Conversation Piece was the winning design in a competition organised by Fletcher Trust and Investment to select a sculpture for their Pakuranga Town Centre development. One of six entries, the sculpture was commissioned in 1965 and completed in time for the official opening on 28 September that year, having taken three months to complete.

Made during the early days of Allen’s teaching career at the Elam School of Fine Arts, he first built the design as a clay model at the school. Senior sculpture students at Elam, Bernard Woodcock and Terry Powell, then assisted with the creation of a plaster piece mould which was surface filled with ciment fondu. The mould was then transported to the site at the Pakuranga Town Centre, and carefully filled in three separate levels using steel framing to add support. Woodcock then finished it off by chipping as well as clearing the plaster moulds away.

The sculpture was designed to be interacted with, and provided a practical and playful solution for adults with young children who needed to take a break while shopping. An abstracted rendering of five seated figures, the sculpture had holes and caverns for children to climb through, while also doubling as a seat.

Paying aesthetic homage to Henry Moore, the sculpture exemplified the artist's ability to merge artistic expression with functionality. For two decades it served Pakuranga as an integral part of its identity.

In 1987, while working at Sydney’s College of Arts, Allen was informed of plans to add a foodcourt to the plaza that impacted on the location of the sculpture.

Architects initially offered to move the sculpture to a playcentre across the road, however the ten tonne sculpture proved too heavy to move and (as Allen surmised) jackhammers were the likely unfortunate end to this remarkable public artwork.

Following its grand-reopening in 1989, the Pakuranga Town Centre became known as the Pakuranga Plaza.

Thanks to Sophia Toop for her work on this listing.

See also:

• Burgess, J (1967) Pakuranga Town Centre sculpture, 1967 - Photographs - Kura Courtesy Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 1528-67043B

• Jim Allen, Phil Dadson, and Tony Green, The Skin of Years (Clouds & Michael Lett: 2014)

• A. Lawson, Pakuranga, The formative years (booklet)

• '10 tons of conversation', Auckland Star, 14/9/1965

• Fletcher Trust Archives: Fletcher Construction Co Ltd: 1965 Pakuranga Shopping Centre, Auckland - mould for sculpture by William Robert (Jim) Allen, Circa 1965

• Fletcher Trust Archives: item P9149/17

• Fletcher Trust Archives: item P9149/18

• Fletcher Trust Archives: item P9149/19

• Fletcher Trust Archives: item P9149/52

• Fletcher Trust Archives: item P9149/62