Melbourne’s Moreland City will be richer for one more Greek statue, after request of the Greek community of Moreland to install a sculpture of Poseidon at Coburg Lake Reserve has received the green light.
The brass or copper statue of the mythological Greek god of the sea, that will also have two solar sided panels to light the statue, has been supported by all except one councillor at the recent Moreland City Council meeting.
Moreland City Mayor Lambros Tapinos told Neos Kosmos that the proposal is still in early stages with design, footings and siting to be determined.
“The proposal was supported at the recent Council meeting. We are now investigating it further.
“There is general support but before we give a final approval we do want to see more information about the size of the statue, material, appropriate location – all those issues have to be resolved before we go ahead,” he said.
Council will also need to ensure that the sculpture fits in with the broader Lake Reserve landscape, with other sculptures at the lake and to ensure that the location meets Melbourne Water requirements and any planning requirements.
According to the initial indication, the sculpture will stand 2.5 m tall.
As proposed by the Greek Orthodox Community of Moreland, the cost of purchase and maintenance will be taken on by the community itself.
“We will be able to provide some assistance – probably technical support and assistance for the installation of the sculpture,” Mayor Lambros Tapinos said.
When another Greek statue in Moreland City was unveiled in 2009 – that of King Leonidas in Brunswick – local shop owners were outraged. However, Mr Tapinos says this is not likely to be the case with the Poseidon statue.
“The difference with the Leonidas statue in Brunswick was that it was a joint project with Panlaconians, funded by the Council because of the sister city relationship with Sparta.
“We don’t think there will be residents directly impacted with the statue on the lake. We have a whole range of other statues and memorials there, public art ‘gifts’ from the Italian community and from the Turkish community.”
“In that sense I thought it was a great idea. And if the Greek community of Moreland is able to afford it and they are happy to proceed, then we are happy to go ahead with it. The council view is that if they are willing to gift us something for Coburg Lake we will accept it like we’ve done previously. It is an honour.”
Moreland City Mayor said the Council will now continue to work with the Greek community of Moreland to develop the project in accordance with the Council’s adopted Arts and Culture Public Art Guidelines and Coburg Lake Master Plan.
John Haitidis, assistant treasurer of the Greek Community of Moreland told Neos Kosmos that the community proposal was envisaged as a cultural initiative, for the Greek community to be proud of and for the rest of the Moreland residents to delve into the Greek history.
“We proposed it six months ago. We still don’t know what the cost is going to be – if the cost is reasonable and we find sponsors, we’ll go ahead with it.
“Originally we wanted to put it in the middle of the lake, which would cost big money, so we decided to put it on more solid grounds. We are now taking quotations for marble, bronze and some other materials, to find the most cost effective one,” Mr Haitidis said.
“With around 10,000 Greek Australian residing in the Moreland City area, we thought it would be a nice thing to do for our own and wider community – to be seen by the world, and to be inspired to read Greek history.”