Helen Clark
24 April, 2007
Park will complete war memorial precinct
Prime Minister and Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Helen Clark and Transport Minister Annette King today announced plans for a New Zealand Memorial Park to complete the redevelopment of the National War Memorial precinct.
"The Memorial Park will join the adjacent National War Memorial and the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior as a major focal point for New Zealanders to commemorate our sacrifice during times of war and become a place of deep significance for all of us," Helen Clark said.
The Labour-led Government is providing funding of $10.9 million for the Memorial Park's construction in Wellington's Buckle St. The Wellington City Council is also willing to consider providing funding.
“This project will complete the job begun when the National War Memorial was built in 1932. Work on the surrounding area was unfortunately never completed. This decision helps us move towards fulfilment of the original vision for the memorial site.
“The proposed park will be available for the construction of memorials, particularly by other nations wanting to commemorate their relationships with New Zealand.
“When officials looked at the feasibility of establishing the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior at the Memorial several years ago, it was clear that the semi-industrial adjacent site needed to be redeveloped in an appropriate manner," Helen Clark said.
“Since then the Government has built the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior and ensured that the adjacent land became available for the park. The land on the north side of Buckle Street, opposite the war memorial has been purchased.”
Annette King said that if that land had been sold following the completion of the Wellington Inner-City Bypass, the unique opportunity to re-establish an appropriate setting - consistent with the original intentions when the National War Memorial was established – would have been lost.
“To create a cohesive ‘memorial precinct’, it has been proposed that Buckle Street be realigned 30-40m to the north,” Annette King said.
"Today's announcement means that the Ministry of Culture and Heritage, Transit, and Wellington City Council can begin work on the project, including seeking resource consents. We look forward to working with interested parties such as the Wellington City Council in moving the project forward," Helen Clark and Annette King said.
