Two years later, fate of iconic Panmure sign remains uncertain
For many decades, the iconic Panmure Sign, which stood at the entrance to Panmure, had become a prominent part of Panmure's and Auckland's landscape alike.
It has welcomed visitors and residents of the area for years and has emerged as a symbol for Panmure's legacy.
The giant 15-metre tall, 1.5-tonne metal sign, located on the now-demolished Panmure Roundabout, was erected in the 1990s. In 1994, an engineer, John Fallon, was commissioned to design and build the sign as part of a project to improve the Panmure streetscape. Its design was inspired by the retro themes of stars, space, atoms, etc. The letters 'P A N M U R E' descend the sign in separate cells, with an atom-like sculpture sitting atop the sign. Originally coloured with turquoise paint, it was repainted wasabi green in 2009.
In 2019, the sign was taken down, and the roundabout was demolished as part of Auckland Transport's AMETI (Auckland Manukau Eastern Transport Initiative) Eastern Busway project, in an effort to improve transport and safety around the Panmure, Pakuranga, and Botany town centres. But now, the retro-inspired Panmure sign is lying at an Auckland Council depot at St John's Road with nowhere to go.
A petition called ‘SAVE THE PANMURE SIGN’ has recently been started by Tanner Villi to have the sign saved.
So far, nearly 1000 people have signed the petition within days of it being created.
Talking about the reason behind starting the petition, Villi told Indian Weekender, “The Panmure sign is an iconic and very special and important landmark for our people especially to those with connections to East side Auckland…it is our taonga. People of all ages and generations are connected to our sign. It brings back treasured memories of our homes, our family members, and friends, a lot that have passed on. For some of us, the sign is all we have to remember the important times in our lives.”
He further adds, “We want our sign saved and taken care of and this petition is just a small way that we can help and keep it in discussion and not forgotten about. Let’s save it for all generations to enjoy and make lots more memories. When we see the sign, we know we are home. The sign is home.”
Keith Sharp, Secretary of Panmure Community Action Group and supporter of the petition, says, "The sign has sentimental and emotional value for Panmure residents as, for instance, the L&P bottle in Paeroa is for the locals of Paeroa. Generations have grown up with it. I have signed the petition because the Panmure community has been completely misled over the future of the Panmure sign for years. Commitments to refurbish and return the sign were never kept.”
Undoubtedly, the sign has been an inseparable part of Panmure's history, and locals want the landmark sign to be saved as they have sentiments and memories attached to it.
Another supporter of the petition, Matt McGinty wrote, “This little piece of local history needs to be saved and reinstalled in the Panmure community. It was promised by those involved in the work being done on the Panmure intersection that it would be saved, so they need to be held accountable to their word.”
Another signatory Toni Millar, wrote, “For many years I passed through Panmure and this sign. It speaks to me of a vibrant business centre. It is part of the culture of Panmure... we should embrace our icons as we move forward."
Another supporter Gail FitzGerald says that the landmark deserves to be reinstated. “The sign is ratepayer-funded, and the people should be consulted about any decisions being made, not arbitrarily made by AT or anyone else. It's a landmark and deserves to be reinstated and repaired. If it has been damaged, then whoever was responsible for the damage should undertake the necessary repairs.”
Indian Weekender contacted Auckland Transport (AT) to find out about the future of the iconic sign.
AT spokesperson Natalie Polley said, “The sign was removed for the AMETI project (Eastern Busway) and is being stored. No problems with its removal were raised during consenting, but the Panmure Action Group complained after the removal.
“Reinstating the existing sign at the proposed location is not recommended, as its potential failure would be a public safety risk. The engineering company contracted to examine the sign said that although a new foundation appears feasible at the proposed location, structurally, the existing post doesn’t comply with current standards under wind loading by a significant amount. Retrofitting the existing sign to comply is expected to be very difficult and expensive.”
“Last year, AT offered the sign to the local board because they have the legal responsibility for place-making. They didn’t accept the offer. We are continuing our discussions with the local board to agree about the sign's future.”
When we informed Keith Sharp of AT’s response, he said that AT was fully aware that in AMETI planners included Panmure Sign in their draft plan for the intersection. Sharp added, “She knows full well that, in their application for Resource Consent for the project, AMETI planners produced a draft plan for the new intersection which specifically included the Panmure Sign as part of the design. They stated in their application an intention to ‘Retain and relocate the Panmure sign currently located in the centre of the roundabout to the open space area at the corner of Queens Road and Lagoon Drive’. Also, it promised to ‘recognise the importance of the Panmure Roundabout in creating a sense of identity, and of the HISTORIC SIGN as an important landmark within the urban fabric.’
“I’m afraid, this is a perfect example of the rank dishonesty displayed by Auckland Transport throughout this process that they think they can deliberately mislead the public and media about this issue again and again and just get away with it,” Sharp said.
When contacted, the Maungakiekie-Tamaki Local Board to know their response to the issue, Maria Meredith, Maungakiekie-Tamaki Local Board chairperson said, "The Panmure sign was removed as part of the AMETI corridor project. While the local board appreciates some community members would like the sign reinstated, Auckland Transport has advised it cannot go at the area of the lights - previously the roundabout – due to structural requirements and safety issues. The huge costs to have it installed at all is prohibitive given reduced budgets in every sector. The future of the sign is still to be decided by AT, and we are supporting them to find a solution.”
For many decades, the iconic Panmure Sign, which stood at the entrance to Panmure, had become a prominent part of Panmure's and Auckland's landscape alike.
