Rakaia’s iconic salmon has been removed from its position beside State Highway 1 and transported to Christchurch for major restoration work.

The large sculpture was cut from its steel footing and lifted onto a 20 metre truck before being taken to the Christchurch workshop of sculptor Phil Price.

The move required careful handling due to the artwork’s scale, measuring 12 metres long and weighing 1.6 tonnes.

In October, Ashburton District councillors approved expenditure of up to $297000 plus GST for the project, awarding the specialist restoration contract to Price, who originally created the sculpture for Rakaia in 1991.

Group Manager of Infrastructure and Open Spaces Neil McCann said staff had tendered the work earlier in the year and received only one proposal.

“That was from Phil Price, the original creator of the sculpture,” McCann said.

“He can now take the salmon down and restore it carefully in a studio in Christchurch. The sculpture is 34 years old and really showing its age, so it needs repairs to its fibreglass body and the paintwork restored to the original state, including individual scales and colour work using pearls and metallic finishes.”

McCann said surface cracking had also appeared on the tail of the salmon, which risked exposing the inner core of the sculpture to moisture damage.

“This won’t be an easy project, but the salmon is iconic to Rakaia and photographed by hundreds of people every day,” he said.

The refurbishment was considered urgent to prevent further deterioration that could have made the sculpture uneconomical to repair.

The restored salmon is expected to return to its Rakaia site once the work is complete.