"I'm appalled and saddened to be honest. It is not just that this was historic public art in my home city--I also have some sense of the sentiment behind the Ore Obelisk. Paul was a war refugee who found an eventual home in Perth, a city that he genuinely loved. I think for him the Obelisk was a gesture of gratitude to the people of the state, the creativity and uniqueness of WA, and the wealth of the ground itself. Dad certainly wasn't blind to the environmental and social impacts of mining; but he'd been down the mines himself in the war and admired the hard work and engineering ingenuity, and was intensely enthusiastic about what the people of Western Australia could do and achieve, to make the world a better place. In my view a monument to that kind of spirit should not be erased".

David Ritter, son of Paul Ritter Creator of The Obelisk

Photo: Frances Andrijich courtesy of the Perth Public Art Foundation