After two days on the road from Stellenbosch on the back of a specially modified vehicle, a life-size bronze statue of a white rhino arrived in Durban on 17 March to take up permanent residence at the entrance to the International Convention Centre (ICC).
Commissioned by the Conservation Trust and created by renowned sculptor, Dylan Lewis, the statue is a tribute to South Africa’s proud conservation record.
The white rhino is a living symbol of conservation success; the largest animal to be brought back from the brink of extinction by sheer determination and innovative conservation techniques in KwaZulu-Natal game reserves.
‘There is no such commemorative icon anywhere in the country,’ said Dr George Hughes, former CEO of the Trust and the driving force behind the project. ‘The finished life-size bronze will serve as a source of pride to citizens of South Africa, as well as being a drawcard for tourists and delegates to the ICC.’
First conceptualised during preparations for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) 5th World Parks Congress in 2003, the bronze represents what conservation has achieved in terms of promoting economic growth in South Africa and an aesthetic appreciation of our fauna and flora.
WILDTRUST (registered as the Wildlands Conservation Trust - IT No: 4329/1991/PMB)