WORK is due to get underway to install the landmark £100,000 surf statue in Newquay.

Construction of the concrete base for the 16-foot-tall bronze sculpture of a waverider titled the Surfer of the South is earmarked to start on the Killacourt on Monday, January 26.

The second stage will be erecting the support structure for the surf statue constructed out of marine graded stainless steel, which is scheduled to take place between the middle and end of February. The final stage will be attaching the surf sculpture around the first half of March.

It follows the Stuart and Cherrilyn Keogh Foundation signing a legal document just before Christmas with Newquay Town Council, which owns the Killacourt.

The foundation has donated the surf statue to Newquay to celebrate the 60-year contribution the town has made to world surfing after launching the project in 2019. The sculpture has been made by the Morris Singer Foundry where Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore and Nic Fiddian-Green cast their bronzes.

The foundation has been named the surf statue the Surfer of the South in the hope it will receive the same sort of exposure the Angel of the North sculpture in Gateshead receives worldwide.

Jonathan Start, who represents the Stuart and Cherrilyn Keogh Foundation, said: “The foundation is delighted that the legal formalities with Newquay Town Council have been completed, and the project can move forward to the exciting stage of construction.

“We look forward to working with the town council and our construction partners to see this inspiring project through to its completion by Easter 2026.

“This project began back in 2019 and it’s now very exciting to see it coming towards its conclusion for the benefit of the people of Newquay and visitors alike.

“This sculpture will become a focal point on Newquay Killacourt and celebrate the history and culture of surfing here in Newquay.”

Mr and Mrs Keogh donated the surf statue to give back to both the sport, and to Newquay" as both had supported their "success in life.”

The couple first moved to Newquay around the same time as the surfing trend took off in the area in the late1960s. They went on to set up several surf-related businesses including one of the first surf shops and surfboard factories in the town.

The surf sculpture will be a lasting legacy for Mr Keogh who died in 2023 at the age of 76.