[2] The memorial also includes a mound surrounded by terraces with plants and trees from places where he worked: Canada, England and New Zealand.

Initially, the plan was to create a statue of an atom, but it was scrapped after the thought that it could become the site of an anti-nuclear protest.

Writing in The Nelson Mail on 23 February 1988, John Campbell of University of Canterbury's physics department called this state of affairs a "national disgrace", saying that while there was no danger Rutherford, who lived on through his work in science, would be forgotten, New Zealand and the region needed to properly commemorate their famous native son.

The memorial was opened on 6 December 1991 by Governor-General Dame Catherine Tizard; its total cost was $400,000.

Footage from CCTV showed a man who had tied a rope around the statue and rocked it back and forth until it snapped about half an hour later.