A $1.25 million dollar sculpture designed to resemble the wave of a hand (or, depending on who you ask, french fries) will be built at the entrance to Burnie.
The winning design, dubbed “Welcome Gesture”, was created by David Hamilton and Geoff Farquhar-Still and was selected by about 80 voters from of a total of 152 votes made by members of the local community – less than 1% of the Burnie municipality’s population.
The alternative design, titled “Emu Island” by Futago, featured a circular ‘Emu’ that paid tribute to the area’s Emu history.
Councillors voted to back in the winning design at a meeting last month and hope it will “enhance and improve” the entrance to the north-west city.
Burnie Mayor Teeny Brumby said the ‘waving hand’ sculpture will be positioned on the grass island between Wilson Street and Marine Terrace on the Bass Highway from mid-2024.
“The gateway will signal the next exciting chapter in Burnie’s story as a step towards creating a new vision for the city’s future, for our local community and for our visitors,” she said.
The design is currently awaiting final approval from the Department of State Growth and is anticipated to commence construction in the new year, aiming for completion by June.
