THE centenary sculptures may have started with one man but on Friday night they finished with hundreds of Griffith residents who filled the park to be part of the momentous occasion of their launch.
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“I really think of these as a gift to the people of Griffith as the city turns 100,” man behind the original idea and tireless dedication to seeing it realised Noel Hicks said.
The people of Griffith wholeheartedly agreed with him, husband and wife Yole and John Scremin said they thought themselves privileged to have been able to participate in and witness the sculptures as they came to life.
“They have done a fantastic job,” Mrs Scremin said.
“We went to see them working on the sculptures at least four times and it’s just been a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
Mr Scremin was one of the many volunteers to donate their time to the symposium and said he had been blown away by the whole process.
“Tonight I am really proud of the turnout and what is happening,” he said.
“Finally this is something positive for our town.
“At the beginning I saw the rocks and I honestly didn’t know what was going to happen – I never in my wildest dreams imagined this.
Griffith Mayor John Dal Broi paid tribute to the tireless staff and community members who had worked together to make the original idea a reality.
“I don’t think I’ve ever experienced in my time in local government the community working together in such a way,” he said.
“There was $200,000 raised from all the sponsors and now we have something that we can be proud of internationally.”
Member for Murray Adrian Piccoli said while the sculptures had obvious value now, their true worth would be realised over the years to come.
“These sculptures will be here for our children and our children’s children to enjoy,” he said.
While Griffith’s international sculpture symposium manager Luke Zwolsman said he was excited to launch the results of the sculptor’s hard work he said it was a bittersweet moment.
“I am delighted the work is complete but I am also sad it has come to an end,” he said.
Tourism and economic development manager Greg Lawrence similarly said he was sad to see the journey ending.
“It’s in many ways an anti-climax because we have all been on such a high,” he said.
“But to see so many people here is just phenomenal – it’s really been a journey involving everyone from businesses, to residents and all of council.
“These sculptures were fully underwritten by the Griffith community and we want to use these as an opportunity to continue to bring people to Griffith in the future.”
