Anzac Fronds to unfurl again in memorial drive

Familiar fronds will be rearranged in a new Anzac setting, complementing a nearby poppies artwork.

Recently repurposed to honour the Anzac story, the new-look fronds at the Anzac Drive-New Brighton Road intersection will align with the Poppies over Gallipoli sculpture on the corner of Anzac Drive and Travis Road.

The Anzac Fronds – originally installed on Anzac Bridge – will sit on a reserve on a corner of the roundabout after being organised into new forms.

The four, freestanding frond stands – featuring the fronds originally in place on the bridge light poles – are expected to be installed in their concrete bases by the end of June.

The fronds – made of pre-weathered steel – have been in storage for several years.

In a precautionary step, workers removed the original long art pieces from the bridge following the 2010-11 earthquakes.

Waitai/Coastal-Burwood Community Board Chairperson Kelly Barber says the artwork marks an important period for local residents, and sits appropriately in Anzac Drive.

“To many, the fronds symbolise Aotearoa New Zealand and subtly remind us to engage with our past,” he says.

“In their new home, a few hundred metres from the original site on the Anzac bridge, the fronds also magnificently capture the natural environment that now surrounds them.”