There is a huge amount of public art that is accessible by touch, if only you know where to find it. Please email leona_holloway@yahoo.com.au to suggest more artworks for inclusion on this list.
Skip to your place of interest: ACT, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia
The Australian Braille Authority has a similar page on braille in public spaces, including tactile maps.
ACT
Ainslie’s Sheep
Location: City Walk, outside David Jones, Canberra
Artist: Les Kossatz
Medium: Cast aluminium
Date: Date
Description: The national capital has memorably been described as “a good sheep paddock spoiled”. This sculpture is a satirical salute to one of Canberra’s early pastoralists, James Ainslie, who came to the region in 1825. The sculpture represents two life size realistic sheep. The ewe is standing on four legs with a towel over its shoulders, facing toward the ram. The ram is lying on its back, holding its feet together on a barber’s chair on a raised platform.
South Australia
Adelaide
Hindmarsh Square Playground
Location: Hindmarsh Square, north-west corner of Grenfell and Pulteney streets, Adelaide
Date: 2009
Description: Part playground, part urban art, this space takes the form of an oversized urban Australian back yard. It features a giant water tap and hose, a discarded thong, a fish skeleton, a a ball, and giant blades of grass. Please note that the playground is restricted to use by children aged 12 or under.
Rundle Mall and Hindley street
The Apron
Artist: Karen Genoff
Location: East End Market, Ebenezer Place (off Rundle street), Adelaide
Materials: bricks, bronze, steel, granite
Date: 1997
Description: On a low brick platform in the centre of Ebenezer Place, stands a thick wooden post. A cast bronze apron hangs from a nail in the post. There is a docket book in the pocket of the apron with the name of one of the families that had a long association with the East End Market. At the base, there are wooden crates, a pumpkin, a cabbage, and a rack of cauliflowers, all made of cast bronze. Scattered nearby are wheelbarrows with plantings, and a sunken rack with small simplified houses.
On the wooden post, low to the ground and on the opposite side to the apron, there is a plaque with the title, artist and date. It also says “Commemorating the people of the Adelaide Fruit & Produce Exchange who brought colour & life to the East End between 1904 and 1988”.
The artwork has a secret: Can you find the artist’s daughter?
A Day Out
Artist: Marguerite Derricourt
Location: Rundle Mall (near the corner of Stephens Place), Adelaide
Material: bronze
Date: 1999
Description: Four life-size pigs having a great day out. One has his snout in a rubbish bin bronzed-capped with a crumpled milk carton, orange peel, a half-eaten banana, apple core and a left-over sandwich. Another happily sits with its very large bottom spread on the pavement; while still another comes running to join the fun. They all glow from the loving hugs and pats of children and passers-by. A plaque by each animal states its name and the person who named it in a public competition: Sarah Chan called the standing pig “Oliver”; Sam Andt named the happy pig “Truffles”; Dorothy Arnold chose “Augusta” for the sniffing pig; and Jemmy Bridges called the sitting pig “Horatio”. When asked why she chose to sculpt pigs, artist Marguerite Derricourt said, “There is a long history of animal figures in urban sculpture which reflect their importance to our society. I chose to sculpt pigs because I was captivated by their shapes and rounded forms, especially when created in a beautiful and enduring material like bronze. I really want people to touch them and interact with them.”
– extracts from from Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia, ‘A Day Out’, SA History Hub, History Trust of South Australia, accessed 5 January 2020.
Fashionistas
Location: 211-213 Rundle street, on the north-east corner with Frome street, Adelaide
Artists: Greg Healey and Gregg Mitchell, Groundsplay
Material: steel
Date: 2013
Description: Doubling as a bicycle rack, fashionistas is two thick round steel poles curved into the shapes of giant coat hangers the top hook is bent to suggest the side profile of a face.
Roy Rene
Artist: Robert Hannaford
Location: Hindley Street, on near the South East corner on the intersection with Bank street, Adelaide
Material: bronze sculpture
Date: 2010
Description: A plaque near the sculpture reads as follows: Roy “Mo” Rene, 1891-1954. One of Australia’s greatest and most loved comedians, “Roy Rene” was born Henry van der Sluys (or Sluice) in Hindley street, Adelaide. The son of a Dutch merchant and one of seven children, he loved to perform from a young age. His first professional job was at the Adelaide markets and his stage debut was as a singer at the Theatre Royal in Hindley street. The young Roy moved to Melbourne with his family to continue his acting career. He performed around Australia and New Zealand, eventually moving to Sydney where he joined the vaudeville circuit. Roy Rene became famous for his superb timing and funny gestures and for his distinctive make-up – a painted white face and black beard. Later, by then known as “Mo”, he teamed with comedian Nat (“Stiffy”) Phillips and the duo became the famed “Stiffy and Mo” comedy act. In the 1940s he turned to radio and his show “McCackie Mansion” was a great success. Some of Mo’s favourite catchphrases are still part of Australian vernacular. For example, “Strike me Lucky”, “Don’t come the raw prawn with me”, “Fair suck of the sav”, “You beaut!”. The Australian entertainment industry’s annual “Mo Award” for excellence in live performance is named after him.
