Carving a sentence

Greymouth High School has benefited from an offender serving his community work sentence. Out of a pohutukawa stump he has created a sculpture: a stack of books, a quill and ink.

Greymouth District Mayor Tony Kokshoorn asked to be sponsor of this project. Senior Community Work Supervisor Karen Wafer says, “Our mayor knew that the offender is a talented carver. So he thought that creating a beautiful work of art at Greymouth High School would be the perfect type of community work sentence for him. He also felt it would benefit the Greymouth community.

The pohutukawa had been cut down because the tree top was dying. It was one of 30 trees lining the main access into Greymouth. The remaining stump was still one and a half metres high so gave the offender more than enough wood to work on.

“Watching the carving unfold was exciting,” says Karen. “It’s a really good type of community work sentence as the offender got the chance to give something beautiful and everlasting back to the town! And Tony is very happy with the result.

“The carving has huge public interest,” says Tony. “recycling the stump has improved the image of the area and complements the school that is straight across the road. The carving helps beautify the environment and adds interest to the town.”