of a hat produce a somewhat relaxed attitude taken from life which is apparent in a photograph of a ‘debonair’ Ward bearing a similar stance to Felton’s sculpture (see). The dressing of Ward was the subject of discussion between Feldon and the Mayor in April 1931, Feldon preferring ‘him as if addressing an audience, in his ordinary clothes (morning coat?)…’. At a time when much of the sculptural commissions were obtained from Italy or London, Feldon was unusual in that his work was produced here. The style of the sculpture is typical of Feldon’s work. Like his war memorials in Matakana (List No.9816), Helensville and Mercer (List No. 7647) the figure is stiff without the naturalism apparent in the work of other sculptors, nor does it have the complexity of Feldon’s Arawa War Memorial at Rotorua (included within the Rotorua Government Gardens Historic Area, List No. 7015). It is similar to the figures of Lords Kitchener and Jellicoe that remain on the Gala Street Reserve in Invercargill, where Ward’s statue was previously located.
Completion Date
4th April 2021
Report Written By
Sarah Gallagher and Heather Bauchop
Information Sources
Watt, 1971
J O P Watt. Centenary Invercargill Municipality 1871 - 1971. Southland Times Printing Service, Invercargill, 1971.
Fox, 2004
Aaron Fox, ‘Historic Bluff: A history of the heritage and unique features of Bluff’, prepared for the Invercargill City Council, 2004
Bassett, 1987
Michael Bassett, ‘In Search of Sir Joseph Ward’, New Zealand Journal of History, 21.1, 1987, pp. 112-124.
Bassett, 2020
Michael Bassett, ‘Ward, Joseph George’, Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 1993, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/biographies/2w9/ward-joseph-george accessed 27 November 2020.
Feldon, 2014
J. R. Feldon, Immigrant Sculptor: William Henry Feldon, Feldon, Auckland, 2014.
McLean, 2017
Gavin McLean, ‘Joseph Ward’, New Zealand History, updated 8-Nov-2017, https://nzhistory.govt.nz/people/sir-joseph-ward accessed 27 November 2020.
Report Written By
A fully referenced New Zealand Heritage List report is available on request from the Otago/Southland Area Office of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Other Heritage Recognition The statue was identified with a Class 1 rating in the Invercargill City Bluff Ward Heritage & Unique Features Study, 2001. The Bluff History Group installed an interpretive plaque on the base of the statue in 2001. The statue is included in Dr Aaron Fox, Historic Bluff: A History of the Heritage and Unique Features of Bluff, prepared for the Invercargill City Council, March 2004, and is included in the Bluff Heritage Trail. Disclaimer Please note that entry on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero identifies only the heritage values of the property concerned, and should not be construed as advice on the state of the property, or as a comment of its soundness or safety, including in regard to earthquake risk, safety in the event of fire, or insanitary conditions. Archaeological sites are protected by the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014, regardless of whether they are entered on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero or not. Archaeological sites include ‘places associated with pre-1900 human activity, where there may be evidence relating to the history of New Zealand’. This List entry report should not be read as a statement on whether or not the archaeological provisions of the Act apply to the property (s) concerned. Please contact your local Heritage New Zealand office for archaeological advice.
Current Usages
Uses: Civic Facilities
Specific Usage: Statue/public art
Uses: Commemoration
Specific Usage: Memorial - Particular person or group
Former Usages
General Usage:: Civic Facilities
Specific Usage: Statue/public art
General Usage:: Commemoration
Specific Usage: Monuments, memorial, site of particular event - other