The sculpture depicts “Mo” standing with his hands in his pockets, leaning back with his left foot forward, with a pleased grin on his face and eyebrows arched. He is wearing a floppy brimmed hat, shirt with collar up and bow tie, buttoned vest, unbuttoned jacket, wrinkled pants and laced shoes. The sculpture has a rough finish, with tool marks evident.
The Slide
Artist: John Dowie
Location: Rundle Mall, Adelaide
Material: bronze
Year: 1977
Description: The Slide depicts a young girl with pigtails gleefully sliding down a stone plinth with a sloped top. Her hair is in two tight plaits streaming behind her, both arms are raised with fists clenched, and her legs are raised upwards. You may find the sculpture to be somewhat rough, with the sculptor’s marks evident.
The Spheres (aka The Mall’s Balls)
Artist: Bert Flugelman
Location: Rundle Mall, between Lindes Lane and Charles street, Adelaide
Materials: Stainless steel
Date: 1977
Description: Standing at 4 metres high, the The Spheres consists of two enormous balls, each 2.15 metres in diameter, balanced one on top of the other. The polished stainless steel surface is highly reflective, providing a warped image of the mall and its many pedestrians. After exploring the smooth surface, tap on the balls and listen for the resonating sound.
The Malls Balls is a popular meeting place and has been the focal point for many events, from flash mob dances to protests. It is often featured on tourism images, sometimes accompanied by the phrase “Adelaide’s Got Balls”.
North Terrace
14 Pieces
Artists: Angela Valamanesh and Hossein Valamanesh
Location: 221 North Terrace East, between the walkways in front of the South Australian Museum, Adelaide
Year: 2005
Materials: black granite, Calca red granite, water
Description: 14 Pieces is fourteen waist-high water basins in the shape of the vertebrae of Ichthyosaur. The pieces are carved out of black granite and Calca red granite. There is a hole at the centre top of each piece, through which water wells up. The pieces are arranged in an egg shape, with space to walk between them.
An ichthyosaur skeleton is on display in the Art Gallery of South Australia. The ichythosaur was a marine reptile, measuring up to 3.3 metres in length and somewhat resembling a modern dolphin. They existed 228-112 million years ago.
Busts
Artists: various
Location: in a garden bed on North Terrace, opposite the Myer Centre, Adelaide
Material: Bronze
Description: A collection of six busts of significant figures, lined up within a fern garden. Each sculpture depicts the head and neck and stands on a plinth with a bronze plaque giving information about the person depicted.
Mark Oliphant can be recognised by his prominent eyebrows. His head is slightly raised and his chin is set in a thoughtful pose. “Mark Oliphant, Governor of South Australia 1971-1976. Physicist, Universities of Adelaide, Cambridge and Birmingham. Leader in development of microwave radar and atomic energy in Britain and USA. First Director, Research School of Physical Sciences in Australian National University Canberra, 1950-1968. First President, Australian Academy of Science 1956-1959. Erected in 1978 as a tribute to his great public services. Sculptor – John Dowie”
Lord Florey can be recognised by a prominent ridge at the bridge of his nose. “The Right Honorable Howard Walter Aaron Florey of Adelaide and Marston. Born Adelaide 1898. Died Oxford 1968. S.A. Rhodes Scholar 1921. Jointly awarded Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1945 for the research which showed the curative properties of penicillin and made it universally available. Fellow of the Royal Society 1941-1968. President 1960-1965. Order of Merit 1965. Chancellor of Australian National University 1965-1968. Unveiled by the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor Robert E. Porter 25th June 1969. Sculptor – John Dowie”
Sir Lawrence Bragg has his head tilted downwards and has his left shoulder forward. He has a receding hairline. He wears a suit jacket, shirt and tie. “First Australian Nobel Laureate, Physics 1915. Born Adelaide, Australia 1890. Died Ipswich, United Kingdom 1971. The donation of this bust to the City of Adelaide was made possible by the generosity of his family, Margaret Heath and Patience Thomson, the University of Adelaide and the efforts of RiAus and friends.
