After more than two decades, East London’s historic Mercury statue, hacked from its pedestal and nearly lost to scrap metal thieves, may soon be restored thanks to the dedication of a local art enthusiast. Attorney and artist Wade Louw has taken on the challenge to revive the statue of Mercury, the Roman messenger god, which has adorned the city since 1915.
The restoration will be undertaken by the East London Museum.
The 1.8m bronze statue was originally gifted by Alfred Wallace Reid’s wife as part of the Reid memorial fountain in Market Square. Crafted in Italy at a cost of £1,000, it symbolised the city’s grandeur and came with a cut-glass torch in Mercury’s hand. In 1939, it was moved for the construction of the Colosseum Theatre and stored for years until public demand saw it installed on East London Museum’s grounds.
Inspired by recent news of a similar statue found at the Titanic wreck, Louw began researching the Mercury statue’s history and aims to raise funds for its restoration. “When I read about the Titanic team finding the Diana statue from 1915, I felt East London’s own artistic ‘sleeping beauty’ deserved the same dedication,” he said.
“This statue represents a period of romanticism in art that reflects our heritage, and we need to rediscover it.”
Louw envisions the restoration effort as a way to reconnect the community with its cultural legacy.
“Our goal is to restore the statue, and we encourage people to contribute whatever they can. It’s not just a piece of art but a part of our shared history,” he said, urging the public to contact East London Museum to make donations.
Museum director Geraldine Morcom said the statue had to be repaired in the 1950s, after vandals damaged it. It was violently destroyed in 2001, when it was dismantled and left in fragments.
“Scrap dealers aided in its recovery after the thieves’ abandoned pieces during an attempted sale,” she said.
Louw hopes the public will rally behind the statue’s restoration. “Public art is essential; it connects our past, present, and future. Like cities in Europe that are living museums, East London, too, has art that gives it soul,” he said.
“If we educate the next generation on its importance, we can foster a community that values and preserves art and heritage.”
Anybody who would like to find out more about the efforts to restore the statue can contact Wade Louw through the East London Coastal Lifestyle pages on Facebook and Instagram or they can email him at: wadelouwza@gmail.com and anyone wishing to support the museum’s work to restore the statue can make donations to the EL Museum.
