Prime Ministers Avenue is a gallery of busts of Australian Prime Ministers located in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens in Victoria , Australia .
| Monument | |
| Prime Ministers Avenue | |
|---|---|
| English Prime Ministers Avenue | |
 Ballarat Botanical Garden , 2012 | |
| A country |  Australia |
| State City A place |  Victoria Ballarat Botanical Garden |
| Project Author | Richard Crouch |
| Sculptor | Wallace Anderson Ken Palmer Victor Greenhelg Peter Nicholson |
| Building | 1940 - p.t. |
| Material | bronze , granite |
History
In 1901, six separate colonies of the British Empire formed a single state called Australia with a federal form of government . The colonies became states , retaining their own governments, headed by the central Government of Australia [1] .
The author of the idea and the initiator of the installation of the first six busts was Richard Crouch Born in 1868 in Ballarat and became in the early 1900s the youngest member of the House of Representatives of the Australian Parliament [2] . In 1939, in the City Council, he promised to donate a thousand pounds for the creation of “Prime Ministers Avenue”, consisting of busts of each prime minister [3] . Promoting the development of fine art, Crouch supported many art schools, and his personal acquaintance with Prime Ministers Edmund Barton , Alfred Deakin , Chris Watson , Andrew Fisher and James Skullin prompted him to return to Ballarat what the city gave him. Thus, Crouch not only helped establish real busts, but also perpetuated this historic avenue [4] . Subsequently, Crouch bequeathed funds to support the project and the addition of additional busts [2] .
The first six busts were opened on March 2, 1940 at a ceremony by Governor Victoria Winston Dugan [4] . On October 11, 1941, Prime Minister Robert Menzies planted an oak tree on Avenue [5] .
On February 17, 2010, a bust was opened on the 26th Prime Minister Kevin Rudd , but he himself was absent from the ceremony [6] [7] .
On October 9, 2014, the last and 27th so far bust of Julia Gillard [8] [9] was opened on Avenue. Sculptor Peter Nicholson noted that “creating a sculpture by Julia was as simple as creating any other. For me, it was brought to light as a person who was under a lot of pressure, but lost and still holding his head held high " [10] , adding that this bust, completed in April 2012 , was" the best I did. ” [11] At the opening ceremony, adviser Des Hudson said that the funds bequeathed by Crouch had run out, promised to attract the federal government to finance the continuation of the unique tradition, and noted that the 28th bust of Tony Abbott is currently under construction [12] .
Architecture and Composition
A collection of bronze busts on polished granite pedestals is located on Horse Chestnut Avenue near the Ballarat Botanical Garden [13] . The first on the avenue is a bust of the founding father of the Federation 1st Prime Minister Edmund Burton [1] . Each bust is sculpted in full size [7] and is arranged in sequence according to the first term of office [14] . Any of the prime ministers is immortalized on Avenue, regardless of his tenure [4] . Each sculpture costs from 45 to 55 thousand US dollars , and these funds include not only the installation of the sculpture, but also excursions to meetings in the Parliament Building in Canberra for the artist working on the project so that he has the opportunity to sketch the current prime minister [12] .
Sculptors
Wallace Anderson was born in 1888 in the city of Dean , next to Ballarat, he sculpted the busts of the first prime ministers - Edmund Barton , Alfred Dickin , Chris Watson , George Reid , Joseph Cook , Andrew Fisher , William Hughes , Stanley Bruce , James Skullin , Joseph Lyons , Earl Paigeadzha , Rob and John Curtin [4] . He used photographs to create them, but the sculpture of Fadden and the subsequent ones were made during their lifetime. The most famous of his creations was the sculptural composition " Man and the Donkey", installed at the Memorial Monument in Melbourne . In addition, Anderson took part in the design of the Australian War Memorial and created a large number of memorial sculptures [1] . Anderson passed away in 1975 in Geelong [15]
The author of the bust of Frank Ford is not known.
Ken Palmer was born in 1925 and was educated in Ballarat after graduating from a mountain school. He became the creator of the bust of Ben Chifley with the personal permission of Crouch, for which he worked with photographs and took advantage of Chifley's visit to Ballarat during the 1946 election campaign in [1] [16] . Later, Ken taught art at Castlemein Schools and Melbourne, before returning to Ballarat, where he opened an art workshop [4] . Palmer died in 1983 [17] .