Sir William Henry Bragg has a moustache. He wears a suit jacket, shirt and tie. “Elder Professor of Mathematics and Physics, University of Adelaide 1886-1909. Joint Nobel Laureate with his son Laurence, Physics 1915. Born Wigton, United Kingdom, 1862. Died London, United Kingdom, 1942. The donation of this bust to the City of Adelaide was made possible by the generosity of his family, the University of Adelaide and the efforts of RiAus and friends.”
Mary Lee is wearing a pillbox hat with frill and hanging ribbon. She wears a high collar fixed with a brooch at the nape of the neck. “Secretary and Leader, Women’s Suffrage League of South Australia 1888-1895. Founding Secretary Working Women’s Trades Union 1890-1892. First female official visitor to the Lunatic Asylums 1896-1908. “My aim is to leave the world better for women than I found it”. Erected on 18th December 1994, Centenary of the passage of the Constitution Amendment granting women the right to vote and to stand for Parliament. Sponsored by the Women’s Suffrage Steering Committee. Sculptor: Pat Mosely”
The Honourable Sir Mellis Napier. “Lietenant-Governor of South Australia from 1942 – 1973. Judge of the Supreme Court 1924-1967. Chief Justice 1942-1967. Chancellor of the University of Adelaide 1948-1961. Erected in 1970 as a tribute to his great public service.”
Dr John Dowie bust
Artist: John Woffinden
Location: State Library, North Terrace, Adelaide
Year: 2006
Description: Located beside the footpath, facing towards the North Terrace entrance to the State Library. This roughly sculpted head and shoulders stands at chest height and stands on a plinth with buttons and speaker. Press the buttons to hear Dr Dowie speak. Also on the plinth is a brass plate with the following text: Dr John Dowie AM. Renowned painter, sculptor and teacher. Creator of popular and significant public sculptures including Three Rivers fountain in Victoria Square, Alice in Rymill Square and Victor Richardson Gates at Adelaide Oval. Born in Adelaide in 1815, studied at University of Adelaide and in London and Florence. His artistry, generosity and insight endures.
Fish for the Slate Pool walkway (aka Fish Gates)
Location: Art Gallery of South Australia, between the gallery courtyard and the entrance to the Mounted Police Barracks.
Artist: Catherine Truman, born in Adelaide 1957
Materials: Mintaro slate, patinated cast bronze fish, painted steel gates
Date: 1993-1996
Description: Five lifesize bronze fish in the gates and on the walkway between the gallery courtyard and entrance to the Mounted Police Barracks. Walking towards the art gallery courtyard, the gate on the left has one fish swimming through the centre of the gate towards you, with another fish flipping on its side at the top of the gate (out of reach). The gate on the right has another fish flopped over the top (again out of reach). The gates are a diamond mesh similar to a fishing net. Going through the walkway, there is a fish coming out of the slate pavement on the left and another diving into the pavement on the right just before the corner. The slate tiles around the fish is engraved to give the impression of ripples in water.
Life of Stars
Artist: Lindy Lee
Location: In front of the main entrance to the Art Gallery of South Australia, North Terrace, Adelaide
Material: Polished stainless steel
Date: 2018
Description: Standing on a low rounded plinth, Life of Stars is a six metre high polished stainless steel hollow ovoid punctured with thousands of small holes. The circular holes are of varying size and many of them are arranged in circles. The sculpture’s reflective surface radiates light. Can you trace the patterns? The work is a symbolic representation of Earth, the beginning of life, birth and renewal.
Paper Bag
Artist: Michelle Nikou
Location: North Terrace, in front of the South Australia Museum, Adelaide
Material: Bronze
Date: 2013
Description: A crumpled bronze paper bag, sealed at the top, sitting on a stone plinth. This work was inspired by the many “heads on plinths” that line North Terrace. The artist, Michelle Nikou, played with the idea of shyness, with a paper bag over the head as a charming means of achieving anonymity.
Reconciliation Touchstone
Artists: Karen Casey and Darryl Cowie
Location: Goodman Crescent, University of Adelaide North Terrace Campus, Adelaide
Materials: Red Granite
Date: 2007
Description: The Reconciliation Touchstone consists of two pieces of red granite, rectangular on the outside but with a curved gap between the two pieces, through which it is possible to squeeze. The external surfaces are smooth but inside are the imprints of 120 handshakes. The work is the result of a Handshake Ceremony at North Terrace Campus. A dental plaster was placed between clasped hands. Because just the palm and start of the fingers is captured, many of the imprints look somewhat like animal tracks. The work serves as a symbol of the University’s ongoing commitment to reconciliation.
