King Edward VIIPrint Page

The large bronze equestrian statue on massive trachyte pedestal and base commemorates King Edward VII (1841 - 1910).

Edward VII was born on 9 November 1841 and as the eldest son of Queen Victoria, succeeded her upon her death. He was almost sixty when he came to the throne. King Edward’s coronation was initially delayed by a bout of appendicitis and later postponed until the conclusion of the Boer War in mid 1902. Edward VII was King until his death on 9 May 1910.

As king, Edward played a role in the modernisation of the British Home Fleet and the reorganisation of the British Army after the Second Boer War of 1899–1902. He re-instituted traditional ceremonies as public displays and broadened the range of people with whom royalty socialised. He fostered good relations between Britain and other European countries, especially France, for which he was popularly called "Peacemaker", but his relationship with his nephew, the German Emperor Wilhelm 11, was poor. The Edwardian era, which covered Edward's reign and was named after him, coincided with the start of a new century and heralded significant changes in technology and society, including stem turbine propulsion and the rise of socialism. 

Sydney, Wednesday. The statue of the late King Edward VII., which has been erected by public subscription, was unveiled by the State Governor this afternoon. The statue which is of bronze, stands in front of the Conservatorium of Music. There was a large crowd present. His Excellency, after unveiling the statue, said: "On the forefront of the statue is the emblem of unity of the Empire; on the back, peace and progress. Without the first we cannot have the second.

King Edward came to the throne in a critical time and set himself to check the intrigues on foot against us, and staved the gathering storm. The main issue in his mind was that we should be all united, not by the force of militant rule, but by that free and real comradeship which had always rallied the yeomen and burgesses to the side of an honest King.  And so it comes that on this famous day, Victoria Day, Our Day of Empire, we free men honor the King and all that our Kings stand for."
Daily Examiner (Grafton,), 25 May 1922.

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