Michael Laws

Mayor Michael Laws today said the council will provide funding to complete restoration work on the Krupp Gun and the restored military piece "will be the finest example of its type in the world. This Krupp Gun will be world famous: you can rest assured of that".

The Krupp Gun was built in Belgium for the Boer Government. It was seized by the British during the Boer War and later gifted to New Zealand where it found its way to Wanganui.

During World War II it was buried to stop its use by any invading army. It was then recovered and for many years stood near the cenotaph in Queen's Park.

"We understand that the Krupp Gun is one of very few of the original guns remaining and it is a remarkable piece of history," Mayor Laws said.

"The council wants to ensure that the restoration is completed and that the gun is available for the public to view. It also wants it able to fired for special occasions - Anzac Day, Remembrance Day and the like."

Originally each gun included a limber (to tow the gun) but none of these have survived. The restoration group, after many months of research, has located a similar limber at a military museum in Brussels that would provide the detail required to build an authentic limber for the Krupp Gun. The council will consider funding for the limber at a later date."

At its meeting on October 19, the council resolved:

THAT $6,800 be provided from the Community Development budget to finish the work required on the Krupp Gun's installation in the War Memorial Hall

AND THAT the Krupp Gun be placed in the War Memorial Conference and Convention Centre, to the right of the foyer, beneath the stairwell

AND THAT an additional $5,000 be granted to complete the restoration;

AND FURTHER THAT Geoff Lawson and his team be thanked for their magnificent restoration of the Krupp Gun.

Snr Councillor Randhir Dahya is currently liaising with the NZ Army to ensure a spectacular ceremony for the handover, scheduled for February 2010.