For 25 years it stood at the entrance to Panmure, welcoming visitors passing through, and giving locals a sense of place.
By Jack Mabire
But now, the retro-inspired Panmure sign is lying broken in an Auckland Council depot, with nowhere to go.
Its current state has upset locals who had hoped to see it back in the area.
"It has the same value for Panmure as for instance the L&P bottle in Paeroa," Keith Sharp of the Panmure Community Action Group told 1News.
"Everyone in Auckland who came through the Panmure roundabout, who came through this area, knew the Panmure sign."
It was removed in 2019 as part of the AMETI transport project, and was expected to return in some way. The roundabout where it once stood was remodelled, but there were plans to put it up nearby.
That changed when an engineer's report found it had been damaged in removal and wouldn't meet current wind regulations. Auckland Transport was also made aware of some objections to its return, including from local iwi.
It offered the sign to the local board, along with $250,000, to help with its restoration, saying they're the 'people with the legal responsibility for place-making.'
However, in December, the Board rejected the offer, saying it had "considered the differing views across the community and advice that reinstating the sign would require additional funding", putting the ball firmly back in AT's court.
"Really, it doesn't belong to the local board, it belongs to Auckland Transport so that's their property," Chairwoman of the Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board, Maria Meredith, told 1News. "That doesn't define Panmure, it's the people who live here and the community that make here."
A recent Facebook post on the sign's condition sparked an outpouring of concern, particularly from younger residents.
"They grew up with it and they really connected to that sign and when it was taken down, we found a lot of people in Panmure were saying, 'What are you doing with it?'" Sharp said.
"That's our history, that's our memory of our town - why are you taking that away?"
But Meredith says there are a range of views. "In 2010, they did a survey where 50 per cent supported it and 50 didn't. They did it again in 2012 and it still wasn't something they felt strongly about."
More development is being focused in urban areas and Meredith says it's natural for places to change as they grow, "sometimes there are things we can keep and some we can't, but it doesn't define the people the area – it’s the people who live here."
The head of Spatial Design at AUT, Dr Carl Douglas, says people naturally grow attached to the landmarks around them.
"One of the things that makes a community lively and an interesting place to be is you can slowly build up a story of your place, and that story is the people you meet, but also the places you go. The parks, the public markers of place – things like street signs, just little things – can become part of your story for your location."
But he says new development can offer an opportunity to highlight different aspects of an area.
"Often, places reflect the way a suburb or area's been but may not reflect the way it will be in the future, so it's really important to think about who's stories aren't yet being heard," Douglas said.
AT says it is continuing discussions with the local board to come to an agreement about the sign’s future, but its glory days may well be gone.
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