Indian High Commissioner Neeta Bhushan lays a floral tribute at a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in front of Wellington Railway Station on Wednesday. Photo: Supplied / Indian High Commission
As New Zealand's Indian population grows, an increasing number of statues honouring revered figures for the community have been popping up across the country.
The most prominent of these sculptures is the life-size bronze statue of Indian independence icon Mahatma Gandhi that stands in front of Wellington Railway Station.
The man Indians universally revere as the "Father of the Nation" was born in Porbandar in the state of Gujarat on 2 October 1869.
This year marks the 155th anniversary of Gandhi's birth and, like every year, the Indian High Commission in Wellington commemorated the occasion with a floral tribute at the statue by mission head Neeta Bhushan.
The statue was gifted to the city in 2007 by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations on behalf of the Indian people.
It is believed to be the first Gandhi statute erected in New Zealand.
Made by renowned Indian sculptor Gautam Pal, the statue was unveiled in front of the train station on 2 October 2007.
The 2007 unveiling was attended by Governor-General Anand Satyanand, Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast and Indian High Commissioner K.P. Ernest.
Satyanand had called the gift a symbol of lasting friendship between India and New Zealand.
Ernest called the statue an acknowledgement of the commitment of the people of New Zealand for setting an example to the world of a tolerant, open and inclusive society.
Prendergast said the statue symbolised friendship and solidarity between the two countries.
The site was selected because Gandhi was a man of the people who liked to use trains and other public transport, Prendergast said.
The Mahatma Gandhi Centre in Auckland Photo: RNZ / Blessen Tom
Northern sibling
Wellington is not the only urban centre in New Zealand that boasts a sculpture of Gandhi. Another statue sits at the Mahatma Gandhi Centre on New North Rd.
The statue was commissioned to be erected at the Eden Terrace community hub following the relocation of the centre from its location on Victoria St since first being inaugurated on 2 October 1955.
Auckland's first community centre was called Gandhi Hall, but the community's population soon outgrew the venue.
As a result, the Auckland Indian Association purchased the old Findlay's Bakery at 145 New North Rd in 1989.
The venue is now one of the major hubs of Indian community activities in Auckland, and houses offices of the Auckland and New Zealand Central Indian associations, as well as Radha Krishna Temple.
In 2005, the association commissioned a bronze statue of Gandhi to be shipped from India.
The statue was unveiled on 2 October the same year and now sits above the main entrance.