Victor Grinhelg was born in 1900 and was educated in Ballarat, graduating from a mountain school before the start of the First World War . Then he taught Russian at Ballarat and Bendigo Mining School , and in 1955 he headed the School of Arts Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology . He created busts of Harold Holt , John McEwan , John Gorton , William MacMahon and Hough Whitlam [4] . Grinhalg's famous creation was the Statue of King George V on the corner of Drummond and Start Street in Ballarat. His last unfinished work was a bust of Malcolm Fraser , and after the death of Greenhalg in 1983 , Peter Nicholson continued to work on it [1] .
Peter Nicholson born in Melbourne in 1946 . He became known for his cartoons in magazines such as Nation Review "," Australian Financial Review "," The Age ", as well as dolls from the TV program" Rubbery Figures ". He created busts of Malcolm Fraser , Robert Hawke , Paul Keating , John Howard , Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard. [18] He always tries to give his sculptures an expression of the personality character [1] [4] .
Criticism
John Howard said that in the bust he did not like the size of his lower lip, and Paul Keating was dissatisfied with a weak chin and pointed nose, while Julia Gillard was pleased with her image [8] .
Busts
1st
Edmund Barton2nd
Alfred Deakin3rd
Chris Watson4th
George Reid5th
Andrew Fisher6th
Joseph Cook7th
William Hughes8th
Stanley Bruce9th
James scullin10th
Joseph Lyons11th
Earl Page12th
Robert Menzies13th
Arthur Fadden14th
John Curtin15th
Frank Ford16th
Ben chifley17th
Harold HoltThe 18th
John McEwanThe 19th
John GortonThe 20th
William MacMahon21st
Gough whitlam22nd
Malcolm Fraser23rd
Robert Hawke24th
Paul Keating25th
John howard26th
Kevin Rudd27th
Julia Gillard
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 Prime Ministers Avenue (unavailable link) . Ballarat Begonia Festival. Date of treatment December 24, 2014. Archived December 24, 2014.
- ↑ 1 2 Crouch, Richard Armstrong (1868–1949) . Australian Dictionary of Biography . Date of treatment December 24, 2014.
- ↑ BUSTS OF PRIME MINISTERS . Daily Advertiser (June 6, 1939). Date of treatment December 24, 2014.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Prime Ministers Avenue . City of Ballarat. Date of treatment December 24, 2014.
- ↑ New Tree In Prime Minister Avenue . The Advertiser (October 13, 1941). Date of treatment December 24, 2014.
- ↑ Prime Minister's bust revealed . Australian Broadcasting Corporation (February 18, 2010). Date of treatment December 24, 2014.
- ↑ 1 2 Gillard still in demand on Ballarat's walk of fame . The Sydney Morning Herald (June 28, 2013). Date of treatment December 24, 2014.
- ↑ 1 2 Former prime ministers Julia Gillard and Kevin face off permanently with Ballarat bronze busts . Herald Sun (October 9, 2014). Date of treatment December 24, 2014.
- ↑ Julia Gillard unveils bust at Ballarat . Australian Broadcasting Corporation (October 9, 2014). Date of treatment December 24, 2014.
- ↑ Julia Gillard to unveil bronze bust in Prime Ministers' Avenue in Ballarat Botanical Gardens . The Courier (October 8, 2014). Date of treatment December 24, 2014.
- ↑ Former PM Julia Gillard to attend unveiling of bust statue at Ballarat Botanical Gardens . Herald Sun (June 12, 2014). Date of treatment December 24, 2014.
- ↑ 1 2 Julia Gillard's bronze statue in Ballarat could be the last . The Courier (October 10, 2014). Date of treatment December 24, 2014.
- ↑ Ballarat Botanical Gardens (Unavailable link) . City of Ballarat. Date of treatment December 24, 2014. Archived December 24, 2014.
- ↑ Prime Ministers Avenue . Monument Australia . Date of treatment December 24, 2014.
- ↑ Anderson, William Wallace (1888–1975) . Australian Dictionary of Biography . Date of treatment December 24, 2014.
- ↑ CHIFLEY BUST FOR PRIME MINISTER'S AVENUE . The Argus (September 13, 1946). Date of treatment December 24, 2014.
- ↑ Victor Greenhalgh . National Portrait Gallery . Date of treatment December 24, 2014.
- ↑ Julia Gillard statue to face Kevin Rudd's bust on PM's avenue . The Australian (June 12, 2014). Date of treatment December 24, 2014.
Links
- Prime Minister Avenue on the John Curtin Premier Library website