Wind Wand to Get a Spit and Polish

New Plymouth’s iconic kinetic artwork, Len Lye’s Wind Wand, will be removed from the Coastal Walkway next week for routine maintenance.

The 45m-high wand will be removed by a crane then taken by helicopter to Fitzroy Engineering to be repainted, while the steel base will go to Mercer Stainless for cleaning.

“The removal of the wand and its reinstallation depends entirely on the weather – rain or strong wind will delay the project,” says Manager Projects Team Jeff Bondy.

“But if we get good weather on the right days, the wand and its base will be removed on Tuesday (10 November) and both will return to the Coastal Walkway two weeks later.”

Contractors will be on-site from 9am. The walkway around the Wind Wand will be closed to the public while the wand is being lowered from its base.

The Wind Wand was installed on 29 December 1999 as the city’s millennium project.

The last time the Wind Wand was removed for maintenance was in December 2003, when the LEDs in the bulb were replaced.

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