Clive appears to have been genuinely committed to bringing art to Whangarei at every opportunity possible.

This large work was based on the premise of merging art and architecture. It is the first example of recorded in Whangarei, and is perhaps the most explicit. But public art as an adjunct to architecture or some other 'primary' motive remains the case for some time before examples of 'art for art's sake' begin to appear.

In this case Clive Williams was commissioned by J.M. Stiffe & Associates (architects) to produce a work to be incorporated into the exterior wall of a new building of their design. The theme was to be "Life and the Influence of a Family Group on it through the Years."

Clive took the theme subject seriously. He spent many hours researching a way to express it through his depiction of 'the biological aspects of the evolution of man.' The apparently random textual work to the surface actually has a complex rationale behind it.

Equally complex were the problems of realising it in a permanent material; in this case concrete. Clay moulds of intricate design requiring minute and accurate measurement were prepared. Clive then consulted Mr C. J. Busk and the problems of mould making, material mix and casting were eventually worked out. It was an anxious time when the first of the large panels was lifted up from the moulds, but everything had worked well.

This wall relief still stands in the Regent, one of several examples of Clive Williams' commitment to art in Whangarei

Text by Desmond Ford .