Thames Monument Conservation Management Plan

Thames-Coromandel District Council is developing a conservation plan for the Thames Monument.

The iconic Thames monument was constructed in the early 1920s and has the names of Thames soldiers lost in the First World War inscribed upon its side. However, in recent years a crack appeared high up on the exterior's western face.

Heritage New Zealand suggested that Council seek advice from Architectural Building Conservation’s Chris Allen, who indicated that a Conservation Management Plan should be prepared as a road map to guide the restoration and long-term maintenance of the monument.

The Conservation Management Plan will be prepared in draft form with the help of a recognised Conservation Architect (with advice from other specialists).

Once reviewed by Heritage New Zealand and other interested parties, we hope to use the final plan to seek funding so we can have a fully restored monument by the end of 2018.

We are grateful to be working on this with the WW100 Committee, made up of RSA, Rotary, musuems and interested individuals, as well as specialist collaborators such as Thames Treasury, which holds the monument’s original plans.

We are grateful to Lottery WWI Commemorations, Environment and Heritage who gave us the grant for the conservation plan.

Thanks to Kester Bradwell for the photographs.