Sir Douglas Mawson Bust
Artist: Dr John Stuart Dowie AOM
Location: Prince Henry Gardens, left of Gate 22 to University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide
Materials: bronze bust on marble plinth
Date: 1982
Description: A sculpture of the head and upper torso of Sir Douglas Mawson, facing out towards North Terrace, standing on a marble plinth. The bust is roughly sculpted. Mawson’s head is slightly raised, looking out into the distance. His hair is short, he has bags under his eyes, he has a long straight nose and his mouth is set in a determined expression. He has a scarf folded at his front. Arms are not included. A boulder is located on each side of the bust. The eastern boulder is of pegmatite from Mawson Valley, Arkaroola, Flinders Ranges. The western boulder is of charnoktite, from Mawson, Antarctica. Charnocktite is a group of igneous rocks or an assemblage of rock types found across the southern hemisphere.
On the front of the plinth, the following text is engraved in gold lettering: “Sir Douglas Mawson, O.B.E. D.E. D.Sc F.R.S. F.A.A., 1882-1958. Professor of Geology and Minerology. Antarctic Scientist and Explorer.” Mawson was born in England but migrated to Sydney with his family as a young boy. He studied engineering (mining) and science (geology) in Sydney. In 1905 Mawson took up the position of lecturer in mineralogy and petrology at the University of Adelaide. In late 1907 Mawson joined Shackleton’s Expedition to Antarctica. Mawson later organised three separate Antarctic expeditions himself, resulting in the publication of 22 volumes of scientific reports. More information is available at adelaidia.sa.gov.au.
Standing Figures
Artist: Clifford Last
Material: Bronze
Year: 1989
Location: brick laneway alongside Art Gallery of South Australia, North Terrace, Adelaide
Description: Heading from North Terrace towards the Fish Gates (see above) and Art Gallery cafe, two abstract bronze sculptures stand against the fence. At just under 2 metres tall, each consists of stacked boxes, cylinders, rectangular plates, cogs and other geometric shapes. The sculptor, Clifford Last, was a foundation member of Centre Five, a group formed in the 1960s to promote contemporary abstract sculpture in Australia. Last explored the use of shapes that he believed demonstrated the emotions existing in family groups.
Yerrakatarta
Artists: Darryl Pfitzner Milika with the assistance of Muriel Van Der Byl, Stephen Bowers, Jo Crawford and Jo Fraser
Location: North Terrace, below street level towards the Intercontinental Hotel, just west of Adelaide train station.
Materials: paving, ceramics
Date: 1993-1994
Description: Yerrakartarta is a Kaurma Aboriginal word meaning ‘at random’ or ‘without design’. The Kaurma people are the indigenous inhabitants of the Adelaide area. The work is a tribute to the Kaurma people and reflects the random order of the natural world. On the ground, fossil-like animal forms are etched into the top of pavement mounds. On the wall a large ceramic mural depicts the Tjillibruke Dreamtime story.
The Tjilbruke Dreaming story tells of creation, the law and human relationships. Tjilbruke, an ancestor of the local Kaurna people, was faced with a dilemma when his much loved nephew, Kulultuwi, killed an emu. While Tjilbruke forgave his nephew, he was subsequently killed by his two part brothers, Jurawi and Tetjawi, for killing the emu. Tjilbruke, a man of the law, determined that Kulultuwi had been murdered and avenged the crime by spearing and burning to death, Jurawi and Tetjawi. While burying Kulultuwi, Tjilbruke became overwhelmed by sadness and wept. His tears created numerous freshwater springs along the coast. After these events, Tjilbruke decided he no longer wished to live as a man. On his death his spirit became a bird, the Tjilbruke (Glossy Ibis), and his body became the iron pyrites outcrop at Barrukungga, the place of hidden fire, in the Adelaide Hills.
Queensland
Brisbane
Mother Duck
Location: Fallon Park, Enogerra
Creator: Deb Mostert
Materials: Bronze
Description: This life size sculpture depicts a mother duck with her three ducklings walking through the gardens. Situated near a public library and childcare centre, the sculpture evokes childhood stories and nursery rhymes.
