State Government wants to move controversial ‘Uniting a Nation’ statue to Lot Fourteen

Remember this statue? It was first going into the Sydney Harbour then the Torrens Lake and later War Memorial Drive. Now this 15m steel monstrosity will get another home somewhere else in the CBD.

An impression of the Uniting a Nation sculpture in the Torrens Lake.

• ‘Hideous’ sculpture slammed as Torrens home sunk
• Statue stuck in Sydney — year after it was meant to be installed
• Special route needed to bring statue to Adelaide

It was a great artistic gift to South Australia, a $2.35 million sculpture that was destined to take pride of place in the Torrens Lake.

Then Adelaide City Council and the Art Gallery of SA looked at plonking it on War Memorial Drive instead.

Now, the State Government has decided to find the Uniting a Nation sculpture a home within Lot Fourteen.

It is, in fact, the fourth proposed location for the 15m high, five-tonne aluminium work that was originally commissioned as a landmark piece for Sydney Harbour.

But there is still no firm date set for its move from NSW to SA or its installation.

Philanthropist Basil Sellers donated the Terrance Plowright sculpture to the permanent collection of the Art Gallery of SA at the beginning of 2018.

A State Government spokeswoman said Mr Sellers had visited Adelaide to discuss site suitability, and Lot Fourteen was considered “optimal” and the “preferred long-term location”.

“Installing the sculpture in the main component of public open space in Lot Fourteen will ensure that it is easily accessible by all visitors,” she said. “This prominent location will activate both Lot Fourteen and surrounding areas such as the Adelaide Botanic Garden.”

The COVID-19 pandemic, the difficulty transporting the huge work from NSW to Adelaide, finding an interim storage location and determining the installation site had all contributed to delays, the spokeswoman said. The sculpture is expected to arrive in Adelaide by the end of the year, pending permits.

The Torrens Lake plan was scrapped because it was deemed too expensive.

Adelaide City councillors were told that War Memorial Drive, next to the tennis stadium, would be a “spectacular entrance to the sporting and event spaces in the city”.

But elected members last year labelled the statue “hideous”, phallic, and “like something out of (the movie) Alien vs. Predator”.

Deputy lord mayor Alexander Hyde said Lot Fourteen would be a more appropriate spot than War Memorial Drive for the giant, unloved work of art.

“If it is buried deep within the bowels of Lot Fourteen then that is probably a good thing as far as streetscapes go,” Cr Hyde said.

Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor was contacted for comment.

Art Gallery of SA spokeswoman Rhana Devenport said the gallery was working with the state government to achieve an outcome that would “provide utmost access and enjoyment for audiences”.