It has welcomed visitors and residents of the area for years and has emerged as a symbol for Panmure's legacy.
The giant 15-metre tall,...
For many decades, the iconic Panmure Sign, which stood at the entrance to Panmure, had become a prominent part of Panmure's and Auckland's landscape alike.
It has welcomed visitors and residents of the area for years and has emerged as a symbol for Panmure's legacy.
The giant 15-metre tall, 1.5-tonne metal sign, located on the now-demolished Panmure Roundabout, was erected in the 1990s. In 1994, an engineer, John Fallon, was commissioned to design and build the sign as part of a project to improve the Panmure streetscape. Its design was inspired by the retro themes of stars, space, atoms, etc. The letters 'P A N M U R E' descend the sign in separate cells, with an atom-like sculpture sitting atop the sign. Originally coloured with turquoise paint, it was repainted wasabi green in 2009.
In 2019, the sign was taken down, and the roundabout was demolished as part of Auckland Transport's AMETI (Auckland Manukau Eastern Transport Initiative) Eastern Busway project, in an effort to improve transport and safety around the Panmure, Pakuranga, and Botany town centres. But now, the retro-inspired Panmure sign is lying at an Auckland Council depot at St John's Road with nowhere to go.
A petition called ‘SAVE THE PANMURE SIGN’ has recently been started by Tanner Villi to have the sign saved.
So far, nearly 1000 people have signed the petition within days of it being created.
Talking about the reason behind starting the petition, Villi told Indian Weekender, “The Panmure sign is an iconic and very special and important landmark for our people especially to those with connections to East side Auckland…it is our taonga. People of all ages and generations are connected to our sign. It brings back treasured memories of our homes, our family members, and friends, a lot that have passed on. For some of us, the sign is all we have to remember the important times in our lives.”
He further adds, “We want our sign saved and taken care of and this petition is just a small way that we can help and keep it in discussion and not forgotten about. Let’s save it for all generations to enjoy and make lots more memories. When we see the sign, we know we are home. The sign is home.”
Keith Sharp, Secretary of Panmure Community Action Group and supporter of the petition, says, "The sign has sentimental and emotional value for Panmure residents as, for instance, the L&P bottle in Paeroa is for the locals of Paeroa. Generations have grown up with it. I have signed the petition because the Panmure community has been completely misled over the future of the Panmure sign for years. Commitments to refurbish and return the sign were never kept.”
Undoubtedly, the sign has been an inseparable part of Panmure's history, and locals want the landmark sign to be saved as they have sentiments and memories attached to it.
Another supporter of the petition, Matt McGinty wrote, “This little piece of local history needs to be saved and reinstalled in the Panmure community. It was promised by those involved in the work being done on the Panmure intersection that it would be saved, so they need to be held accountable to their word.”
Another signatory Toni Millar, wrote, “For many years I passed through Panmure and this sign. It speaks to me of a vibrant business centre. It is part of the culture of Panmure... we should embrace our icons as we move forward."
Another supporter Gail FitzGerald says that the landmark deserves to be reinstated. “The sign is ratepayer-funded, and the people should be consulted about any decisions being made, not arbitrarily made by AT or anyone else. It's a landmark and deserves to be reinstated and repaired. If it has been damaged, then whoever was responsible for the damage should undertake the necessary repairs.”
Indian Weekender contacted Auckland Transport (AT) to find out about the future of the iconic sign.
AT spokesperson Natalie Polley said, “The sign was removed for the AMETI project (Eastern Busway) and is being stored. No problems with its removal were raised during consenting, but the Panmure Action Group complained after the removal.
“Reinstating the existing sign at the proposed location is not recommended, as its potential failure would be a public safety risk. The engineering company contracted to examine the sign said that although a new foundation appears feasible at the proposed location, structurally, the existing post doesn’t comply with current standards under wind loading by a significant amount. Retrofitting the existing sign to comply is expected to be very difficult and expensive.”
“Last year, AT offered the sign to the local board because they have the legal responsibility for place-making. They didn’t accept the offer. We are continuing our discussions with the local board to agree about the sign's future.”
When we informed Keith Sharp of AT’s response, he said that AT was fully aware that in AMETI planners included Panmure Sign in their draft plan for the intersection. Sharp added, “She knows full well that, in their application for Resource Consent for the project, AMETI planners produced a draft plan for the new intersection which specifically included the Panmure Sign as part of the design. They stated in their application an intention to ‘Retain and relocate the Panmure sign currently located in the centre of the roundabout to the open space area at the corner of Queens Road and Lagoon Drive’. Also, it promised to ‘recognise the importance of the Panmure Roundabout in creating a sense of identity, and of the HISTORIC SIGN as an important landmark within the urban fabric.’
“I’m afraid, this is a perfect example of the rank dishonesty displayed by Auckland Transport throughout this process that they think they can deliberately mislead the public and media about this issue again and again and just get away with it,” Sharp said.
When contacted, the Maungakiekie-Tamaki Local Board to know their response to the issue, Maria Meredith, Maungakiekie-Tamaki Local Board chairperson said, "The Panmure sign was removed as part of the AMETI corridor project. While the local board appreciates some community members would like the sign reinstated, Auckland Transport has advised it cannot go at the area of the lights - previously the roundabout – due to structural requirements and safety issues. The huge costs to have it installed at all is prohibitive given reduced budgets in every sector. The future of the sign is still to be decided by AT, and we are supporting them to find a solution.”
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