Victoria
Melbourne
Birrarung Marr
Federation Bells
Location: Birrarung Marr
Creators: Dr Anton Hasell, Associate Professor Neil McLachlin, and Australian Bell Pty Ltd
Date: 2002
Times: 8am-9am, 12.30pm-1.30pm, 5pm-6pm daily
Description: The Federation Bells are 39 large bells of varying shapes and sizes. The more unusual shaped bells produce unique sounds based on musical chords. The bells are mounted on poles, out of reach, however they can be heard playing daily three times daily, as listed above. More than 100 compositions can be heard on the Bells in an evolving weekly schedule. Anyone can write music for the bells, as detailed at www.federationbells.com.au. The Federation Bells are a lasting symbol of the 2001 Centenary of Federation Celebrations.
Red Centre
Location: Birrarung Marr, below near Princes Bridge, Swanston street, Melbourne
Artist: Konstantin Dimopoulos
Date: 2006
Materials: Concrete and composite rods
Description: Variously described by some as giant red pick-up sticks or a tussock of metallic grass, Red Centre is an upright collection of red coated steel rods sprouting up to 7 metres high from the pavement. Even with a light breeze, the poles will creak, squeal and clank as they sway to and fro. Touch them to raise a clatter! A nearby plaque states “Fire is an essential part of the Australian landscape. It both destroys and regenerates. The flame also provides warmth and a place for communities to gather. A meeting place”.
Warin the Wombat
Location: Birrarung Marr, beside the Yarra River (near Debra Halpern’s two-headed “Angel” statue)
Artist: Des McKenna OAM
Material: River Red Gum log
Date: 2001
Description: Carved from a large River Red Gum log on site in the City Square on Swanston Street, Warin the Wombat created much interest from day one of its creation. The log measuring 1 1/2 metres in length and almost 1 metre in diameter originated in New South Wales near the town of Wentworth and weighed 2 1/2 tonnes. Carving of the wombat took 2 weeks to complete behind safety barriers erected by the Melbourne City Council to enable the citizens of Melbourne to follow its creation. Many people visited the site on an almost daily basis to follow the progress and its completion in January 2002. The wombat has since been moved to Birrarung Marr, near “Angel” and the Federation Bells. The wombat is named “Warin ” pronounced Wareeyn , a name derived from the local dialect of the two most important Aboriginal tribes of the Melbourne area. He is smooth and simplified, with a blunt nose facing away from the river, small round eyes, triangular ears flat against the top of the head, and a rounded rump.
Parliament and surrounds
Coles Fountain
Location: Parliament Reserve, corner of Spring street and Albert street, Melbourne. Listen for the sound of spraying water!
Artist: Robert Woodward
Materials: Stainless steel fountain on bluestone paving
Date: 1981
Description: Created by water sculptor Robert Woodward, the Coles Fountain is a striking modern counterpoint to its historic garden setting. The stainless-steel tubing forms a geometrical frame some three metres high, from which water sprays into a shallow pool below. At night, coloured lights shine upwards from the pool. The fountain is C-shaped with an entry facing the street crossing. Venture in on the bluestone paving to be encircled by a curtain of water. The plaque reads: “A gift to the people of Victoria from G.J. Coles and Coy Limited”.
Great Petition
Location: Macarthur Street, Burston Reserve, near Parliament House, East Melbourne
Artists: Susan Hewitt and Penelope Lee
Materials: steel and bluestone
Date: 2008
Description: A white scroll-like structure, 20 metres long and imposing on the small reserve, “Great Petition” was created by Susan Hewitt and Penelope Lee to commemorate the 100th anniversary of female suffrage in Victoria. The plinth, designed in consideration of the sloping site, is made of bluestone, grounding the artwork in an archetypal Melbourne material. Alongside the sculpture is a didactic panel by Australian historian Professor Marilyn Lake, explaining the history of women’s suffrage in Victoria. Launched on 3 December 2008, “Great Petition” constitutes a contemporary interpretation of the Monster Petition – a petition with more than 30,000 signatures presented to Parliament in 1891 as evidence of the widespread support to give women Victorians voting rights. Female suffrage was finally granted in 1908 with the passage of the Adult Suffrage Act.
Unknown title and artist
Location: Corner of Macarthur Street and St James Place, East Melbourne
Materials: Bronze and stone
Description: A group of large volcanic rocks are placed on the street corner. On each rock, there is a bronze insert depicting a native Australian animal skeleton and a piece of rubbish left by humans, such as bottle tops and plastic bags. This work conveys a strong message about pollution and duty of care for our wildlife. Can you find all of the skeletons? What animals are they?
Swanston street
The Bunyip from the Bunyip of Berkeley’s Creek
Location: State Library of Victoria, Swanston Street, Melbourne. The Bunyip is in the garden below the steps at the right of the main entrance.
