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Cam Hill / Supplied
The people behind a metal sculpture in Port Hills are still unknown.
An “alien monolith” erected at Christchurch Adventure Park may be moved as the administration seeks to avoid a fire hazard.
The 10-foot metal object appeared in the Port Hills park overnight Saturday.
It follows a global phenomenon that began with a similar sculpture that appeared in the desert in San Juan County, Utah in November, making headlines around the world.
Online theories about who installed the Christchurch sculpture include an international art collective, aliens, or the park management as a publicity stunt, though the adventure park says it is not responsible.
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As of Monday afternoon, the monolith remained at its location high in the hills, about 750 meters from the nearest parking lot.
The park’s general manager, Anne Newman, said she would remain there in the meantime.
The monolith had attracted some “pilgrims” and created “a lot of jokes,” Newman said.
He was still no closer to finding out who installed the sculpture.
While the park does have video surveillance cameras, they were not positioned in a way that would have captured people entering that particular location, he said.
“We definitely didn’t put it there. If it is a marketing strategy, I am not aware of it. “
Most likely they took him down one of the park’s tracks, Newman believes.
Terrance Siemon / AP
A monolith was placed in a red rock desert at an undisclosed location in Utah’s San Juan County last month. Later it was removed, the gleaming monolith seemed to melt as mysteriously as it appeared in the American desert.
If temperatures rise, the park management may remove it due to the fire hazard it could pose, he said.
“If it starts to heat up, there is a possibility that the hot metal will start a fire. So for the fire risk we will obviously have to think about that. “
There have been several fires in Port Hills in the past two weeks, although many are suspected to have been caused under suspicious circumstances.
Newman admitted she was skeptical when it came to theories that pointed to extraterrestrial donors as the source of the monolith.
“Someone is having a little fun with us, and good with them. These things seem to go away after a while, but I’m not so sure about that either. “
The owner of the hoteltoromiro hotel, Jeremy Dyer, said the adventure park was not the first monolith to arrive in Christchurch in recent times, as one had been erected on its grounds two weeks ago.
The hotel’s name was recently changed from Governors Bay Hotel as a way of recognizing the original Maori name for the area.
Jeremy Dyer / Stuff
A monolith has also been erected at the Governors Bay Hotel.
It was “somewhat remarkable” that the “aliens” programmed the location of the monolith there to coincide with the dispatch of a press release about the name change, he said.
“Maybe they are particularly progressive aliens.”
Authorities have since removed the original monolith from Utah, and in December a group called The Most Famous Artist posted clues and behind-the-scenes footage of the monoliths’ construction on their Instagram account.
The group, which is based in Sante Fe in New Mexico in the United States, offered to sell the monoliths for around $ 63,000 (US $ 45,000) to interested parties.
