Economist and philanthropist Gareth Morgan has unveiled an ambitious sculpture trail on his 200-hectare property north of Wellington, featuring massive artworks including a 25-ton feather, a giant bench, and a rainbow bridge. The project, which Morgan describes as costing tens of millions of dollars over four years, represents his retirement passion project and aims to bring public art joy to visitors of all ages.
Morgan purchased the property in 2019, initially as a response to COVID-19 restrictions that ended his two-decade hobby of motorcycling around the world with his wife. "When Covid struck there was no more motorcycling, so I followed her around the garden with a wheelbarrow for a couple of weeks, then she told me to get my own garden," Morgan explained. "So, two weeks later, I bought this... That was six years ago, and I'm still digging."
The centerpiece of the collection is "Touchdown," a 17-meter-high, 25-ton sculpture created by renowned artist Neil Dawson, who also designed Christchurch's Cathedral Square Chalice and Wellington's Ferns sculpture that hangs above Civic Square. The massive feather-shaped sculpture is visible from the Transmission Gully motorway and was inspired by Dawson's observation of feathers being whisked around by wind during a site visit. The colossal artwork was transported on a house-moving truck and precisely positioned on hilltop using 32 bolts. "Isn't that unreal when you think of the size of this? That the guys had got it right to the millimeter, 32 bolts, it is just unreal," Morgan marveled.
Dawson contributed two additional pieces to the collection: "Cumulus," an 18-meter-tall two-dimensional sculpture conveying clouds with two ladders leading to the sky, and the feather sculpture at the front gate. The trail also features work by Phil Price, creator of Wellington's lime green Protoplasm sculpture on Lambton Quay. Price's contribution, "Morpheus," stands nine meters tall in orange and features three teardrops that move in Wellington's notorious winds.
Morgan's inspiration for large-scale public art began at his Mount Maunganui home, where sculptures he installed created unexpected tourist attractions. "All the tourists, instead of taking photos of the beach, they stand now, and they just take photos of the house with all the sculptures out, so it has become a major attraction," he noted. This success motivated him to create something on a far grander scale in the Wellington area.
The sculptures are specifically designed to interact with Wellington's famously unpredictable weather conditions. "The site is sometimes beautiful, calm, like being in the tropics and other times it is a howling gale and each time you get a different impact on your sculptures," Morgan observed. Both Morpheus and Cumulus are engineered to move when strong Wellington winds pass through them, creating dynamic visual experiences for visitors.
Beyond the wind-responsive pieces, the 5-kilometer trail includes several other notable installations. A 7.3-meter-high giant bench, conceptualized by Morgan himself, was inspired by the normal-sized benches scattered throughout the property's 9-hole golf course. The rainbow bridge represents a repurposed 100-year-old rail bridge from Trentham in Upper Hutt, now painted in vibrant rainbow colors.
The collection also features "Wellington Street Icons," a tribute sculpture honoring four men well-known in central Wellington: Michael Wahrlich (known as Mike the Juggler), John D'Estaing Adams (known as Kenny), Robert Jones (known as Bucket Man), and Ben Hana (known as Blanket Man). Additionally, "Star Crossed Lovers" by Tamara Kevsitadze is a mechanical sculpture that moves to tell the story of a Muslim boy and a Christian girl struggling to maintain their love.
For Morgan, the sculpture trail serves as more than just artistic expression—it's essential for his mental engagement during retirement. "It just keeps me busy during my retirement otherwise I go sterile or do something even sillier and get back into politics or economics, and I don't want to go backwards," he explained. The project represents a deliberate shift from his previous careers in business and brief political involvement.
The sculpture trail currently houses 10 completed installations, with five additional pieces planned for future installation. The site will operate through private bookings, allowing visitors to experience the full 5-kilometer trail and interact closely with the massive artworks. Morgan's vision of creating joy through public art on a grand scale has materialized into one of New Zealand's most ambitious private sculpture collections, designed to surprise and delight visitors while showcasing how art can transform a landscape and create new cultural destinations.
