 core was lifted into place in August 2004 , after which the 180 spikes could begin being attached . Early estimates had given an optimistic completion date of July 2003 , which contributed to the sculpture gaining the nickname G of the Bang .   The official unveiling by Linford Christie took place on 12 January 2005 .   In total the sculpture cost £ 1 @.@ 42 million to design and construct — twice the original estimate , as the initial costing had neglected to include installation costs . Funding was sourced from a European Regional Development Fund contribution of £ 700 @,@ 000 , the North West Development Agency , contributing £ 500 @,@ 000 , and Manchester City Council providing £ 120 @,@ 000 .   = = Structural problems and legal action = =   The tip of one of the 2 @.@ 1 m ( 6 @.@ 9 ft ) spikes detached and fell from the sculpture on 6 January 2005 , only six days before the official unveiling . After inspection , the event went ahead as planned .   Four months later , in May 2005 , a second spike had to be cut off by firefighters after it was discovered hanging loose . At that time the sculpture was closed off to the public , and the junction and pathway near the sculpture were temporarily closed . As a result , some of the joints were re @-@ welded , with equipment put in place to prevent excessive movement . This consisted of retrofitting tip weights to 70 % of the spikes ' weights .   Despite these modifications , B of the Bang remained fenced off , prompting a local newspaper campaign to ' Get It Sorted ' . In May 2006 a total of nine spikes were removed from the sculpture and taken away for metallurgical analysis , to discover the stresses being placed on the steel .   It was announced in October 2007 that Manchester City Council were taking legal action against the makers of the sculpture , with the aim of completing the necessary repairs to the sculpture . In November 2008 this culminated in an out @-@ of @-@ court settlement being reached between Manchester City Council , the project 's designers Thomas Heatherwick Studio Ltd , and the engineering and construction subcontractors Packman Lucas Ltd , Flint and Neill Partnership and Westbury Structures Ltd . The agreement was to pay the council £ 1.7m in damages for breach of contract and negligence .   = = Dismantling = =   Acting on a report in January 2009 , the city council recommended that B of the Bang should be dismantled and placed in storage until funds could be raised for its safe reinstatement . The report recognised the sculpture 's aesthetic value for Manchester and Manchester City Council committed itself to working with the artist to reach a long @-@ term solution . One possibility involved the replacement of the steel spikes with alternatives made from carbon fibre , although the report underlined the necessity for extensive testing .   