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Story: Sculpture and installation art

Ōamaru South African War memorial

Carlo Bergamini, who designed a number of South African War memorials, carved the figure of a trooper with gun at the ready for the Ōamaru memorial, unveiled in 1905. The statue was modelled on a North Otago trooper, David Mickle Jack, giving it special significance for local people. Like other Bergamini memorials, this one incorporated imperial iconography, notably the lion at the base of the plinth.

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Mark Stocker, Sculpture and installation art – Sculpture in the early 20th century, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/zoomify/41962/oamaru-south-african-war-memorial (accessed 24 June 2026).

Story by Mark Stocker, published 24 June 2013.