Artist: Ron Brooks, born 1947
Material: Bronze
Date: 1984
Description: This metre-high sculpture depicts the main character from the beloved Australian children’s book, “The Bunyip of Berkely’s Creek” by Jenny Wagner, first published in 1973. The book tells the story of a bunyip who has no idea what he is, so he sets off to find out about himself. A bunyip is a mythical creature from Australian Aboriginal mythology but there is no agreed representation of what it looks like. The sculpture is based on Ron Brooks’ watercolour paintings for the book. The bunyip has large drooping ears, a protruding snout, a sad expression, a long thick neck, a round belly, a tall tail and long feet with three toes. He is wearing pants with braces and carries his small possessions in a bundle on the end of a stick.
Jesus Dies
Location: Corner of Swanston Street and Flinders Street, St Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne. You will find the sculpture to the right of the main west doorway of the cathedral on Swanston Street, beyond a low chain fence line.
Artist: Anna Meszaros
Materials: Cast Bronze on Stone
Date: 1998
Description: Part of “The Way of the Cross” series of 17 sculptures installed at many of the city’s churches. The series was commissioned by Melbourne City Churches in Action in 1998 with the sculptures being scattered around the CBD, beginning at St Francis Catholic Church in Lonsdale Street and finishing outside St John’s Lutheran Church, Southgate. The flat granite stone is as tall as a man and fixed to its surface is the cast bronze relief sculpture of the dying Christ, nailed to the cross and with his head slumped so far forward on his chest it may seem at first that he is headless. What does appear above his shoulders on the cross, though, are a number of small head portraits of nameless people, perhaps representing the mass of humanity that Jesus claimed he was sacrificing himself for – a perfect and unblemished sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world.
– With thanks to Michael Donnelly, Statewide Vision Resource Centre
Larry LaTrobe
Location: Swanston Street footpath, outside Melbourne Town Hall
Artist: Pamela Irving
Material: bronze
Date: 1996
Description: Larry LaTrobe is a life-size dingo-like dog. Larry was based loosely on Irving’s dog, Lucy, and on her uncle, Larry. From the moment it was unveiled, Larry LaTrobe became one of Melbourne’s most loved sculptures. However, it seems it was a little too-loved on one dark winter night in August 1995 – despite being anchored to the site with 30-centimetre bolts, Larry disappeared. Council immediately launched a campaign for its return, but to no avail. On hearing of the theft, Mr Peter Kolliner, who owned the foundry where Larry was cast, offered to produce a second casting. Irving altered the new Larry’s colouring to affect some individuality (it was given a has a redder tinge), but in all other respects it is the same. Larry was officially re-launched at a site in City Square on 16 September 1996. Melbourne band Jugularity entertained the crowd with an ode to the sculpture, “Larry Come Home – a dogumentary”, sung to the tune of “Advance Australia Fair”. In April 2017 Larry LaTrobe was removed from its long standing site at City Square to make way for works in connection with the Metro Tunnel Project. In 2018 he was re-located to the footpath on Swanston Street outside Melbourne Town Hall, close to the corner with Little Collins Street.
Melbourne Town Hall Doors
Location: Melbourne Town Hall main front doors, 90-130 Swanston street, Melbourne
Description: Each of the four front doors in the main entrance to the Melbourne Town Hall has a bronze relief plaque in the centre. These depict the four images from the shield on the City of Melbourne’s Coat of Arms: A fleece hanging from a red ring; a black bull standing on a hillock; a spouting whale swimming in the sea; and a three-masted ship in full sail. The fleece, the bull, the whale and the ship represented wool, tallow and oil – the chief exports and their means of transport from Port Phillip in 1843 when the coat of arms was designed.
The Public Purse
Location: corner Bourke street Mall and Elizabeth street, outside the old GPO (General Post Office), Melbourne
Artist: Simon Perry
Materials: calca red granite, stainless steel
Date: 1994
Description: The Public Purse is a sculpture that doubles up as public seating. The purse lies on its side, with the main purse made of stone and a steel clasp on the side. In creating The Public Purse, Perry was interested in making an object that would work both conceptually and poetically, while still addressing the context of the site. The Public Purse engages with its environment through its clear reference to the commercial nature of the area. Perry says of this red-granite sculpture that it “signifies an interaction between the city and citizens, the public and the private”.
Three Businessmen Who Brought Their Own Lunch: Batman, Swanston & Hoddle
Location: corner of Swanston and Bourke streets
Artists: Alison Weaver and Paul Quinn
Material: Bronze
Description: Three whimsical life-size thin bald men wearing suits and carrying lunchboxes. Artist Alison Weaver claims that while the men are named and motionless, they are also intended to be anonymous and to represent being “trapped in the perpetual motion of consumerism”. Weaver figures these three Melbourne pioneers as “pedestrians of vast time” who have returned to the city streets and says her interpretation of them is driven by humour rather than by iconoclasm.