In January 2009 , Antony Gormley , creator of the Angel of the North — to which B of the Bang is often compared — spoke out in support of the sculpture , stating that , " It is a great tribute to Manchester that this ground @-@ breaking work was commissioned . To allow it to disappear would be a loss not just of an inspirational artwork but also of the council 's nerve . "   Despite Gormley 's plea , removal of B of the Bang began in April 2009 . More substantial hoarding was erected around the site and demolition firm Connell Brothers Limited began removing the spikes with oxyacetylene cutting equipment .   Although the council had promised to store the complex central core and legs , these too were cut apart during removal , casting doubt on future prospects for the landmark sculpture 's return , and in early July 2012 the core was sold as scrap for £ 17 @,@ 000 .   = Battle of the Hongorai River =   The Battle of the Hongorai River took place during the Second World War and involved Australian , New Zealand and Japanese forces . Part of the wider Bougainville Campaign of the Pacific theatre , the battle was fought in the southern sector of Bougainville Island . Coming after the Battle of Slater 's Knoll in which a strong Japanese counterattack was defeated , the battle occurred in two distinct periods between 17 April and 22 May 1945 , as elements of the Australian 15th Brigade advanced south along the Buin Road .   The initial phase saw the Australians advance towards the Hongorai River . Following the end of the early fighting , the Australian advance towards the main Japanese concentration at Buin continued as they struck out towards the Hari and Mivo Rivers . This continued until torrential rain and flooding brought the advance to a halt short of the objective , washing away many bridges and roads upon which the Australians relied for supplies . As the Australian advance stalled , the Japanese began harassing the Australian line of communications , and as the rain stopped and the flooding subsided in late @-@ July and into August , the Australians began making preparations to resume the advance towards Buin again . Ultimately , though , the war came to an end before
Ġcore Ġwas Ġlifted Ġinto Ġplace Ġin ĠAugust Ġ2004 Ġ, Ġafter Ġwhich Ġthe Ġ180 Ġspikes Ġcould Ġbegin Ġbeing Ġattached Ġ. ĠEarly Ġestimates Ġhad Ġgiven Ġan Ġoptimistic Ġcompletion Ġdate Ġof ĠJuly Ġ2003 Ġ, Ġwhich Ġcontributed Ġto Ġthe Ġsculpture Ġgaining Ġthe Ġnickname ĠG Ġof Ġthe ĠBang Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġofficial Ġunveiling Ġby ĠLin ford ĠChristie Ġtook Ġplace Ġon Ġ12 ĠJanuary Ġ2005 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġtotal Ġthe Ġsculpture Ġcost ĠÂ£ Ġ1 Ġ@ . @ Ġ42 Ġmillion Ġto Ġdesign Ġand Ġconstruct ĠâĢĶ Ġtwice Ġthe Ġoriginal Ġestimate Ġ, Ġas Ġthe Ġinitial Ġcosting Ġhad Ġneglected Ġto Ġinclude Ġinstallation Ġcosts Ġ. ĠFunding Ġwas Ġsourced Ġfrom Ġa ĠEuropean ĠRegional ĠDevelopment ĠFund Ġcontribution Ġof ĠÂ£ Ġ700 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġ, Ġthe ĠNorth ĠWest ĠDevelopment ĠAgency Ġ, Ġcontributing ĠÂ£ Ġ500 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġ, Ġand ĠManchester ĠCity ĠCouncil Ġproviding ĠÂ£ Ġ120 