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Discovery of Gold Monument
Discovery of Gold Monument

Photographs supplied by Kent Watson / Diane Watson / Sandra Brown / Emily D Pyke

The sculpture commemorates the discovery of gold in Bendigo in 1851.

It consists of a woman overlooking a man panning for gold.  It was erected with funds raised at a Gold Jubilee Exhibition to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the discovery of gold in the area.

As already announced in the ''Advertiser," Mr. Bent, the State Premier, has accepted the invitation of Mr. S. H. McGowan, president of the late Victorian Gold Jubilee Exhibition, to unveil the commemorative statue in Howard Place tomorrow.  Mr. Bent will arrive by train tomorrow morning, and will perform the unveiling ceremony at noon. Subsequently the Premier, the Mayor of Bendigo, and a number of representative citizens will be entertained at the Hotel Shamrock at luncheon by Mr. M'Gowan. The late Victorian Gold Jubilee exhibition will be fresh in the minds of the public.

It proved such a pronounced success that a balance of some £1100 remained in hand at its close. It was determined to devote this sum to the purchase of a statue which should be commemorative of the discovery of gold in Victoria, the Exhibition itself marked the jubilee of that event. Accordingly an imposing statue in white marble has been erected in Howard Place. It depicts a female figure (Victoria) dropping a nugget of gold into the tin dish of the miner as he is in search of the precious metal.
Bendigo Advertiser (Vic), 28 June 1906. 

Location

Address:Park Road & Pall Mall , Bendigo, 3550
State:VIC
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -36.757025
Long: 144.281797
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Sculpture
Monument Theme:Technology
Sub-Theme:Industry
Designer:C.Douglas Richardson

Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:Friday 29th June, 1906
Front Inscription

Erected by the Committee of the Victorian Gold Jubilee Exhibition held 1901 - 2 in commemoration of the discovery of gold in Bendigo 1851

Samuel H. McGovern President

Back Inscription

Bendigo gold field produced 19703986 ozs of gold.

Value pounds 78815824 between 1851 & 1914 and 21064457 ozs valued at pounds 87003689 from 1851 to 1941

Source: MA,RUMV,VMR
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au