St Kilda road and Arts Centre precinct
Les Belle Hélène
Artist: David Maughan
Location: behind the Art Centre, Melbourne
Material: Bronze
Description: The title is a reference to La Belle Hélène, an operetta by Jacques Offenbach. The sculpture depicts two female ballet dancers both en pointe, one in an arabesque balancing on one leg, while the other is fully extended on both feet with her back arched and her arms spread. Each figure is balanced on a circular base placed on the grass. As is typical with Maughan’s dancers, the figures are extremely slim and their bodies are well-defined. The sculpture was a gift to the Australian Ballet.
Coming and Going
Artist: Les Kossatz
Location: Pavlova Walk, behind the Victorian Arts Centre, Melbourne
Materials: Bronze
Date: 1979-1982
Description: Coming and Going is located on a grassy slope behind the Victorian Arts Centre. Six bronze trap doors leading into the underground are laid out in a 2 by 3 grid, with lifesize bronze sheep leaping into or out of 5 of the doors.
Eternal Flame
Location: Shrine of Remembrance (city side of the shrine), Kings Domain, St Kilda road, Melbourne
Description: Not exactly art to touch, the Eternal Flame is nevertheless an accessible public memorial. Listen for the sound of the large permanent gas flame enclosed in a circular metallic fence, and feel its warmth. The flame represents eternal life.
The Magic Pudding
Location: Children’s Garden, Royal Botanic Gardens (near the Observatory Gate), Birdwood Avenue, Melbourne
Artist: Louis Laumen
Material: Bronze
Description: A faithful replication of an original illustration from Norman Lindsay’s classic Australian children’s book, this sculpture depicts the characters (from left to right) of Bunyip Bluegum, Bill Barnacle, the Magic Pudding and Sam Sawnoff walking forward holding hands. Bunyip Bluegum is a koala walking upright wearing a hat, plaid trousers, a shirt, waistcoat, jacket and bow tie with a walking stick held in his right hand. Bill Barnacle wears a large broad-brimmed hat, has a bushy beard, wears his shirt with rolled up sleeves, has used a piece of rope as a belt for his pants with rolled up cuffs and wears boots. The magic pudding is short and round with a pudding basin as a hat and spindly arms and legs. Sam Sawnoff is a penguin wearing trousers and has a bag slung over his left wing.
Melbourne City Coat of Arms
Location: Princes Bridge, connecting Swanston street and St Kilda road over the Yarra River, Melbourne
Description: Princes Bridge features a series of small piers, upon which pedestrians may step up and look out over the water. Lamp standards crown each pier, sitting atop the balustrade, with the City of Melbourne Coat of Arms at the base of lamp at chest or shoulder height. The coat of arms painted and in relief. You should be able to feel the kangaroo at the top (looking over its should to the left), the shield in the centre, leafy branches around the shield, and a scroll underneath with the engraved words “Vires Acouirit Eundo”, meaning “We gather strength as we go”. On the shield there is the red cross of St George with a crown in the centre. These probably represent allegiance and loyalty to the crown and Great Britain. In the top left panel there is a fleece hanging from a ring; in the top right panel is a whale swimming in the ocean; in the lower left panel is a bull; and in the lower right is a three-masted sailing ship. These represent Melbourne’s main exports and means of export at the time the Coat of Arms was designed in 1843.
Sir Edward “Weary” Dunlop
Location: St Kilda road, Kings Domain
Artist: Peter Corlett
Material: bronze and granite
Date: 1995
Description: A life size bronze statue of ‘Weary’ Dunlop is fixed to a granite pedestal. The statue stands above stairs constructed from ironbark railway sleepers and stone. Metal spikes from the Burma Thailand railway are used in the sculpture. On the steps leading to the sculpture are the names of other doctors and medical staff who also cared for POWs. On the sides of the stairs there are four raised plaques. The first two plaques show raised maps. The second two plaques give information about Weary Dunlop and feature his portrait in raised profile.