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠStruct ural Ġproblems Ġand Ġlegal Ġaction Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġtip Ġof Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġ2 Ġ@ . @ Ġ1 Ġm Ġ( Ġ6 Ġ@ . @ Ġ9 Ġft Ġ) Ġspikes Ġdetached Ġand Ġfell Ġfrom Ġthe Ġsculpture Ġon Ġ6 ĠJanuary Ġ2005 Ġ, Ġonly Ġsix Ġdays Ġbefore Ġthe Ġofficial Ġunveiling Ġ. ĠAfter Ġinspection Ġ, Ġthe Ġevent Ġwent Ġahead Ġas Ġplanned Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠFour Ġmonths Ġlater Ġ, Ġin ĠMay Ġ2005 Ġ, Ġa Ġsecond Ġspike Ġhad Ġto Ġbe Ġcut Ġoff Ġby Ġfirefighters Ġafter Ġit Ġwas Ġdiscovered Ġhanging Ġloose Ġ. ĠAt Ġthat Ġtime Ġthe Ġsculpture Ġwas Ġclosed Ġoff Ġto Ġthe Ġpublic Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġjunction Ġand Ġpathway Ġnear Ġthe Ġsculpture Ġwere Ġtemporarily Ġclosed Ġ. ĠAs Ġa Ġresult Ġ, Ġsome Ġof Ġthe Ġjoints Ġwere Ġre Ġ@ - @ Ġweld ed Ġ, Ġwith Ġequipment Ġput Ġin Ġplace Ġto Ġprevent Ġexcessive Ġmovement Ġ. ĠThis Ġconsisted Ġof Ġretro fitting Ġtip Ġweights Ġto Ġ70 Ġ% Ġof Ġthe Ġspikes Ġ' Ġweights Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠDespite Ġthese Ġmodifications Ġ, ĠB Ġof Ġthe ĠBang Ġremained Ġf enced Ġoff Ġ, Ġprompting Ġa Ġlocal Ġnewspaper Ġcampaign Ġto Ġ' ĠGet ĠIt ĠS orted Ġ' Ġ. ĠIn ĠMay Ġ2006 Ġa Ġtotal Ġof Ġnine Ġspikes Ġwere Ġremoved Ġfrom Ġthe Ġsculpture Ġand Ġtaken Ġaway Ġfor Ġmet all urgical Ġanalysis Ġ, Ġto Ġdiscover Ġthe Ġstresses Ġbeing Ġplaced Ġon Ġthe Ġsteel Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIt Ġwas Ġannounced Ġin ĠOctober Ġ2007 Ġthat ĠManchester ĠCity ĠCouncil Ġwere Ġtaking Ġlegal Ġaction Ġagainst Ġthe Ġmakers Ġof Ġthe Ġsculpture Ġ, Ġwith Ġthe Ġaim Ġof Ġcompleting Ġthe Ġnecessary Ġrepairs Ġto Ġthe Ġsculpture Ġ. ĠIn ĠNovember Ġ2008 Ġthis Ġculminated Ġin Ġan Ġout Ġ@ - @ Ġof Ġ@ - @ Ġcourt Ġsettlement Ġbeing Ġreached Ġbetween ĠManchester ĠCity ĠCouncil Ġ, Ġthe Ġproject Ġ' s Ġdesigners ĠThomas ĠHeather wick ĠStudio ĠLtd Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġengineering Ġand Ġconstruction Ġsubcontract ors ĠPack man ĠLucas ĠLtd Ġ, ĠFlint Ġand ĠNe ill ĠPartnership Ġand ĠWest bury ĠStruct ures ĠLtd Ġ. ĠThe Ġagreement Ġwas Ġto Ġpay Ġthe Ġcouncil ĠÂ£ Ġ1 . 7 m Ġin Ġdamages Ġfor Ġbreach Ġof Ġcontract Ġand Ġnegligence Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠDism ant ling Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠActing Ġon Ġa Ġreport Ġin ĠJanuary Ġ2009 Ġ, Ġthe Ġcity Ġcouncil Ġrecommended Ġthat ĠB Ġof Ġthe ĠBang Ġshould Ġbe Ġdismantled Ġand Ġplaced Ġin Ġstorage Ġuntil Ġfunds Ġcould Ġbe Ġraised Ġfor Ġits Ġsafe Ġrein statement Ġ. ĠThe Ġreport Ġrecognised Ġthe Ġsculpture Ġ' s Ġaesthetic Ġvalue Ġfor ĠManchester Ġand ĠManchester ĠCity ĠCouncil Ġcommitted Ġitself Ġto Ġworking Ġwith Ġthe Ġartist Ġto Ġreach Ġa Ġlong Ġ@ - @ Ġterm Ġsolution Ġ. ĠOne Ġpossibility Ġinvolved Ġthe Ġreplacement Ġof Ġthe Ġsteel Ġspikes Ġwith Ġalternatives Ġmade Ġfrom Ġcarbon Ġfibre Ġ, Ġalthough Ġthe Ġreport Ġunder lined Ġthe Ġnecessity Ġfor Ġextensive Ġtesting Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn ĠJanuary Ġ2009 Ġ, ĠAnt ony ĠG orm ley Ġ, Ġcreator Ġof Ġthe ĠAngel Ġof Ġthe ĠNorth ĠâĢĶ Ġto Ġwhich ĠB Ġof Ġthe ĠBang Ġis Ġoften Ġcompared ĠâĢĶ Ġspoke Ġout Ġin Ġsupport Ġof Ġthe Ġsculpture Ġ, Ġstating Ġthat Ġ, Ġ" ĠIt Ġis Ġa Ġgreat Ġtribute Ġto ĠManchester Ġthat Ġthis Ġground Ġ@ - @ Ġbreaking Ġwork Ġwas Ġcommissioned Ġ. ĠTo Ġallow Ġit Ġto Ġdisappear Ġwould Ġbe Ġa Ġloss Ġnot Ġjust Ġof Ġan Ġinspirational Ġartwork Ġbut Ġalso Ġof Ġthe Ġcouncil Ġ' s Ġnerve Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ ĠDespite ĠG orm ley Ġ' s Ġplea Ġ, Ġremoval Ġof ĠB Ġof Ġthe ĠBang Ġbegan Ġin ĠApril Ġ2009 Ġ. ĠMore Ġsubstantial Ġho arding Ġwas Ġerected Ġaround Ġthe Ġsite Ġand Ġdemolition Ġfirm ĠCon nell ĠBrothers ĠLimited Ġbegan Ġremoving Ġthe Ġspikes Ġwith Ġoxy acet ylene Ġcutting Ġequipment Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAlthough Ġthe Ġcouncil Ġhad Ġpromised Ġto Ġstore Ġthe Ġcomplex Ġcentral Ġcore Ġand Ġlegs Ġ, Ġthese Ġtoo Ġwere Ġcut Ġapart Ġduring Ġremoval Ġ, Ġcasting Ġdoubt Ġon Ġfuture Ġprospects Ġfor Ġthe Ġlandmark Ġsculpture Ġ' s Ġreturn Ġ, Ġand Ġin Ġearly ĠJuly Ġ2012 Ġthe Ġcore Ġwas Ġsold Ġas Ġscrap Ġfor ĠÂ£ Ġ17 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= ĠBattle Ġof Ġthe ĠHong or ai ĠRiver Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠBattle Ġof Ġthe ĠHong or ai ĠRiver Ġtook Ġplace Ġduring Ġthe ĠSecond ĠWorld ĠWar Ġand Ġinvolved ĠAustralian Ġ, ĠNew ĠZealand Ġand ĠJapanese Ġforces Ġ. ĠPart Ġof Ġthe Ġwider ĠBou gain ville ĠCampaign Ġof Ġthe ĠPacific Ġtheatre Ġ, Ġthe Ġbattle Ġwas Ġfought Ġin Ġthe Ġsouthern Ġsector Ġof ĠBou gain ville ĠIsland Ġ. ĠComing Ġafter Ġthe ĠBattle Ġof ĠSlater Ġ' s ĠKn oll Ġin Ġwhich Ġa Ġstrong ĠJapanese Ġcounter attack Ġwas Ġdefeated Ġ, Ġthe Ġbattle Ġoccurred Ġin Ġtwo Ġdistinct Ġperiods Ġbetween Ġ17 ĠApril Ġand Ġ22 ĠMay Ġ1945 Ġ, Ġas Ġelements Ġof Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġ15 th ĠBrigade Ġadvanced Ġsouth Ġalong Ġthe ĠBu in ĠRoad Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġinitial Ġphase Ġsaw Ġthe ĠAustralians Ġadvance Ġtowards Ġthe ĠHong or ai ĠRiver Ġ. ĠFollowing Ġthe Ġend Ġof Ġthe Ġearly Ġfighting Ġ, Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġadvance Ġtowards Ġthe Ġmain ĠJapanese Ġconcentration Ġat ĠBu in Ġcontinued Ġas Ġthey Ġstruck Ġout Ġtowards Ġthe ĠHar i Ġand ĠM ivo ĠRivers Ġ. ĠThis Ġcontinued Ġuntil Ġtorrent ial Ġrain Ġand Ġflooding Ġbrought Ġthe Ġadvance Ġto Ġa Ġhalt Ġshort Ġof Ġthe Ġobjective Ġ, Ġwashing Ġaway Ġmany Ġbridges Ġand Ġroads Ġupon Ġwhich Ġthe ĠAustralians Ġrelied Ġfor Ġsupplies Ġ. ĠAs Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġadvance Ġstalled Ġ, Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġbegan Ġharassing Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġline Ġof Ġcommunications Ġ, Ġand Ġas Ġthe Ġrain Ġstopped Ġand Ġthe Ġflooding Ġsubs ided Ġin Ġlate Ġ@ - @ ĠJuly Ġand Ġinto ĠAugust Ġ, Ġthe ĠAustralians Ġbegan Ġmaking Ġpreparations Ġto Ġresume Ġthe Ġadvance Ġtowards ĠBu in Ġagain Ġ. ĠUltimately Ġ, Ġthough Ġ, Ġthe Ġwar Ġcame Ġto Ġan Ġend Ġbefore