THE BENDIGO GOLD MONUMENT
OUR MOST HANDSOME PIECE OF STATUARY.
THE MAKING OF A STATUE.
By WILLIAM MOORE in ART SKETCHES.
The particular statue (says the author, who is a son of Mr. Thomson Moore, ex-M.L.A., and a native of Bendigo) we propose to deal with is the work symbolising "The Discovery of Gold." It stands in Howard Place, Bendigo. It represents the largest group in marble which has been sculptured in the State. Designed and modelled by C. Douglas Richards, it is ideal in its conception and yet simple and intelligible in its effect. The dominant figure in the group represents "Victoria". She is seen standing with her left hand resting on a rock of quartz, in which attitude she is supposed to indicate her right to the mineral resources of the State. Our of the richness of her store she bestows a nugget on the gold seeker below. The statue, which is over nine feet high, rests on a pedestal of Harcourt granite fifteen feet in height. This national memorial was unveiled by the Premier of Victoria, June 20, 1906.
The writer then proceeds:
"We measure history by events. The greatest even that marked the past history of this island continent was the discovery of gold in 1851. It increased the small population of a pastoral wilderness by thousands and 'advanced the destinies of Australia five hundred years in one bound'. The importance of this discovery was nowhere more appreciated than at the City of Bendigo, where 14,000,000 ounces of the precious metal were recovered during the fifty years succeeding this event, and the fact that the citizens of Quartzopolis devoted £1100 for the erection of a state to commemorate the discovery showed how they recognised its national importance. The amount mentioned was the surplus realised from the Gold Jubilee Exhibition held at this mining centre 1901-2."
The article continues on to present an interview with the artist, Mr. Richardson, including his aforementioned description of the models used for the sculpture. You can
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Bendigo
