Decision details

By Councillor Scott

It is resolved that:

(A)        Council note:

(i)          the ‘Curtain Call’ statue (also known by the name ‘The Final Curtain’) by Australian artist Les Kossatz, was completed in 1987 and was displayed in Darling Harbour until circa 2015;

(ii)         the statue features four bronze lambs and a shearer’s ramp;

(iii)        the statue was removed from public display in approximately 2015 as part of NSW state government redevelopments of the Darling Harbour area;

(iv)       the lambs from the statue currently sit disassembled in a nearby light rail depot which is owned by Property NSW;

(v)         there is an impending sale for this site, and the future of the lambs is unclear;

(vi)       the statue represents the working-class and industrial history of the area, including the wool stores at Pyrmont and the wool-shipping industry, which operated from Darling Harbour in the 19th century;

(vii)      the local community is passionate about the restoration of the statue to public display to acknowledge and celebrate this history; and

(viii)     the preferred location for display is at the corner of Pyrmont Bridge Road and Harris Street, close to the site of the wool stores;

(B)        Council support community efforts to restore the ‘Curtain Call’ statue to public display at the corner of Pyrmont Bridge Road and Harris Street; and

(C)       the Lord Mayor be requested to write to the Minister for Customer Service, the Hon. Victor Dominello MP, advocating that the ‘Curtain Call’ statue be restored to public display at the corner of Pyrmont Bridge Road and Harris Street.

Note – at the meeting of Council, the content of the original Notice of Motion was varied by Councillors Scott. Subsequently, it was –

Moved by Councillor Scott, seconded by Councillor Chung –

It is resolved that:

(A)        Council note:

(i)          the ‘Curtain Call’ statue (also known by the name ‘The Final Curtain’) by Australian artist Les Kossatz, was completed in 1987 and was displayed in Darling Harbour until circa 2015;

(ii)         the statue features four bronze lambs and a shearer’s ramp;

(iii)        the statue was removed from public display in approximately 2015 as part of NSW state government redevelopments of the Darling Harbour area;

(iv)       the lambs from the statue currently sit disassembled in a nearby light rail depot which is owned by Property NSW;

(v)         there is an impending sale for this site, and the future of the lambs is unclear;

(vi)       the statue represents the working-class and industrial history of the area, including the wool stores at Pyrmont and the wool-shipping industry, which operated from Darling Harbour in the 19th century;

(vii)      the local community is passionate about the restoration of the statue to public display to acknowledge and celebrate this history; and

(viii)     the preferred location for display is at the corner of Pyrmont Bridge Road and Harris Street, close to the site of the wool stores;

(B)        support community efforts to restore the ‘Curtain Call’ statue to public display at the corner of Pyrmont Bridge Road and Harris Street, and any other artworks stored at this location to public display in appropriate locations; and

(C)       the Lord Mayor be requested to write to the Minister for Customer Service, the Hon. Victor Dominello MP, advocating that the ‘Curtain Call’ statue be restored to public display at the corner of Pyrmont Bridge Road and Harris Street, and that any other artworks stored at this location be restored to public display in appropriate locations.

Variation. At the request of Councillor Chung, and by consent, the motion was varied, such that it read as follows -

It is resolved that:

(A)        Council note:

(i)          the ‘Curtain Call’ statue (also known by the name ‘The Final Curtain’) by Australian artist Les Kossatz, was completed in 1987 and was displayed in Darling Harbour until circa 2015;

(ii)         the statue features four bronze lambs and a shearer’s ramp;

(iii)        the statue was removed from public display in approximately 2015 as part of NSW state government redevelopments of the Darling Harbour area;

(iv)       the lambs from the statue currently sit disassembled in a nearby light rail depot which is owned by Place Management NSW;

(v)         there is an impending sale for this site, and the future of the lambs is unclear;

(vi)       the statue represents the working-class and industrial history of the area, including the wool stores at Pyrmont and the wool-shipping industry, which operated from Darling Harbour in the 19th century;

(vii)      the local community is passionate about the restoration of the statue to public display to acknowledge and celebrate this history; and

(viii)     the preferred location for display is at the corner of Pyrmont Bridge Road and Harris Street, close to the site of the wool stores;

(B)        Council resolves to support community efforts to restore the ‘Curtain Call’ statue to public display at the corner of Pyrmont Bridge Road and Harris Street, and any other artworks stored at this location to public display in appropriate locations; and

(C)       the Lord Mayor be requested to write to the Minister for Water, Property and Housing, the Hon. Melinda Pavey, MP, advocating that the ‘Curtain Call’ statue be restored to public display at the corner of Pyrmont Bridge Road and Harris Street, and that any other artworks stored at this location be restored to public display in appropriate locations.

Variation. At the request of Councillor Scully, and by consent, the motion was again varied, such that it read as follows -

Moved by Councillor Scully, seconded by Councillor Miller -

It is resolved that:

(A)        Council note:

(i)          the ‘Curtain Call’ statue (also known by the name ‘The Final Curtain’) by Australian artist Les Kossatz, was completed in 1987 and was displayed in Darling Harbour until circa 2015;

(ii)         the statue features four bronze lambs and a shearer’s ramp;

(iii)        the statue was removed from public display in approximately 2015 as part of NSW state government redevelopments of the Darling Harbour area;

(iv)       the lambs from the statue currently sit disassembled in a nearby light rail depot which is owned by Place Management NSW;

(v)         there is an impending sale for this site, and the future of the lambs is unclear;

(vi)       the statue represents the working-class and industrial history of the area, including the wool stores at Pyrmont and the wool-shipping industry, which operated from Darling Harbour in the 19th century;

(vii)      the local community is passionate about the restoration of the statue to public display to acknowledge and celebrate this history; and

(viii)     any proposal to install the statue on City of Sydney land would require the statue's owners, presumably Place Management NSW, to offer to transfer it the City, and would then be subject to the City of Sydney’s Public Art Policy and Strategy and the Public Art: Acquisition and De-accession Guidelines

(B)        Council support community efforts to restore the ‘Curtain Call’ statue to public display at an appropriate location; and

(C)       the Lord Mayor be requested to write to the Minister for Water, Property and Housing, the Hon. Melinda Pavey, MP, requesting the NSW Government re-install the ‘Curtain Call’ statue at an appropriate site owned by the NSW Government.

Carried unanimously.

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