THE City of Greater Bendigo has announced the iconic Chinese Archway in central Bendigo will be removed due to safety risks it poses to the community.
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The ornate archway marks the main entrance to the Dai Gum San Chinese Precinct, off McCrae Street.
City of Greater Bendigo planning and development director Prue Mansfield said the community’s safety was paramount and the damage caused by dry rot and termites meant the structure posed too great a risk to leave it in place.
Ms Mansfield said the council would carefully store the archway and investigate if it could be restored.
Before it is dismantled, a detailed photographic record will be made.
“In the meantime, we are working to retain the granite bases," Ms Mansfield said.
"These will remain and will be finished off to retain the symbolic entrance to the Dai Gum San Chinese Precinct.
“Removal of the archway immediately will ensure that the area is safe, the entrance is not fenced off and the museum and Chinese Gardens are clearly open for business during the busy school holiday period.”
Golden Dragon Museum treasurer Anita Jack said the archway was a gift from the Baoding government, in China, given in 1996.
She said it would not be easy to replace.
"I worry that we will lose face," she said.
"We don't want to lose face with those governments overseas - we can't have our hands out again.
"This was a gift to the city, so really the city needs to look at how they appreciate it and what steps they're going to take in retaining it."
She said the gateway had an important symbolic meaning in Chinese culture.
"It's a beginning of the journey into the precinct," she said.
Once it's removed there will be another loss.
- Anita Jack
"It aligns perfectly with our front doors and it's our front doors that our imperial dragons come out of."
She said the discovery of rot and termites had caused "devastation within our own community".
"Once it's removed there will be another loss," she said.
"There will be a wave of sadness."
But she has had productive conversations with Ms Mansfield about the archway and is confident the council will do its best to save it.
"We've had some really productive meetings with Prue Mansfield," she said.
"I feel they were not only productive but (council) has a deeper understanding of the importance of the gateway."
The council discovered the structural problems during an inspection last Friday and fenced it off immediately.
