Unveiled at a ceremony on 11 November 2016 and located by the Waiwhetu Stream at Bell Road, The Griffin’s Stone is a tribute to Gracefield’s manufacturing past.
E Tu Awakairangi Hutt Public Art Trust’s newest installation uses granite grinding wheel and rollers from Lower Hutt’s Griffin’s factory. Pieces of machinery once used to grind coconut and other ingredients into a paste for the biscuit ovens now form a remarkable piece of public art.
The Griffin’s Stone was created by Barry Te Whatu and Sonny Davis, with support from local business. The design represents the four winds symbolising the people from all points who came here to run the factories, the taniwha embodying the river and natural environment that offered a place to live and work, and the product once made in the well-known factory.
The artwork forms part of a proposed public art trail along the banks of the now-restored Waiwhetu Stream.