There is a new edition out the front of the Jamestown Swimming Pool that can’t be missed as one drives out of the supermarket carpark onto Ayr Street or drives into Jamestown from the West. The dolphin was stolen on the October long weekend last year and unfortunately never returned, so a baby orca now takes its place. This was made possible thanks to a generous donation from the Jamestown Freemasons, to match the replacement cost covered by Northern Areas Council. A variety of animals were considered by the Pool Management Committee, but we were limited to something with a large base that could be adequately secured to avoid a repeat of the opportunistic theft of the dolphin. Thank you to Brenton Arnold for securing the new statue and to Northern Areas Council for installing security cameras to help protect these assets. We hope that the orca remains in place, along with the other animals, for tourists, children and the general public to enjoy well into the future.
Richard Rowlson from the Freemason’s Victoria lodge 26 stated “the connection with the pool goes back to the pool’s beginnings when the lodge gave a donation to kick start the proposal for the pool. After hearing that the pool suffered theft not once but twice we felt that we had to act. So now the pool has a nice new sculpture to grace the entrance. We’ve nicknamed it Mason. If you’ve seen free-willy, then this is Free-mason. And Mason is free for your selfie and free to restore faith in the resilience of the community.”
Thank you to Vanessa Duke and Richard Rowlson for this story.