Weary Dunlop trained in Melbourne as a pharmacist before he turned to medicine. He then undertook surgical training in London, where he remained until the outbreak of World War Two. Dunlop joined the Medical Corps of the Australian Army. A surgeon of considerable skill, he served in a senior position in the Middle East and was then transferred to Java. In 1942, his company was captured by Japanese troops and imprisoned first in Singapore and then in Changi, Thailand. His company was sent to work on the Thai segment of the infamous Burma–Thailand railway. A natural organiser and leader, Dunlop led the first Australian prisoners of war who were to work on the line. He was a courageous leader and compassionate doctor, and restored morale in those terrible prison camps and jungle hospitals. He defied his captors, gave hope to the sick and eased the anguish of the dying. After 1945 and with the war behind him, Dunlop turned his energies to healing and to building bridges; he worked towards the health and welfare of former prisoners of war and their families, and towards promoting better relations between Australia and Asia.
Melbourne suburbs
Beer-Sheba Israel Memorial
Location: Caulfield Park, facing Hawthorn road, Caulfield, Victoria
Material: bronze
Date: 1995
Description: This bronze plaque commemorates the Light Horse Charge of Beer-Sheba in 1917, during World War I. This was the last triumphant cavalry charge in world history. The memorial has a relief map with mountains, buildings, aircraft, and arrows to represent troop movements. Text is given in raised print and arabic. “In Israel today there are still told stories of these Australians who fought here and who are remembered with warmth and kindness. The cultural and economic links between the two young countries continue to develop together with a growing closeness between their people whose shared goals are freedom and independence.”
Northcote ANZAC Memorial
Location: All Nations Park, Separation street, Northcote
Material: Bronze
Description: This memorial includes a bronze sculpture of the front section of HMAS Berrima, installed at seat height. The Berrima was one of the ships to take part in Australia’s first Naval Conflict against the Germans in 1914. There are also three smaller sculptures in the centre of square wooden seats. The first shows a man in a row boat escaping an island, in memory of Corporal R. E. Breavington, who was a POW in Changi and escaped in a small native fishing boat. The second represents a boat propeller. The third shows a row boat in the sea near a floating mine, in memory of Able Seaman W. G. V. Williams, who was the first Australian killed in World War I. He sailed on the HMAS Berrima to German New Guinea and was mortally wounded at Simpsonshaven on September 11 1914.
Solar System Self-Guided Trail
Location: Port Melbourne to St Kilda
Materials: Various
Description: A model of our solar
system to a scale of one to one billion is placed along a 5.9 kilometre walking trail between St Kilda and Port Melbourne. Begin at a sculpture of the sun near the white lighthouse in Marina Reserve at the south end of St Kilda Beach. From the sun follow the foreshore trail north to visit the eight planets, accurately scaled to size and distance. Every metre that you walk represents 1 million kilometres. You can walk to the first five planets within twenty minutes. The furthest object, the dwarf planet Pluto at Sandridge Beach, can be reached within ninety minutes.
Further information: Solar System Self Guided Trail (PDF)
Country Victoria
Location: 50 Mitchell street, Bendigo. The sculpture is at chest height on the wall to the right of the building entrance.
Description: This sculpture depicts four people: a woman with draped robe standing, a man with slouch hat seated on a horn of cornucopia, a woman seated and a young boy leaning into the woman’s lap.
Location: Point Nepean Quarantine Station
Description: A bronze embossed sign with two raised maps of the area and raised relief images of immigrants arriving at Point Nepean (centre) and a ship arriving at Point Nepean in 1852 with the quarantine flag raised (lower left).
Western Australia
Perth
Bell Tower Swans
Location: On the circular sandy pathway around a flower garden and statue near the Bell Tower, Barrack Square, Riverside Drive, Perth.
Description: Outside the Bell Tower, alongside the Swan River, you will find three life-size bronze swans with ruffled wing and tail feathers. They stand in typical poses. One is standing in a relaxed pose, the middle swan has its head arched high, and the third is bending its necks to inspect something on the ground. The black swan is the state bird and state emblem of Western Australia and features on its flag. It was first seen by Europeans on the Swan River in 1697.
Note that the historic Swan Bells in the nearby Bell Tower are rung on Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays. Chiming demonstrations are also available daily. Check The Bell Tower website for times and prices.
Kangaroos
Artists: Charles Smith and Joan Walsh-Smith
Date: 1998
Location: 33 St Georges Terrace, Stirling Gardens, Perth
Material: bronze
Description: A mob of life-size Western Grey kangaroos by the side of a water feature. One stoops to drink from the water, another stands up straight with ears pricked for danger, and a family of four are leaping away – a male, a juvenile and a female with a joey in her pouch.
The Western Grey Kangaroo is a commonly found across the entire southern part of Australia and the entire Murray-Darling basin in New South Wales and Queensland. They can weigh from 28 to 54 kilograms and stand at around 1.3 metres high.